How To Develop Far-Reaching Mobile Content Faster

Mobile learning (m-learning) has found a strong footing over the years, especially in the corporate circles – where learning-on-the-go has become an essential need for the learners. The popularity of m-learning brings with itself a growing need for mobile-compatible content – that is readily available and easily accessible to the learner. In this scenario, the turnaround time for developing m-learning content is a growing concern in the industry. Developers often have to work with challenging timelines and large volume of content. In this scenario, creating courses with rapid authoring tools is the preferred way to go.

Rapid authoring tools have been used to develop e-learning content for many years now. Over the last few years, authoring tools like Articulate Storyline and Lectora have evolved to develop content which is ready to be rendered on the mobile learning platform as well. As a developer, the advantages of creating mobile-compatible courses with these tools are many and there is availability of a wide variety of such tools, in terms of all that you want to do.

• The biggest advantage is the savings that you make – of time, effort and money. The same course can be developed and rendered across a variety of delivery platforms – PC, mobiles and tablets. For the end-user, it provides multiple opportunities to access the content, as per his or her schedule – anytime, anywhere.
  
  
• No special or separate efforts are needed to make the course mobile-compatible. The course fits automatically, as per the screen size of the mobile device. Shell features of the course, such as Navigation Buttons, Seekbar, Menu, and Volume On/Off are also supported, with no additional changes.
  
  
• The developed courses can be made available on the Web and can be accessed through any popular mobile browser. Since most mobile browsers now support HTML5, the content created can be accessed by all the learners – irrespective of the model and make of their mobiles. This increases the reach of the content exponentially.
  
  
• Courses that are made available online can also be downloaded and read offline. Due to the lightweight structure of the courses, they take up very little space on the learner’s device. Thus, the learner can access the course content, even when internet connectivity is limited or unavailable.
  
  
• The courses that are created with rapid authoring tools conform to the SCORM and AICC standards, ensuring that tracking is made possible through any new-age LMS. Irrespective of how a course is accessed – online (if the course is on a web server), offline, or while hosted on the LMS – the tracking mechanism remains the same and is synched accordingly, even when the learner is using multiple devices to access the content at different times.
  
  
• A variety of interactivities can be built in the courses to increase its appeal for the learner, including slide transitions, illustrations, scrolling panels and so on. These features are the chosen interactivities in most e-courses, and render in the same manner on the mobile platform as well – ensuring a uniform learner experience, irrespective of varying delivery devices. Other interactivities like Drag and Drop, Text/Data entry fields and Surveys can also be built, opening up the opportunity to create a variety of tests and assessments for the learner, which can be taken on the go.
  
  
• Rapid authoring tools also ensure that the audio element is synchronized and renders well on the mobile platform. This provides the opportunity to create mobile content, which has a strong audio element and creates a powerful connect with the mobile audience. For instance, when reading text on a small screen is a problem, the learner can choose to just ‘hear’ the course and gain instant knowledge. 

There are various types of mobile content to suit theneeds of the modern learners. By utilizing newer ways of mobile content creation, we will be able to create impactful content – within stipulated budgets and time constrains.

Custom e-Learning can bring in Business Success

Custom e-learning solutions have been increasingly popular over the last decade. With advances in communication and development technology in the e-learning industry, using technology for learning has become not only affordable, but also more available. A variety of custom e-learning solutions can be developed to suit the learning objectives well and align to the needs or learning preferences of the intended audience. 

But how do organizations choose the best out of the many varied facets of technology-aided learning? E-learning solutions have to fit the corporate culture and strategy to derive positive business results and achieve Return on Investments (ROI).

A few tips to ensure the success of e-learning solutions:

• When working with available content, the first step is often to redesign the content to suit the strengths and benefits of the technology-enabled platform. It is wise to consider that lot of them may not have exposure to computer-led trainings.  Keeping the language simple and inserting strategies like generic themes and easily-recognizable figures can help the learners connect more with the course content.

• It is tedious to read a lot of text online, so the textual content should be kept minimal. Instead, a lot of graphics can be utilized to impart knowledge. Audio voiceover can compensate for the minimalistic onscreen text, which makes the course easier to consume and retain for the learner. It is best to create courses that are no more than 15–30 minutes long, and which- mainly consist of graphics, animations and audio.

• In addition to the e-content, it is also a popular strategy to include downloadable offline learning material that summarizes the main learning of the course. This allows the learners to study offline and refresh the main learning from the course, without going through the course all over again.

• Most organizations are now widely spread. Taking the regional diversity into consideration, the learning solutions can also be localized into regional languages and all cultural references should be neutral in nature – to ensure that the learners from all regions can relate and understand the e-content well.

• The structure of an e-course also contributes to its success. A simple structure ensures that the learners are able to maneuver their way easily through the course.  The course can be made easily-accessible and easily-consumable by making sure that the number of clicks is reduced. Efficient developers include only purposeful clicks – giving the learner more time to concentrate on the course content, rather than the details of navigation.

• Marketing the learning initiative is as important as launching it. E-Mailers, banners or other promotional messages should be circulated among the learner group before the launch of the e-learning solution – to make sure that the learners’ interest is aroused and they are prepared for the learning opportunity.
  
  
  
  The ways to ensure business success of a custom e-learning solution should take into consideration the needs of the organization as well as those of the learners. While taking into account the available budgets, it is also important to make sure that the budgets are utilized into creating e-learning, which suits the end audience and empowers them to do their work better.