16. Is mobile the best option for this
content?
•What makes it right for mobile access?
•How will we make it more than ‘e-learning
on a mobile device’?
17. Is mobile the best option for this
audience?
What technology do they have?
Are we expecting them to use their own
devices? And if so, will they?
Are we expecting them to do this on their own
time?
18. Is mobile the best option for our
budget?
How does it fit into our learning strategies?
What kind of mobile learning can we actually
deliver within our IT infrastructure?
What are we prepared to spend to achieve our
aims?
22. “Mobile as an augment to
formal learning:
reactivating knowledge,
distributing practice,
contextualizing learning,
and even performance
capture.”
~ Clark Quinn
26. Native Apps
• Download through the app stores (e.g.,
iTunes or Android Market)
• High end and slick
• Have to build multiple versions for
multiple devices
27. Web Apps
• Browser apps (HTML) that run on a
smartphone or tablet
• Runs across multiple devices
• Limited use of device’s capabilities
28. And HTML5? Does this mean all of my
Flash content goes away?
29. Questions to consider…
• Do you want the same module to run on
both desktops and mobile devices?
• Does your LMS support the
smartphone/tablets you are targeting?
• How are you going to get your published
content to the smartphone/tablets?
45. Design solutions
for the devices
that your people
are using where
they are using
them.
46. Go with the flow
and use mobile as
part of your
strategic blend.
47. Use mobile
learning to
augment formal
training efforts
and capture
experiences.
Notas do Editor
Needs a better image – very blurrry
Some people define true mobile as fitting into your pocket....
Image of someone on a plane…in a line…
It’s NOT about putting an elearning course onto your phone.And possibly, we should stop lumping this all together under “m-learning”….
Re. Are they really ‘on the move’ enough to warrant a mobile approach?Not sure the logic of this, think how many times we look at our mobile appliances when not really on the move. The key question for me is will they happily let our learning programs into their own personal world – I think this should be mentionedAlso, I have had some question marks raised about asking learners to do learning out of the office (potentially in their own time), in the US I gather they may start to ask for overtime according to some people I have talked to. This could be added to your third point.
Pre-course presentations and readingPost-course quizzes and testsPodcasts and VodcastsJust in time checklists and performance toolsTriggers and promptsOngoing communication with fellow learners, experts and trainersRegular updates and tips
Creating native apps that use specific functionality leads to unique and exciting learning solutions. But it also potentially adds to the price tag. If you are looking to introduce sustainable production models, a balance needs to be made between the template approach and the custom model.
At one end of the scale, we have produced a number of flexible HTML-based templates for clients (ideal for producing a single output for multiple delivery platforms including both desktop and mobile technologies).
Do you want the same module to run on both desktops and mobile devices? If so, you will be limiting yourself to basic HTML 4 content.Does your LMS supports the smartphone/tablets you are targeting? If not, you can’t track usage.How are you going to get your published content to the smartphone/tablets? For native apps, you will need an effective distribution channel.
Add TTS – James Pritchard knows about this...And Captivate...
CameraYou can get learners to use a mobile device for taking pictures in the workplace to send to coaches or assessors to verify they are following through on agreed action plans or meeting standards (such as maintaining a safe workplace).r discussion).Smartphones, in particular, are well set up as knowledge delivery and sharing devices – and that’s not to mention the two main features on any phone – talking and texting people! SMS is a great way of providing ongoing support or reminders to learners and Facetime is a great way of delivering just-in-time coaching. All of these methods give you the opportunity to create an informal learning experience within your blend at very low cost.At Farmers Insurance, they use iPads in the classroom. Students record their own role plays and then critique their own performances.
Some of the top rated and award winning apps out there are content aggregators. These apps provide configurable magazine-style interfaces to view information and articles published on the web. This kind of learning app is ideal for senior managers who like to use quieter moments out of work to catch up on their reading (often via tablet devices like the iPad). Most of these apps provide links to public websites or blog spots. But what many executives need is very specificcontent, often generated within their organization. In this example, specific content that is available on an existing internal leadership portal is pushed out to an iPad app. It is much easier (and more likely) for executives to browse and keep up to date if it is delivered right to their iPad. Ideal approach for:busy senior managerskeen Tablet (iPad/Android) users in your target audiencegetting neglected content out there to your target audience by repackaging it
In a retail environment, consumers are being encouraged all the time to read barcodes or QR codes to get more information on products. You can use the same approach for your learning programs. Here is a product knowledge module on a GPS Navigation system being accessed by scanning the code on each product label on the shelves. The app recognises the barcode and delivers specific information including a video presentation about the product. It’s something they can either share with the customer or use to quickly improve their own product knowledge when there is a quiet moment on the shop floor.Place QR codes next to equipment for quick access to job aids and checklists.
You’re not near your usual source of information (your own computer for example) and you want to know how to do a key task. What can you do? You can always turn to a guide on your own mobile device. These just in time guides may be searchable databases of static or ‘live’ information to access knowledge, or short video clips that demonstrate a skill. This featured example is a just-in-time learning app delivered via smartphones which explains step by step how to use an HR system within a major corporate. By delivering the guide on a smartphone, it is accessible to many when they need it. Each key task is explained by guided animations all accessed from a main menu which the learner can go through at their own pace.Kineo’s E-learning Top Tips App is another example of a mobile learning resource that you can turn to when you need it. (Check it out on iTunes). Ideal approach for:topics that can be learnt best from regular reviewscomplex tasks that can only really be learnt properly in the workplaceknowledge that just needs to be accessed in a timely fashion and not memorised
Mobile learning programs can be quite sophisticated in what they can do. They can deliver more than just-in-time information; they can also provide actual job aids. These apps can give you checklists that you can use to make sure you carry out a task properly. You can also have apps that help you analyse a situation or make a decision. This next example represents the last of these performance support apps. You can emulate the logic of an experienced and knowledgeable expert by creating interactive decision-making tools. In this case, it is a Product Selector. You simply put in the details of a customer’s requirements and the list of relevant products is refined down to one or two options. Information is then available on these options and so it is much easier for a sales assistant to make a recommendation (even involving the customer in the process). Delivering e-learning to the shop floor has often been a challenge in the past, often only available via an over-booked training PC away from the shop floor. Having all of this information and a tool to help make product recommendations is a perfect example of the benefits of mobile learning Ideal approach for:complex tasks in which you have to be sure you have done everything correctlychallenging decision-making requirements where the system can do things much quicker and better than a human beingwide ranging topics where you may not know what you don’t know! Think calculators.
One of the key functions of modern mobile technology is Global Positioning. Many apps such as Google Maps and augmented reality apps like Nearest Wiki (which give you information about exactly what you are currently looking at) use the GPS functionality very successfully.You can use the same approach to provide specific information or related learning modules related directly to the exact spot the learner is standing. This is particularly relevant to outdoor related jobs. Here is an example involving Environmental Regulations within a Chemical Plant. As long as you have an Internet signal the app on the iPad knows where you are: You tap one of the Regulations tabs at the side and you find out all the key information you need as regards Water Regulations around that particular part of the Plant. You can do this now on your iPhone with history apps that layer historical photos onto the real scene.Here’s a key fact with a relevant aerial view of that part of the Plant. Ideal approach for:geographically-specific training or information sharinglinking users to others in the same location (as each could be tracked physically when online)
Blended learning involves providing learners with several bites at the cherry. For some, the real learning takes place when they take a second look at things. Learners though seldom return to an e-learning module they have completed. So, a refresher module is a useful component to add to your overall learning program. If you want to get the learner’s attention though it needs to be accessible within their daily routine. In this example, an e-learning refresher course (built in HTML) can be pushed to learners a few weeks after completing their Assessor Training. It is able to be run on their desktop and on their mobile tablet devices.This is very powerful as most of our learning happens when we try things out in the workplace and reflect on what went right and what went wrong. It is a key part of the Kolb Cycle. Interactive reflective modules on mobile devices offer a great way of doing this just in time in the workplace. These mobile e-coaches ask questions about how things went and what the learner might do differently next time. Expert advice can be offered as feedback and learners are asked to set new goals each time to encourage continuous development. We have found at Kineo that simulating a coach through branching reflective questioning has been really successful and we have used it for topics ranging from time management to couples therapy! Ideal approach for:reflective learners who need longer periods of time to absorb and process informationtopics that can be best understood and retained through regular reviewing (theory says that this could be most topics as repetition is often the key to long-term knowledge retention!)reducing the duration of formal learning, by combining it with follow up learning modules delivered in the workplace via mobile technologies
uses a just the right medium to get the message across.Ideal approach for:presenting particular mobile-orientated learning topics on actual mobile deviceslinking more formalised learning into the informal learning space engaging learners who prefer mobile technologies to more traditional e-learning platforms
Push reminders One of the key defining features of mobile technology is, of course, the fact that it is used as a regular communications tool (whether it is a smartphone or a tablet). Users of mobile technologies want to be contacted whenever colleagues and friends have something they want to share with them. Mobile devices also regularly remind people of what they should – or could be doing. There are hundreds of apps that proactively prompt actions that users have committed to doing. The opportunity is to design performance prompts related to a training course that a learner may have just completed. Here is an example of where this is applied to an ongoing personal development path around breaking habits and embracing change. In this case, learners sign up to a series of regular actions from a ‘Do Something Different’ program (pioneered by Professors Karen Pine and Ben Fletcher) that get delivered to their smartphone or tablet. Ideal approach for:building in phased learning activities within an overall personal development planencouraging delegates to apply what they have learned through real actions after training coursestracking the impact of training programs (i.e. what are learners actually doing post course)
The key to success lies in creating a learner environment in which all those various mobile modules will be easily accessed. Learning Management Systems(LMS’s) are increasingly available on mobile platforms, (even on smartphones), as you see here.Kineo has co-developed Totara, a corporate distribution of the open source Moodle (the most popular LMS in the World) and a mobile version is already in development. LMS’s on mobile devices can be rich learning environments in which both interactive modules and the straightforward use of media such as audio and video can be presented altogether in a clear and straightforward screen design. Ideal approach for:increasing usage of corporate learning environments as the LMS comes to learnerengaging learners who prefer mobile technologies to more traditional e-learning platformsreducing the number of learning apps that may start to clog up and annoy learners
Finally, there’s a mobile learning solution that is open to everyone, even the most technologically challenged. It’s the humble phone. We’ve all encountered (and not always appreciated) voice menus whilst contacting call centres or large organizations: "Press 1 to access your account, Press 2 to speak to a representative, Press 3 to record a message..." This same technology is at the heart of interactive learning experiences that are being adopted (notably in less developed regions like Africa).Using tools like Freedom Fone (http://www.freedomfone.org) you can provide interactive audio-based information, even branching scenarios. You can also set up polls or get the learners to leave their own audio messages. When systems like this use voice-activated instructions, it can be a very useful option for hands free walkthroughs whilst you are actually performing a task. You can get instructions at the pace you want with potential interactive interventions where you can tell the system when you need extra help (and get the relevant help audio).Ideal approach for:mass low cost usage with minimal technological entry barrierstopics that can be talked through whilst a learner is doing themsharing audio-based resources (podcasts, stories, drama)