Designing Digitally
11/12/2018
Mobile learning is a fabulous way to teach employees new tricks of the trade. From an essential course for university employees about helping students get student aid to learning new hazardous materials practices, mobile learning can effectively utilize employee time for everyone's benefit. Some of the perks of mobile learning are that it can be done in small chunks of time, isn't overwhelmingly difficult, and can be done from virtually anywhere. This makes mobile learning a fast and effective method for teaching employees new skills.
It is essential to note that mobile learning storyboards are new to some people, however, since mobile learning is just taking off. To make your learning course effective, you have to get the basics of mobile learning storyboards down first. When you have a great concept and design, your course has a much better success rate. Try these tips for making mobile learning storyboards right the first time, even if you're new to it.
Mobile training solutions are accomplished in small chunks. Usually this means five minutes at a time for the mobile learner. Help your readers by replacing long paragraphics with condensed lists as often as you can.
Breaking information down graphically is important, too. Don't put icons so close together that they cannot be pressed independently. Pay attention to the graphics to make sure they are easy to read specifically on a mobile phone, not just a computer. On a narrower screen, some graphics don't interpret as well as they do on a computer.
It is recommended that you keep the required scrolling to three scrolls per page, so that you don't lose your user's attention. In a similar vein, make sure that the graphics roll and rotate in a way that tests positively. Some graphics may not show up well rolling and rotating on a mobile phone, or they may not be visible at all at that scale. Drag and drops are known for making a great interaction on desktop learning modules, but not on mobile training solutions modules. Try interactive charts and graphs, narrow infographics, and image carousels to add moving pizzazz to your learning module without making the user dizzy.
Working with one frame and seeing it to completion in a prototype is essential. All the little things that make up a mobile training solutions module - scale, color, perspective, graphics, fonts, and so on are important. Make sure that they play well with each other the way you are using them. Setting up a prototype gives you the opportunity to make a clean visual overall look for your learning module, instead of having different themes going throughout your storyboard. It ensures that the proper testing is done throughout the module for interactivity as well.
The little things in graphic design matter, and mobile has some important standards. One is that infographics should be narrower than on desktop, and that your pages shouldn't be too long (three scrolls maximum). But you should also use only sans serif fonts and look carefully at the color scheme to make sure it is easy to read. In fact, it is recommended that for mobile training you use graphics at every available opportunity when creating a learning module, instead of words. In that same thread, you should make your content easy to skim and scan, to cater to the nature of mobile training and a short attention span.
One mobile learning strategy is to make sure that your interface is similar across different devices, so that when users switch interfaces they don't become confused. Another is to do some research about where the "push" and "pull" types of content should go, and to make sure they are balanced. Make your navigation simple, and put small amounts of information on each page so that it can be captured at a glance. Use plain labels and easy-to read graphics that can be scanned. Also, make your materials searchable. Use backlinks, hover spots and other mobile learning strategy aids to help you keep your paragraphs short, while still providing additional information where necessary.
Contact our team at Designing Digitally. Inc. to discuss how mobile learning can be an effective way to engage your organization!
We bring a personal and effective approach to every project we work on.
