As we all moving through Q4 at lightning speed, perhaps its best to pause and consider what the new year might bring for our work, clients, partnerships and industries. For e-learning, it’s an exciting time. And for those of us already engaged in or thinking about online training solutions for our teams, there’s plenty to get excited about.

Better, faster, stronger

E-learning solutions are steadily moving towards providing more flexibility and more options for customization. Participants in online training programs will engage in more personalized and adaptive experiences, such as moving through course content or milestones at a modified pace. As an example, some online assessments allow students to skip questions after giving so many correct answers in a row, shifting the level of difficulty and sparking higher performance opportunities.

Social Media features make an appearance

Social media will take a stronger role in online learning environments. Chats and comments streams, task and project management platforms, and video and audio tools are second nature to most of us. You can bet we’ll be seeing these same features used more often in e-learning courses to facilitate communication and promote collaboration. Think about what you already use—instant messaging (everywhere!), hubs and project home bases (like Asana and Basecamp) or even your fave YouTube channel. These platforms promote collaboration and inspired connection, and e-learning platforms are going to be using the same technology to promote the same feelings.

The use of games in online learning will continue to grow, as will options for device diversity. Long story short: we love games. (Just think about how many Words with Friends throw-downs you got going right now.) We also love using our phones and tablets to keep up with the latest new thing even more than our laptops.

Finally, there’s an ever-expanding pool of user diversity as our big world becomes even more connected. More opportunities for learning and collaborating on a global level = more voices, period. Online learning developers are taking note, and incorporating these features into our e-courses more often than not.

More in store

As our tech improves and our learning worker base grows, you can bet on more trends in online learning that allow us to learn better, participate more collaboratively and become even more nimble as we expand our skills. Learn more about the next wave of e-learning trends—and please share what you uncover with us by tweeting us @sparkingbrands.