A look ahead to the future of online learning

E-learning has become an integral part of most businesses' training strategies and it is evolving all the time.

The rapid rise of technology over the past decade has forced most companies in the UK to build their own online platforms, improve training resources and roll out educational mobile apps.

But what about the future of online learning? How does it progress beyond 2013? 

According to a post on Business 2 Community by Brendan Cournoyer, content manager at Brainshark, cloud-based learning will become the norm and the shift to digital training is now unavoidable.

Indeed, small and medium-sized firms in particular could benefit from turning to the cloud, as employees can access materials stored within it from wherever they are and this will reduce administrative and printing costs.

Experts have also predicted that the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend will grow to be an unstoppable force in 2013 and beyond, as an increasing number of employers recognise the benefits of letting their staff take their smartphones and tablets to work.

However, there are various security risks associated with BYOD, as recent research carried out by Acronis and the Ponemon Institute found. It was revealed that 60 per cent of organisations have yet to implement a BYOD security policy, meaning devices and company systems could be at risk of a data breach.

Other forthcoming e-learning trends outlined by Mr Cournoyer include more informal training techniques, which could rely on social media tools, blog, online videos and podcasts to educate workers.

Twitter in particular is a great of sparking conversation among employees and getting people to share ideas on a non-judgemental and open platform they are already familiar with.

What's more, podcasts and online videos can be accessed on the move and in people's spare time, so there is less pressure to cram in new information during working hours, which is sure to boost productivity and motivation in the long run.