Digital Learning Excellence Awards: the 2020 learning trends

25/09/2020

The Cegos Group recently honoured the most innovative blended and digital learning programmes during the 10th edition of the Digital Learning Excellence Awards.Two major trends emerge from this 10th edition.They are based on transformations already implemented in previous years.The first major trend: this year, much more markedly than before, technology is a powerful lever for device efficiency.- Adaptive learning is taking off and strong artificial intelligence is making its debut.- Virtual reality is still used to simulate technical gestures when the real environment is difficult to access.- Finally, most of the programmes are "mobile first" oriented, with an impact on the methods used: video is used in almost all programmes, apps are present in 50% of cases, and podcasts are now appearing.This trend is based on micro-learning, which has been developing strongly over the last two years. The aim is to provide learners with the right content at the right time, as close as possible to their operational activity.The second major trend is the transformation of human interactions.- The human factor remains at the heart of most programmes, but we are seeing a decline of the traditional tutoring support, in favour of more collective - and often distance - forms of support: peer learning and assessment, social networks, collective distance work.- The face-to-face nature of blended formats is undergoing a profound change: classroom training in its most traditional sense, with content input, is sharply declining. Although it remains in educational contexts (education and degree courses), face-to-face training is increasingly becoming an event based approach or is being enhanced by virtual reality when it is not entirely dedicated to workshops for sharing practices or operational projects.- Finally, we note the comeback of the virtual classroom, which had clearly declined during the two previous editions, in an essentially collaborative form.