I agree to Tess Taylor who says in his post that „video will continue“ and that the most learning videos are too long. It’s probably true that the length of learning videos is often too long, but it is too long because it is often too boring. As I wrote in one of my last posts, think about movies. The average running time of a feature film is 120 minutes. Why are we able to watch movies for such a relatively long time and still manage to pay attention all the way through? Because they have a story. Most of the online learning sequences I watched over the last years don’t have a story. They are usually merely an amalgamation of numbers and facts. If you want to truly stay on top of things, create stories that produce recognition in the listener.
In the future, storytelling alone is also not enough. That’s why I agree with Taylor too when he says that „gamification and virtual reality will continue to enhance learning experiences“. Learners would like to view videos where they will get the feeling of sitting behind the wheel themselves, metaphorically speaking. It’s necessary to create virtual learning experiences where people get to pursue their interests in a world that reacts to what they do. For example, if you want to become a doctor, practice it on virtual patients and let real doctors give advice or share anecdotes in the form of video clips. Entertaining the participants should be encouraged, not viewed as something frivolous.
And yes, „mobile learning will be here to stay“. But especially in this context Taylor missed one important matter: podcasts. Podcasts are an amazing way for mobile learning to get insight into a topic and tapping into a variety of perspectives and ideas from experts. They work like a radio show that you can download and listen at your own pace and convenience, on- and offline.
Who listens to podcasts?
According to comScore, almost 20% of adults ages 18-29 listen to podcasts at least once a month. That number is on the rise.
What are the characteristics of a good podcast?
After Steve Renner, good podcasts have an engaging presentation, interesting ideas, variety while maintaining an overall theme, and are short enough to fit comfortable into busy schedules.
What do I need for creating podcasts?
Christopher Pappas summarises it in his post 7 tips to create podcasts for elearning.
Tess Taylor: 4 learning and development trends for HR leaders to watch in 2017, November 15, 2016
Daniela Wolf: Learnify, October 22, 2016
Christopher Pappas: 7 Tips To Create Podcasts For eLearning, June 7, 2016
