Hundreds of thousands of years ago, when our ancestors lived in caves, they shared knowledge with one another about where to find safe food and how to use basic tools. Over time, they developed signs and sounds, allowing them to share more than just thoughts. Through paintings, smoke signals, and drums, they communicated meaning to each other, told stories, and recorded history. This imparting of information is called social or mirrored learning.
Fast forward to around 73,000 years ago, and Homo Sapiens made a huge leap. South African archaeologists unearthed a stone flake sporting an abstract drawing made with an ochre crayon. It showed that our early ancestors could produce graphic designs in various forms using different techniques, and signified the first evidence of early human’s ability to store information outside the brain.
Historian and author of ‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind’ Yuval Noah Harari believes that around this time, Homo Sapiens’ brains began to function differently, taking a huge cognitive leap forward. He called it the Cognitive Revolution, marked by the development of complex language and the ability to share and store information. Over time, this newfound capacity for communication and collective learning allowed humans to build intricate societies, develop technologies, and create cultures.
More recently, between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago, the Agricultural Revolution occurred. During this time, humans experienced a second cognitive shift in learning and teaching, characterised by using verbal instructions and gestures, imitating each other, and giving and receiving feedback.
This was also the era when humans developed writing systems (originally through pictographs to keep up with the more complex societal behaviours, like record food storage) that eventually allowed us to record and transmit knowledge across generations. Harari believes writing and record-keeping made us think more categorically, which is the ability to differentiate between global-level categories, such as different breeds of cats and dogs.
Around 500 years ago, we entered the Scientific Revolution, which centred on the idea that humans knew little about the world and could learn more by observing it rather than turning to religious scriptures to understand it.
Finally, during the Industrial Revolution (from the mid-18th century to about 1830), education grew at hyperspeed. Industrialisation created a high demand for literate and skilled workers, which led to the establishment of public education systems. More education drove further invention, and schools became the primary institutions for learning.
This model, characterised by physical classrooms, with tutors and instructors delivering content through lectures, textbooks, and interactive activities, has persisted for over a century. However, it lacked personalisation and ignored individuals’ diverse learning styles and the multisensory approach of modern learning methods.
Traditional educational methods were soon challenged by the Digital Revolution, which started with the advent of home computing and access to the internet. It received an even bigger boost during the COVID pandemic when rapid technological advances created universal opportunities to study remotely.
Online educational institutions flourished, and soon organisations and businesses started adopting learning management systems (LMS) into their tech stacks to provide their employees with easy access to the courses, virtual classrooms, and resources they needed to upskill or reskill.
Currently, eLearning is making history by not only breaking down geographical barriers but also offering learners, even those in remote areas, the flexibility to access content and virtual classrooms at their own pace on any device. Learning management systems now provide personalised, self-paced learning experiences, while data analysis tools enable learning analytics (collection, measurement, analysis and reporting of data relating to learners and their contexts), user education optimisation, and adaptive assessments. Tutors can also track individual learning journeys and adjust content on the fly and in real-time.
Technology has also enabled collaborative and interactive, multimedia-rich learning experiences that cater to different learning styles, enhance coursework, increase engagement, and lead to better learning outcomes.
What’s next in eLearning?
The journey from traditional classrooms to the digital era represents a remarkable revolution in learning and development (L&D). Throughout human history, we have absorbed information using our senses, but never before have we reached a time when they are all engaged at the same time.
In the very near future, we can expect to see even more immersive technologies, such as artificial and virtual reality and gamification of content, become standard in skills training. Microlearning, where bite-sized content is created to break down more tricky topics, will increase in popularity, mainly because it’s so effective in catering to modern (short) attention spans and busy schedules.
One thing we know for sure is that AI is transforming education and will increasingly be used to create content. For example, AI sentence-rephrasing tools are used to adapt content to suit different learning styles or take a basic chunk of content and repurpose it through scriptwriting, converting it into presentations and videos. AI will also drive the evolution of eLearning by creating adaptive learning and teaching experiences. Through interaction with learners, learning systems will deliver customised resources and learning activities that address students’ unique needs.
Social learning via online communities, discussion boards, and forums for instructor-to-learner communication will once again introduce learning through storytelling, observation, and social interaction. Much like our ancestors back in the cave, our modern approach to social learning will forge strong connections among students, instructors, and the wider online community.
Other noteworthy future eLearning trends are aligning learning with business needs through customisable LMSs and supporting deskless workers through eLearning solutions tailored for mobile and flexible working environments.
What’s driving the eLearning evolution?
One of the strongest learning and development drivers is a change in learner preferences and expectations. Today, workers are increasingly shifting and embracing a culture of continuous learning. They’re becoming accustomed to ‘learning in the flow of work’ and are acutely aware of the importance of upskilling and reskilling to stay ahead of globalisation, and adapting to increased workforce mobility and a rapidly changing job landscape.
Add to this ongoing advances in learning technology, its cost-effectiveness, and ease of accessibility, and it’s clear that the evolution of learning has entered its latest and greatest phase.
New Leaf Technologies empowers organisations through strategic partnerships, delivering modern eLearning solutions that drive competitive advantage. Leveraging our extensive global network, we curate and implement world-class learning technologies, creating immersive and forward-thinking educational experiences that prepare learners for the challenges of tomorrow. This is the future of workplace learning, and we’re here to help your business evolve with the times.
Get in touch to learn more and learn better today.
