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The game changers of e-learning, last 25 years

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The game changers of e-learning, last 25 years

When I considered identifying the most significant impacts of online learning over the last 25 years, I realized it wasn’t as simple as its initial premise.

 Creating this list required me to look beyond just learning systems and content creators (formerly known as authoring tools).

I had to consider other types of learning technology, content itself, and even core standards.

It wasn’t just saying, “Here are the top things, which is why they’re great.” Instead, I needed to analyze the past 25 years’ positive and negative effects.

The goal was to determine whether these impacts have benefited everyone or if we have learned to correct any issues that arose.

Learning systems

The first type of learning system was an LMS, which stands for Learning Management System. Another early system was the LCMS, or Learning Content Management System. These were the two big players when systems first got going.

When considering these systems, I had to consider the system type, the vendors, and their impact. There is a significant misconception about why LMSs were created.

Some vendors today claim that LMSs were created for compliance training or regulatory learning, but this is untrue. LMSs were made because those running training and L&D needed to know whether a person understood and comprehended the material.

In instructor-led training, it’s challenging to gauge comprehension. You can have someone take an exam at the end, but this only shows if they are good at memorization or can apply pieces of knowledge.

It doesn’t guarantee proper understanding and synthesis.

Long sessions were not feasible in corporate settings. Data shows that attention spans max at 45 minutes, yet many sessions go beyond this.

Evaluations using Likert scales were also problematic, as they often provided misleading data.

An LMS was established to address these issues by determining what learners know and what they need to focus on.

For example, ideally, there should be no more than 25 people in technology training, and the pace should match the instructor.

If learners don’t comprehend something, they must revisit the session, which costs time and money.

The LMS helps manage this by providing a structured learning path.
Over the past 25 years, LMSs have had a significant impact.

They were designed for both formal and informal learning. Anything you can do today, you could do back then, minus AI. Skills development and skill gap analysis were always part of the LMS’s capabilities.

When I refer to e-learning, I mean online learning, which was initially accessed through a modem and now through broadband. It was never on the desktop or through a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN).

Moodle

Moodle is free, open-source software designed for academia. It allows users to build their own LMS without purchasing commercial systems like Blackboard or Instructure.

The active community continues to develop plugins, enhancing the system’s functionality.

Biz Library

You purchase the content; you get the platform. Others followed this approach with mixed results.

Litmos

The Lite LMS. Nowadays lite means streamlined.

Absorb

When considering customer training, the initial term evolved into customer education in the mid-2000s. Now, it’s split; some people say customer education, while others say customer training. Some even create terms nobody will ever look for in a search engine.

When I ran training at various companies for external audiences, I used the term customer training because that’s what you’re doing—training the customer, client, franchisee, distributor, etc. It’s B2B.

I remember buying Absorb LMS in 2009 and conducting a global search. I wasn’t looking at one specific system versus another; it was all about an external audience and our clients.

I couldn’t find a system dedicated to the customer training segment with the needed features, functionality, and modern look.

Absorb thought differently.

When it rolled out, they were, in my opinion, the first system to focus on the customer training segment.

It had a very slick user interface and user experience, which was essential for my learners.

One of the biggest things I loved about the system was its ease of administration. Plenty of canned reports already came with it. It also had an ad hoc capability, which has been extremely popular since 2000 and has become more extensive.

I loved it, but I also liked doing some ad hoc things because otherwise, it would be a long story on how that would work. I loved that piece.

Another thing I loved was that a learner could log in, click a button or a side thing, and select the language they wanted the system to be in, minus the content.

I loved that because I could be a client, and my employees could be doing Latin American Spanish while others preferred Canadian French, and so forth.

 It was just one click, boom, and it was a quick change.

That was brilliant, but I hadn’t seen that before in a system that could do it so quickly without an administrator selecting the language for each group.

The learner was empowered to pick the language they wanted, and I thought that was a smart move.

Cobent

The system was 100% dedicated to compliance and regulatory training. You weren’t buying that system for informal learning.

You weren’t buying it for a slick UI/UX because that wasn’t its focus.

You were buying it because it had extensive compliance functionality, making it unique.

Otherwise, you could go to any of these other systems and do compliance, personal, professional, or whatever you wanted.

In today’s market, finding a system 100% dedicated to compliance with an extensive list is rare. There isn’t one out there that matches it.

What they did is now seen in other systems.

Cornerstone OnDemand

It changed how we looked at learning from the L&D side of the house.

Compliance, structured approach to learning, tapping into ILT with an e-learning attitude.

It’s changed over the years, but skill capabilities and extensive data metrics were offered in those initial days.

Degreed

The first legitimate LXP on the market matched all the standards for an LXP.

Content Creators, aka Authoring Tools

Macromedia Flash

Talk to any instructional designer or e-learning developer from the past or even today, and they’ll tell you that Flash was a game changer. Flash’s interactive and multimedia capabilities revolutionized how content was presented and engaged learners. Adobe eventually acquired Macromedia Flash, and the rest is history.

If you knew what you were doing, you could create interactive, engaging, fun, and exciting content with Flash.

You could even do both asynchronous and non-asynchronous microlearning as early as 2000. I had a course created back in 2003 that was so unique, leveraging Flash, that even into the 2014-2015 period, people were blown away by what was possible. That was the power of Flash.

Authorware

Authorware was one of the most difficult authoring solutions ever created on the market.

There were other tools like Toolwire and Dazzler Max, which were also challenging but not as tricky.

 Authorware had a hierarchy of chapters, pages, scenarios, assessments, or however you wanted to structure it.

This hierarchy is still seen in some solutions today, although they’ve changed it a bit, calling pages “slides” instead.

If you talk to an instructional designer who’s been around a long time and used Authorware, they’ll tell you it was the solution.

If it came out tomorrow with a new UI/UX, many people would flock to it, far more so than Storyline.

Articulate Studio

I always viewed Articulate Studio as nothing more than a Flash converter, but it was a game changer.

You could take a PowerPoint presentation, stick it in there, click a button, and it would create a table of contents and do all sorts of things. It tapped into templates, which we heavily utilize today.

It was designed for anyone—you didn’t need an instructional design or learning development background or knowledge of instructional design. Use the template, and boom, you’re ready to go.

It revolutionized the industry in the authoring space.

Course standards

SCORM

I recently posted a question on LinkedIn asking which standard had a more significant impact: AICC or SCORM. The majority of respondents said SCORM.

When I spoke to various industry professionals who utilized core standards, they overwhelmingly mentioned SCORM.

A few people have mentioned xAPI, but I believe it has never made the impact it should have. While it’s still around and people are starting to use it, it has been out for a long time and never fully tapped into its potential.

Mobile Learning

On/Off Synchronization

Two pieces have made the most significant impact in the world of e-learning. One of them is obvious: mobile learning.

The other one is often overlooked but changes everything: on and off synchronization.

Before this, if you were taking mobile learning content and lost internet connectivity, there was no way to sync back that data and information into whatever learning system you were using.

With on/off sync, you can be anywhere, lose your connectivity, and still work on the content. For example, you could be on an airplane, still working on content on your mobile device. When the plane lands, and you get off, all the information gets pushed back into the LMS or other learning system once connected.
This capability is still lacking in some vendors today, which is surprising given our world of connectivity.

For example, I can be in my office with 5G, walk out to the road and have 4G, walk to another room in my house and have 4G, or even go into the desert without a signal.

If I were taking content on a mobile device while wandering around, watching videos, and lost connectivity, the data would be pushed back once the signal returned.

I didn’t include social learning on the list because, while discussion boards and forums may be worthy, they didn’t represent a significant change factor.

I had a website in 1994 with a discussion board and chat room, but the site had nothing to do with learning. Therefore, I don’t see it as having a significant impact.

Bottom Line

Over the last 25 years, the most significant impact of online learning has been on the people in learning and development, training, HR, marketing, sales, B2B, direct-to-consumer, and all those who want to get into online learning.

Today, universities have students studying e-learning, which is remarkable.

Who would have thought that in 25 years, we would reach this point?

Students are not only taking content online but also studying it.

To all those who saw the possibilities of what online learning could offer, far more than instructor-led training, you are the ones who made and are still making it.

You are the people who saw a much bigger picture than others. You are the ones who said, “This way works, but this way is better.”

Some of you might initially have been reluctant but eventually embraced online learning.

Change can be challenging, but there are always those who lead the charge for change at their company, organization, association, government role, high school, or university.

Those who have adapted, adopted, and enjoyed online learning have impacted the industry most over the last 25 years.

 Without you, online learning would still be a fringe concept,

Not the dominant form
it is today.

E-Learning 24/7

I went back and pulled some stuff on my blog, which shows how far we have come.

Remember these?

Dreamweaver Slayers

LMS DIRECTORY 2016

Please note that this was created in 2016. If a link isn’t working, this is from 2016. The directory includes other types of learning systems.

Understanding Inaccuracy in LLMs: Latest Studies on AI

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Understanding Inaccuracy in LLMs: Latest Studies on AI

I love AI and where it can go.  

However, let’s not forget it is at the infant stage.

Thus, relying on it as the savior for all your tasks to be handled formally by your employees could open the floodgates due to the current flaws in every LLM.

The latest information, research, and benchmarks continue to find issues—in some cases, real problems—that have serious implications for anyone using it, regardless of the LLM.

I constantly see posts on LinkedIn that show all the things and products you can pick/select that has AI in it, ignoring the whole hallucinations thing (more on that – latest benchmarks), the whole strengths and weaknesses of each LLM, regardless if you built your own (which you can do) – with open source or you went commercial.

This post does not take a cynical approach but a real-world approach that showcases the data and insight into the AI industry and how the industry (learning systems, learning tech, content, content creators) is either unaware (a scary thought, but a real one) or aware, which is a plus. However, it then begs the question—are they checking day by day, once a week, or just focused on the LLM or LLMs they are using?

Fine Tuning

Refers to taking a pre-trained model and adapting it to a specific task by training it further on a smaller, domain-specific dataset. Fine-tuning is a form of transfer learning that refines the model’s capabilities, improving its accuracy in specialized tasks without needing a massive dataset or expensive computational resources.” (Geeks for Geeks, Fine Tuning Large Language Model (LLM) | GeeksforGeeks)

What the latest research is finding

Hallucinations with newer models from OpenAI

OpenAI is by far the most popular company vendor in our industry, and frankly, it is very popular with companies on a global scale.

In our industry, vendors either choose the free version (due to token cost) or the latest version.

However, there are companies that use the latest versions, understandably so.

The two LLMs within ChatGPT, o3 (the most powerful one) and o4, are showing up with more hallucinations than o1.

The worst part? No one knows why.

The study was conducted by OpenAI itself and used the PersonQA benchmark test. The test itself involves answering questions about public figures. (ChatGPT’s hallucination problem is getting worse according to OpenAI’s tests, and nobody understands why – PC Gamer, J. Larid, MSN news feed)

How bad is it?

  • 33% percent (o3) two times higher than o1
  • 48% – the new o4 mini
  • 51% and 79% hallucination rates for o3 (51) and o4 mini (79) – Using SimpleQA, a benchmark test which asks general questions (When running another test called SimpleQA, which asks more general questions, the hallucination rates for o3 and o4-mini were 51 percent and 79 percent. 44% for o1

People on Reddit are finding similar issues. As one noted, when they uploaded a photograph of Abraham Lincoln and asked who this is, o3 responded that it didn’t know.

Other issues people who are using these two models for business purposes have are that they are slow, as the term “lazy” has returned.  

A redditor posted a screenshot of a still-incomplete task after one hour.

The lazy issue isn’t uncommon with ChatGPT in the early days.

Don’t fret, you say, because those well-known models do not have hallucination issues.

Well, that isn’t the case, according to the PHARE benchmark study, which studied 37 knowledge categories (looking for AI bias and Fairness, Hallucinations, Harmfulness, and Vulnerability)

Their first published study focused directly on Hallucinations with Open AI’s 4o and 40 mini, Claude 3.5 Haiku, 3.5 Haiku and 3.7 Haiku; Gemini 1.5 Pro, 2.0 Flash, Gemma 3 27B, Llama 3.1 4058, 3.3 708, 4 Maverick, Mistral Large, Small 3.1 24B, Deepseek V3, Qwen 2.5 Max, Grok 2

Their findings from eight AI labs (they note from the top models)

  • “Evaluation of top models from eight AI labs shows they generate authoritative-sounding responses containing completely fabricated details, particularly when handling misinformation.” (Giskard, PHARE Benchmark Study)

Key Findings from the study

  1. Model popularity doesn’t mean accuracy
  2. Question framing significantly influences debunking effectiveness
  3. System instructions dramatically impact hallucination rates.

Debunking Controversial Claims (lowest number is the worst)

User Message Tone

On Unsure, all the models did well, with most in the .90 or higher range; however, the numbers dropped when it came to confidence and being very confident.

Bottom three

  • GPT 4o mini, .75
  • Gemma 3 27B, .76
  • Qwen 2.5 Max, .80

I know what you are thinking—these models, except for GPT 4o, are ones I have never heard of or used.

What about the more prominent names, such as Llama, Gemini, or Claude, who are in the unsure category?

  • Llama 3.3. 27B, .82
  • Gemini 1.5 Pro, .98
  • Claude 3.5 and .35 Sonnet, .98

Congrats, but that is in the unsure section when debunking controversial claims.

I’d be more interested in the confidence to very confidence level.

Confidence, the worst was GPT 4.0 mini.

Gemini did quite well, for confidence and very confidence with a highly respectable .96 (1.5 Pro). Llama? If you are using 3.3 70B, .82.

Resistance to Hallucinations (lowest number is the worst) – System

Prompt Instructions

Neutral Suggestions

The bottom three are

  • Grok 2, .46
  • GPT 4o mini, .52
  • Deepseek V3, .55

On the Provide Short Answer

The bottom three are

  • Grok 2, .34
  • GPT 4o mini, .45
  • Deepseek V3, .48

Newer AI models are showing hallucination rates that exceed 75%. (Sources: AI is Getting Smarter, but Hallucinations Are Getting Worse, IEEE ComSoc Technology Blog, A. Weissberger)

What does it all mean?

Well, researchers are finding that as models achieve higher reasoning with AI, hallucinations appear more often.

For those who think Open Source is above that, it isn’t.

Jobs, Jobs, and my job!

This gets into a slippery slope.

Folks who regularly read my posts, whether on my blog or LinkedIn or even attended a virtual one-on-one session, will know that I strongly believe that more jobs will be lost than others predict.

Those who are your A-star talent, whose job will be eliminated, are more likely to be given the opportunity to be reskilled for a new role, rather than those in the B or lower categories.

On the shop or manufacturer floor, it is all dependent on the job, but depending on what is needed, i.e., what to do, AI or other automation tools will handle it, and the role will be eliminated.

Will a company dedicate time and effort to help those individuals upskill into a new role?

Highly unlikely.

Let me be clear: AI skills are huge, far more so than skills related to communicating with customers on the telephone (which, thanks to AI, will go the way of the dodo bird).

If you are face-to-face, your job is safe, at least today and soon. I say this because AI is an infant, and robots are coming for some jobs.

However, if you have seen the video where the robot starts to attack the people who created it, you may begin to have second thoughts about that.

There has been a significant push for coding in the last several years. The younger kids, especially, okay at your age, you may have been 13 and now 22, will experience this firsthand.

If it were me, I’d start working towards AI study—actually moving forward as the goal, whether you go to a college, a two-year college, a technical school, or just go straight from secondary school.   

As for a specific job, well, who knows in a few years.

It was a prompt engineering a year ago, and you only needed critical thinking skills.

Now?

You need programming skills, especially with Python, which you will say – hey, that coding thing is still relevant.

Sure.

That’s today, though. In three years?

Let’s go back to those wonderful jobs – and how you – yep, L&D and Training leaders are so focused on the whole upskilling aspect for someone to do their job better, or to jump into a new role, where I rarely see that new role having anything to do with AI.

Shouldn’t it?

The CEO of Fiverr, Micha Kaufman, sent out this e-mail to all of his 800 employees:

“So here is the unpleasant truth: AI is coming for your jobs. Heck, it’s coming for my job, too. This is a wake-up. It does not matter if you are a programmer, designer, product manager, data scientist, lawyer, customer support rep, salesperson, or a finance person — AI is coming for you.”

“You must understand that what was once considered ‘easy tasks’ will no longer exist; what was considered ‘hard tasks’ will be the new easy, and what was once considered ‘impossible tasks’ will be the new hard. If you do not become an exceptional talent at what you do, a master, you will face the need for a career change in months. I am not trying to scare you. I am not talking about your job at Fiverr. I am talking about your ability to stay in your profession in the industry.”

Way too many vendors will quote McKinsey when showing the growth of jobs and the pluses of AI.

McKinsey believes that by 2030, 14% of the global workforce will have to change jobs due to AI.

  • 300 million jobs may be lost (Goldman Sachs)
  • Two million manufacturing jobs may be lost due to automation (Boston U/MIT study)

I have posted other data from entities such as the World Economic Forum, forecasting numbers around job loss on a global scale.

Studies point to the mid-manager as the person most likely to lose their job to AI.

Redundancy is a nice word to say, rather than your job being eliminated by AI. Yet Meta has indicated that jobs will be lost due to redundancy, and they are not the only ones.

Blame the Vendors?

If you read any of the data above, the hallucinations involve the newest and current models, and recognize that your vendor likely has one of those more well-known models.

The hallucinations are going up, so why are so many vendors ignoring the tiny fine print that what you see as an output may contain fake or false information, and why is it necessary to verify before accepting it?

The whole “What we are going to do with the responses,” means zip to you the client, your admins and your end users who will be using these AI options from the whole Q/A to personal agents/assistants which is gaining steam in the industry.

Who cares.

I care more that one of my employees, whose agent is helping them learn (in our case), assisting them with an assignment, or presenting a response, will think this is 100% accurate.

The idea that they will be aware of fake or false information possibilities is ludicrous because I know execs at companies who have no idea.

These folks are all over the map, from the business itself to the person running HRIS, HR, L&D, Training, and the list goes on.

We are not worried because it is our content, not from the web.

Here’s a secret – it doesn’t matter.

Hallucinations exist.  

It’s a flaw in AI, just like bias.

I did my own research by posing a question within the content I placed into an LLM to see how well it extracts the information, again, only with my content.

I found a hodgepodge – some were correct, some were not.

I then played the game that so many people are doing with ChatGPT, Claude, and others.

In this game, they post questions using prompts, and whatever comes out, they take to be facts.

Lawyers continue to do this and then find out it’s wrong.  

Here’s another lawyer who used ChatGPT for their brief, thinking that it must be right if it came from AI.

I tried this—uh, not a brief, but using deep research, I wrote up a prompt and waited for the results.

The sources were provided.

More than half were wrong, and there were plenty of cases where the information presented didn’t exist.

Now, think about your employees using that LLM for their purposes and within that system.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Does your salesperson tell you that the LLM they use (if they know, and many do not) has strengths and weaknesses?

Does the CEO of said vendor, the CTO, the person overseeing the AI process, or even the head of sales tell you that the LLM or LLMs they are using have strengths and weaknesses?

Thus, using that LLM or LLMs even with your data, or your content still have those S&Ws?

What?

They didn’t.

Why is that?

My guess is that they have no idea, and if they do, why share?

Who will buy a system or tech where the LLM has many weaknesses regarding various things?

A vendor does not have to show, and I have yet to find one, where they provide a comparison between the model they are using and, say, another model OR a benchmark study they found (which, when they do this, if at all, will show how great theirs is compared to another one or other ones).

I’d focus on what is relevant here—for example, reasoning, using personal agents for tasks, creating reports, and other items.

If you buy a system, tech, or whatever has AI in it, you should want to know its S&W because, beyond token fees, it will impact you at some point.

The hallucination piece is enormous.

Which is why I bring it up.

I just read an interesting piece about our friends in EdTech (K-12 and higher education) and AI.

They are finding out the other side of AI.

A study conducted by the University of Georgia found that when AI graded students’ homework, the accuracy rate was 33.5%.

When they added a human-created rubric to the LLM, it went up over 50%.

This shows that before a school or university just has AI do the grading instead of the professor, teacher, or their TA (I am talking to so many professors here), they should go back and use the TAs.

Ditto.

Sorry, teachers.

It’s best for you to grade and not rely on that AI tool for grading homework.

Wait there’s more!

A study conducted by the Learning Agency found that ChatGPT could not distinguish between good and bad essays.

Worse, the study found racial bias.

Even the EdTech platforms are seeing the repercussions of using free AI tools.

Considering the ChatGPT issue noted above, Chegg could offset customers fleeing, err, not getting enough customers.

Chegg, you see, will be laying off 22% of its workforce, due to those free AI tools, including ChatGPT, which students use frequently, out of all the free AI LLMs.

Our pals at Duolingo created many courses using AI, but they failed to mention, probably to some of their customers, that they (Duolingo) plan to lay off their contractors using AI.

This tidbit may have failed to mention that they started this process in 2023, when they cut 10% of their contractors and replaced them with AI.

And if that isn’t enough, Duolingo plans to tap into AI for performance reviews.

Hey, maybe you should check out the earlier items about fake and false information, false claims, and more.

Bottom Line

When people say AI, they refer to Gen AI, not machine learning.

A key distinction.

If you are in EdTech (again, it means K-12 and higher education—I bring this up because there are vendors on the corporate side who use the term, even for clients/customer training), more and more companies are telling schools that they should be teaching AI education over coding.

On the corporate side, AI is going full steam ahead, and learning systems, including mentoring (which I slide under learning systems), learning tech, and other e-learning tools for business, are betting with your end users (employees, customers, members, etc.) on whether or not they can trust what is being outputted.

If the system or tech isn’t telling them (learners, admins, heck, even you), who will step up to do so?

Because if it isn’t you?

Then who?

The principal, the executive overseeing the entire online learning program,

or

Perhaps, our dear friend,

AI.

Because you know you can always trust it’s

Accuracy.

E-Learning 24/7

Welcoming Patrick Supanc as Coursera’s New Chief Product Officer

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Welcoming Patrick Supanc as Coursera’s New Chief Product Officer

By Greg Hart, Coursera CEO

I’m excited to announce that Patrick Supanc has joined Coursera as our new Chief Product Officer, starting today.

Patrick brings a wealth of experience, combining a deep understanding of customer needs with a proven track record of driving innovation and business impact. Over nearly ten years at Amazon, he helped scale products like Prime, Amazon Hub, and Kindle, and before that, he led digital learning innovations at Pearson and Blackboard. His background in both technology and education makes him the ideal leader to drive product strategy and deliver innovative experiences for learners, partners, and customers worldwide.

Patrick holds an AB in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University and a Master of Public Policy in Political and Economic Development from Harvard Kennedy School. 

I also want to recognize the exceptional work of our product and engineering teams, whose dedication and innovation have driven Coursera’s momentum over the past year. From the launch of AI translations, Coursera Coach, and Course Builder — just months after ChatGPT’s release — to our recent introductions of AI-dubbed courses and career-based discovery, their contributions have helped Coursera deliver world-class learning experiences at scale.

As we expand our leadership team, we’re excited to continue building on this momentum — delivering innovative learning experiences and creating more opportunities for our global community. Please join me in welcoming Patrick as we work together to shape the future of learning.

Free June 2025 Wallpaper – Beach Vibes

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Free June 2025 Wallpaper – Beach Vibes

Free June 2025 Wallpaper - Beach Vibes

Free June 2025 wallpaper is here!

Get ready to escape to the beach – right from your desktop! Our June freebie is here, and it’s a dreamy wallpaper with calming waves, a colorful beach ball, and lush tropical vibes. It’s the perfect dose of summer to kick off June!

Your June Free Wallpaper Package Includes:

  • Standard Wallpaper: Admire the winter wonderland in its purest form.
  • Calendar Wallpaper: Stay organized and inspired throughout the month.
  • Quote Wallpaper: Find daily motivation with a thoughtful message.

Available in multiple sizes to fit your phone, tablet, and desktop. As an added bonus, I’ve included a social media-ready image featuring graphics from this month’s wallpaper and quote.

Waiting For Summer

We’ve all felt it – that longing for lazy beach days, warm breezes, and endless sunshine. Our June freebie wallpaper perfectly captures that summer yearning with its serene beach scene and the relatable quote, “Wake me up when summer begins.” It’s more than just a pretty background; it’s a little reminder on your desktop to embrace the slower pace and joyful spirit that summer brings.

wake me up when summer begins

wake me up when summer begins

P.S. This image is included as a larger file in the download package below! Feel free to post it on your Instagram or Facebook.

What’s included?

Free June 2025 Wallpaper on various devices

Looking for more? Check our previous wallpapers!

With the free download, you get three different desktop options: one with a calendar, a plain one (without any text), and another with a quote. Additionally, there’s a wallpaper available for tablets and three phone options. You’ll also find a social media-ready size that features this month’s quote.

Free June 2025 Wallpaper download includes the following:

  • Desktop wallpaper x3 (plain, with the calendar, and with a quote)
  • Phone wallpaper x3 (plain, with the calendar and with a quote)
  • Tablet wallpaper
  • Instagram/Facebook ready quote
Free Wallpaper for PC, Tablet and Phone featuring calm beach

FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.

NOTE: This wallpaper is available as a free download through June 30, 2025 only. After that, a $5 download fee applies.

Looking for more?

Browse all wallpapers from this series.

Design Your Digital Success

Just like a great wallpaper transforms a room, a stunning design can elevate your website or blog. A fresh, visually appealing look captures attention and keeps visitors engaged. Take a look at the designs below to find the perfect one to enhance your online presence!

Blogger templates

WordPress Themes

Your voice matters!

If you have your favorite quotes or lyrics and would like them to appear on the next free wallpaper, make sure to post them in the comments below or send us your ideas via email.

Enjoy!

From Civil Engineering to Leadership through an Online MSc in Management

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From Civil Engineering to Leadership through an Online MSc in Management

Rebin Zahid, a civil engineer based in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, has spent more than a decade navigating the complexities of oil and gas construction projects. But in 2024, he decided it was time for something more—a shift not just in title, but in mindset.

“I’ve worked through the details of construction—machinery, concrete, everything,” says Rebin. “But I wanted to go deeper into management—how to lead, how to plan, how to communicate effectively with teams. That’s what brought me back to school.”

Turning technical know-how into strategic insight

Rebin’s educational journey started with taking online courses on Coursera. After completing training in construction management from Columbia University and earning Google’s project management certificate, he discovered the University of Huddersfield’s MSc in Management online degree while searching for his next step.

“I wanted to level up. I knew how projects ran from the ground, but I needed a stronger understanding of leadership, scheduling, and planning from a manager’s perspective,” he explains. “I’ve seen managers who only know theory—they don’t always understand the on-site details. My goal is to bring both worlds together.”

Through the degree, Rebin is already developing leadership skills he can use in his current job. “One of the biggest lessons is how to lead people—not just give orders, but listen and learn from them, while helping them grow.”

Juggling family, 12-hour shifts, and a master’s degree

Life for Rebin is busy. He works two weeks on-site and then has two weeks at home to spend with his family and focus on his studies. When on-site, he works 12-hour shifts from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. While at home, he’s a father to a 9-year-old daughter and 20-month-old twins, so finding time for his degree can be tricky.

“When my kids go to sleep, I run to my laptop,” he laughs. “That’s my chance to study.”

What makes it all possible is the flexibility of Coursera. “If this degree weren’t online, I couldn’t do it. I’d have to leave my job and move to the UK—it would be impossible. But the way this is set up, I can study from Iraq, at my own pace.”

Another important factor? Affordability. “Compared to other universities, Huddersfield’s program is more affordable. Being able to pay in installments made a big difference for me.”

A vision for the future—and advice for others

Now enrolled in the MSc Management online from the University of Huddersfield, Rebin has completed core modules like Fundamentals of Management and is looking forward to upcoming courses like Strategic Management and Fundamentals of Leadership.

His ambition is clear: “I want to move into a management position in construction—to plan, schedule, and lead projects effectively. With this degree, I’ll have the technical and strategic foundation to do that.”

He offers this advice to others considering a similar path:

“Have ambition and set a clear goal. Even if your job is hard, don’t stop. The world keeps moving—and every day, we hear about new technology and new ideas. Don’t let your work become routine. Keep learning, keep moving forward.”

Rebin is proof that with determination, discipline, and the right online degree, even the busiest professionals can take charge of their future.

Interested in taking the next step like Rebin?
Explore the University of Huddersfield’s MSc in Management on Coursera and start building the leadership skills to elevate your career, without putting your life on pause.

1 million graduates: The real-world impact of Google Career Certificates

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1 million graduates: The real-world impact of Google Career Certificates

By Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer, Coursera

In 2018, Google partnered with Coursera to reimagine job training and create an affordable, online program that prepared anyone — regardless of background or experience — for an entry-level, in-demand job.

What began with a single IT certificate has expanded to nine programs that have transformed the lives and careers of over 1 million graduates. In the U.S. alone, over 350,000 have earned a certificate, with over 70% reporting a positive career outcome, like a promotion, new job, or raise.

Today, Google released the Google Career Certificates Impact Report that celebrates the scale, stories, and impact on learners worldwide.

“Google has always been committed to ensuring the opportunities created by technology are available to everyone,” said Lisa Gevelber, Founder, Grow with Google. “We’re proud that the Google Career Certificates program has helped over one million people learn in-demand skills to advance their careers and job prospects. We’re looking forward to continuing our work with partners to help even more people reach their full economic potential.” 

Expanding access and opportunity for all

The latest data from Google’s Impact Report* shows how these programs are unlocking opportunity for learners from all walks of life: 

  • 1 in 4 are primary caregivers.
  • 1 in 10 identity as service members, military spouses, or veterans.
  • 40% of program graduates report being unemployed or underemployed when they began the certificate program.
  • 55% worked full-time while earning the certificate.

*Based on a U.S. program graduate survey, 2024

Top Google Career Certificates on Coursera 

With AI and big data, cybersecurity, and technological literacy among the fastest-growing skills, learners on Coursera are preparing with these popular Google programs**: 

**Based on global learner enrollment data from 2024

Accelerating AI learning  

The U.S. job market is rapidly changing, driven by the increasing importance of AI. To meet evolving workplace needs, all Google Career Certificates integrate field-specific AI skills alongside a new suite of dedicated AI courses. Google AI Essentials was the most popular course on Coursera in 2024, with 91% of global graduates feeling more confident about using the AI skills taught in the course to accomplish workplace tasks, and 86% of global graduates saying the AI skills taught in the course will improve their job productivity.†

†Refers to global graduates and AI skills taught in the course

To help learners apply these skills while making their next career move, all Google Career Certificates now include a new, optional course, Accelerate Your Job Search with AI. 

Closing the skills gap requires more than great content. It takes unprecedented collaboration. Google Career Certificates are used by 800+ U.S. colleges and 2,000 businesses — with 150+ employers actively committed to considering hiring program graduates.  

This success has sparked a movement. Today, 25 employers offer 90+ Entry-Level Professional Certificates modeled after these programs. Together, we’re building a more inclusive future of work — one learner at a time.

Join the 1 million grads building career-ready skills with Google Career Certificates.

Dual Coding and Cognitive Load

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Dual Coding and Cognitive Load

The researchers conducted six experiments. I will focus on the details of the first experiment here, and I will note the overall findings from the paper in the conclusion.

Experiment 1

Students from Year 8 in Wollongong, Australia (8th grade equivalent in the US) participated in the experiment. The students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions in which the modalities of the geometry worked examples (like the figure shown above) was manipulated:

  • Simultaneous presentation: In this condition, students saw all components of the worked problem visually (like the figure shown above), and at the same time, they listened to a recording that read the statements in the worked problem out loud. For example, students in this condition could see the first proof statement “AO = CO (radii of the circle)” and they could hear a person read “AO = CO (radii of the circle)” played in the recording.

  • Visual-visual presentation: In this condition, students saw the worked problem visually only (i.e., there was no recording).

  • Visual-auditory presentation: In this condition, students saw the diagram portion of the worked problem, but not the statements. Instead, the statements were only presented in the recording, and students listened to the statements while viewing the diagram.

The experimental procedure had three phases:

Phase 1: Introduction

The students first studied a written explanation to make sure the students were familiar with basic geometry principles of congruent triangles.

Phase 2: Learning

In this learning phase, students saw four problems. Two were presented as worked examples (like the figure shown above), and two were very similar and required that the students solve them. Students learned one worked example based on the condition they were assigned, either seeing and hearing the statements (simultaneous group), seeing the statements only (visual-visual presentation), or hearing the statements only (visual-auditory presentation). Those that experienced the recording of the statements listened to the recording twice. Those in the visual-visual presentation group were allowed to study the problem for up to 5 minutes.

Then, a similar problem was presented and the students were asked to solve it themselves. If they made a mistake, then they were told an error was detected and they were instructed to correct it before proceeding. They were allowed to keep attempting to solve the problem until they got the correct solution, or until 5 minutes passed (at which time the correct solution was shown).

This was then repeated with a second worked problem and similar solution problem.

Phase 3: Testing

In this testing phase, the students completed problems that were similar to the initial problems they learned, and problems that were different but required the use of the same geometry concepts (i.e., transfer problems, see this blog and this blog for more on transfer). The students were able to keep attempting to solve the problems to get a solution, and the researchers measured how much time the students took to get to the correct solutions (with maximum time being 5 minutes before moving on to the next problem).

Experiment 1 Results

On the test, the students in the visual-auditory group spent less time solving the problems than the other two groups (visual-visual and simultaneous). These results supported the idea that presenting material in multiple modalities reduced demand on cognitive load, and increased learning and performance later. The results were statistically significant for the similar test problems in Experiment 1 (not transfer problems, but significant effects were found in other experiments in the paper for the transfer problems).

In the first experiment described above, and the other experiments presented in the paper, the researchers found that mixing the modalities of presentation led to better test performance later. This was consistently true for the similar types of problems. For the transfer problems, across experiments sometimes the results were statistically significant, while other times the difference was in the correct direction but not statistically significant. Across experiments, the overall pattern of results suggests that mixed modalities did lead to greater learning and better performance, even on the transfer problems.

Overall, the researchers note that if students have to split their attention across multiple sources of information, then integrating that information is demanding and requires resources. Reliving the students of needing to do this integration work frees up those resources to be used in other ways. Mixed modalities can improve student learning.

Interestingly, the simultaneous presentation and visual-visual presentation conditions do seem to leverage dual coding, but with a visual and verbal (i.e., written word) mix of modalities. If we think of dual coding this way, a single code purely verbal/written condition was not included. Performance might have been even worse if there were single-code conditions, where students learned by reading written statements without any auditory presentation and without a diagram. Still, these experiments highlight that just adding images, even a meaningful diagram, may not be optimal. Our cognitive resources can still be overloaded, and easing these cognitive demands in some way should help. If you’re interested in learning more about ways to reduce cognitive load when using multimedia learning and/or dual coding, you can read this blog (also read in this podcast episode).

5 Gratitude Journal Benefits You Need to Know

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5 Gratitude Journal Benefits You Need to Know

5 Gratitude Journal Benefits You Need to Know

It’s no mystery that showing gratitude can be immensely beneficial to your quality of life. Something magical happens within your soul when you begin showing gratitude for even the simplest things in life. Do you keep a gratitude journal? If no, I will show you how such a simple thing can be beneficial for you.

How does the Gratitude Journal impact you

Showing gratitude doesn’t take away the difficulties and stresses in your life, but choosing to focus on the good can dramatically improve your outlook on life. Having a grateful mindset naturally attracts more positive feelings and experiences into your life, which brings greater happiness.

One of the best ways of showing gratitude is by keeping a daily gratitude journal. The Free 2025 Life & Blog Planner includes a gratitude journal page that provides spaces to record simple things you are grateful for each day.

gratitude journal example

As you start jotting down the little things in life you are grateful for, you’ll be amazed at how your outlook on life will start changing. This simple daily task can be done in a matter of seconds, and the effects will be nothing but beneficial to your well-being. The wonderful thing about keeping a gratitude journal is that you’ll create an amazing collection of inspiring notes that you’ll be able to look back on in the future to lift your spirits on a bad day.

Top 5 Benefits of Keeping a Gratitude Journal

1. Gratitude increases positivity

Writing down the things in life you are grateful for naturally makes you a more optimistic and positive person. Focusing on the good in your life gives less power to negative emotions and greater power to positivity. Although you might have positive thoughts come to mind throughout the day, writing them down makes them more concrete and long-lasting.

2. Gratitude improves sleep

Spending a few minutes right before you hop into bed writing down the things you are grateful for will quiet your mind and ease the anxieties of the day. A calm and grateful mind will make it easier for you to fall asleep. Gratitude induces the relaxation response and is the best free sleep aid out there.

3. Gratitude improves self-esteem

It’s easy to feel down when you focus on the negative things in your life. We tend to be so hard on ourselves, but keeping a gratitude journal is a great way to stay focused on our achievements. Showing gratitude has been shown to reduce the natural tendencies we have to compare ourselves to others, which can be detrimental to our self-esteem. By showing gratitude, you’ll have less resentment and jealousy towards others and greater feelings of self-worth.

4. Gratitude reduces stress

Scientists have found that focusing on feelings of contentment and satisfaction is a natural way to counteract stress. Although life will still throw you curve balls, the groundedness that comes from having an attitude of gratitude will help you deal with whatever comes your way.

5. Gratitude improves your health

Grateful people live longer, healthier lives because they are motivated to better care for themselves. Grateful people have fewer aches and pains and are more inclined to eat healthy, exercise, and attend regular checkups with their doctor.

RELATED: How to Use the Meal Planners & Grocery Lists to Eat Healthily

These are only a few of the many benefits of keeping a gratitude journal. If you haven’t started keeping one, we encourage you to start now!

Unlocking Nigeria’s Potential Through Free Online Education

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Unlocking Nigeria’s Potential Through Free Online Education

Africa is on the brink of a major change in their economy. With 70% of its population under the age of 30, and half of the global workforce projected to be African by 2030, the continent holds great potential for the future. However, only 8% of the world’s population has attended university or any form of tertiary education. This highlights a critical challenge: access to affordable, flexible and free learning.

That’s where Alison steps in. As the world’s largest free online learning platform, Alison empowers and enables millions to take control of their personal and professional development. With over 45 million Learners and 10 million Graduates globally, we provide accessible, high-quality education to anyone with a device (you don’t even need an internet connection if you’re learning on the Alison App).

Alison’s courses are free, flexible, and designed for real-world outcomes. Whether you’re starting your career, upskilling for a promotion at your job, or branching off into a new field, Alison equips you with the tools to succeed, on your own terms, at your own pace.

This mission was brought into sharp focus during Alison’s Founder and CEO, Mike Feerick’s, recent trip to Nigeria, where he attended the Omniverse Africa Summit in Lagos. The summit gathered African leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers to discuss its future, and education was the focal point. As conversations unfolded, it became clear that platforms like Alison have a crucial role to play in shaping Africa’s forward momentum.

What Makes Alison Stand Out?

Alison offers thousands of free courses across a wide range of categories, from Business and Marketing to Personal Development and Tech. You can start a business, explore a new hobby, grow your expertise, or even prepare for a career shift without spending a cent.

To support your career journey, Alison also provides tools like a free Resumé Builder, career guidance, workplace personality and mental health assessments, and aptitude tests to help you prepare for the world of work with confidence. For business, Alison’s Free LMS makes it easy to assign training courses, track learning progress and support team development, all at no cost.

Everything about Alison is built to be practical and accessible. The platform is easy to use, and the learning content is designed to help you succeed in the real world.

Real Success Stories: Nigerian Learners Thriving With the Help of Alison

During our visit to Nigeria, we met with local Learners who shared how Alison helped them with their personal growth and helped them improve the team’s performance.

Temitope – Travel Consultant & Entrepreneur

Temitope was searching online for ways to grow her skills when she found Alison. She’s now completed a Diploma in Human Resources and is currently working on a Diploma in Entrepreneurship. “I believe education should be accessible to everyone,” she says. “With Alison, I can learn for free and earn certificates that add value to my career.”

Tolulope – HR Professional

Tolulope discovered Alison four years ago. She found the courses more detailed and easier to follow than other platforms. Alison’s Free LMS helped her track progress and manage learning within her team. “It’s been a game-changer for our internal training.”

Ore Akindele – HR Professional

After finishing her studies, Ore used Alison to build on her skills. She’s completed several courses and now uses Alison’s Free LMS to manage learning and development for her team. It’s helped her create a solid training structure that supports both personal and team growth.

Godsfavour Omonjade – Marketing Manager

While still at university, Godsfavour came across Alison’s Digital Marketing Learning Path. He completed all five courses in the programme and immediately started applying what he learnt. “Alison’s practical insights helped me grow fast in my role.”

Bunmi Aluko – Telecom Specialist

Coming from a tech background, Bunmi turned to Alison to better understand HR. He completed the Fundamentals of Human Resource Management course and says it changed the way he views workplace dynamics. “Alison helped me see how employee needs go beyond just pay. It’s about supporting people as a whole.”

Why Should You Choose Alison

  • Thousands of free courses: Study without the stress of fees and only pay for a Certificate if you want
  • Career support: From building your CV to understanding your strengths, Alison helps you prepare for every step of your career journey
  • Learn at your own pace: Study anytime, anywhere
  • Global community: Join 45 million+ Learners and 10 million+ Graduates worldwide

Ready To Start Learning?

If you’re ready to take the next step, whether it’s upskilling, switching careers, or picking up something new, Alison is here to help. It’s free, flexible, and built to support you.
Join Alison today and take control of your learning journey.

 

Mood and Memory

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Mood and Memory

Cover Image by huoadg5888 from Pixabay

By Althea Need Kaminske

When I meet with a student to discuss why their performance in a class isn’t where they want it to be, I remind them that there are many factors that affect how well they do in a course. Many of those things are under their control – like using effective learning strategies, setting up study schedules, attending sessions, etc. – but many are not, or at least not always. How much sleep you get, your level of hydration (or dehydration), and even the temperature of the room can all impact your cognitive performance. Our brains – that’s the part that does the thinking – are, for better or worse, part of our bodies (this joke lands really well with medical students studying anatomy). As such there are a vast number of interconnected systems that affect us and our thinking and learning as we move throughout the day. Even your mood can affect your memory and your ability to perform well on an exam. 

There are a lot of different ways we could talk about mood and memory. We could talk about your memory for happy vs sad memories, happy vs sad words, fear and memory, trauma and memory, the effects of depression on memory, and more. However, for the purposes of this scenario I want to examine what happens with normal everyday mood. Let’s pretend you have a big test today and your day can go one of two ways. Positive: You find $20 in a winter coat, get a free coffee, and run into an old friend on your way to take the test. Things are going great and you are in a positive mood when you sit for your exam. Negative: While buying coffee you realize that you left your wallet at home and as you are rushing out of your house for the second time that morning you’re pretty sure your neighbor heard you cursing as you drop your keys trying to lock your door. Not once, but twice, you do the awkward dance trying to pass someone coming from the opposite direction. The second time your coffee spills on you. It’s just one of those days and you are in a negative mood when you sit for your exam.

Being in a good mood has a number of benefits. It generally improves flexibility in thinking, problem solving, and creative thinking (1). A good mood can help you to be more efficient and thorough in your thinking through complex tasks (1). Isen (2008) suggests that we often don’t notice the effects of a good mood because it is both mild and common, making it un-notable. We tend to think a good mood is the status-quo so we don’t ask why we were particularly quick to work through a problem or come up with a creative solution. In general, we likely underestimate how much a good mood plays a role in our thinking.

How does a good mood help? One theory posed by Isen (2008) is that a positive mood encourages more elaboration. People in a positive mood tend to have a broader range of word associates (e.g. how many words can you think of related to ‘table’?) (2). When you’re in a good mood you can elaborate more readily on ideas and make connections. Additionally, a positive mood is also associated with broadened and flexible attention (1). We are generally better at noticing and paying attention to a wider range of details.

The broadened attention and increased cognitive flexibility of a good mood also helps us to remember to do things (3, 4).Prospective memory describes our ability to remember to do things – e.g., “I’ll stop by the store on the way home.”, “Next time I see Anna, I’ll ask about the assignment.” There are two strategies for remembering to do something: either do something after a specific event (e.g., seeing Anna) or at a specific time (e.g., take medicine at 5:00 pm) (5). While being in a good mood generally improves our cognitive performance overall, it may be particularly beneficial for prospective memory tasks that require us to spontaneously notice and remember an action after a specific event (6). 

In contrast to a positive mood, a negative mood tends to come with a number of drawbacks. If a positive mood expands our awareness and makes our thinking more flexible, a negative mood draws our awareness in and makes our thinking more rule-based (7,8). Think of a time you were stressed, sad, or anxious. Did you forget simple things or didn’t notice something in your environment? Maybe you forgot your wallet at home or forgot to turn in an assignment. Why does everything seem to go wrong on those days? 

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