The Mobile Learning Apps You Need To Know About
There was a time when trainers were the guardians of knowledge, but since the dawn of the internet, it’s never been easier for learners to forge their own learning paths.
Since informal learning is now the future of L&D, learning managers need to rethink their role. They need to act more like learning facilitators and point their learners in the right direction.
With that in mind, it’s worth thinking about how to make your learners’ quest for knowledge go a little smoother and bear more fruit. Luckily, since mobile technology has gotten so advanced, the portal to infinite knowledge now fits nicely in the pocket!
Here are a few mobile learning apps to help make learning that little bit easier.
1. Social Networking: LinkedIn
Unlike most social networking apps, you shouldn’t find too many kitten videos or cryptic pleas for attention here – LinkedIn is more professional than that! Here, learners can find the things they need to know and the things they didn’t know they needed to know. They can easily join discussion groups that relate to their industry and stay up-to-date with the latest happenings.
2. Research And Note-taking: Evernote
All too often, you come across a great article full of useful info, skim-read it, and then lose it forever. Or you might just want to tag and cross-reference all of your research, rather than keep it in a bunch of random folders on your desktop. Evernote is a great service that keeps all of your notes in one place and lets you arrange them however you see fit.
3. Mind Mapping: SimpleMind
Everyone has their own preferred method of learning information. Some people like the linear experience of reading a book, others have a more sporadic approach. A mind map is a handy method of making connections between concepts in the physical world to help ingrain them in the mind. SimpleMind lets learners structure their thoughts in a way that makes sense to them and it’s also useful for helping learning managers plan out a new training initiative.
4. Competitive Learning: QuizUp
QuizUp is a very popular quiz app that lets users connect via Facebook or Google and challenge their friends to a battle of wits. It’s also possible for users to create their own quizzes and compete to earn their spot at the top of a leaderboard. As a learning manager, you can use QuizUp to start a topic, add questions, and include it as an additional string to your training bow!
5. User-Generated Microlearning: Quizlet
The use of flashcards is a time-honoured learning tool. They’re usually created by the learner during the revision process and used to embed small chunks of information at regular intervals. Now, instead of fiddling around with index cards, your learners can create their own sets of flashcards on their mobile and share them with their colleagues. They can add images and audio and even challenge themselves in a race against the clock!
6. Improving Cognitive Abilities: Elevate
To make a computing analogy, your training material is the software that lets your employees perform in their jobs. Their brains are the hardware and it always helps to fine tune it and improve the core abilities. Elevate is a brain training app that helps develop skills like memory, comprehension, and precision. With these basic powers upgraded, your learners will be better prepared to absorb any training you can throw at them.
7. User-Led Learning: Udemy
There are some skills that might prove useful for your employees, but that you can’t justify developing your own content for. Instead, you can fund your learners’ journey through an existing course on Udemy, one of the most popular online stores for learning content. You could even give your learners an extra incentive by rewarding them with their own training budget, letting them seek out the training that matters most to them.
In the absence of a designated app that facilitates all of your training needs, there are endless opportunities already on the app store. All you need is a little imagination and the willingness to give your people the best mobile learning experience possible.
If you want to learn more about the amazing world of mLearning, download the eBook Mobile Learning And The Future Of L&D.
