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Learning technology is on the cusp of a renaissance. It’s poised to explode, proving to be essential to the smooth functioning of society and the daily life of billions of people worldwide. So it just made sense to choose it as the focus of our next seven-part series.

In this first episode exploring the frontiers of learntech, we discuss what the topic means to us, key reasons that learning technology has seen such tremendous growth, and important related concepts including artificial intelligence, data, extended reality, personalization, and more. We also preview the thought leaders and practitioners that will be featured in the series and how we hope each of their perspectives will add to our understanding and prepare us for what lies ahead. 

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[00:17 ] – Welcome to the first episode in a seven-part series on the frontiers of learntech. In this series we dig into learning technology and what lies ahead in the unmapped future. 

At Leading Learning, we’re interested in theories and big-picture ideas, but we always try to bring in the actionable and the practical. So, while we are looking to the future, the near future is our focus, a future that’s near enough that we might call it “the accelerating present,” to borrow a phrase from Rohit Bhargava. (Rohit is a four-time guest on the podcast.) He has spent a lot of time tracking what he calls non-obvious trends, which he defines as “unique, curated observation[s] about the accelerating present.” 

And we want our look at the frontiers of learntech to be practical and valuable in the here and now. So we aren’t looking years and years out. We’re targeting the accelerating present. And we’re hoping we might be able to offer some non-obvious views on the frontiers of learntech.

What Comes to Mind When You Think of the Phrase “Frontiers of Learning Technology”?

[01:31 ] – To help us get to those non-obvious views, we’ve been talking to and interviewing other thought leaders and practitioners, and we’ve asked them all this question: “When you think about the phrase ‘frontiers of learning technology,’ what comes to mind?” So we think it’s only fair that we answer that question.

What first comes to mind for us is Star Trek—specifically the 1960s TV show version with the voiceover during the opening credits declaring, “Space: the final frontier.” Technology was a big part of the draw for that show: the phasers, the transporter, and then, in later versions, the Holodeck (which is virtual reality). Arguably, the Enterprise‘s mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations is a learning mission. What is discovery if not learning?

If we push aside Star Trek, there are some other words that the phrase “frontiers of learning technology” brings to mind—words like AI and XR. Artificial intelligence and extended reality (which includes augmented and virtual reality) are likely to come to mind for many people—maybe not quite as Pavlovian a response as frontier/Star Trek but pretty common, we suspect.

Data also comes to mind when we hear the phrase “frontiers of learning technology.” Data is essential for learntech. Without data, artificial intelligence can only be so smart. AI needs generic data sets to function, and it also needs specific data about a particular user. That’s how AI can help with personalization and task-specific, situation-specific problems.

When considering the frontiers of learntech, ecosystems also come to mind. The learntech stack needs to be sorted out—what technology does a learning business need to survive and thrive? How does that technology talk and work together? Virtual reality on its own isn’t likely to be enough. It’s how a VR platform fits with other systems, which makes data sharing and data standards extremely important.

Sponsor: BenchPrep

[04:29 ] – If you’re trying to figure out the right learntech stack for your learning business, check out BenchPrep, our sponsor for this series.

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BenchPrep is a pioneer in the modern learning space, digitally transforming professional learning for corporations, credentialing bodies, associations, and training companies for over a decade. With an award-winning, learner-centric, cloud-based platform, BenchPrep enables learning organizations to deliver the best digital experience to drive learning outcomes and increase revenue. 

The platform’s omni channel delivery incorporates personalized learning pathways, robust instructional design principles, gamification, and near real-time analytics that allow organizations across all industries to achieve their goals. More than 6 million learners have used BenchPrep’s platform to attain academic and professional success. BenchPrep publishes regular content sharing the latest in e-learning trends. 

To download BenchPrep’s latest e-books, case studies, white papers, and more go to www.benchprep.com/resources.

Three Reasons to Focus on Learntech Now

[05:39 ] –  

Learning technology is on the cusp of a renaissance. It’s poised to explode. Learntech is proving to be essential to the smooth functioning of society and the daily life of billions of people worldwide.

Celisa Steele

There are three main reasons for this explosion of learntech.

1. The world is coming off a year when the COVID-19 pandemic forced individuals and organizations to rely on learntech significantly. So the adoption of learntech has skyrocketed in a relatively short time period. Almost everyone now has firsthand experience with using learntech.
2. Supporting technologies (including things like 5G, mobile devices, and data storage) have improved, gotten cheaper, and are more broadly available.
3. The learntech space is hot with investors. Thinkific, one of the emerging learning platforms, course platforms, got $22 million in investment (see our interview with Thinkific co-founder and CEO Greg Smith). LearnUpon got $50 million. Bizzabo, which is focused on the virtual events market, got $138 million. Udemy, which we often describe as the Amazon.com of online courses, got $50 million in investment (see our interview with Udemy VP of Learning, Shelley Osborne). BenchPrep, whose CEO we’ll talk with as part of this series, has gotten over $28 million in investment. There are also lots of acquisitions happening. Community Brands, a big pl