Digital technology is disrupting everything else. It is the one sector that cuts across every other sector. Tech has had an amazing effect on education, every major aspect of education and learning has evolved over the past 10 years. The first step giant leap observed in Nigeria was probably when major examination bodies in Nigeria; West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) required that people who wanted to take their exams now had to do the registrations online, abolishing paper forms!
JAMB has rightly taken a further step by experimenting with Computer based exam. I can easily predict that in the near future, all exams will be taken online, inside your own house! You are now wondering how we will be able to curb examination malpractices that way and I will respond by saying; tech will solve that problem also. Using advanced algorithms and surveillance, candidates can be monitored remotely to determine if they had illegal help during the exam itself or not. Besides, we all know exams in their current form is broken and in need of an overhaul. Tech will provide that overhaul; tech has overhauled education and it is only natural for tests and examination to get completely overhauled too.
E-Learning is not a new concept, indeed it has been around for a while. Yet more recent innovations in tech means that the very way it works is been changed and we have two things to thank for that: mobile and cloud computing systems. As a primer, you should read through my earlier articles about mobile tech and the incredible reach it has, as well as my post on what cloud computing really means.
E-learning software and systems have traditionally been silos of content – video tutorials, pdf and PowerPoint files on my PC that I read and walk through at my own pace. Some e-learning software also have the ability to grade the user and show how much the user is learning.
This is changing, fast.
The next evolution in e-learning has to do with the way the user’s behaviour has changed, we are now living in a POST-PC era, more than ever before people are now more likely to want to engage with your apps across multiple devices, learning as they move around – opposed to the former approach of sit down and learn.
The modern e-learning systems have to be MOBILE.
I want to be able to learn anything anytime at anywhere – in my house, on the way to work, on a queue etc. Any e-learning offering that is still tied to the old methods of “buy our CDs and install on a PC” is so dead on delivery. The sales of PCs is shrinking and will continue to shrink, it seemed impossible at first, but we are now on track to a point whereby PCs will be like Trucks – specialised machines that will be only needed by a few and Tablets will be like the more common general purpose Cars.
In a mobile world, our e-learning apps also has to be built mobile-first: available everywhere and anywhere. Which leads me to the next point.
The modern e-learning systems have to be CLOUD based.
Integrating the power of cloud into e-learning takes the experience into a whole new level. When people use e-learning apps on their mobiles and the data is backed up in the cloud, the experience is simply beautiful.
I take a lesson on my phone and I take the lesson’s quiz on my PC at work. Seamlessly switching devices used to access the content.
I could also network with other people learning the same things I am trying to learn from all over the world in real-time, valuation connections could be made this way.
Schools, Universities and Organizations of any size should therefore factor in this updates before launching e-learning initiatives, the pros of cloud-based, mobile e-learning systems definitely outweighs the cons and these trends are here to stay.
What other ways are cloud and mobile changing the way we learn? In what ways are you already using cloud based e-learning systems? Air your views in the comments section below.
