Transforming Your Training Experience With Mobile Learning

Today, the world is going mobile at an astounding pace and majority of internet access takes place via mobile devices. Smartphones, tablets, iPads and other handheld devices play an increasingly large role in personal and professional communication of learners. Mobile learning solutions are not merely learning via portable devices, but learning across contexts. With technology becoming smaller, powerful, more personalized and pervasive, it supports a more mobile environment.

If you are using a desktop machine, organizations support workflow learning or e-learning. But, people who are not able to meet all their learning needs tend to go mobile, as it provides a channel to bridge the gap between training content and learners’ tailored needs. 

There are several myths associated with the use of mobile devices for content delivery. Some of these are discussed as follows:

• Employees don’t have mobile devices

The world is shifting from analog to digital and modernization has a huge impact on all areas of work and businesses. It is quite common that people have their personalized mobile devices, making it easier to access e-courses anytime and anywhere.

• Small screens are limiting

Although the screen size is small, but plethora of things can be done with small amount of text, image, audio or a video.

• Always connected

Before using mobile data, devices were synched with computer systems. But, today, a lot can be done using mobile data, without any need to sync both when they are not in proximity. So, there are several things that can be preloaded, regardless of being universally connected.

• It’s about content

Content delivery on mobile devices is about content, but neither always nor completely. Sometimes, it is about collaboration and interactivity between learners as well as between learners and instructors.

• Learning through Mobile Devices

To ensure whether mobile learning helps deliver effective training solutions, you need to address the nature of learning problem. For this, Mosher and Gottfredson proposed a model to identify the five phases during which most learners require support to perform successfully:

Phases 1 and 2

The first two phases need to adopt a more structured learning approach and higher degree of teaching content. This involves in-depth information that requires greater demands on the learners’ attention span. So, if you are thinking of using a mobile device such as a tablet for learning, it is better to include it as a part of blended learning, where training is imparted via conventional classroom training, rather than a standalone module. For instance, smartphones are used to access training material, provide takeaways from the learning environment or offer information via information nuggets. If you are considering tablets for training delivery, you can customize your content delivery like the case of traditional web-based training.

Phases 3, 4 and 5

The next three phases include reinforcement of basic knowledge and skills that learners possess. Primary focus is on the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, access just-in-time learning and get information updates. Transformation from teaching to reinforcement prepare learners for successful content delivery over a portable device.

An incredible growth of the mobile market throughout the past few years presents a new set of challenges and opportunities for learners as well as educators. Most of the organizations have started showing interest in using mobile devices for effective training content delivery.