According to Gartner, the mobile workforce is anticipated to double or triple in size by 2018, as workers begin to rely more and more on their mobile devices. Consequently, the mobile learning industry was expected to grow in worth from $5.3 billion in 2013 to $12.2 billion in 2017.1 Here are some mobile learning trends you’ll want to implement as the mobile workforce continues to grow.
BYOD
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is a trend that’s already happening, whether you’re ready for it or not. Yes, your employees are using their personal mobile devices at work.
What’s becoming clear is that employees don’t wait for their companies to switch to a BYOD strategy before deciding to use their devices to focus on their own professional development. Having a training strategy in place that recognizes this trend will be crucial to ensuring employees have the material you think is relevant to their professional growth with your organization.
Responsive Design
While a BYOD strategy can help companies save money since they don’t have to buy every employee a mobile device, it still presents some challenges. Not all employees will have the same type of mobile device, which means responsive design will need to be implemented for course content and learning management systems (LMSs). Courses that have a responsive design will automatically adjust to the screen size and resolution of the device the employee is using. And a responsive LMS adjusts to the placement of things like images and text blocks, based on the device. Responsive design trends ensure every learner receives the same experience, regardless of the device he or she is using.
Bite-Sized Content
One of the benefits of mobile learning for the learner is that it’s accessible and digestible while they’re on-the-go. Moving forward, mobile learning will consist of things like short demo videos that are less than five minutes, and courses that are anywhere from 2 minutes to 30 minutes long.
Gamification
Mobile learning content that embraces game theory techniques will be more common in the future as well. Examples of mobile learning that embrace gamification include quizzes where the learner tries to beat the highest score, and exercises that involve teams which collaborate on an outcome.
Data-Driven Improvements
With advances in mobile technology, Learning and Development departments will be able to track more user and employee performance data than ever before. Now they’ll be able to use all the data they track to make data-driven improvements to future mobile learning strategies that will boost productivity, help improve employee retention, and promote overall job satisfaction.
Be sure to keep the above mobile learning trends in mind if you want to keep up with the pace of the growing mobile workforce.
- Ambient Insight Premium Report: The 2012-2017 Worldwide Mobile Learning Market; accessed 10/7/2017.