As artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to find innovative ways to improve other industries, the learning and development sector is no exception. Machine learning offers a lot of potential applications and benefits for the online learning space. Its ability to process vast amounts of data and provide valuable insights for enterprise-level companies.
Here are seven ways AI’s machine learning capabilities can be applied to eLearning and benefit these companies.
Personalized Learning
One of the biggest advantages of using machine learning in eLearning is its ability to use data to create a personalized experience for each employee. Everyone possesses their own learning styles and preferences. With the help of machine learning, eLearning lessons can be customized with employees in mind.
In employee skill training, machine learning can gage the existing knowledge and skills of employees in order to determine their learning level. This form of learning tailored specifically to the employee can be a lot more effective than a generalized learning program.
Learner Profiling
The introduction of machine learning to online learning provides organizations with the opportunity to better understand the learners.
Depending on the objective of the learning experience, machine learning can recommend specific lessons and content based on the learner’s role, their topics of interest, and career objectives. This also offers organizations valuable insight into the strengths, interests, and ambitions of the learner.
Machine Learning Tutoring
When instructors are not available to help employees and trainees, chatbots powered by machine learning can step in to answer any questions. These AI instructors are continuously learning how to better communicate with humans and predict their questions.
“While these virtual tutors can’t offer the same benefits of a human instructor, they can save instructors the hassle of answering the most commonly asked questions,” explains Mark Hynes, a technical writer at Originwritings and Nextcoursework .
Supervised machine learning can combine the data fed to them by humans and their own experiences to help employees the best they can.
Predict Learning Style
The more data AI gathers on a particular employee, the better it can predict that learner’s engagement style and preferences. Machine learning can gather data based on how quickly the learner is progressing through their lessons, which concepts are taking longer for them to understand, and which content they seem to already have previous knowledge on.
Using this data, machine learning can then recommend specific learning content and resources for each employee. This gives employees the opportunity to better understand the lessons they might be struggling with and increases their engagement.
Increase Learning Efficiency
Since machine learning is able to analyze which content employees already know, they can create a lesson plan that focuses less on those concepts. This ensures that learners are spending most of their time gaining new knowledge and filling information gaps.
“Machine learning’s ability to acknowledge employees’ existing knowledge creates a highly efficient learning environment,” explains David Ball, a business blogger at Academicbrits and
Phdkngdom. “This ensures the learner is actually learning new skills and information.”
Improve Learning Motivation
Machine learning’s personalized lesson plans that are specifically created for the employee are a lot more interesting than generalized lesson plans. The ability of machine learning to constantly offer new content based on the employee’s knowledge could incentivize employees to study.
Since they are always presented with lessons that offer new knowledge or reinforce concepts that they struggle to grasp, employees and trainees are more likely to be more motivated to keep learning.
Enhance Evaluation
Most eLearning lessons assess knowledge through easy-to-mark formats such multiple choice or true and false. With machine learning, instructors can expand beyond these modes of assessment. A lot of machine learning technologies are capable of evaluating answer formats such as short answers and essays. This offers employees the chance to provide more nuanced responses to questions rather than simple black or white answers.
It’s no surprise that machine learning offers many benefits for eLearning instructors and learners alike. Although artificial intelligence can’t replace the experience of learning from a human instructor, it can certainly support the instructor in providing the best possible learning experience for the enterprise-level employee.
George J. Newton is a digital content specialist and educator. He has been married for ten years, perfecting the art of the apology throughout. He writes articles on online learning tips and strategies.
