Handy tips to create a Mobile Learning Strategy

April 29, 2020 By Moodle

Do you want to implement mobile learning in your L&D plan? Check out these helpful tips to create a solid m-learning strategy

The increasing adoption of mobile devices and broadband is pushing organisations and L&D departments to focus on rethinking their mobile learning strategy. After all, 74% of employees say they access resources from their smartphones to do their jobs1

As you prioritise learning on the go, there are some steps you can take to define your approach to mobile learning and make your strategy effective and sustainable.


Define your goals and get to know your audience

  • Evaluate your organisation’s general long-term goals and decide whether implementing mobile learning will work for you. If you have a remote team, or members that need  on-the-job support while in the field, or your workforce are used to mobile devices, then it’s likely that mobile learning fits in your overall strategy.
  • Set a clear ROI. Think about what results you want to achieve and how you will measure them. These can be an increase in sales, fewer compliance issues, greater learner engagement, or whatever you choose to focus on.
  • Do a bit of research and survey your audience. Find out your employees’ motivations and problems and learn what skills they want to strengthen and what competences they want to acquire. It’s good if you also find out what devices they use the most while at the job and outside of it.


Bring the right experts around the table
 

  • Set up a team with different roles and profiles in your organisation who can help you implement your strategy.
  • Involving your IT team from the beginning will avoid making decisions that can’t be executed due to technical limitations, while getting Team Leads and Project Managers can help you better define the problems your mobile learning strategy needs to solve and can also help you get champions to encourage the implementation of your strategy.


Decide where you will get your content from and make sure it is accessible

  • Will you use an external provider that can facilitate ready-made content, or are you planning on creating your own content in-house?
  • If you make the content yourself, remember to reuse it! Don’t assume all your programs need to be 100% mobile (your workforce doesn’t want to take a 2-hour certification program on their phones!), but think of what parts of your training can better fit into mobile learning and incorporate them into your existing L&D plan. For example, relevant information or knowledge that your employees are likely to need in very specific moments, or key content that you can break into small pieces.
  • Whether you repurpose your own existing content or create new one, follow guidelines to make it mobile friendly and make sure it is accessible.


Choose the right mobile friendly LMS

As we said, not all your content will be ideal to be consumed from mobile devices. However, you will want to have all your training in one centralised platform, so when you select an LMS, make sure that it has powerful mobile capabilities. Some things to consider are whether it is mobile-responsive or, even better, if it has a native mobile app that your team can install on their devices. 

Other things to consider when choosing an LMS for your mobile learning strategy are:

  • Do you plan to import external content and resources into your LMS? Look for compatibility with content libraries and repositories.
  • Ensure you can apply your own branding to your LMS and its mobile app so that it creates a seamless learning experience across devices. Your workforce is more likely to engage if they trust the environment that you have created for them.
  • Check for a good notification system that enables you to send your team important reminders or information at the right time. Native apps generally have a better user experience and effectivity when it comes to notifications.
  • Content variety is key for effective learning. If your workforce needs to learn regulations, you’ll probably go for a written document, but if they need to know how to assemble something, you might want to use a video. Check out that your LMS is compatible with as many file formats as possible: text, images, audio and video formats are a must.


Create an implementation plan that includes a testing phase

  • Test your mobile content with a small group of employees before implementing it officially across the organisation. Conduct satisfaction surveys and ask for the team’s opinion on what works and what doesn’t.
  • Once you go big, introduce mobile learning step by step so that you can evaluate your strategy periodically to  see if it’s working towards your goals, and readjust as necessary.


In summary

There are so many things to consider when thinking about implementing a mobile learning strategy in your organisation. The good news is that a good strategy evolves and does not need to be perfect right away. You will try things, you will make mistakes, you will learn but you have to make sure you involve employees in defining and implementing it. Oh and we almost forgot…assess, assess and reassess constantly.

 

Learn more about Moodle Workplace, our corporate LMS solution that enables you to provide fully mobile experiences.

 


[1] LinkedIn 2019 Workplace Learning Report