Intrepid’s Herring said the industry is just starting to use behavioral analytics, which study what paths people take when doing self-directed learning, who social leaders are in an organization and how they interact with others, how design impacts content assessments and what types of instruction get the best learner response.
For example, one of Intrepid’s e-learning programs includes what Herring calls a “glue tile,” a key in the beginning of a program that explains how the following components fit together. Behavior analytics show that 80 percent of those who read the tile completed the learning path all the way until the end, while only 10 percent of those who didn’t read it finished.
“We’re no longer just guessing about what people are doing,” Herring said. “We’re able to see in black and white what learning sets are more popular and how people amplify on them socially.”