7OS03 Technology Enhanced Learning explores the role of technology in learning and how organisations use digital content and learning platforms. It examines how data and learning analytics can support the learning and development function, while also considering how technological systems are implemented and the possible challenges that may affect their success.
Table of Contents
Learning Outcome 1: Understand major technological developments and their impact on the design and delivery of learning and development
AC 1.1. Analyse why there has been growth in technology-enabled learning
Technology-enabled learning (TEL) has experienced exponential growth over the past decade, driven by a convergence of technological, economic, social, and organisational factors. Understanding these drivers is essential for L&D professionals seeking to harness technology strategically rather than adopting it reactively (CIPD, 2024).
The COVID-19 pandemic served as the single most powerful catalyst for TEL adoption. The rapid shift to remote working in 2020 forced organisations to digitise their learning provision almost overnight, compressing what would have been a decade of gradual adoption into a matter of months. CIPD research indicates that 48 per cent of L&D professionals reported a net increase in digital learning solutions over a twelve-month period, and many organisations that had previously been slow to adopt digital learning found that it became embedded as a permanent feature of their provision (Lancaster, 2023).
Advances in technology infrastructure have lowered barriers to adoption. Cloud computing has eliminated the need for organisations to maintain expensive on-premise servers, making learning management systems (LMS) and learning experience platforms (LXP) accessible to organisations of all sizes on a subscription basis. The proliferation of high-speed internet, mobile connectivity, and personal devices has enabled learning to be accessed anytime, anywhere, supporting the shift towards self-directed and on-demand models of learning (Clutterbuck et al., 2022).
