In the past two weeks, it seems like I haven’t been able to turn on the TV or scroll through my Facebook newsfeed without seeing the trailer or reviews for the latest reboot of the Terminator franchise, Terminator Genisys (which, according to Business Insider didn’t do too hot when it opened this weekend). Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 30 years, you know that at its core, the Terminator franchise is about technology usurping humans and taking over the world, which got me thinking about the current state of technology takeover.
You may or may not be surprised that mobile technology if it came down to a pure numbers game, has already taken over. That’s right. According to research from Cisco, in 2014, the number of mobile devices in use globally was set to officially surpass the total global population. In fact, by 2019, it is estimated that there will be nearly 1.5 devices in use for every human on the planet.
What does this have to do with learning? Everything. Again, unless you’ve been cozy under that rock, you know for years, mobile learning has been labeled the “future” of learning technology. That is no longer the case. In the past few years, mobile has moved from a nice-to-have to a must-have. Getting on board with mobile is now a “come with me if you want to live” situation (okay, I even made myself cringe with that one, but I had to).
With that in mind, here are five considerations that you should make, whether you are just starting to map out your plans for mobile learning or are reexamining your current mobile strategy:
Identify your needs
The first step in identifying your needs is clearly defining your audience. Mobile learning initiatives typically target a specific area of the business. What area of the business are you targeting, and what is that area of the business trying to accomplish with mobile? What is the driver?
After you clearly define your target audience, research the demographics of that group. What mobile devices are currently in use? Are these company-provided devices, or are they part of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend? Two other questions to consider:
How will the mobile initiative be funded? And how will the success of the initiative be measured?
Deployment options
The most important aspect of deployment is ensuring that the solution is easy to use for the end user. With that in mind, go back to your answers from the previous section and consider what devices you will need to support. Will you be supporting a single mobile platform or multiple platforms? Will multiple users be sharing the same device?
Don’t forget the content
Ensuring that you deliver the right kind of content via mobile learning is key, so the first thing to consider is what type of content you plan to deliver. Will it be SCORM-compliant content? Document-based content (PDF, Word)?
Once you clearly understand the types of content you plan to offer, it is important to think about how you will acquire the mobile content. Will you repurpose existing content or develop different content for each supported device? Also, will you deliver the same content in mobile and non-mobile formats? Important note: Be sure that you have the correct solution to offer a means to report on learner progress across formats.
Security, security, security
Security is one of the biggest concerns voiced repeatedly. How will you ensure that mobile content is secure? If your organization already leverages a mobile security solution, that is a good start. Often, it is best to use a new or updated mobile security system for your application.
Other important security considerations: How will users authenticate themselves in the mobile solution? If your current solution is on-premise, how will users be provided access outside the corporate network?
Do you have the right solution?
Hands down, the most important question is whether you have the right solution for your mobile learning initiative. If the answer is yes, that would be good for you! Nothing is holding you back from kicking off your mobile plan.
If not, it is time to start searching for the right learning management system (LMS). When looking for an LMS, it is important to consider what solution capabilities are the most important to you and will provide the greatest value. Also, will you need a solution that can be deployed in your environment, or will the vendor host it? Administration is another key element. How easy will administration be? Will your administrators be able to manage and report against mobile content as easily (or more easily) that they can do for non-mobile content today?