As I’m sure you can imagine, the online learning industry is on the rise and predicted to continue growing in the foreseeable future.
If you’re a stats person – here are some interesting stats on the industry. TLDR: Online learning was steadily increasing from year to year, but when Covid hit, the industry almost doubled. Those who were already in the online learning space had an advantage over those who only offered in-person services. And a lot of people had to scramble to get online when the world shut down.
But this is old news. We all know how important it is to have an online course offering to scale your business – otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this email, would you.
Recently things such as Zoom Fatigue have become an issue and people are becoming a lot more discerning about the courses they sign up for.
This means that we as course creators need to do better. And to do better we need to understand what those discerning course buyers are looking for in 2022.
Some of the trends like Gamification have been around for a while (and you can read my article on how to add gamification to your course here) while others like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are beyond the skills and budget of most course creators – for now.
Here are 2 of the latest online learning trends that don’t require any special skills or software that you can easily implement in your courses today.
Trend #1 Collaborative/Social Learning – Online learning can be lonely. We’re social animals, and social interactions are an important element of our development at every stage of our lives. So, when it comes to online courses it’s becoming more and more important to add an element of social interaction. In my eBook, The Doable Course Creation Method one of the course types I outline is a Cohort-Based Course. A Cohort-Based course is quite similar to a normal college environment – with the main exception being that it’s held online. It’s a group of people who all start an online course together and progress through the course at the same time. Lessons are held ‘live’ online and this allows for immediate feedback from the instructor as well as interaction with peers.
Trend #2 Microlearning – Think about the world we live in. We’re used to getting small bursts of information immediately, on-demand. Need to know what time your favourite restaurant opens? Google it. Want to learn how to make fondant icing for your 6-year-old daughter’s Barbie cake? Search Youtube for a video tutorial. So, in 2022 we’re looking for shorter learning videos, snackable mini-sessions and more frequent check-ins – instead of hour-long lectures. Think quality over quantity. And people will be happy to pay more for a quicker result – I mean if you’re a sleep-deprived Mom, wouldn’t you prefer to watch a couple of concise 5-minute videos on sleep training your baby instead of an hour-long video?
So basically, the latest trends are focused on an improved learning experience and a “less is more” approach. And the best part about this is that these are both super easy for you to implement.
So, what are you waiting for?
Need help with your course?
I can help make your course creation as easy and stress-free as possible with my done-for-you services. If you don’t see anything that suits your requirements, we can work out a custom package just for you.