2022 Predictions: Metaverse, TikTok And Goodbye PowerPoint

Let us look into the crystal ball...

So, I’m slightly late to the party with yearly predictions as we now find ourselves in the thick of 2022. Yet, better late than never, as they say.

Before we jump into my predictions for the learning and education world in 2022. You can revisit my predictions for 2021 here and get the TL:DR (too long, didn’t read) version below ??

• The meaning and structure of careers will be re-evaluated.
• Skills will be prioritised over job titles.
• The classroom will be reshaped again.
• L&D will evolve to performance engineering.
• Workplace tech will take centre stage.
• Digital skills will accelerate.

Firstly, how did I fair?? I think I did ok. Some of these things have emerged in the way I expected, others in different ways and some are only starting to form right now.

But, let’s step away from last year and focus on what I think could be the big trends for the learning landscape across 2022:

The learning verse is coming!

Ok, let’s get into the big tech topic of the metaverse from the get go.?

One of the sectors where I feel this tech is really coming to transform life as we know it, is the learning and education industry. We all knew as soon as those promo videos started landing at the end of last year that learning tech providers were licking their lips at a new set of overused and often misunderstood lingo to ram down our ears in every pitch we get.

The pandemic taught us that our society is completely unprepared for adapting how current learning and education activities are delivered. Which is shocking to no one in these fields.

At the end of 2021 wider society was introduced to the concept of the metaverse by a number of big tech companies. Despite what they say, the concept of metaverses are not new. They have existed for quite some time in the realm of the gaming world as an example.

Now I’ve already seen Microsoft in particular showing off their educational experiences in the metaverse. Is this going to work long term? I’m not sold on it right now, but always open to evolve my thinking as this all grows in our society.

What I’m sure will become a trend of 2022 is learning tech suppliers telling all of us that we need to be in the metaverse and they have the tech to do it. It’s unavoidable really, so brace yourself now.

I’m intrigued to see how this trend will blend into the world of education and workplace learning.

Yet, the thing that really bothers me most is why does no-one have legs in the metaverse?? Every showcase video I’ve seen only has upper bodies of avatars.

Are we saying legs are no longer necessary in the MV? So many questions and too much tea consumption as I write this.

L&D x Employee Experience: A match made in corporate heaven?

Something I see with more and more organisations over the last 12 months is the marriage of L&D and employee experience teams.

I too am part of this evolution in my own workplace setup where I sit within a wider experience team. From what I can see in the industry, this looks to be the way many other orgs are going too.

This feels like a positive move right now.

In my opinion, L&D has always been a function that shapes and evolves the experience of employees throughout their career cycle. So to align all of these components together to create world class experiences seems like a no brainer.

The other benefit to do this for me is showcasing value.

Too many orgs don’t see the value of their L&D function, which is insane. Yet, by moving this into an experience function, I think this value will finally be recognised on workforces.

The great PowerPoint?breakup?

Ok, full disclosure, this is less of an industry wide prediction and more me trying to get us all to think differently about workplace tech.

At some point in the digital evolution, we decided that MS PowerPoint was the storytelling tool to rule them all.?I don't?when or why this happened, but I think we can do better.

The pandemic has forced companies to think very differently around engagement and this has given rise to waves of new products flooding the market that allow us to go beyond the humble PPT. I’m not saying it’s death to PPT in 2022 but we have a big wide world of options out there.

Something I’ve committed to in 2022 so far is using Miro (a whiteboard tool) over PowerPoint.?

I personally don't like using slides but most of the corporate world frowns upon turning up to tell a story without a deck of slides. Instead, I’ve been utilising?the many features of Miro’s whiteboard tool to connect with audiences of all sizes.

So far, it’s gone pretty well. I find many people are relieved to not have to stare at another PPT and watch someone read off a screen which they’re perfectly capable of doing themselves.?

With the amount of tech and non-tech solutions available in our toolkit these days, it would be a real shame not to do something more to excite, educate and engage people.?

PPT is always going to have its place but it’s not the only tool at your disposal.

TikTok style micro educational video tech will grow in the market

To start, let me just confirm that I am not and never have been on TikTok. But, that doesn’t mean I haven't been watching it’s tech grow these last few years.

Away from all the random slapstick and dance videos, we’ve seen a real growth in this space with educational content. There has been so much interest here that TikTok itself has been investing millions with its educators program to get more people teaching the world through their platform.

I sense more of this coming to the corporate learning world (less so to Higher Ed as they always seem to be stuck in time but we can only have hope!) as more people enter the workforce expecting the same type of fast delivery knowledge upskill.

TikTok has seen sporadic growth as an education tool itself.

In late 2020 they even?rolled out their own learning initiative which brought the “learn” tab to the platform. And that wasn’t all, as?an education creator fund of $50 million was created?to entice people to create more learning moments.

The #LearnonTikTok now has around 7 Billion views and millions of videos which have been created by its community of creators.

All of this data leads me to believe we’ll see more copycats from the learning tech world, but it also makes me wonder if tools like TikTok might be welcomed into the traditional learning tech stack as they are. I mean why use an imitation when you can just use the real thing for free?

And that’s it for now…??

As I finish up my delicious cup of tea (how British of me, I know!) this also brings me to the end of my predictions/hopes/dreams for 2022.

I know my predictions will no doubt evolve across the rest of the year and I look forward to sharing these, and learning about yours too. So please do me the honour?of sharing your thoughts in the comments below.

?? Before you go…?

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