Mobile learning is a great tool for educators and business owners alike. It has become increasingly popular, largely due to its ability to reach a wider audience and its variety of interactive options. Mobile learning projects are a wonderful, accessible way to engage a group of users with a specific learning outcome in mind. If you’re planning on taking advantage of the benefits a mobile learning project provides, having a clear plan of action and a development strategy will help guide your project toward a successful conclusion.
Steps to Developing and Carrying Out a Smart Mobile Learning Project
The heart of your project is ultimately your audience. By taking time in the beginning to assess their overall needs and learning goals, you will be able to better design an application that both educates them and supports their future growth.
Define
Before beginning the development stage, you should ask yourself what you are looking to accomplish and who your audience is. While many people today are familiar with or have access to smartphones and tablets, users will still have differing levels of experience and ease with the various devices. You may discover that you need to cater your project to users who have less experience with or knowledge of technology, or you may realize that your users have a strong handle on technology and interactive methods of learning. Other factors to consider during this stage are whether or not there are sufficient resources, what technology the project may require, and who is going to be in charge of the project once the design portion has been completed.
Determine the Outcome
It is also essential for you to outline what your desired outcomes are. Once you have a clearly defined end goal in place, you will be able to better determine whether or not your project will be successful. By including your audience and your business or educational objectives for the project before beginning the design and content development portion, you are setting yourself up for success.
Development
Once you have determined your audience and have a set of goals in mind, you will be better prepared to begin the design and development phase. During this stage you may need to consider many things, including which devices and platforms you plan on supporting (e.g. Apple, Android, or both), who is going to be in charge, what security measures are needed, and how you will stay up-to-date with the most current and relevant content.
Challenges
It is also important to prepare yourself for the challenges that may arise throughout the duration of your project. From having a marketing plan to a source for funding in place, it is helpful to take care of the logistics before getting started. Obstacles will undoubtedly arise, but if you have a good design and implementation plan in mind, you will be able to address them in a more mindful way.
Additional Factors
There are many additional factors that you may need to consider, which is why it is a good idea to enlist the services of a company such as Designing Digitally, Inc. Outside factors may include the overall popularity of using mobile devices for learning purposes, whether your project is designed for formal learning programs or as a supplementary tool, what your standards for content production are, and how long you see the project going on for.
As the key to a successful mobile learning project lies in having a good handle on who your target audience is, what your end goal is, and what your content is going to focus on, taking a step back and assessing all of your options before beginning will help you create a clear concept to follow as you proceed with future stages of the project. By approaching the project with an open mind and having a plan of action for each and every stage, you are setting yourself up for a project that will not only attract users, but will also give them the knowledge and tools to succeed. If you are in need having a mobile learning strategy created for your organization contact Designing Digitally, Inc. today!