Steve Rayson was the Kineo ambassador at this year's Online Educa show. This is what he found out on his travels (other than that Berlin is cold in December. But so is Brighton).

There were a huge number of sessions at this year’s Online Educa, held in Berlin at the start of December. There were so many sessions it took me some time to decide which ones to attend. After a few espressos and much debating I headed off to the various conference rooms. Below is a five minute overview of the things I found out at this year's event.

The Bad News

As one speaker put it, we will all have to become lifelong learners as we won’t be able to afford to retire, so we will all need to retrain.

We will also need to retrain faster than before because we are all becoming obsolete faster than ever before.

The Good News

There is a lot of innovation taking place resulting in newer and faster ways to learn. Web 2.0 technologies can also help us learn more efficiently.

Have learning methods changed?

Learning methods haven’t really changed but there is a different emphasis on the various methods.

What is clear is there is a need for greater efficiency and greater speed in the delivery of learning, especially in the current climate.

Current e-learning trends

The Beyond Maturity research led by Laura Overton is going to reveal some interesting trends when it is released next year. At Online Educa Laura tempted us with a few initial graphs from the findings, which I scribbled down hastily. So for a sneak preview of what is to come:

Key learning e-learning drivers include:

- consistency

- reduced costs

- improved access

- reduced time away from job

Key barriers include:

- lack of knowledge about the potential of e-learning

- staff reluctance to adopt

- lack of implementation skills

- overhyping of e-learning benefits

Key tips: The best organisations:

- define their business needs

- have a clear focus on the learner context

- have a clear focus on the work context

- build capability

- ensure engagement with stakeholders and learners

- demonstrate value for money

Generation Y – Does it exist?

Both speakers in this session immediately questioned whether Generation Y is really a mind set rather than something specific to a generation. As one speaker put it "I am a generation Y person in a baby boomers body." Or that might have been wishful thinking. Or a horrific mental image.

Question: Do you think there is information abundance or information overload these days?

If you think there is information overload you haven’t got a generation Y mindset.

If you don’t use RSS feeds you also probably don’t have a generation Y mindset (though my teenage kids have no idea what RSS is, maybe they are generation Z, soon to be replaced by Generation Z 2.0).

Internet + Mobiles = change

There have been two key technology drivers:

• Internet
• Mobiles

These two mean there are more connections, greater speed, reduced time and distance, and changed organisational structures. Over 50% of registered businesses in Holland are now 1 person businesses. If they had one customer each, that would have a nice symmetry to it.

Second life has still to fulfill its promise

Second Life is used by over 500 universities. However, the fact Leicester University, run a face to face session on how to use Second life suggests it is still not intuitive. Linden Labs who own Second Life are keen to sell you land which is essentially server space. They are also recognising the issues that corporates have and now offer a service which will run behind your firewall and with web integration.

One study of Second Life learning found that users turned up in second life to meetings early and networked. At least, I think that's what they were doing.

There will be interesting future uses. You now can wear a kit so that you move avatar by moving your own body. This is beginning to feel more like the Matrix. Whether that means you learn anything, who knows. But it sounds fun. 

Moodle, Moodle, Moodle

There were three separate sessions devoted to Moodle, the open source LMS.

In one session a company reported that they pay an annual fee of $1.8m for their proprietary LMS, there clearly need to be more sessions on Moodle. They were revived by some open source medics when Moodle's cost structure was explained to them.

Is the end in sight?

To misquote Jack Welch :"If the rate of change outside your organisation is greater than the rate of change inside your organisation, the end is in sight."

Does this apply to the e-learning industry?

During the Online Educa conference car sales fell dramatically, interest rates were cut across Europe, markets fell, and unemployment rose. I'd like to point out that was all before I spoke so I am not responsible. The big issue facing organisations over the next few years will be the economic recession. This did come through in part at the conference, it was reflected in the survey findings that Laura presented. Organisations highlighted the need for reduced training costs and less time training away from the job. Clive Shepherd highlighted it in his session by quoting Jay Cross who warns us to "be aware that the magnitude of the financial meltdown is almost beyond comprehension. I can foresee training departments being eliminated almost entirely.”

On balance I came away with a strong sense that the e-learning industry has a great opportunity to provide real value to organisations both in improving performance and reducing costs. However, we need to move faster and focus on delivering greater efficiencies. In a time of crisis you can be a victim or a hero. Make your choice,  e-learning.