As we gladly bid farewell to 2020 where life was disrupted and seemingly put on pause, 2021 is a second shot at making sure we get out of the rut and the SmartUp.io team has certainly been keeping busy!
We took a step back and reimagined how training will look like in a post-pandemic world, and with the second half of 2021 underway, we are excited to announce some of our major plans over the next couple of weeks.
As you may recall, the phrase blended learning was all the rage in the pre-pandemic learning industry. This usually involved trainers trying to implement pre- and post-workshop digital training of some form to complement their in-person workshops. The goal of blended learning was to provide context and introductory information into a topic before the workshops sessions and also to have a follow-up after the in-person training.
Fast forward to today, online learning has become the default mode of learning and it’s hard to imagine returning to exclusively in-person classes or workshops. Trainers without some form of digitized learning program to aid course delivery have had their operations disrupted and found themselves handicapped.
In response to the training challenges brought about by the pandemic, our team sat down to investigate what trainers really needed to keep learners engaged in the “new normal” of learning. We found that besides casual on-demand bite-sized learning, trainers needed an easy way to deliver structured, engaging online courses. After several months of prototyping, we have come up with the next major feature development on our platform – the Learning Path.
LEARNING PATH – FOR LEARNER VERIFICATION, ASSESSMENTS AND CERTIFICATES 🛤️
In contrast to what you would expect of a learning path where learners are simply guided towards consuming content in order, we have incorporated various structured learning requirements in our “new normal” of learning. While users are on the learning path, trainers will be able to verify them at sporadic intervals, run assessments as needed and issue certificates if certain preset criteria are met.
In short, besides having the ability to create on-demand microlearning content, trainers will also be able to support structured programs on our Learning Path and learners will be able to enjoy the best of both on-demand and structured learning experiences on the same platform.
INTO THE DARK – DARK MODE LEARNING 🌚
In addition to the Learning Path, we’re excited to also announce that the SmartUp platform is undergoing a facelift and introducing dark mode learning so that learners get a sleeker learning experience.
Why dark mode learning? Based on our platform’s usage data, we observed high levels of learning activity in the evenings, after office hours. With the ever-increasing exposure to blue light in a highly digitized world, sleep quality and vision suffer as a consequence. With the dark mode option, we hope to minimize the discomfort of users so that they can continue having a great learning experience on the SmartUp.io platform.
Those are all the updates for now and with development well underway, you can expect to see the release of these features as we approach the end of this summer.
As we continue to work towards being the training platform of choice, we can’t wait to unveil more exciting plans. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” and this surely applies to learning as well. In our next update, we will be sharing plans on how we can help you bring your learners together, despite being physically apart.
Till next time, stay safe!
