Designing Digitally
11/30/2017
With most people owning a mobile device of some sort, it’s should come as no surprise that mobile training is becoming an indispensable part of education. The increase in learner engagement is just one of the numerous benefits.
Mobile learning continues to grow by leaps and bounds in the world of corporate training. Businesses are seeing the value of employees having access to their training materials on the go, whenever they want.
What do companies need to consider if they want to create mobile learning solutions for their employees?
Think about who your learners are and what they need to accomplish from this mobile training experience. Is the focus on improving the strategies of the sales team? Or is the course a general introduction to the company for new hires?
Tailoring the mobile learning solutions to specific groups and defined learning objectives is essential for a course to be successful. The succinct nature of mLearning doesn’t allow for any unnecessary content.
The content of the course should be available for access over any device. The visual quality should be just as good on a smartphone, as it is on a tablet or laptop.
Adjustments may need to be made for navigation, which can be different from one device to another, due to the varying screen sizes.
Because the content will most likely be accessed while the user is on the go, it’s important that the activities be engaging enough to draw them in and hold their attention, even in the midst of distractions.
Offering rewards or using real-life scenarios can help to emotionally invest the learner. When they are tuned in to the activity, true learning is much more likely to happen.
Adding an aspect of social involvement will increase the effectiveness of any learning activity. This can be done with mobile learning solutions through the use of social media, group projects, and other collaborative learning tools.
Working with others, even in an mLearning situation, allows one to see an issue from a perspective that’s different than their own, making the learning experience richer and deeper.
No learning experience is complete without some type of assessment. It’s the only way to know if the material is being comprehended and where the employee may need to focus more time on content.
In the case of mobile training, the advantage is that the feedback is immediate. Having assessments built into the activity allows the user to make corrections as needed, in the moment. This is much more effective for the learning process.
The informal assessments that are interspersed throughout the course are more helpful, but it’s important to have a more formal assessment at the end, as well.
Tests that are appropriate for the end of a course are:
Mobile learning solutions are effective educational tools, appropriate for the tech-savvy learners-on-the-go of today. Following some easy guidelines ensures that employees are receiving a comprehensive education in their field.