Talent 2

By Scott Wagstaff, General Manager, Learning Content and Technology, Talent2

"Delivering content to mobile workers is not just possible; it is becoming a key requirement for connecting learners to knowledge." Bersin & Associates, 2009

Since the launch of the iPhone in June 2007, the digital learning community has promised that mobile learning is going to be the 'next big thing'. Research firm IDC confirms this worker mobility is increasing, predicting that by 2013 there will be 1.3 billion mobile workers worldwide, representing 35% of the workforce.

So, while it seems like mobile learning - or 'm-learning' - should be taking off, why is it not as pervasive as the experts predict?

Over the past 6 months, Talent2 has been exploring this question through several 'Think Tank' events with clients from all industry sectors. The results of our discussions have been surprising.

This article explores the reasons behind the many false starts that organisations have had in deploying mobile learning, and how learning professionals need to rethink the 'rules' of current e-learning practice.

What is Mobile Learning?

By definition, mobile learning is:

'…any sort of learning that happens when the learner is not at a fixed, predetermined location, or
learning that happens when the learner takes advantage of the learning opportunities offered by mobile technologies.'

MOBIlearn project, 2005

When considering mobile learning, the first mistake many learning professionals make is to get stuck thinking about technology alone. Technology is just one part of the mobile - the real issue is that learners are mobile, moving, and seeking specific information through their device. The technology issues can seem overwhelming, with a proliferation of platforms, providers, screen sizes and delivery methods, but mobile devices offer many channels of information delivery, including audio, video, browser-delivered content and apps.

The technology issues are not insurmountable, but they are a key concern for most businesses. Our research suggests that, while the smartphone will become the most accessed device for mobile learning, the tablet device, dominated currently by the iPad,  is emerging as the 'bridge' to mobile learning.

Tablet devices provide mobility but its greater screen size permits the delivery of richer information similar to that currently delivered through traditional e-learning channels. We see that Apple's domination of the smartphone and tablet device market is also likely to shift, as Android devices are becoming the most popular smartphone platform across the world.

Within this competitive 'mobile device' market, two things are likely to happen; functionality will increase and retail prices will decrease, making it more affordable for business to adopt tablets as a primary staff communications and training tool.

So what are the barriers?

Despite the increasing penetration of mobile devices among learners, there are still some barriers to adoption. Talent2 research identified three key barriers perceived by organisations:

1. Additional cost, not replacement cost - Given that penetration of smartphones and tablet devices is still well below 100%, learning professionals are struggling with the fact that the design and development of mobile learning is an additional cost to the organisation, rather than replacing other forms of learning.
   
   
2. Finding the right project and business case - With mobile learning seen as an extra cost, learning professionals are finding it difficult to find the right project and business case that would justify this additional investment.
   
   
3. Concerns over measurement and control - While learning mobility is a desired outcome, many organisations worry about how they will measure and track learning that takes place on a mobile device, and how they will secure their content on mobile devices that are often used for personal uses as well.

New ways of thinking

To overcome these barriers, learning professionals need to redefine the perception of learning with a mobile world. We've identified four new paradigms.

1. 'Just in time' learning - Traditional learning models deliver vast amounts of information to a learner, just in case they need it. This state exists largely because organisations have only a few opportunities to reach their learners - such as the occasional opportunities to get people to a face-to-face course.
   
   

   Mobile learning does not afford the luxury of delivering great volumes of learning - learning must be short, sharp and provide only what the learner needs right now to perform the task at hand. However, mobile learning also offers many opportunities to reach learners. Once the mobile offerings have proven their value to learners - by providing quick, efficient information that solves a problem - learners will return to this source for other assistance in the future.

2. Who is paying for it? - If you are asking learners to participate in learning activities outside the workplace, you need to consider who owns the device they are using and whose time and data cost you are asking them to spend. Often, learners already own the device, they're using personal time, and they're paying the data costs. This must be respected in what you offer to learners. If you provide them with relevant, personalized, helpful information, learners are less likely to be concerned about using their own resources to access corporate mobile learning. Also, organisations must appreciate the advantages of this access when calculating an ROI.
   
   
3. What are they learning? - Mobile learning puts the learner in control of what they will learn, and when. The content offered to learners needs to be highly relevant to their current context - whether that's the time and place they're in, the tasks they're doing, or the problems they're facing. The content needs to meet learner demand - a change from traditional e-learning where it was easy to push out required training that wasn't always of interest to the learning audience.
   
   

   However, mobile devices offer many avenues to create this demand and engagement. Through the functions of most mobile devices, we have access to learning tools like location-specific content, augmented reality, access to a wealth of existing information sources on the internet, ubiquitous access to learning communities, and the opportunity for learners to apply their learning through content creation, such as photos, video and collaboration.

4. How do you manage it? Traditional assumptions about tracking and measurability requirements for e-learning must be reviewed in the mobile environment. Tracking and measurement are designed to ensure knowledge has been transferred, and to provide feedback to the business about appeal of the learning offering. When the training meets learner demand and offers task-related information, knowledge transfer is demonstrated when learners are able to complete a task or solve a problem thanks to what they've learned. The appeal and value of the learning offering is demonstrated when learners return to the mobile learning courses. Tracking and measurement will change to move more in line with the type of detail and measurement attained by websites, rather than those used in the traditional e-learning space.

Mobile learning is the new frontier of learning. It offers many advantages over 'desk-bound' learning but it cannot be developed or measured using the same criteria. It requires that learning professionals trust that learners have a desire to learn and will seek out information - and then providing the information they are likely to seek. We believe most learners are hungry for these information opportunities, and the responsibility to seek knowledge; it's now up to learning professionals to make it happen.

POSTED BY Wendy Ng

1 COMMENT

TAGS: Learning

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• vijayakumar	03 May 2012 at 12:15 AM
  To improve my skills and to be an asset to the organization and to succeed in all my endeavors, and to establish a successful career, rendering the best of my efforts with utmost sincerity and devotion.

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