Mobile Learning Design

Deloitte estimates that global Smartphone market sales will touch 375 million by the end of 2011.

Upside Learning looks at the limitations of mobile hardware and the design conventions we need to adhere to in order to make our mobile applications a success:

Limitations

• Usage Pattern: When people use an application on their Smartphone, it’s most likely that they have a particular task in mind. Chances are that they’re also on the move while accessing the application on their phone. They would want to complete the task as quickly as possible and don’t want to navigate through pages of content to get to it. Any mobile learning solution that we design needs to be easy to use even when our target audience is on the move. Interaction areas need to be easy to tap and important text should be large enough to read from a distance of 24 inches/ 2 feet.
• Slow Connections: Our mobile learning solutions should be able to work effectively on slow networks. That means that our designs need to be graphically light.
• Small Screen Size: Smaller screens mean less real estate available to work with. Our mobile learning solutions need to be designed in a way that’s optimized for a Smartphone screen resolution, and does not require the learners to zoom or scroll.

Mobile Learning Tips – Abhijit Kadle

• Keep it short and simple: This is significant in light of the nature of mobile devices and the situations in which they tend to be used. There can be frequent interruptions and learner attention to the device tends to be of a short span.
• Low information density: Don’t try to duplicate the length and information density of eLearning modules. The situations and devices with which the content is accessed warrants use of lower density information.
• Easy with multimedia: There is a cost associated with the development and access of such content.
• Include elements of collaboration: When used a part of a blended program, mobile devices can be used to facilitate interaction between peers, experts, mentors, etc.
• Provide tools and not just content: Mobiles’ ability to compute and display, combined with their personal and intimate nature, presents with lots of possibilities – geo location-based tools, networking tools, access to search and information databases, games, and simulations.

70:20:10

Mark Berthelemy’s blog on the changing face of learning and development…

Over the past 40 years, research has consistently indicated that:

• 70% of learning & development activity takes place from real-life and on-the-job experiences, tasks and problem-solving.
• 20% comes from feedback and from observing and working with role models.
• 10% comes from formal training.

See: Princeton University's Learning Philosophy

On-the-job

In a rapidly changing work environment, employees need a range of tactics to help them adapt to different situations.

These will often include:

• Asking someone who might know “the answer”
• Searching for (and finding!) information that will help them work out “the answer” – both from internal and external resources. (There is a strong relationship here with a knowledge management function)
• Trial-and-error
• Using a job-aid that has been prepared for this situation

Learning from other people

Employees will maintain a network of peers, who can provide answers to questions, feedback and modelling of best behaviours.

These may include their managers in a coaching relationship, but, more likely will be their direct peers, and, more often these days, will be people both inside and outside the organisation, with whom they have a virtual relationship.

Formal training

The goal of all formal training is to change behaviours to match the organisation’s stated values. Here there is a strong relationship with internal communication and external marketing – to ensure that the messages going out to clients and shareholders match the reality of how the organisation works.

Formal training may include:

• Classroom workshops
• Lectures
• Online webinars
• Direct communications from “the centre”
• Designed learning experiences, such as simulations and tutorials
• Assessed activities

Instructional Design And The Six Thinking Hats

Upside Learning reviews Edward de Bono’s book, Six Thinking Hats – a thinking process with the aim of  improving communication and reducing meeting times.

White Hat Thinking: Data, facts, information known or needed.

First and foremost, focus on the input content provided to you. Identify what information is available, what is needed, and what information is missing.

Black Hat Thinking: Difficulties, potential problems. Why something may not work.

Think critically, complete a thorough risk assessment, and identify ‘worst-case scenarios’.

Red Hat Thinking: Feelings, hunches, gut instinct, and intuition.

Express your gut feelings about the instructional approach that you believe should be taken. Don’t try to justify yourself. Just go all out.

Green Hat Thinking: Creativity – possibilities, alternatives, solutions, new ideas.

Move forward; seek new ideas and modify your existing ideas if required.

Yellow Hat Thinking: Values and benefits. Why something may work.

Justify your approach by listing down its benefits and why you think your approach will work.

Blue Hat Thinking: Manage the thinking process, focus, next steps, action plans.

Summarise your thoughts and conclude by formulating a plan of action. List out next steps and assign responsibility centres.

Instructional Design for Beginners – What Motivates People To Learn?

A blog from Upside Learning to demystify one theory every beginner Instructional Designer should know – John Keller’s ARCS model of Motivational Design:

• Attention
• Relevance
• Confidence
• Satisfaction

Directory of Learning Tools 2011

Jane Hart’s Directory of Learning Tools 2011 with over 2000 tools for learning and working in education and the workplace:

http://c4lpt.co.uk/Directory/index.html

The Horizon Report 2011

The Horizon Report describes areas of emerging technology that will have significant impact on education over the next years.

The areas of emerging technology cited for 2011 are:

Within 1 year:

• Electronic books
• Mobiles

2 – 3 years:

• Augmented reality – layering information over view of real world
• Game-based learning

4 – 5 years:

• Gesture-based computing – e.g. Kinect
• Learning analytics – revising curriculum in real time

The Horizon Report 2011