Designing Training For Small Screens: Top Mobile Learning Strategies

In recent years, mobile technology has advanced rapidly. And its dominance appears to be unstoppable. It has introduced both challenges and opportunities in the corporate eLearning world.

On the positive side, it has eliminated some of the most significant barriers to training. With mobile devices, corporate learners can now access L&D activities anytime and from any location.

However, its rapid growth has made it challenging for many eLearning developers and L&D professionals to keep up. As a result, mobile learning experiences are commonly unplanned, awkward, and irregular. 

In this article, we will concentrate on developing a successful mobile learning strategy—a proactive approach intended to maximize its use among all your employees. But first, let us understand why you should consider it at all. 

Reasons To Go Mobile

Mobile learning design is not a novel idea. Due to the growing demand for mobile-optimized learning experiences, this has recently become a requirement for the industry. The majority of learners currently use their mobile devices to look up pertinent information when they need it.

They frequently choose to learn at the point of need, with an increasing number of learners looking up content as and when they require it. L&D teams have been forced to react by developing learning experiences that learners can access from anywhere and anytime in response to a mobile workforce’s demand for on-demand content.

Modern eLearning platforms were designed with this requirement, allowing you to create learning content accessible to your audience everywhere, on every device.

It can be made just as efficient as any other type of training. It has a lot of potentials when used correctly, with the right design and strategy to direct it. Additionally, it has the power to engage a sizable workforce that might have previously struggled to have equal access to training opportunities.

And that’s a good reason to start thinking about your m Learning strategies.

Things To Remember When Designing Training For Mobile Learning

One of the most common mistakes in mobile learning strategy and design is assuming that what works on the desktop will work on the mobile. It’s a reasonable assumption, given the pressure of providing a mobile learning experience within a limited time frame. 

However, mobile learning necessitates a different, more specific approach to function properly. Here are eight specific things to remember while designing a mobile learning course.

• Approach Informally: Training away from a desk and office feels more relaxed. When employees complete training in their free time, it will not spill over into your employee’s working hours.
• Smaller Screen: Desktop displays offer more visual space. Trying to fit a large amount of data on a mobile screen can overwhelm users, and you risk losing important information.
• Technological Hindrances: Only some mobile users can access a robust, stable network connection with relatively high bandwidth. The mobile data network is slower and less reliable than a cable connection.
• Various Motivational Factors: Employees use smartphones for short learning tasks rather than conducting in-depth training sessions. You must include weekly recaps, tests, queries, and surveys.
• Time Savings: Mobile learning is sneaky, quick, and about making the most of downtime, whether during a commute while waiting for a conference, between jobs, or in a quiet moment.
• Different Modes Of Navigation: While desktop devices typically have a landscape orientation, most mobile phone users view the information in portrait mode, and how they move around the display varies.
• Format Restrictions: Some file types and sizes supported by computers do not transfer to or perform as well in a mobile format.

Top Mobile Learning Strategies

There are many benefits to mLearning, and you should incorporate it into your company’s training program. But before that, it is essential to invest time in developing a mLearning strategy before diving into employee training, which can pay off for years.

• Plan Ahead Of Time And Document Your Responsive Design Specifications

Consider your adaptable design requirements at the start of a project. When acquiring project requirements, you’re probably already thinking about your audience’s needs and the kind of learning expertise that will work best for them. 

Assembling essential information about the gadgets your learners are using can assist you in determining which direction to take with your design and inform future decisions through the project’s lifecycle. These include navigation layout, engagements and images, and your project QA process.

• Select Your Interactions Wisely

Next, consider if your chosen interactions will work on all screen sizes. 

More intricate and detailed interactions can look fantastic and work exceptionally well on larger devices with great screen space. Still, they may need to be modified to provide a better user experience on mobile phones. 

Keep in mind that mobile users will be scrolling and cannot drag things around the screen as they scroll. Keep response options and areas to a minimum to avoid causing headaches for mobile users. 

• Make Sure Your Images Are Simple And Clear

Of course, this rule applies not only to mobile eLearning design but also becomes more critical as your screen becomes more restricted. 

Consider corporate learners who may access your content via multiple devices. Uploading images with too much detail may result in a loss of detail on small screens. These can include complicated graphs, detailed screen captures, and any image containing text that may need to scale down better.

If your graphics can be simplified for smartphones or made to work as well in portrait mode, you can replace them solely in more minor view modes.

• Run Tests On Various Devices

Before distributing your eLearning course to your corporate learners, the final phase of any project must undergo thorough testing. There are many things to consider when it comes to quality assurance, but the number one priority should be guaranteeing a faultless user experience across all platforms.

Nothing beats the real thing, so get your mobiles out and test your content on a device. You can use your authoring tool’s preview feature to test each screen on various devices.

Using real gadgets allows individuals to interact with the material more naturally, using their fingers to swipe instead of simply simulating scrolling. 

To improve and enhance your content, ask people for feedback on how natural they found the portable learning experience.

Conclusion

Mobile learning is an essential component of the eLearning process. Due to the various learning strategies available, organizations can choose which learning strategy is best for their LMS based on specific business goals. 

Mobile learning design must be considered at every stage of your project’s lifecycle. These techniques will assist you in planning your subsequent educational endeavor so that your contemporary learners get the most out of your course material wherever and whenever they need it.