Overcome Engagement Challenges By Using Mobile Learning During Virtual Training
"Is anyone listening?" In times of social distancing, almost anyone who has to deliver training virtually thought about this at least once. Virtual learning has been in practice for almost a decade now, but the trainers are often skeptical about the engagement created by virtual training and its impact on employees. Group activities are effective in engaging the audience during a physical workshop but the same cannot be replicated in an online environment due to constraints of physical space.
In a virtual environment, although people are not physically connected to each other, they are connected to their mobile and, hence, it would be effective to engage them through mobile learning tools. Here are 5 reasons why mobile learning could be an effective solution to tackle engagement challenges when delivering virtual training.
1. Eases Navigation And Accessibility To The Content
Product training is usually lengthy and often struggles to engage the learner. With mobile learning, these trainings can be broken down into multiple smaller nuggets which are easier to follow and remember. It is further easy to navigate through mobile learning content when an employee is looking for any specific product-related information or wants to revisit a concept. By 2025, most of the people will browse and learn through their mobile devices only. Therefore, it becomes more important for companies to convert virtual training on mobile devices.
2. Increases Collaboration
Learners tend to learn more effectively through interaction and collaboration with each other than they would through individual learning. You can create leader boards to show the progress of each learner and the learning score achieved. Knowing about peers can help to foster a sense of competition among the learners, make them score better, and expedite the learning process. There is an innate sense of competition that can be fostered using mobile learning platforms. Moreover comparing individual performance with your peers helps to enhance the engagement level during the mobile learning experience.
3. Easy To Understand, Interpret, And Remember
The idea of mobile learning stems from our usage of social media. Most people spend considerable time scrolling through different social media platforms and are accustomed to consuming information in the form of videos, images, etc. What better way than to engage your employees through their most preferred communication mediums? This makes the employees want to come back to learning and further makes the journey enjoyable. Implementing interactive media formats like flashcards, images, GIFs, and videos in mobile learning content helps in better retention of the concepts. All this fosters the learning experience of the user. This new phenomenon is called edutainment.
4. Enables Customization
All of us need a unique experience from our favorite brands. Most of the brands want customer delight by customizing each User Experience. The same is the case with learners of a virtual training session, where everyone has a unique style of learning like auditory, imagery, etc. Therefore, it becomes quite critical to customize the virtual training content according to the learners. Virtual learning caters to a wide group of audiences and hence, has to deliver standard information to everyone to ensure consistent learning. Through mobile learning, you can personalize the experience for each employee by modifying the training based on their preference. You can use their data to know the areas that they are proficient in and the areas where they need further reinforcement and provide relevant learning material. In this way, all your employees will be learning the same thing but according to their needs and preference and hence, they will be engaged.
5. Creates Engagement Through Games
Last, but the most important benefit of mobile learning is the use of games to impart learning. Gamification has become a buzz word in the eLearning industry. Learning and Development leaders can take inspiration from gaming companies to boost learning effectiveness. Some of the gamification concepts like setting goals, feedback, rewards, and motivation can be used to enhance engagement levels during virtual training sessions. It is very important to select the right types of games to enhance the learning experience. Hyper-casual games have a very simple design are very addictive in nature. These two qualities make it the first choice to be included in the mobile learning experience. You can add games in the form of assessments; both in between the training sessions as well as in the end. Games help to engage the learner as well as test them on their level of engagement and learning.
