There have been some big developments in the eLearning space this year, with lots of new tools and technologies to play with. I’ve noticed some really interesting trends and observations this year, so I thought I’d take some time out to share my top five in this blog post.

1. Accessibility is still an afterthought

There are more resources available on the internet for creating accessible content than ever before. Yet, I still find that accessibility remains an afterthought in many projects. While several articles suggest that creating accessible eLearning content is no more time-consuming or costly than non-accessible content, I believe this claim can be somewhat misleading.

Let’s take an animated video as an example. Typically, the process starts with a script: you create the video, make revisions, edit it, get it approved, and then export and publish it. This is likely the fastest workflow you can follow. However, if the video doesn’t include transcripts or captions, it’s not technically accessible.

Since you’re working from a script, it can serve as a starting point for your transcript, and there’s usually minimal effort required to proofread it. Captions, on the other hand, can be more time-consuming, depending on the tools you use. While you can use your script as a baseline, adjusting the timings takes time and effort, which equals cost.

If you don’t create captions yourself, you might rely on auto-generated captions. However, these are often riddled with errors, meaning you’ll likely need to review and correct them (as inaccurate captions are, technically, not accessible). The third option is outsourcing to a professional service. While these services are usually 99.9% accurate, they’re not flawless and come at a premium.

Additionally, not everyone is fully aware of accessibility requirements. I’ve worked with several web developers and graphic designers who lacked knowledge on the topic. In these situations, the responsibility often falls on me to ensure everyone is aligned with the same standards and expectations. This adds extra pressure, as I need to verify that the appropriate guidelines are being followed throughout the project.

I believe there are several reasons why accessibility continues to be an afterthought. One factor is the technology itself, whether it’s software or web programming languages. These tools often make it easy to bypass accessibility features, either because they’re not enabled by default or lack built-in prompts and guidance.

The second issue is knowledge. Many professionals, including developers, designers, and even decision-makers, lack a thorough understanding of accessibility requirements and best practices. This knowledge gap often means accessibility isn’t prioritised simply because people don’t know what’s required or how to implement it effectively.

The third issue is time. The pressure to deliver projects under tight deadlines often leaves little room for proper accessibility considerations.

This, in turn, ties into the final issue of cost. Tight deadlines and limited budgets lead to poor decisions. Unfortunately, accessibility is often one of the first sacrifices made when corners are cut.

2. Shortcuts over quality

This leads in nicely from the first point. I had a boss once who always used to tell me, “Fast, good and cheap; you can only choose two”, and this has definitely stuck with me over the years. I’m definitely seeing projects trying to be done on the cheap or multiple project roles being combined, e.g. an eLearning developer who can also do all the graphic design and video work. It’s not impossible, but it won’t be fast, cheap and good. I feel that this is still a result of the economy and budget constraints. A lot of L&D projects get cut during times of hardship, so trying to get things done on the cheap becomes a necessity, but there must be a balance between cost-saving measures and creating learning that is still impactful and effective.

3. Increase in the use of AI

Again, this ties in with the previous point. While I’m seeing more costs being cut, there is an increase in using AI to complete certain tasks. I’m seeing AI being used for voiceovers, video editing and graphic design work. I’m guilty of this myself, AI tools have really helped me to speed up my workflow, for example, I can now use ChatGPT to create and refine my learning outcome and objectives, I use 11 Labs for voiceover work and I use lot of the AI features in the adobe suite for editing graphics. However, what this doesn’t do is replace the need for a professional. If you want a high-quality, impactful video created, you still need a human to do this work. Same for graphic design, if you have a specific project and brief, nothing right now beats a professional.

I recently worked on a project where I used Dall-E to create some graphics for me in a particular style, using a specific colour palette. It did a great job and out of about 15 images, I managed to find something I really liked. However, getting AI to replicate and stick to a particular graphical style and create additional images in said style, is still a problem (well, I’m still finding it a problem). I’ve used many different tools, but they all have their own issues. I have wasted a lot of time arguing with robots about why someone has a hand coming out of their head (along with other daft things). My approach instead is to give the images I create to a graphic designer and use this as the brief for additional images. That way, the designer knows exactly what I’m looking for and can design the rest of the assets against my brief. I end up wasting a lot less time and money that way.

AI is great and I encourage everyone to start experimenting. However, I don’t believe AI can provide the same type of quality that a human can (right now anyway) and it should be used to assist people, not replace people.

4. Video is still hugely popular

I have a love-and-hate relationship with the use of video in eLearning. People now have access to better-quality video creation tools, so the production quality of video is much higher than it used to be. You only need to look at videos on YouTube these days to see how easy it is to create engaging and professional-looking content. However, this sets a high bar, and it’s no longer acceptable to have poor lighting or audio in a video. People often assume that video is the best medium for learning, and I’m often involved in projects where video is the only medium. This is a big mistake and one I really try to get people to avoid.

There are lots of mistakes you can make when creating videos for learning, but the two I see the most are making the videos way too long and having audio reading out text on the screen (PowerPoint style).

The issue with videos that are too long is that people will switch off; it’s better to have several bite-sized videos that are 5-7 minutes long, no more than 15 minutes maximum for a more complex topic. This approach also keeps cognitive load to a minimum. YouTube is a great medium for learning a lot of different things, but when you’re trying to impart knowledge to someone who needs to retain that information for an exam or assessment, shorter videos are better.

PowerPoint style videos are just boring – if you’re going to have the words on the screen and have someone read them, you might as well just provide the powerpoint (or create a podcast with access to the PowerPoint).

Anyway, the real reason for my adversity to video is that it’s often used in the wrong context. When I am completing a piece of instructional design work, I will often suggest areas where I think video will work best, but videos shouldn’t be the ONLY type of activity in the course. eLearning should contain a good mix of modalities; there should be some reading tasks, activities, graphics, quizzes, assessments, and discussions, not just video after video after video. Video doesn’t and shouldn’t replace interactive engagement, critical thinking exercises, or opportunities for learners to apply their knowledge meaningfully.

When I use the term video here, I also include animations. These can be expensive to design and expensive to update, so you really need to think about the content in the video. Animations are good for short topics, but if you’re explaining something with decorative images fading in and out you really should question what information you’re trying to convey and if this is really the best way of doing it.

In addition, if your video refers to something that might change, for example, legislation, dates and times etc, is there a better way to refer to this so that the video isn’t outdated 6 months later?

5. Great subject matter experts = great content

Unfortunately, I have seen an increase in the use of ChatGPT content in courses – sometimes it’s a direct copy and paste and it can be so obvious it’s painful. I can quite often identify a script that has been written by ChatGPT. ChatGPT is not great when it comes to subject depth, so you still need subject matter experts to provide more comprehensive explanations.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, this observation is actually about the good content I’ve seen this year. In fact, I would say this has been the best year yet for me in terms of the quality and variety of content I’ve encountered. I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with some truly inspiring individuals on a range of engaging topics. I’ve observed a noticeable increase in the depth and sophistication of content being produced. There’s been a move towards more thoughtful, well-researched materials that go beyond surface-level information which provides learners with richer and more impactful content.

I don’t know what has changed, it could just be me, but it’s something I’ve definitely noticed.