How to Develop a Successful Mobile Training Strategy
Developing a mobile training strategy can be a daunting task for those who may not be familiar with the steps involved. In this article, I'll walk you through the mobile training creation and implementation process, so that you can tap into the learning power that mobile devices can offer to your learners.
Step #1: Identify your target audience and the primary objectives of your eLearning course.
The first step in developing a successful mobile training strategy is to identify who will actually be accessing the information. In other words, who is your target audience and, most importantly, what do they hope to achieve by taking the mobile training course? You'll have to keep in mind that, for the most part, learners who participate in mobile training courses are pressed for time. They have chosen learning on-the-go because they want to be able to log onto the LMS anywhere and at anytime.
As such, you will need to design mobile training courses that help them to develop the skill sets or offer the information that they need quickly, conveniently, and without wasting time on irrelevant course content. That is why you'll need to pinpoint their primary learning objectives even before you begin the design process. You will also want to consider the background of your audience and their learning needs. For example, what is their level of education and work experience? Should you include industry-specific jargon, or are they beginners in the field? What previous knowledge about the topic do they already possess? Do they respond more favorably to visual learning tools or audio elements? What is their learning environment (i.e. on-the-job, at home, or at school)?
Step #2: Determine how your mobile training content will be distributed.
Are you going to make your content available on all platforms, such as iOS and Android? Are you going to include graphics that can be accessed on all devices? Ideally, you'll want to support as many devices as possible, so that you give all learners the opportunity to benefit from your eLearning course or modules. You should also consider the screen sizes of mobile devices. For example, if you design your mobile training course with an iPad screen in mind, then be sure to verify that a learner using an iPhone will be able to read your text or view your smaller graphics.
The delivery method of your mobile training content is yet another significant consideration. While some eLearning developers might focus on web delivery when they are creating their mobile training strategy, others might center their eLearning course design around native apps, which can be downloaded from the app store. So, you will want to decide which delivery options are best suited for your content, subject matter, and audience.
Step #3: Create high quality and mobile-friendly content.
This is one of the most important aspects of a mobile training strategy, given that eLearning content you are currently using may not be ideal for mobile training purposes. For example, some of the eLearning courses you already have in your LMS may be too long or too complex for mobile training applications. Ultimately, you'll want to consider short, bite-sized mobile training courses that can be effectively completed on-the-go, and elements that are easy to use on a mobile device. For instance, create mobile training courses that require the learner to speak rather than type, or modules that can be navigated on a smaller mobile device.
Step #4: Boost User Engagement Through Emotional Involvement.
Given that learners may be on-the-go when they're accessing your mobile training courses or modules, you need to ensure that your content is engaging and draws the learner in from the very start. Emotional involvement is key to keeping them interested and motivated to learn, such as games that offer rewards or real life examples that help the learner relate to the content being offered. If you are able to capture this emotional aspect of the learning experience, then users will be get much more out of your mobile training deliverable.
Step #5: Integrate Social Learning strategies.
Much of the mobile training experience is asynchronous, meaning that students learn on their own. However, you can easily transform it into an interactive and engaging social learning course by integrating social media into your strategy. Social networks, collaborative learning tools, and group projects completed remotely are all examples of social learning elements that can make your mobile training course even more effective.
Step #6: Ensure the Security of your mobile training platform.
One of the primary concerns of mobile training is security, given that smart phones and other mobile devices have the capacity to download information. As such, it's important to ensure that your mobile training platform has some sort of encryption or password protection, or a security measures in place in the event that the system is hacked. Be sure that all personal information is encoded or carefully guarded, so that you don't have to deal with security concerns down the road.
Step #7: Test, revise, and launch.
Before you officially launch your mobile training course, it's essential to test and revise. Try to pinpoint areas that may need to be fine-tuned or catch any glitches before allowing learners to log on. While many eLearning course developers may not allocate many hours to testing, it's vital that you do allocate a fair amount of time to ensure that your finished product is ready for public consumption. This will not only allow you to uphold your professional name and brand, but enable learners to get the most out of their learning experience.
Try accessing the mobile training course on a variety of different devices and browsers to ensure that everything is in proper working order, both functionally and aesthetically. When first launching your mobile training course, get a core group of learners to give it a try beforehand and ask them to provide their honest opinion about what they have learned and how they value their overall educational experience.
Step #8: Continually assess the effectiveness of your mobile training strategy.
As is the case with all things in the world of Instructional Design and eLearning, a mobile training strategy should always be a work in progress. Don't hesitate to survey your learners to get invaluable feedback or assess how effective your mobile courses are via other methods (such as on-the-job skill assessments), in order to gauge your strategy’s weaknesses and strengths. A successful mobile training strategy is one that is constantly being improved upon and polished. So, if you find that something simply isn't working, take action to fix it, and then carry out another round of feedback to determine whether or not the issue has been resolved. Ensure that the primary objectives are still the focal point and that your audience is getting the most out of the mobile training strategy that you've worked so hard to develop.
Last but not least, you may find valuable the 6 Tips To Effectively Evaluate Your Corporate eLearning Strategy. This article delve into some helpful and effective tips to evaluate a corporate eLearning strategy, so that you can determine if your current plan is offering the best possible return on investment.
