Use mLearning To Enable Learning In The Workflow
Josh Bersin, a global research analyst, first introduced the concept "learning in the flow of work" in 2018. Bersin is of the opinion that learning must be a part of the daily work schedule of employees. Andy Lancaster, another L&D expert, says that learning should be accessible to employees during work in the workplace environment. If learners integrate the knowledge/concepts learned with their projects and tasks as part of everyday work, then the capabilities of learners are shaped in real time, put to immediate use, and knowledge retention increases. Therefore, companies should consider that learning in the flow of work is an essential need of the hour.
Mobile learning has been proved to be an effective and versatile method compared to other digital learning methods. Mobile learning increases learning flexibility by allowing your employees to learn anywhere and at any time, thereby being a suitable option to enable learning in the flow of work. Mobile learning allows learners to learn on the go and gives them control over how they learn. Mobile learning modules and courses can be created using a variety of design formats that are frequently used on smartphones and tablets and are popular among modern workforce learners.
In this article, we will discuss 4 ways to use mobile learning to support learning in the flow of work for your employees.
1. Offer Short Mobile Learning Modules
Mobile learning modules of 2 to 6 minutes offer bite-sized learning to your employees on various topics and skills. You can design each module to meet a specific learning outcome or a training goal. You can provide them to your employees as a scheduled training program or as part of a continuous learning journey. These can be hosted on a microlearning platform, mobile app, or on the organization's LMS to enable learners to find them easily.
Bite-sized mobile learning modules make learning easy, effortless, and comfortable for your employees. They can refer to and recall information on their mobile devices at the moment of need. Thus, you can encourage personalized learning among your employees, which is bound to pay dividends for your company over a period of time.
2. Provide Tools Like Job Aids And Memory Boosters
You can also provide different tools like job aids, memory boosters, PDFs, infographics, etc., to support your employees in their learning in the flow of work. Job aids help your employees with simple and clear instructions on the task, how a particular task is done, how you complete a process, etc. With memory boosters, information recall will be made easy, anytime and anywhere, in their learning journey.
Infographics are another creative visual approach that helps your employees recall and retain information on their daily tasks. PDFs serve as ready reckoners for just-in-time access to a concept, procedure, or specific information. The latest authoring tools enable you to create interactive PDFs that contain more details about a topic, concept, or process into a single PDF for easy access for your employees. Employees can use such PDFs as short learning guides or quick reference tools. You can offer all these tools as part of mobile learning.
3. Offer Short Videos To Your Employees
Videos are one of the most popular mobile learning methods that can be easily integrated with other learning solutions. Videos are easily accessible to your employees on their favorite devices like smartphones and tablets. Short and focused 3 to 5-minute videos are a great way to explain a concept, recall/refresh their knowledge of product/service/strategy, and help resolve an issue when your employees are stuck at a point in their work.
Videos can include text animations, graphic animations, illustrative examples, interactivities, processes or procedures, advice from industry experts, etc. For instance, expert videos offer your employees invaluable advice, industry insights, viewpoints, latest info, suggestions, and more right at their fingertips. With explainer videos, complicated concepts and complex processes become easy for your employees. You can offer short videos as part of mobile learning.
4. Use Gamification In Your Learning Experience Design
Learning experience design refers to creating sound mobile learning modules and courses by combining Instructional Design, visual design, and usability and User Experience knowledge. Learning experience design plays a pivotal role in the structure and delivery of mobile learning courses. Game-based learning design allows learners to explore, face challenges, and get a sense of success.
The combination of gamification and mobile learning motivates your employees toward learning as part of their workflow. They can play a game and learn something new when they have free time or when they want to take a break from their busy schedule. Game-based quizzes, evaluations, just-in-time assistance, and other features that are easily accessible on smartphones or tablets improve learners' chances of accessing the content when they want it. Thus, gamification can be included in mobile learning in order for employees to learn and have fun, with a focus on learning in the flow of work.
Conclusion
Employees should realize that learning should happen in their workflow rather than as a separate activity. Learning must never be imposed on employees but it should be given as a self-directed activity. To make this happen, organizations should keep diverse learning resources ready for their employees to support learning in the flow of work.
At Tesseract Learning, our learning and visual architects constantly innovate and reinvent their approaches to design, develop, and deliver effective mobile learning courses and modules. We understand your needs and recommend the right strategy to create impactful mobile learning solutions to help your employees learn in the flow of work. To learn more about mobile learning, learning in the flow of work and how you can effectively implement them for your employees, contact me or leave a comment below.
References:
- A New Paradigm For Corporate Training: Learning In The Flow of Work
- Lancaster A. 2019. Driving Performance Through Learning: Develop Employees Through Effective Workplace Learning. London: Kogan Page.
