Mobile learning is the new way of learning. With the increase in mobile devices, more and more learners are joining the Mlearning bandwagon. Regardless of whether they are waiting at the client’s premises or travelling on business, learners have information at their fingertips. And that is why this delivery platform is catching on. Here are six steps to ensure that the audience has a compelling mobile learning experience.
It is important to do a needs analysis. Organizations should avoid adopting Mlearning just because it’s the new thing in town. The first step is to analyze the actual need. Mlearning benefits almost all organizations, as long as it is targeted to a real need. It is important to ask the questions:
- Is the mobile workforce finding it difficult to access training content?
- Will Mlearning resolve the issue at hand?
- What is the basic objective of adopting an Mlearning strategy?
There may be a need for Mlearning. But is the organization ready to embrace it? It is important to have management buy-in. Mobile learning requires a budget and the management needs to be willing to approve it. Also, it is really important for the organization to have a culture of sharing and social learning, for any mobile learning strategy to be successful.
The screens of mobile devices vary in size. It is important to keep the device and the platforms used in mind. Organizations may decide to provide standardized mobile devices. But that is an expensive proposition. If the employees are allowed to use their own devices, there should be proper BYOD policies in place.
There are numerous options available like native apps, mobile apps, Flash, authoring tools, html5 and so on. Make sure you test, revise, and test. Don't expect it to work perfectly on every device the same way.
Most organizations believe that they can use existing e-learning content to support a mobile learning strategy. It does not happen that way. Mlearning is not e-learning on the move. Ideally, if the organization does not have the time and budget to develop for different devices, it should create the content for the smallest device and customize accordingly. An effective design will keep the mobile workforce in mind. For example, no one likes to scroll for eternity to access content. It might make sense to approach a click-and-reveal feature for text heavy content.
It is important to identify the relevant content. Ideally it should be small nuggets of information that the employees can access just-in time. Some other factors also need to be kept in mind. How much time will it take for a particular page to load? Can they access videos? Will they be operating the device with just one hand? Will the employees benefit through forum and discussions?
One way to ensure security is to have strict mobile security policies in place. Password protection is a common technique to secure access. If the device gets lost, technology should be in place to erase all data. It is not only enough to have security policies;educating the workforce is also essential.
Mobile learning is the new boundary in corporate training. There are endless possibilities with this delivery platform. If you have not adopted Mlearning for your organization, it may be time that you do.
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