eLearning started out small in the 1970s, as a tool for medical training. Now eLearning is used across a variety of professions. I wonder what it will become in the future. With most of these ideas, I imagine either augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) being used. Let’s take a look at some suggestions for innovative new ways to integrate eLearning into our lives.
Assembly Instructions
I am currently building a computer, but I have to search through six different manuals and many online guides to accomplish my goal. I’ve done hours of research and troubleshooting to build this contraption and I’m still not quite done. If I could take an eLearning course on this subject, it would save me a lot of time when building the real thing. Why not build on this idea for other complicated objects too? Plenty of people spend hours or days trying to build furniture even with the provided instruction booklet. This could also be applied to more advanced skills like building a car or a house.
Creating Art
Similar to the previous section, the learner could follow directions and mimic movements to become a more experienced artist by using eLearning. Then they could transfer those skills to the real world. Art supplies are expensive, so using them for a failed art project is a sizeable loss. If eLearning was used for art creation, that would save people time and money. This applies to crafts such as knitting, pottery, and making perlers (perlers are beads ironed together to represent a character or item). I’ve had trouble with those crafts where I’ve had to scrap my creations and start over.
Cooking/Baking
With eLearning, the learner could analyze the directions, learn alternate ingredients for their meal, and gain knowledge as to what happens when they get something wrong while performing their tasks. This way, the learner doesn’t have to worry about wasting food or cleaning up afterward. And since eLearning can shorten wait times, the learner can fit in a lot more practice than they could if they were practicing “for real.” For example, it may actually take fifty minutes for a dish to cook. But eLearning can abridge that down to a matter of seconds.
Fitness
People can suffer lifelong injuries from simply being active. Too many times, I have fallen while skateboarding or rollerblading. Getting to know the right movements of the physical activity you’re interested in is important for safety and enjoyment. Apply this idea to learning how to skateboard, for instance. In the course, the instructor will first demonstrate how to safely push yourself forward. You try it yourself with the model skateboard meant for the course. In relation to the real world, the instructor will notify you when you are off-balance. The program detects foot and arm movement, which are critical for skateboarding. Nintendo’s Wii Fit video game is a good example you may already be familiar with.
Surviving in the Wilderness
Ever since I began watching The Walking Dead back in 2012, I’ve wondered how I’d fare when fighting against zombies or living on the run. Throughout the series, I learned a bit about survival but I want to embrace it and experience it myself. I want to be prepared for if that type of thing were to happen in the future. Learning how to survive in the wilderness via eLearning is probably the safest and most cost-efficient way to practice and test out the skills needed for such a task.
These concepts have the potential to increase learners’ success. Hopefully, companies will take these ideas by storm and we’ll have quite an interesting selection of more innovative eLearning programs to choose from.
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