The Learning Technologies conference and expo got off to a flying start yesterday in Olympia, London. Every year, learning professionals from all over the UK and beyond descend upon LT to find out what’s exciting and new in the world of learning and to get ideas for their own training programmes.
As team GE swooped in, with our capes flapping in the wind, we were delighted to see that the flavour of the day was learner engagement. Of course, the appetite for basic functionality (like reporting and learner segmentation) hasn’t died, but the industry is quickly waking up to the reality that these tools are useless if the learners aren’t interested.
Gamification is still hot
Far from being a mere buzz word, gamification is still changing the learning landscape. Our MD, Juliette Denny, delivered an awesome talk on the power of gamification and what it can do to boost engagement amongst learners. After the talk, we dealt with a flood of super-excited learning managers desperate to know how they could banish their zombie leaner curse!
If you weren’t lucky enough to catch the talk yesterday, you can check out our slide deck here and stay tuned to GETV where a video of the presentation will soon be available! You can also check out our gamification tip sheet by visiting this link.
Game-based learning is in demand
Genie, our game based authoring tool, was turning quite a few heads yesterday. Many people within the online learning community are trying to find ways to maximise engagement in their learning content. Typical authoring tools are great for helping authors create eLearning, but one of the biggest complaints we heard was that these tools don’t necessarily address the issue of engaging the learners themselves.
VR is still a big theme everywhere now. #LT16uk #facebook #jeffturner #etneteramotion #Oculus pic.twitter.com/ommYuUz7K4 — Mike Bubenicek (@MikeBubenicek) February 3, 2016
At the other end of the scale, we saw some very impressive bespoke learning games incorporating the latest VR technology but there’s still a huge segment of L&D professionals who have neither the resources or the budget for this kind of development.
Needless to say, they were all pretty impressed with Genie’s ability to rapidly produce awesome, engaging learning games without the need for lengthy (not to mention, costly) development.
70:20:10 is a winning formula
Besides gamification, informal learning is also getting the credit it deserves. As the GE Superheroes took a break to wander around, we found that many of the exhibitors throughout the hall were sporting these numbers on their stands.
I can report back to the US that 70:20:10 is extremely popular at #LT16uk – nice work @charlesjennings pic.twitter.com/BAjzmvRNAf
— Brent Schlenker (@bschlenker) February 3, 2016
Our Informal Learning tip sheet was also a huge success and we found ourselves constantly replenishing the stock on the stand. If you didn’t manage to pick one up yesterday, there’s still time to pop over to stand O4 for your guide to informal learning success!
Mobile learning is on the move
We couldn’t help but notice the continuing trend towards mobile based learning. Aside from hearing about mobile initiatives at several of the free seminars, we also found that many of the visitors to our stand had their own questions.
This only reinforced the importance of providing learning programmes that can be completed on the move. It was great to see that these learning managers were prepared to adapt their approach to the way their learners live their lives.
It’s not too late…
Day two of the LT2016 is well under way and you still have a chance to meet the GE Superheroes and find out how to engage your learners with game-based learning. You can also grab a badge and get yourself superheroed up in our photo booth!
Hurry though, before we fly off to combat dull online learning!
