There is no denial of the fact that mobile devices have become an integral part of our life. They are used for a variety of functions i.e from capturing your moments, booking a cab and ordering for your favorite food and for quality learning purpose as well
If you are looking to find the reason for the growing importance and demand of mobile learning, I feel that the smart technology, increased penetration of the mobile devices and stronger internet connectivity are all the factors that have paved the way for mobile learning. From traditional classroom training, the world of learning has now evolved to adopt mobile learning. What was once seen as a device of distraction has now opened up the opportunities to create engaging learning experiences. From the dull and boring nature of classroom learning, mobile learning takes the learning experience to an engaging and interactive one.c
So what is mobile learning?
Mobile learning or m-learning involves the use of mobile technology to enable learning anytime and anywhere on a mobile device.
Let’s see how mobile learning is changing the way learners are learning. We can classify this into three ways
1.Individualized
2.Collaborative
3.Informal learning
Accessing the learning content from mobile devices, allows learners to easily control and pace their learning. The learners are not bound by the fixed time of a classroom training or restricted to accessing the learning content from the office desktops and laptop. It means that it supports individualized learning.
While learning through mobile devices, learners can easily interact with peer learners. The modern instant messaging apps like Whatsapp etc allows the same function. Have a doubt? Dial the number and call your peer learner easily.
Found something interesting or an important point? Long press the screen and copy paste the content to save it or to share it with others. These endless possibilities of collaborative/social learning are strong points to create engagement with the mobile learning approach. These approaches or strongholds of mobile learning are sure to drive the engagement in the learning experiences through m-learning mode.
Hence let’s explore in detail the six different ways of boosting employee engagement through mobile learning
1.Delivers personalised learning
The LinkedIn workplace report 2018 states that 58% of employees prefer to learn at their own pace. The approach of one size fits for all need to change as learning should be customized to the needs of the learners. The learners of today are more demanding and they prefer to get the learning personalized and relevant to them. Personalization of learning can give an unmatched experience that is tailored to the individual’s particular needs and personal characteristic.
But how is mobile learning able to deliver a personalized learning experience?
The mobile learning can allow the learner to create individual learner profile and perform the various set of customization like the following
•Setting up of personal user profile
•tracking of his/her learner progress
•Personalizing the character and available options in the e-learning course. For example, including cosmetic upgrades, giving a preferred name to the character etc.
•Change the background theme, colors etc
•Location-based refining of learning content. For example, detecting the location of the learner and translating the learning content
Personalization of the learning content is all geared up to see more benefits with the use of new technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence etc. Take the example of mobile learning apps like Udemy, Coursera which supports the machine learning capability that understands what the learner wants and suggests/recommends the courses according to the preference of the learner. All this can boost the employee engagement.
2.Enables just in time learning
The learners of today want to access learning at the point of need. They demand the information at their fingertips with least complexities. Mobile learning helps an organisation to fix this challenge as it enables the learners to access the learning content from anywhere and any device. The capabilities of the modern mobile device with the improved technological infrastructures in terms of better network etc makes it easy to access the learning content as and when needed. For example, the statistics tell us that almost 90 percent of all millennials have their smartphones with them 24×7, We look at our smartphones an average of 221 times a day
These statistics tell the growing importance and need of Just in time learning approach. Gone are those days where the learner needs to wait for the next round of classroom training
Organizations are also upping their game with the offline download options where the learner can now access the learning content anytime without even active network connections. The modern mobile apps of popular LMS (Learning Management System) supports the same functions. With mobile apps, the organization is able to enhance the learning experience and bring engagement to the learning courses. Let’s see what are the ways of using mobile apps to boost employee engagement as part of your mobile learning strategy
1.Dedicated and easy access to learning content. The user is not even required to log in every time.
2. Most of the mobile learning supports the creation of individual learner profile allowing various options to customize the learning experience3. 3.The mobile learning allows the learners to view the learning courses in a neat layout and without any cluttered or confusing navigations.
4. Better control of the learning experiences and self-paced learning.
5. Enable social learning as it allows easy sharing of information. For example, invite your peer learner for a collaborative learning experience.
6. Make the best use of notifications- For example, the option to set in-app notifications with the mobile app allows the organization to send reminders and pull back the learners to complete the course.
3.Freedom to choose the learning path
“Select your proficiency level- Beginner, Intermediate, Expert”
I love this approach of choosing the dedicated learning path with mobile learning. It allows the learner to choose where he is and choose the path of learning that he/she prefers to. This gives the learner the much-required confidence and engagement boost to continue the learning process as the learning content are suited to the personal need and requirement. The comfort of any time, anywhere access to the learning content through the mobile devices allows the learners to steer the individual path of learning experiences.
4.Blends with gamification
To boost employee engagement, the organisation can include gamification. While we have seen and used the approach in various e-learning strategies, mobile learning stands out.
•For example, the statistics tell us that 70 percent of the learners reported improved motivation to learn when they were able to use their mobile devices.
•According to the findings of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Skillsoft survey, 72 percent of the participants reported increased engagement with mobile learning. Imagine when you combine mobile learning with gamification, I am sure that it can create an amazing experience of learning engagement
5. Enables Social learning
Mobile learning is the best approach to use the benefits of social learning. With a 24*7 internet connectivity and with millions of people using social media websites and apps, there is no other better way to use the benefits of social learning. Click the share button and the information is shared across the groups, forums etc. The learners can invite peer learners to collaborate and learn and even challenge them to compete. This allows the learners to become contributors to the learning process too. For example, the active discussions in the groups, forums etc create a wealth of knowledge which raises the bar of engagement
6.Delivers seamless video streaming experience
Statistics tell us about the growing trend of watching the videos on mobile devices i.e mobile devices accounted for 58% of all videos watched globally.
This opens up the opportunity to include the latest learning strategies of using interactive videos to boost employee engagement. The interactive videos bring quality learning content and provide the immersive learning experiences where the learning proceeds according to the user actions.
