7 Types of Mobile Learning and how to Use Them
A study of Statista shows that 57% of Gen Zs and Generation Y users spend more than five hours using their phones daily. The advent of smartphones has revolutionized how individuals buy, make purchases, manage their finances and learn.
Anyone can now access educational content by pressing a few buttons on their phone. So if you want to impart your knowledge to others, are familiar with, particularly the younger generation between the ages of 13-40 You'll need improve your course or podcasts and/or coaching programs so that people can access them on their phones.
This is called mobile learning.
In this post, we'll cover the concept of mobile learning as well as the various types of mobile learning methods you are able to use to educate and engage your students.
Skip ahead:
- What exactly is Mobile Learning?
- 7 types of mobile learning you can explore
- Improve your lessons to be mobile-friendly
What is mobile learning?
Traditionally, employees and school students take part in a blended learning approach that consists of classroom training, videos, manuals individual mentorship and in-the-field training (for employees). This type of approach is costly and lengthy for the company as well as employees as it impacts efficiency, as well as incurring an additional cost for infrastructure, as well as traveling expenses for the trainer.
Mobile learning is a way to tackle this problem. Each day, organizations introduce new mobile learning applications designed to offer high-quality tools to both employees and students who want to learn the latest skill or brush up their skills.
With the spread of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns, many schools as well as corporate establishments began using the mobile apps for learning to teach employees and students.
Mobile learning lets students and employees are able to enroll in coaching programs or watch lectures on video and work on their courses. They can also take part in live classes and other activities, and complete exams right on their phones (or any other handheld device).
With m Learning it is possible to provide your students with course material that is easy, accessible, and flexible for people -- especially if they're typically on the move.
7 types of mobile learning that you could explore
You'll find out below that mobile learning comes in a variety of types. These forms each help employees and students in different situations to master a skill efficiently and swiftly as they can, while not letting what they've learned.
Microlearning
A Microsoft study revealed that over the last few time the attention span for the average person has dropped to just 8 seconds -an attention span that is as short as a goldfish.
Microlearning lets mobile learners can take lessons when it is most comfortable for them to do so -in the morning on their way to work, in between class breaks and lunch breaks etc.
An excellent example of a microlearning-based , mobile learning application is Duolingo. It is a language learning app that combines gaming (which we'll discuss in the next section) with three-minute lessons to assist users in learning different languages at their own pace.
This type of instruction is best for:
- Enhancing peer-to-peer learning: The microlearning method provides learners with the ability to interact with others, have discussions, and even share their ideas
- Enhancing retention of information in learners Because learners are absorbing information in bits, they'll be able to hold it longer
Gamification
Mobile learners learn best when they're having fun and having goals they aspire to -- especially in a way they perceive as fun.
Due to how addicting and engaging the video game elements can be for people of all ages it is natural to see learners get addicted when games integrate into their learning content.
A lesson that is gamified could mean creating a system of reward based on points, leaderboards, score tables, sequencing, and maybe even prizes in real life to aid learners in absorbing new knowledge increase engagement and increase participation.
In the past, Duolingo gamifies their entire education structure. The site awards XP points following every lesson. There are leaderboards and prizes that encourage mobile learners to work on lessons often.
Another mobile learning app that does gamification really well is SoloLearn. SoloLearn helps people learn programming and coding using various languages.
In addition to the coding classes, this app also has contests in coding as well as competitions against other users. There are also forum discussions and an online code repository, where students are able to post their code.
This learning method is ideal for:
- Increasing engagement and fun in the classroom
- instilling soft skills, such as critical thinking, solving problems, collaboration as well as social awareness and collaboration
- Inspiring learners to discover the intrinsic motivation behind learning
Learn with video
The reason for this is that the vast majority of classes are video-based.
One excellent instance of an app that uses video to teach is the TED-ed platform. It is an educational division of the Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED) platform.
The TED-ed videos provide a wide range of subjects , and are varied in length. Following each one the TED-ed website encourages viewers to answer questions via brief quizzes, look up additional information, and then discuss their learning with fellow learners.
These quizzes and exercises within the video turn passive viewers into active participants.
This learning method is ideal for:
- Holding the attention of students: The use of video draws both auditory and visual senses. This results in the long-term retention of information.
- In the process of integrating new employees: Videos can be great to explain your company's values, mission the vision, values, and company the company's culture to prospective employees.
- Training for workplaces: Videos are a great way to educate new employees about typical workplace scenarios and also what to do when faced with a problem
Learning through text
While videos can be great, they're not the best learning method for everyone for every situation. In some cases, watching videos can be difficult.
For situations like this in these situations, learning through text could work really well. Reading through eBooks, PDFs as well as Slack chat messages are just as effective as -- if not more so than videos.
Students can decide for themselves when to begin reading and when they should end their reading. If their phones or electronic readers have a highlight feature it will highlight the most important paragraphs, sections as well as diagrams.
Do you want to include text-based education with your existing video content? HubSpot is a great example, as they provide a variety of videos-based classes on various aspects of marketing. Following each module of the course, HubSpot encourages learners to check out the text-based resources with the course's main elements, a summary of the module, as well as what next steps to take.
This type of method for learning can be used for:
- The HTML0 bridges the gap between understanding and taking action In the case of instructing people using pre-recorded videos, it's only sense to include next steps in a PDF or short eBook that learners can study when they want to implement what they've learned.
- Learners can be reached every day: If an ability requires you to communicate with learners regularly, it's easier to do this via SMS or text messages.
- Insist students on fundamental concepts: If the course is based on video, you should have text-based resources which contain the key elements as well as course overviews that students are able to refer to whenever they wish to refresh the concepts they've learned from the course.
Virtual instructor-led instruction
Virtual instructor-led training, called VILT, is instruction that takes place in a virtual environment instead of a conventional classroom environment. It involves having an instructor or expert teaching a course -- either in real-time or through an already recorded video.
The spread of COVID-19 forced numerous schools and businesses to switch to VILT as face-to-face instruction was no longer secure.
Virtual courses are usually done via video-conferencing platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet. Some teachers, however, prefer to post their online courses on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platforms like Coursera or Udemy.
MOOCs are generally taught by experts in the field instructors who combine their courses with assessment or assignments which students can take part in.
Training sessions that are based on Zoom typically last between 60 minutes to two hours, as opposed with classroom instruction that can last for 5 - 10 hours. The courses hosted by MOOC platforms can last many hours. But learners can take the courses at their own speed.
This method of learning is ideal for:
- Distance education: VILT is ideal for teaching students who live in a remote area from their school and for companies that have employees who are remote since it lets them study at a time and place that best suits the needs of their.
- Reaching a larger market: VILT assists instructors looking to expand their reach in different parts of the world without needing to pay for accommodations and travel
- VILT is great for learners who like to go back over course material when they require more time to comprehend or absorb an idea
Curated content is created through Learning Management Systems
An excellent example of a mobile-accessible LMS can be found in Axonify.
Axonify gives metrics that assist employees to measure the progress they have made in their education. There are also tests that employees can take to gauge the amount they've learned.
This method of learning is ideal for:
- Training and onboarding new employees working in an organization
- Teaching new hires how to utilize new technologies and tools in the workplace
- Assigning necessary courses to employees in order to make sure that they develop the right abilities for their job and understand product changes.
Virtual Reality (VR) Learning
Virtual real-time (VR) learning is an environment for learning that simulates real-life scenarios and challenges in the workplace for training reasons. When learning in VR learning, students use headsets as well as controllers to move around and interact with a virtual environment which simulates real-world machinery, tools, and others instructors and trainees.
By using virtual training, workplace scenarios that are too risky costly or difficult to learn -- like hazards training, disaster preparation chemicals spills and emergency procedures -- can be made safe, affordable, and practical with an immersive simulation.
If VR-based training is integrated with a course designed by experts students learn by personal experience and can dramatically increase retention, job performance as well as workplace safety and team collaboration.
Note: VR training isn't available on phones on the go, however, it's a sophisticated well-designed and highly effective method by which students and employees can learn.
This method of learning is suitable for:
- Incorporating new employees: VR training can help you guide new employees through the ins and outs of the process, business and the work environment.
- Instructing employees on technical aspects such as assembling complex equipment: VR training allows users to participate in a simulation of the machinery. Utilizing hand-held controls, learners can press virtual buttons, pick up the virtual object, remove virtual knobs, and so on.
- Training soft skills through VR training aids trainees in developing their soft skills by making their work model diverse customer situations. This teaches them how to make critical choices in stressful scenarios.
- Learning troubleshooting with VR can be a fantastic method to train employees on how to troubleshoot their products and fix equipment. VR instruction guides users on how to fix problems step by step.
- Securely teaching employees who work risky jobs how to respond in the event of an accident or when faced with hazardous situations
Optimize your courses for mobile
Mobile learning is a wonderful technique for learning for students as well as employees who do not find the time for an in-person classroom session, or just wish to study at their own speed.
For learners to learn like this, design classes that are designed for mobile and adapt your instructional strategy to include mobile learning content.
Through a program like iLeap, you'll be in a position to build your own course and set up quizzes survey, tasks and exams, discussion forums, and even communities. It's also possible to conduct live courses and give certifications. And if you want to market your program, will make it easy for you to do so.