Do You Need A Mobile Learning Management System? 6 Reasons Why You Do!
It’s a mobile world. There’s no denying that!
You wake up to the alarm on your smartphone, have a quick glance at the messages before grabbing a fresh cup of coffee, and minutes later you are back reading the news headlines, the urgent emails - all on that 5-inch screen. Well, sometimes it may be 7" or 10", too. The story continues, be it in a gym or a park, the device must be at hand always. This is the story of the workforce that keeps enterprises running, and that of small organizations too.
Training or Learning and Development, in short L&D, is also greatly impacted by this device shift, prompting learning service providers to innovate and deploy new ways of learning. Supporting this is a report by Ambient Insight – The 2012-2017 Worldwide Mobile Learning Market Forecast [1], which states that 'the worldwide market for mobile learning will reach $12.2 billion by 2017'.
Learning on mobiles is not just another fad. It requires a well-thought-out approach, pedagogy, and a proper delivery system too, which is why mobile LMSs are gaining traction. Mobile Learning Management Systems, also referred to as mobile offline platforms, facilitate learning and content management, reporting etc. seamlessly on the mobile devices without the need to be hooked to the internet at all times. But that’s not all. Here are 6 reasons why you need a mobile Learning Management System in 2017, and beyond too, based on various research reports.
1. Mobility
As reported by RCR Wireless News [2], 'The global mobile workforce is set to increase to 1.87 billion people or 42.5% of the global workforce in 2022, up from 38.8% in 2016. As workers become increasingly mobile, so does their primary work device'.
Learners today have a fixed schedule, and often finding time to learn becomes a major challenge to performance. A mobile Learning Management System is one way to making learning accessible 24X7, without the pre-requirement of an internet connection. With authorization and other security measures in place, learners can access learning from anywhere and anytime.
2. Flexibility
An extension to the term mobility, 'flexibility' is more about the choice. According to stats [3], 'users carry out 221 tasks per day on their smartphones, compared to just 140 on a desktop or laptop'. Isn’t it evident that using mobile then is more about comfort and convenience? A mobile Learning Management System lends this very flexibility to learning; it gives learners the choice to learn on a mobile device ,while being 'mobile', read 'on-the-go' too, rather than being stuck to a desktop or a laptop.
Flexibility also comes in the form of BYOD, wherein employees don't have to lug around company-given devices but rather use their own personal mobile phones for learning and training. That BYOD is here to stay is evident by a recent research by Gartner, Bring Your Own Device: The Facts and the Future [4], which finds that '70% of on-the-go professionals will take care of business on their personal mobile devices by the year 2018'.
3. Just-In-Time Learning
Mobiles have often been linked to performance support, rightly too because mobile devices are most handy while on the job. According to a Google report [5], 'more and more people use only their mobile devices compared to those who use only their desktop PCs, with 40% of people relying mainly on their smartphones'. And this is true in workplaces, too.
JIT learning, which stands for Just-In-Time learning, works in form of short nuggets delivered whenever the learner needs it, be it to assist or to reinforce learning. A mobile Learning Management System, being available at all times -internet or not- on all mobile devices, can act as the one-stop-shop for JIT learning.
4. Retention
The number of innovations and shifts, to Artificial Intelligence, bot platforms, voice based search, and further proliferation of video content, coupled with mobile-first consumers coming of age, has led learners to consume content in a variety of formats and ways. This is a reflection of how learners consume content in their daily lives too, which, not surprisingly, comprises 'video -listed as the most popular type of content people pay close attention to-, followed by online courses, research content, and interactive tools. Traditional content like blogs, long-form articles, and podcasts round out the list', as a research by Hubspot reports [6].
A mobile Learning Management System with its support for a wide range of eLearning resources, from videos to courses and reference documents in the form of images, PDFs, word files etc., enables delivery of applicable knowledge in formats that's easy for the learners to access, understand and assimilate. This approach makes learning self-driven, which is in turn said to improve knowledge retention and enhance performance at the same time.
5. Tracking And Reporting
Learning effectiveness is usually determined using data collected through reporting. Mobile LMSs, being equipped with a syncing and tracking mechanism, work in the same way as a traditional Learning Management System with an ability to draw reports on key learner or learning metrics. Such data helps in determining the success of the training programs, improving the quality of learning deployed, and also finding areas that need improvement in terms of training.
6. Continuous Learning Experience
The functioning of a Mobile Learning Management System can, at times, surpass that of a traditional Learning Management System. And the best kept secret is the 'offline mode' that it offers. According to McKinsey & Company, 'more than 60 percentage of the world’s population remains offline'. The offline mode allows learners to utilize their down-time, even in areas with low or no connectivity. The content can simply be downloaded and stored on their device, and accessed -multiple times too!- after a simple authentication process. The tracking data is, then, collected by the Learning Management System and synched to its backend (a full-fledged LMS), whenever it is logged into an active network, for comprehensive MIS & Reporting. To the learners, it means an uninterrupted, seamless learning experience. That can happen anytime, anywhere, on any device, with or without the internet.
The expansion of organizations, the ever-increasing mobile workforce, and the growing dependency on mobile devices are catalysts for the adoption of a mobile Learning Management System. However, it’s the wide-spread acceptance of mobile devices to perform various tasks and the flexible policies that have led to its pervasiveness, what makes a mobile Learning Management System the next big thing in corporate Learning adn Development sector.
References
- Ambient Insight Premium Report - The 2012 - 2017 Worldwide Mobile Learning Market
- 2017 Predictions: Mobile workforce to drive further enterprise change in 2017
- Tecmark survey finds average user picks up their smartphone 221 times a day
- Bring Your Own Device: The Facts and the Future
- Latest mobile trends show how people use their devices
- The Future of Content Marketing: How People Are Changing the Way They Read, Interact, and Engage With Content
