Humans are creatures of habit. And the habit that is most influencing the next generation of learners is our screen addiction.
If you are charged with learning and development in your organisation, you’ll be well aware that the digitisation and the internet has transformed corporate training almost beyond recognition.
The key trends are increasingly driven by a new generation of learners who expect learning to be:
- Micro
- Gamified
- Immersive
- Personalised
- Mobile
- AI-driven
There are many reasons why you should care about this, if you care about engaging your learners effectively.
A recent study revealed that Gen Z are spending a mind-blowing nine hours per day in front of a screen.
This has turned mobile phones, laptops and tablets into a virtual extension of who they are, and how they prefer to communicate, learn – and how they physically and intuitively engage with content.
A Generation of Scrollers Not Clickers.
In our recent blog, “Engaging Generation Tech”, we looked at the Gen Z (and Millennials to a lesser extent) phenomenon and the impact this generation has – and will have for many years to come – on L&D.
Gen Z comprise 32% of the world population and are fast becoming the dominant demographic in the work force.
A generation who have been raised on social media scrolling and search – have one expectation in common, and it ain’t PowerPoint.
They expect an easy-to-use, modern, multimedia experience, not PowerPoint-centric design.
So, it’s more important than ever to ensure your organisation and L&D strategies are in sync with your learners – and even more importantly, that your plans are future proofed.
The New Flow State
The word ‘Flow’ has a rather delicious ring to it.
The concept of ‘flow state’ was actually popularised by psychologists Miohaly Csikszentmihalya and Jeanne Nakamura. It literally describes a feeling of being fully immersed in whatever you are doing.
When L&D leader Josh Bersin coined the phrase Learning in the Flow of Work (LIFOW), it was based on a key insight: That mobile and digital natives were driving an ‘always on’ way of working.
As the new hybrid work paradigm took off it spawned a need from employees, for learning in their own flow of work, and on-the-job – where and whenever that might be.
And no one ‘flows’ better than this generation, who are adept at scrolling TikTok videos and Insta feeds, all whilst watching Netflix.
Multi- and parallel consumption is genuinely ‘a thing’. And, while it may seem to interrupt rather than enhance the flow state as we know it, there’s no stopping it. All we can do, is provide engaging experiences in the right context, when and where they want it.
In doing so, learning would actually serve the learner, rather than the other way around. And that just makes sense.
Diagram: Josh Bersin: A New Paradigm for Training: Growth in the Flow Of Work
Real Skills Development Requires Workflow Learning: Study
Bolstering workflow learning may seem like a no-brainer. And the latest findings from Fosway’s Digital Learning Realities 2022 research, confirms that skills development requires a focus on workflow learning.
However, that’s where organisations struggle. A full 70% of organisations are only just starting to adopt workflow learning.
Similarly, in the latest Bersin Report, Most organisations consider learning in the flow of work the zenith of learning outcomes, yet, only 12% do it effectively.
So, what gives?
Surely, it should be more widely adopted, given the demand by learners themselves, and knowing how effective this kind of learning is – boosting both engagement and business performance. It’s long been proven by Charles Jennings’ 70:20:10 and many others.
Bersin went to work on this very issue and recently conducted an in-depth study of 1,000+ companies, and a detailed analysis of 90 business practices.
The result was the ground breaking “Growth In The Flow of Work” research which shows that when done right, L&D can lead to incredible business growth.
Want Successful Learning? Mirror The Web
Ultimately, in order for learning to be effective, there needs to be a comfort zone and a discomfort zone (some challenge, surprise and delight).
By connecting with learners’ media expectations, you can focus your strategy – which should take into account the following:
- Most of your learners expect the behavioural attributes of a web page. It makes learning natural and intuitive. And for successful LIFOW, this is an essential ingredient.
- Tap into your learners’ behaviour and media preferences. Think: Social media, video and search capabilities.
- Focus on individual learning and the learner experience.
- Engagement elements that surprise and involve the learner, such as video and immersive elements – are critical.
It’s Only Flow n Scroll (But I Like it)
If you want to create eLearning like a rockstar, we’ve got some inspo for you. Starting with an example of how you can ramp up critical engagement elements is included in this new session called Build A Scrollable Course In Lectora. Chief designer Bill Millstid builds something you wouldn’t expect to see in Lectora – using narrative and storytelling modern web environment devices versus simply ‘learning’.
With video and immersive learning at the top of the Gen Z wishlist, you wouldn’t want to look further than VR experiences that can feature in your storytelling to boost engagement (with built-in xAPI and analytics).
A recent study revealed that Gen Z are spending a mind-blowing nine hours per day in front of a screen.
CenarioVR is the ultimate in immersive-in-the-flow learning, and it’s included with Lectora Platinum – so there’s a complete package right there!
Check out The Evolution of VR from the office to the Metaverse. John Blackmon, CTO of eLearning Brothers on CenarioVR, is joined by Adam Sidwell, Founder and Studio Head of Future House Studios – who talks about his work building metaverse experiences for Transformers, Sonic the Hedgehog, and George W Bush and how organisations can think outside the box with VR and learning programs.
This makes the world’s most powerful authoring tool, Lectora, a growth tool for creating engaging, intuitive, and easy learning that’s future proof.
Need help in building something? For further information, and to discuss your needs, contact our expert team here.