Mobile Learning: Best Practices to Follow at Work

The mobile learning market is growing substantially, and will continue to grow. But, there are design challenges that can be encountered along the way. There are numerous mobile devices with different sizes and resolutions. There is no such thing as a standardized device. However, by following certain best practices, organizations will go a long way towards ensuring success for implementing a mobile learning strategy.

Outlined below are some best practices that can be followed in order to provide a good user experience for learners.

Keep the specific design of the device in mind, its screen size and resolution. Design it for a good user experience. Avoid long scrolls. Try to envision how the learner will hold the device so that you can design accordingly. Some hold it in two hands, others use one hand, some prefer landscape, others prefer portrait. If there are links, notify the learners that they are leaving the mobile-optimized course.
Chunk similar content and keep it precise. Mobile devices are not meant for content heavy learning and you want to avoid overwhelming your learners. Ideally, replace heavy text with meaningful images and icons. Graphics convey the meaning better and reduces the cognitive load. But, avoid using background images. They do not serve any purpose and distract the learner.
Choose a font type that will be suitable for all devices. It should not be too small or too large. You will need to use a trial and error method to zero down on the optimum size. If the size is too small, then the learners will have difficulty reading the content. If the font size is large, you will not be able to fit in much content without having to scroll.
If you are using buttons, keep enough white space around it. Make the buttons bold and visible to the learners. Use clear descriptive text on the buttons. Space them out so that the users do not get confused with similar naming buttons.
Keep the navigation simple. Complicated navigational structures on a mobile device is frustrating for the learners. Make sure that you direct the learners to the right place after each action. If you are leading them to any place outside the course, warn them. You don’t want to lose your learner midway.
If you want to include multimedia for your course, consider including mp3 and mp4 files, as they run on all devices. Avoid using Flash. Do not embed heavy multimedia files, as you are not sure about the connectivity of the learners. If the video and audio files buffer too long, they may lose interest and skip it altogether. Also, keep in mind that learners will not be too happy to give up all their bandwidth while accessing learning.

At Designing Digitally, Inc. we have experience with award-winning mobile tools that can positively impact the business goals of our clients. We have created mobile training solutions for several Fortune 500 companies.

Get in touch for your corporate learning needs.