5 Tips To Develop Mobile Learning Assessments

5 Tips Τo Develop Mobile Learning Assessments
Summary: Mobile Learning is becoming increasingly popular, both in formal and informal educational environments. While creating a mobile learning experience may require a different design approach, integrating effective mobile learning assessments is still an essential step in the process. In this article, I’ll share some tips to help you create mobile learning assessments that offer your learners a complete on-the-go mobile learning experience.

How To Develop Mobile Learning Assessments

Mobile learning can take place anywhere, anytime, thanks to mobile devices. Learners can now access educational resources whenever they find most convenient and engage in powerful mobile learning experiences while on-the-go. However, mobile learning courses can only be truly effective if there is a way to assess learners knowledge and determine whether they have actually absorbed and retained the subject matter. Here are some helpful tips to develop mobile learning assessments for your next mobile learning course.

  1. Conclude each unit or module with an assessment.
    Provide learners with an assessment at the end of each unit or module rather than just integrating one at the very end of the mobile learning course. Bear in mind that your learners are most likely to study and complete each section separately, when their schedule allows time for doing so. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that they receive an effective and complete mobile learning experience every time, which means that you will have to offer them a way to assess what they have learned, that is, how far they have progressed via an exam, quiz or test. Also, be sure to include a variety of different question types to appeal to possible different preferences of your audience.
  2. Avoid timed mobile learning assessments.
    Avoid using timed assessments that require them to set aside a block of time specifically for the test or exam, as your learners, most likely, are going to be distracted while they are completing the mobile learning course. Timed assessment is usually not effective in mobile learning environments, as learners are happy with the idea that they can participate in the mobile learning course whenever it is most convenient for them and that they can study at their own pace, without feeling pressured to finish an assessment in a specified time allotment. Before the mobile learning assessment begins, you may also want to give them an advanced notice that the next screen contains a quiz or test, so that they can decide by themselves, whether they want to pause the mobile learning course and proceed with the assessment later when they are in a quieter or less chaotic setting.
  3. Integrate interactive assessments that can be accessed anywhere.
    Mobile learning assessments don’t have to stick to any particular format. In fact, you can create interactive assessments, such as scenarios or simulations, which can be accessed on a 24/7 basis by your learners. You’ll just need to ensure that all audio is captioned and that your learners can adjust the volume of the interactive assessment, in case they are in a public place where listening to the scenario may not be an option. In addition, make the visual design clutter-free and as simple and straightforward as possible, bearing in mind that they will probably be accessing the assessment on a broad range of devices with smaller screens.
  4. Use Google Applications to create online quizzes and exams.
    Google Apps for Education offer many tools that are absolutely free to use and can give you the opportunity to create effective mobile learning assessments in a fraction of the time. You may use, for example, Google Forms to create an exam that contains a variety of different question types and then send the link of the exam online page to all of your learners. This gives them the ability to access the assessment on any mobile device or computer that is connected to the Internet. Google Forms even offer self-grading features and can even keep track of learners’ test scores in a separate Google Sheet that is updated every time a learner completes an exam.
  5. For informal training settings, create group collaboration blog-centric assessments for mobile devices.
    Developing group collaboration assessments offers a wide range of advantages. Not only does it give learners the rare opportunity to benefit from the experience and skills of their peers, but they can also share feedback and ideas with one another remotely. While this may not be a traditional assessment, it is an engaging and exciting way to gauge their understanding of the subject matter.  Learners, may be willing to create their own blog summarizing what they have learned during each lesson through posts that can be accessed on- the-go through their mobile devices, exactly the way they access social media blogs. The facilitator or instructor can also leave feedback and gauge whether the learner has understood the concepts by reviewing the posts. Creating a blog and updating posts regularly via their mobile devices will also build their technology awareness and skills, as they will be required to access apps and update the blogging platform on a regular basis.

Use these mobile learning assessment tips to develop memorable and engaging mobile learning courses. Well-developed assessments help to ensure that learners absorb the information they need to meet personal or professional goals.

Want to take your mobile learning course a step further, so you can offer your audience real value? Read he article 7 Ways To Boost The Effectiveness Of Your Mobile Learning Course where you will find 7 ways that can help you boost the effectiveness of your mobile learning course and take it to the next level, so that you can offer your audience a learning experience that they'll never forget.

Do you wonder how to convert your existing eLearning course to a mobile learning format? Read the article 7 Tips To Repurpose eLearning Content for Mobile Learning where I share 7 tips that will help you to successfully repurpose you eLearning course’s content for your mobile learning course, so that you can develop a mobile learning strategy that requires minimal resources and offers maximum benefit to your learners.