5 Trends In Learning Experience Design For 2019

Series is a new product that LinkedIn is piloting to help members build community around the topics they care about by writing regularly about those topics. I’m part of a pilot group that is helping LinkedIn to launch series. Subscribe to my series to be notified of new articles and join the conversation.

I really struggled writing this article. Not content wise but because it's such a broad and somewhat controversial topic. I guess I should have named the title something like, 5 Things I Think Will Be Trending In 2019 For Learning Experience Designers. That would be a very long title though.

I have a lot of thoughts on what we as Learning Experience Designers or just Learning Professionals in general will see more of in 2019. This isn't a research based article, it's more in regards to my experiences in 2018. So, maybe more than anything, I'm sharing what is trending in my world as a designer. I urge you to share what you think will be trending too.

This post came about because a few weeks ago, I was asked by the eLearning Guild to share my 2019 Predictions on eLearning. In the post, I spoke about how 2019 will be the year of the user. In this post, I explore a few different trends. 

1. The Title Learning Experience Designer

In 2018, we saw the title Learning Experience Designer popping up all over our professional social networks. I expect that we'll be seeing a lot more of it in 2019. In 2018, my LinkedIn mail was inundated with the question, "I'm curious what is a Learning Experience Designer?" My go to response is to share Pamela Hogle's article from Learning Solutions Mag. Hogle does a beautifully succinct job of explaining the role. 

LX design is the intersection of several areas of design: instructional design; user experience design; and user interface and visual design. - Pamela Hogle

There are many components to LX design, especially when it comes to understanding your users and how best to help them (whether it be delivering a video to them in their moment of need or enabling social learning to occur on your internal networks). LX design goes beyond designing to create something, it's truly about understanding your users and figuring out what they need. When it does come to creation, I see more folks using UI design tools, following UX/UI prototyping processes, getting more into interaction design, and working in feedback in an agile way.

2. Looking Beyond Microlearning

Microlearning has been around for ages, however the term, microlearning was everywhere in 2018. Many in the field have become less than happy with the term due to its misuse. In 2019, Microlearning will linger but I foresee it having a different impact. It's opened the doors to a different way of thinking about learning experiences, beyond the 45 minute slide narrated modules, 6+ hour classes, and hour long recorded webinars. It may not be the exact progress we need but it's something. What people need does not need to be what we've always done.

3. Cloud-based Authoring Tools

Back in September I wrote a post about cloud-based authoring tool examples. In 2019, I see cloud-based authoring tools growing to offer the ability for more customization. The ability to customize will really make some cloud-based authoring tools stand out. There has to be a medium ground though. It's about giving the user the ability to customize, while still delivering familiar (Jakob's Law), yet modern, web-based experiences. 

4. A New Wave In xAPI 

xAPI is here. Okay, so not everyone has adopted xAPI but in 2018 things really heated up. xAPI was probably one of the most talked about topics at DevLearn. There was even an xAPI showcase. I see 2019 as another step forward for xAPI. In 2018, we saw tools like Trivantis's Cenario VR set up to auto-report to Yet Analytics LRS. Another huge game-changer for xAPI has been Learning Record Store (LRS) add-on apps that allow Learning Experience Designers to choose platforms to generate xAPI statements, automate tasks such as sending additional materials to users based on their experiences, and custom data visualization.

xAPI is being invested in and my guess is that 2019 is going to be big. I expect to see more authoring tool vendors making it easier to use xAPI. I also see more tools and apps coming out that will help Learning Experience Designers create more personalized experiences and measure learning more effectively.

5. Bots And Voice Controlled Virtual Assistants

2018 was a big year for VUI (Voice User Interface) Design. There's a lot to be learned about it, especially since it is such a different interaction than something that is graphical. Myra Roldan and Cath Ellis both did an excellent job sharing learning based examples of voice based projects. And 2018 wasn't just about voice. Other bots, like chatbots, have been making their way into the scene too. Kristin Anthony explored building a chatbot with a chatbot framework. Voice and bots both make it easier to customize experiences for users and meet them in their moment of need. I except to see both areas grow in 2019.

What Else Is Noteworthy?

In 2019, I see performance support (through tools and creation), AR, VR, interactive video, AI, gamification and more trending on. I'm particularly interested in exploring interactive video (and not just because Bandersnatch came out last week). It's something that I have been wanting to try out since seeing Rapt Media's interactive video for Deloitte's recruitment experience.

Another area that I want to explore is in regards to AI. I'd like to approach the topic of AI from more of a practical perspective versus a futurist perspective. What can we as Learning Experience Designers learn about AI that will help us today? Especially if we are on low-budget/no-budget teams with no engineers.

Illustrations are from unDraw.

-Mel

That's it for my 2019 trends. What do you see trending in 2019?