The last decade has seen Artificial Intelligence (AI) gaining traction across a wide range of industries. The transformative power of AI has reached the eLearning industry too, evident in the many thought leadership articles and events on how AI is shaping the future of Learning and Development.
As organizations strive to foster a skilled and adaptive workforce, the role of generative AI in content development for L&D simply cannot be overlooked. AI offers unprecedented possibilities to revolutionize the creation and delivery of learning content. When used strategically, it can reshape how knowledge is imparted and skills are honed.
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
The best place to start is by clearly understanding what artificial intelligence is: the development of intelligent machines that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence.
These machines can analyze data, learn from patterns, make decisions, and even interact with humans. Have you thought about whether AI can replace humans? You’re not alone! But the good news is that artificial intelligence is another tool in our extensive toolbox to do jobs or help employees perform better. We can leverage it to manage the mundane, automate tasks, analyze data, and more while we remain focused on the creative side of execution.
AI can complement human intelligence and help us make effective decisions. It can never replace the human touch! Humans created AI and we must power it to perform at an optimum level. In the context of L&D and content development, we understand our audience, our learner preferences, their motivations, and more, and this wealth of knowledge is irreplaceable to create better learning experiences.
Artificial Intelligence and Learning Development
In our latest edition of ELBX Online, Learning Experience Design Manager Michelle Pletch and Director of Development Amber Rodbell took the audience on a live journey about using AI for L&D content development.
These seasoned professionals shared their extensive knowledge, practical experience, success stories, and lessons learned from implementing AI in eLearning content creation and storyboarding. With AI as our ally, we can enhance productivity, tap into our creative potential, and make better-informed decisions. This is our chance to be at the forefront of innovation and carve a path toward success in an ever-evolving world.
Michelle and Amber identified specific components to storyboarding and content development where AI can be of tremendous use.
- Content research/knowledge gap closure
- Language checks
- Summaries
- Feedback
- Assessment
At the start of course creation, IDs and SMEs possess a mountain of information to convey to learners. AI can digest all that information and quickly generate high-level content or an overview. This can provide valuable insights and spark ideas on approaching curriculum design and training modules. Use this data from AI, and combine it with your knowledge of the targeted audience to create an accurate learning strategy.
Do you have less content to build your course? With your guidance and accurate prompts, AI can expand the content, transforming minimal information into engaging and complete learning modules with remarkable accuracy.
Generating personalized question banks, creating photos from the text, and reviewing and editing content pieces are a few examples of how AI has already been integrated into content creation.
Using ChatGPT for Content Research, Summaries, and Assessments
Amber Rodbell illustrated ways of leveraging the tool to provide a head start.
“Feed the available content into the platform and instruct it to generate the top learning objectives. Instantly, you are delivered with about 10 objectives that can be further trimmed down based on your understanding of the audience and goals with the course.”
ChatGPT can streamline and group sections of the content, providing clarity of the task ahead.
Prompt the AI tool to generate quiz questions for the learners. Using the content that is already at its disposal, Chat GPT can produce 5-10 unique questions. Play around with your options in generating multiple choice questions (MCQs) or single choice questions for your content. Again, these may or may not be the questions you eventually use, but it certainly provides the direction to take while framing an assessment for your audience.
Did you know you could mention your audience category and regenerate questions that appeal to your learners? ChatGPT can write scenarios for interaction with learning content too. Polish your wording, alter the quiz structure, or simply use it to extract ideas for better interaction with your learning content —the options are plenty! The tool can be effectively used to make learning non-linear.
ChatGPT also gives snippets of information on the tools to use to bring these ideas to action. We’ve seen it suggest Articulate, Storyline, and Lectora for building scenario-based learning.
Other Popular AI Platforms to Use for Content Development
- Grammarly - If you liked some content that ChatGPT suggested, Grammarly can be used as an additional tool to check sentence formation, grammar, structure, tone, and gives you an accuracy score.
- Wordtune - This platform can be used whenever you want to explore options to rewrite some of the content. Feed in the sentence you want to reword, and the platform suggests 6-10 alternate ways to present your idea.
- Perplexity - Provides users with accurate and reliable information. It provides citations too. Easy to use and navigate.
- Claude - This platform sets itself apart by offering users the opportunity to customize its tone, personality, and behavior. A good tool to summarize information.
Watch the recorded session with Michelle and Amber.
Leveraging AI for Learning Personalization
Adaptive Learning: AI-powered adaptive learning platforms can adjust the difficulty and pace of content based on learners' performance and comprehension. This approach optimizes engagement and knowledge retention by dynamically tailoring content to match the learner's level of understanding. However, a human touch point is necessary to match the AI’s suggestions with our knowledge of the target audience.
Language Translation: AI-powered language translation tools can be used to make your learning content accessible to a broader audience by breaking down language barriers.
Multi-format Content: AI-driven content creation tools can generate content in various formats, such as articles, videos, and quizzes, based on specified parameters. This automation speeds up content development, allowing L&D professionals to focus on more strategic tasks.
Personalization: AI platforms can be used to analyze learning styles, preferences, and progress to suggest personalized content for your learners. It can further use data and behavior to create learning paths and deliver targeted resources and activities to optimize learning. Offer extra practice to fast-track learning.
As AI continues to evolve, we can look forward to more innovation to help create effective learning content. It will empower organizations to provide more engaging content in its mission to skill the workforce. It is essential, however, to strike the right balance between artificial intelligence and human expertise to create a learning environment that is comprehensive and targeted.
ELB Learning can help organizations identify a learning strategy that best supports their objectives and goals. Speak with our team and architect the right learning experience for your learners.
