In a recent interview I was asked where I think the elearning industry is headed in the years to come.

While I would never claim to be all knowing about the movements in the elearning industry, I do have an eye for spotting trends over time.

Now, the elearning industry is pretty massive.

Answering a question about where I think it is headed is a tad difficult to do without making some sweeping generalizations.

But still, where do I think elearning is headed?

I think the biggest area of influence will be in the mobile learning market.

Some of you may be rolling your eyes. Yes, I know that’s not the most revolutionary claim, but it doesn’t make it any less true.

Mobile Learning Poised To Dominate

The mobile learning movement will impact many areas of elearning. That includes instructional design and the tools we use to create the content.

Anyone worth their weight in this industry knows they should be moving towards mobile learning.

Instructional designers should sharpen their skills in this area. Understand the ins-and-outs of micro-content (an emerging favorite for mobile learning).

Software providers need to gain a better understanding of the devices that people will be using to access content created with their solution.

Organizations should gain insight into how their employees most often access information related to their job (here’s a hint: their smartphone) and then begin finding ways to incorporate this into their business model.

Mobile learning is more than just learning on a mobile device. That’s just the beginning. We will see it impact multiple areas of elearning and likely create new sub-sectors in this industry.