Getting Mobile Learning Right

mobile learning programThe trend in learning technology for the past few years has been toward providing a more “consumer-grade” experience for learners. Providers and their clients spend much time and energy attempting to mirror the UX designs people see in their everyday interactions with entertainment, navigation, communication, and other consumer technologies.

Yet, there is one aspect of the consumer experience in which learning lags very far behind: mobile interactions. People can accomplish just about any task with their mobile device, with new apps and tools emerging daily. But when it comes to learning in the work environment, the research shows that adoption simply hasn’t reached the levels that were anticipated a decade or so ago.

Why? First, we must simply acknowledge that many people are hesitant to do work-related activities on their personal devices. It is often seen as the last frontier in the battle for work/life balance but perhaps the learning itself is just as much to blame.

As mobile devices became more ubiquitous — and powerful — providers were quick to say their platforms and content were “mobile-friendly.” The reality, though, is that most were simply accessible via mobile web browsers, not apps and they weren’t very appealing or easy to use. It has gotten better, but there is still uncertainty about whether native apps are necessary, if accessing HTML5 content is sufficient or if the approach should be a blend of both.

Organizations must clean up their mobile learning strategies and establish what they will offer, how they will offer it, and perhaps most important, why.

Join us for a webinar on mobile learning stats and trends

To gain more insight into the current and future state of mobile learning, Brandon Hall Group partnered with Litmos to conduct a mobile learning study and found that only 31% of companies have a defined strategy for it. Join us for a webinar on June 17, where we will look at more of the findings, as well as a discussion around what companies may be doing right, wrong or not at all.