3 Best Practices for Mobile Learning Courses

As learning and development continues to evolve, one major need that has cropped up is the demand for mobile learning. Mobile learning (or mLearning) is training content designed for learners to consume on their mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Now that smartphones are standard, your courses need to be accessible to learners on those devices so they can refer back to your materials wherever they are, whatever they are doing.

A course that integrates mobile learning (or mLearning) successfully is a glorious thing to learners, but when the mLearning is an afterthought, it can be even more frustrating than a course without mobile capabilities.

Luckily, Brandon Hall recently included some best practices for mobile learning in their LMS Trends 2015 report.

Plan for BYOD

First, be smart when you shop for your tech. Many companies offer mobile options, but some lock you into a specific device, such as BlackBerry or Windows Phone. Gartner predicts that as soon as 2017, 50% of companies globally will require BYOD, so make sure that you find a solution that is compatible to all devices.  

Responsive Design

Smartphones come with all kinds of screen sizes these days, and some learners want to rotate their screens or view it on different browsers. Make sure that whatever your technology is, it is responsive.

Just-in-time learning

Once you have the tech in place, it’s time to do your part. Repurpose your content so that it is easy to consume on-the-go. Think about it from the user perspective: if they are sitting at their computer with an hour for training, they will probably access it from the larger screen that doesn’t require them to hold up their hand. Your mobile learning comes into play when they are in the middle of a task and need to reference your training, or when they have a few minutes at the airport to catch up.

Progress is onwards and upwards, so it only makes sense to integrate mobile learning into your training courses. Be sure to keep these three priorities in mind as you set out down the road of mlearning, and you will be all set to provide your learners with a successful mobile experience.

Free L&D Toolkit: Top 10 Things to Consider When Delivering Training Digitally

Whether you’re struggling to reach more mobile learners, keep the ones in front of you engaged, or start an entire digital training program from scratch, this toolkit will help.