Technology around us is evolving at a rapid pace and is in turn affecting a speedy evolution of learning technology. Work is changing and, to keep pace with it, training is changing too.

Which of these technology changes will impact training the most?

I think mobile applications are the game changer for training.
Let me explain why I think that way.

Upside Learning is happy to be associated with the inaugural CLO Summit India.

Earlier this month I blogged about why Training companies are adopting eLearning. There are reasons other than their clients demanding it. Reflecting on my interactions with Training Providers over the last couple of quarters, I’ve made a list of the top 8 reasons for them to adopt eLearning

Using eLearning as a delivery medium for corporate training is common now. Corporates have lapped it up seeing crucial benefits in costs and time savings. Early adopters have experimented with various media formats & delivery options and realized that blended learning works best. Any advent of instructional technology hasn’t meant the elimination of what pedagogical methods existed at the time.  The new technology has typically been co-opted and added to the blend. This should happen naturally with game-based, mobile and eLearning too.

Last week I met several new prospective customers – training companies. The prospects varied in size from a single person company (with several associates on contract basis) to very large companies serving Fortune 500 companies; and whose focus varied from soft skills training to Aerospace graphics and documentation.

It seems more and more like this recession will further enhance the position of eLearning amongst various training options an organization could choose from for their learning and development initiatives. In March earlier this year I wrote – ‘while the times are tough, they are on our side’ (by ‘our’ I meant all technology enabled learning solution providers). Then In May I’d posted about the growth of eLearning outsourcing as projected by an India-based research agency – Valuenotes and more recently about how training companies are adopting eLearning using us as their training back-office. All of these lead upto what I have always believed in – that this downturn will lead to renewed growth in eLearning industry. Here’s more to support that thought.

The economic meltdown in the last 12-18 months has hit training companies hard. Corporate training budgets have been slashed and travel expenditure has been cut. The pressure on reducing costs has never been greater.

Last month Tony Karrer posted this interesting piece on the Business of Learning on his blog – eLearning Technology. It provoked a discussion on the topic with many different perspectives brought to bear.

Training companies the world over are changing the way they operate and the services they offer customers. An important one is the inclusion of eLearning (or online training) as part of their core offerings for existing and new customers. Such an offering is not purely driven by a cost-saving strategy on the customer’s part, but is also due to the growing acceptance of eLearning as an effective way of delivering training.