"New technology is accelerating the revolution in leadership development, contributing to improved quality, increased accessibility and a far more effective education than we have seen so far" we wrote in an article dated February 24, 2020, a couple of weeks before Corona made its full impact. But what happened after Corona?
Knut Arild Fjeldvik EvensenChairman of the Board FRONT Leadership
There were 5 trends that would accelerate the EdTech revolution:
- More accessible education
Online learning makes education more accessible to millions of people around the world. - More data-driven insights
Big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence are being used to find out where students need more help and what kind of help is most effective. - Personalized learning
More data-driven insights also lead to more personalized content tailored to the individual's learning needs. - Engaging teaching
Technology allows students to practice what they learn virtually. This allows them to "learn by doing", rather than just sitting passively receiving new information. - Automated educational institutions
Schools and teaching will only continue to become automated as smart digital tools are incorporated, teaching will become more tailored and personalized to the individual.
Change overnight
In many ways, it feels a little unreal and strange to be writing about this more than a year after the country was shut down during the pandemic. Everything we saw as future trends 12 months ago is now a completely natural part of our everyday life in leadership development. There has been an extreme change and increased maturity around EdTech as a result of Corona. And it all happened almost overnight, or at least in a very short space of time.
Read also: 5 senior leaders share: How has the pandemic changed the way we lead?
The home teacher
I myself am the father of two schoolboys who went from 100% physical school on Friday to 100% Teams-based teaching the following Monday. There was some uncertainty about how this would actually go, "we'll have to give it some time" I remember parents and teachers talking among ourselves. We were wrong. We didn't need time. We just needed licenses. We just jumped in and it worked. OK, I admit that to a to a certain extent I was a "home teacher" (or really more of a practical facilitator and assistant) with my youngest for the first few weeks, but the actual teaching/learning was seamless with quality between school and student on digital surfaces. There was a count in the morning by the pupil showing "thumbs up" in the chat, and there were group assignments between the pupils where they discussed everything from the meaning of life to serious environmental protection issues. Overall, it seemed that the academic efficiency of everyday school life increased, but obviously at the expense of the social aspect, as pupils and teachers no longer met physically.
Increased maturity
The pandemic has affected leadership development and the business world in the same way as in the school sector. For FRONT Leadership, the use of technology has not changed drastically after Corona. We were "born digital" five years ago and have built our company and business model around digital leadership development from day one, many years before the pandemic hit us. However, the impression is that most of our competitors quickly had to turn around to offer, for example, digital learning and courses in distance management. Their physical arena disappeared overnight, so what do you do? Well, you adapt to reality.
The new normal
Today, one year on, hardly anyone (neither suppliers nor customers) disputes that the use of technology in leadership training is working extremely well. Our experience as a supplier is even that customers consider digital learning to be the new normal, that digital leadership training is perceived as effective and sustainable, something you can easily adapt and tailor to your own organization and needs. Despite the fact that we were also biting our nails and uncertain about the future on Thursday, March 12, 2020, we already received a new order on March 13. The day after the lockdown. This gave us increased confidence and optimism in an uncertain time.
Screen fatigue
What challenges us digital leadership trainers today, after a year in front of a screen, is a widespread screen fatigue for users. It is therefore crucial to spice up the teaching in such a way that people are engaged, motivated and driven forward. In this way, Corona has also challenged and influenced us at FRONT Leadership in a positive way. Today, for example, we offer leadership development with leadership simulators, digital start-up sessions with elements of play and practical exercises, digital buddy pair exercises and tailor-made programs that suit your newly hired manager.
Leadership development at the forefront
"It's hard to predict, especially about the future" they say. What is not particularly difficult to predict is the increasing use of technology in leadership training. But to offset screen fatigue and, not least, satisfy people's inherent need to socialize, technology must be used correctly by engaging and creating intrinsic motivation in the individual. Content, functionality and design are crucial here. The technology must also facilitate physical interaction and tasks between students, and be designed so that it can be easily adapted to different situations and personal needs.
FRONT Leadership specializes in digital leadership training from the very beginning, but the past year has brought us faster than expected into the next phase of maturity in the company's development. We're using technology in a different way than before, and we're using new technology to meet demand and our customers' expectations.
Our ambition is to be at the forefront by being customer-oriented and developing further together with the market. All of the five trends we talked about as the future one year ago have hit us faster than expected and are now the standard in the market.
