By Alexandra Caufin

Earlier this month Dr. Laurelle Jno Baptiste, ScholarLab's COO and Co-founder, travelled to Austin, Texas to present her innovative new workshop iLearn, iConnect, iGrow at Texas Society of Association Executives' Tech Talks Conference. Check out this summary that highlights the workshop's most important ideas about the future of learning online and why organizations around the world need to take notice!

In the Age of Information, Madison is your quintessential digital native and more importantly, your new member. She is digitally literate, digitally socialized, and digitally cultured, looking to learn in the same ways she connects with the world every day. She has never known a world that couldn't be googled, and thus, access to information defines the tools she uses in daily life. Most importantly, she’s spurred by the wealth of knowledge, discourse, and communication that’s right at her fingertips, online.

As an association executive, you should get to know Madison, because someone just like her is coming to a classroom, workplace or association near you.  The question is, how are you going to capture her attention?

In 2014, we’re securely in the Web 2.0 age of the internet. It’s the age of mobile devices, tablets, apps, video conferencing and instant messaging technologies. With these technologies, the world has seen an upheaval of outdated and inefficient online learning systems and watched a new era of global education, digital literacy and cross-the-world communication emerge. For the first time in history, we have the technology and the tools to create a virtual experience that is on par or even superior to the in-person equivalent.

Barriers: Do you have learning communities for people like Madison?

Learning communities mean much more than just a classroom or some online courses. They represent an ecosystem of tools for members to not only learn, but to discuss, share, create and network along the way.

Issue 1: Madison wants to take your course but can’t make the 45 minute commute to your association’s headquarters. Plus between her school, practicum and other volunteer responsibilities, she can’t guarantee her availability every week at the same time.

Issue 2: Madison has taken one of your courses online but found the course layout, design, and content delivery outdated, text-heavy and administrative.

Issue 3: Madison is interested in your online learning programs, but none of your courses or events can be viewed on her iPhone or iPad, nor do they involve any kind of networking or social media functions. She instead opts for an online course or event that is mobile-friendly and collaboration-oriented.

What started out as a great opportunity for Madison to connect with your association has become complicated and stressful, so she seeks another vendor.

Breaking down barriers:
What are your new and existing members looking for?

Are you developing your education strategy with learners like Madison in mind? Here are some of the elements that new learners look for, and elements that you can provide by making the jump to learning in the digital:

Just-in-time learning: Turn your one-way, one-time only courses, presentations or events into ongoing resources, with unlimited outreach to potential members worldwide.

Mobile-friendly technology: With the mobile classroom, learners can use their smart phones and tablets to view your courses, conferences, presentations and events anywhere they want, whenever works for them.

24/7 access: Give members around-the-clock access to course presentations and materials, and the flexibility to learn in the way that works best for them.

Pause, skip ahead, replay: Let your members learn at their own pace, take notes, review or move ahead. You’ll be creating learning environments that cater to individual learners instead of the masses and your members will appreciate it.
 
Economic renaissance: The rapid development of technology has made it far more economical to bring content online. Associations all over the world are using new forms of webinars, learning systems, video conferencing and more to attract and connect with learners all over the world.

Digital learning communities open doors and create borderless connections. Your biggest question as an association should be: how do I attract the enormous demographic of new members?

Remember that these new members are intricately attracted to new learning communities.

We now have the technologies to address the biggest issue that associations face: how to connect with all the people who would like to come to take courses or attend your events, but can’t.

Adapted from Dr. Laurelle Jno Baptiste’s Tech Talks workshop “iLearn, iConnect, iGrow: How to create the online learning your members need.”

Source List
Infographic clip: 75% of American post-secondaries offering online education etc. http://blog.hotspotshield.com/2014/01/16/rise-online-education-infographic/
Online Learning Stats: http://www.edudemic.com/thumbs-online-learning/ via, created by http://www.coloradotech.edu/
“Why use video?” statistics from http://brainrules.net/pdf/BrainRules_JohnMedina_MediaKit.pdf and http://www.edudemic.com/use-video-education/

It was a good year; 2013 saw the release of the first-ever Google laptop, the rise of globally accessible education via the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), the eager implementation of the flipped classroom model and growth of platforms like Khan Academy, and a new feverish development around cloud computing. The second era of online education—one with multimedia, interactivity and social media rich at its core—has, aptly, reached a galloping pace as it proceeds into 2014, the Year of the Horse.

It’s no coincidence. The technologies coming out of the woodwork are answering a public demand to make education more accessible globally, more affordable, more practical for working adults, and more relevant in our digital and mobile-centric world. We’ve reached unbelievable momentum in the evolution of online learning tools, and here’s what we’re betting you’ll see more of in 2014: