The Top 5 Things Organizations need for Mobile Learning

My previous articles, you must have gone through surely depicted the emergence and penetration of mobile learning in learning and development industry, as one of the means of achieving an advanced leaning experience. Like me, if you have also been engaged in this industry, you would always have immense understanding and recognition for the direction where the learning is led. Being a corporate learning and development oriented firm, I have witnessed a number of tipping point in this industry, including the adoption of novel means that deliver great value for the people who need to perform at the utmost level in their respective organizational fields. Mobile learning is something I witnessed so widespread in this regard.

This is quite evident that these days the tipping point is no doubt the mobile learning technology. Today’s organizations are required to recognize the changing learning demands of an ever increasing mobile workforce, which is continuously showing the need to have a mechanism in order to drive learning and performance support to their geographically dispersed organization[1]. Mobile learning is the most suitable and most beneficial answer. May be, few critics label it bit slower, yet it is still a natural process for the adoption of a new technology and a novel ways to carry out functions.

Do organizations really need mobile learning, is the first point of concern here. It has been around a decade of an iPhone debut and since then, the smartphone turned out to be culturally universal all over the world. Organizations have recognized and utilized the technology, using this platform to communicate with their employees, customers, deliver products, sell services etc. Mobile devices have been witnessed as perpetually poised to be the next mega technology breakthrough for the learning and development, not just in corporate but academic context as well.

As per the latest Mobile learning research, conducted by the Brandon Hall Group, this wait continues. Around 30 percent of the organizations in 2014 stated that they don’t have any  interaction of mobile with the learning and training. In 2016, the number has seen slightly declined to 28 percent[2]. Meantime, we also moved from the iPhone 4 to iPhone 6 and from the Android KitKat to the Marshmallows, however, the shift to the mobile learning still doesn’t seem significant or even at least with the similar proportion. The levels of usage and their sophistication around what businesses are really doing with the mobile are still not being able to show really a great change.

So, what exactly do organizations have to do for mobile learning? What are the things they must go for in order to adopt mobile learning to the fullest for learning and development? We will examine here in the light of some valuable findings gathered from some latest researches, including the one carried out by Brandon Hall Group.

1. Mobile learning as a major part of learning strategy

One of the reasons behind why the organizations lack in exploiting the potential of mobile learning even though investing huge sum of money on it, is their inability to treat mobile learning as a major part of their overall organizational learning strategy[3]. Learning and training manager must sit to define learning goals backed mainly by mobile leaning and determine the ways making it synchronized to other learning modes in the best possible manner. In addition, organizations which are spending just on the mobile infrastructure and not on its content also seem lacking for achieving the desired learning outcomes. Hence, from infrastructure to content and from treatment to successful deployment leading to desired metrics is the foremost need for the organizations.

2. Determining the most effective elements for mobile learning

Mobile leaning is not the hollow or single concept; rather it is a mix of a lot of elements and modes itself. Organizations can determine what most effective elements are for themselves on the basis of the nature of business and learning needs, yet my suggestion would especially revolve around recognition of video as the most effective use for mobile learning[4]. It is quite common that most of the mobile users are quite comfortable watching videos on devices since the interactions and controls are universal and video also makes the most of the real estate on the mobile screen.

3. Making the mobile learning secure

Security continues to be the biggest barrier in the way of mobile learning adoption, stated by many of the organizations surveyed in some latest studies conducted. Security issues related to connectivity, privacy and ethics are there, yet it is a good sign that percentage of organizations that consider security as the biggest barrier to adopt mobile learning is decreasing[5], because of the implementation of cloud based secured servers and other cyber security technologies.

4. The content development

Though I have discussed about it in detail in my last posts, yet here I would emphasize it again since content development for mobile learning strategy that is aligned with overall strategic strategy of the organization is utmost important[6]. Mobile learning content must support learning objectives and this can only be possible if you plan the goals wisely.

5. Mobile learning metrics

Just like other learning modes like video learning, MOOCs, distance learning etc., mobile learning’s efficiency must also be examined in relative to pre-defined performance metrics including turn over, pass out ratio, learners’ feedback, productivity and employee satisfaction[7].

[1] https://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2014/04/16/top-5-ways-companies-are-using-mobile-learning-technology/
[2] https://trainingmag.com/mobile-learning-delivery-hasn%E2%80%99t-advanced-predicted
[3] http://www.exultcorp.com/5-things-ld-should-consider-before-embracing-m-learning/
[4] http://elearningindustry.com/5-innovative-examples-boost-workforce-performance-performance-support-tools-psts
[5]   https://trainingmag.com/mobile-learning-delivery-hasn%E2%80%99t-advanced-predicted
[6] http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669896/10-ways-that-mobile-learning-will-revolutionize-education
[7]https://www.sweetrush.com/what-we-do-for-you/m-learning/

Copyright 2016 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Nielson – Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.– Being a big believer in Technology Enabled Learning, Bryant seeks to create awareness, motivate adoption and engage organizations and people in the changing business of education. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual.
Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson