Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2023 - 11

WHAT'S NEXT
IN TECH
STELLA LEE,
PH.D.
HOW TO FUTURE-PROOF
YOUR EDTECH INVESTMENT
Education technology (edtech) has
grown steadily over the past decade,
with products encompassing a range
of applications, among them learning
management
systems
(LMSs), skill
development engines, content libraries,
virtual classrooms and assessment
tools. In the past two years, the rate of
edtech adoption has accelerated due to
the global pandemic, with organizations
procuring and implementing digital tools
to support remote work and learning.
Many learning and development (L&D)
departments have shifted to online
delivery of learning and performance
support overnight. North America
alone was responsible for $165.3 billion
in corporate training expenditures in
2020. With that in mind, it is crucial to
choose the right edtech products that
align both with the current and future
state of your organization. Below are
some ideas on how to future-proof your
edtech investment.
CONSIDER YOUR LEARNING
STRATEGY AND VISION
As
workplace
learning
continues
to evolve, we have broadened our
definition to include social, informal,
performance support, coaching and
mentoring, immersive experience and
many other forms of L&D. How does
your learning strategy and vision
incorporate these different forms of
learning and what does the learning
journey for your staff look like from
onboarding to succession planning?
When evaluating an edtech product, think
about what aspect of the learning journey
it supports (e.g., a mentoring platform that
supports informal learning by promoting
EDTECH PRODUCT
ROADMAP ALIGNMENT
A product roadmap is
a
high-level
summary that maps out the vision and
direction of the product offering in the
future. Product roadmaps reveal how
vendors prioritize the development
of functions and features, whether
they listen to customer suggestions
and how transparent they are in their
communications with stakeholders. It is
crucial to assess whether the product
roadmap aligns with your learning
strategy and future needs as a business.
Furthermore, it is an opportunity to
partner with your vendor in providing
feedback, facilitating discussions on
change management (especially when
there is a major version release of the
product) and participating in beta testing
on new products and functions.
SCALABILITY AND
MAINTAINABILITY
It is important to understand the
scalability and maintainability of the
edtech product. Explore questions
such as:
* What is the underlying technology?
* Is it modern and reliable?
* Does the product follow accepted
industry standards (e.g., SCORM,
xAPI, accessibility standards, mobile
development standards, etc.)
* Can it be integrated with other
platforms?
knowledge sharing and collaboration
among peers), and whether the product
can help your organization achieve its
learning goals directly and to what extent.
Technologies designed with industry
standards tend to have a larger base of
developers and a community of users.
You also want to know that the product
is actively maintained; find out how often
major and minor versions are released,
what is included in each of these version
updates and the cost if any. Find out how
users and user data are managed. Is there
a limit to how many users can access the
system simultaneously, and if so, how
does it affect the system's performance?
How does the system handle the
deletion, archiving and migration of
user data? Do they have a data privacy
policy and are they keeping up with legal
requirements? These questions will help
you determine whether the product can
grow with your organization and how
well it will handle changes.
CHOOSE THE EDTECH
PRODUCTS THAT ALIGN
WITH THE CURRENT
AND FUTURE STATE OF
YOUR ORGANIZATION.
Future-proofing your edtech investment
requires a careful process of curating
the most suitable solutions that align
with your organization's current and
future needs. It is worth spending time
up front to consider all these factors
before you make a purchase.
Dr. Stella Lee has over 20 years of
experience in
consulting, planning,
designing, implementing and measuring
learning initiatives. Her focus is on
large-scale learning projects including
LMS evaluation and implementation,
learning analytics, and artificial intelligent
applications. Email Stella.
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - WINTER 2023 I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
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https://trainingindustry.com/wiki/learning-services-and-outsourcing/size-of-training-industry/ https://trainingindustry.com/continuing-professional-development/resources-for-the-learning-leader/training-needs-assessment-project-planning-checklist/ https://trainingindustry.com/continuing-professional-development/resources-for-the-learning-leader/training-needs-assessment-project-planning-checklist/ https://trainingindustry.com/articles/personalization-and-learning-pathways/4-ways-to-personalize-your-learning-experiences/ https://trainingindustry.com/articles/personalization-and-learning-pathways/4-ways-to-personalize-your-learning-experiences/ https://trainingindustry.com/glossary/scorm/ https://trainingindustry.com/glossary/experience-api-xapi/ https://www.trainingindustry.com/magazine

Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2023

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