By Craig Weiss, elearning industry analyst and E-Learning 24/7 blogger
- Smart App – While we are all enthralled about mobile learning and specifically native apps for tablets (which is cool), you may not be aware that one vendor has launched an app for a Smart TV. These are the HDTVs that connect via WiFi to the internet. The same internet whereas this vendor’s LMS resides.
- Online Storage – Many of you , may already be using some type of online storage for your photos, files and important documents. So, what is unique about this? Virtually no LMS vendors were doing it prior to six months ago. Now, some are doing what they should be doing – having it in their system. I’m not talking about a vendor whose system is based on providing your storage – say 25GB, rather, I’m saying LMS vendors who are providing each learner an online storage to do what they are doing already – posting video clips, documents, etc.
- Adaptive Learning – Considered to be holy grail in e-learning courses. Two content authoring tool vendors are making it happen right now. If you remember the old days (okay the 70s and 80s) and the so-called “adventure books”, whereas depending on which route you went, the story would change, it is finally happening at the commercial level. In 2002, I provided adaptive learning to my learners but it was via a Flash course built by a custom development shop, not by an actual authoring tool. Fast Forward to 2012 and zoom..it is now available in stores (just kidding) – its available online.
- Dropbox and similar – Consumers have been using these types of services for years, but in the e-learning world the idea of offering these types of capabilities was always out of reach. Not anymore. Best of all, it wasn’t because of mobile learning, rather, it was because many LMS vendors are realizing that if the consumer market is using it, maybe they should be to.
- Video Management Systems/Video E-Learning Platform – Both terms are utilizing the same tactic – you can create/upload a video into their systems and offer your learners a multitude of features and capabilities. For the most part they offer the same capabilities (yes, they all offer a different feature or two), but only one vendor includes SCORM as part of their product. To me, that vendor is the leader in the space and one I would want to use.
