From turning your heating on whilst commuting home, to monitoring ongoing changes in your fitness levels; we use our mobile phones for so much – we’re almost inseparable now.
They say our smartphones are now more powerful than the computers used to put a man on the moon, so it stands to reason that we want to use them for almost everything we do.
This upsurge in mobile phone and tablet use has, not surprisingly, pervaded the eLearning industry too.
Why is Mobile Learning Important?
More and more learners are demanding eLearning units that can be completed on their mobiles. This is because learners want Learning Management Systems that function just as well on smartphones as they do on PCs and laptops.
Why? It’s because mobiles are now considered at an extension of ourselves. In fact, there’s even a term for the separation anxiety that we feel when we’re apart from our smartphones: nomophobia.
It’s Already a Habit
As a nation, we check our phones roughly every 12 minutes. Additionally, 1 out of 4 adults checks their phones within a minute of waking up in the morning! It’s time to officially admit that we have all built up habitual patterns when it comes to our phones.
This is why mobile online learning works so well. We’re using a tool that we keep in our pockets. It doesn’t involve implementing a dramatic change in behaviour as the routine is already there.
As well as this, smartphones are now our favourite go-to when we go online. Mobile traffic took over desktop traffic for the first time in October 2016, and it’s continued to grow.
In 2018, 52.2% of all website traffic worldwide was generated through mobiles!
Millennials and Gen Z Prefer Mobile
Millennials and Gen Z are the first generations to have been raised on technology. Both generations, therefore, prefer learning via technology, as it’s more natural to them. A staggering 98% of Generation Z own a smartphone. Statistics show that by 2020, both Millennials and Gen Z will make up 35% of the working world. That’s a whopping 70%!
This is just another reason why it’s integral to invest in your mobile online learning now!
So, What’s The Answer?
Making learning management systems responsive isn’t enough. It may suit tablet use, but mobile phones will require a specialised app that is designed solely to make eLearning more accessible. No one likes to scroll sideways in order to see all of the screen, yet equally, having to scroll down through miles of rearranged text isn’t fun.
Putting the learner experience at the heart of everything we create is something that we’re proud of here at Growth Engineering. That’s why we’ve made the Growth Engineering LMS completely responsive on tablets, and why we’ve rolled out our revolutionary mobile solution; Growth Engineering Learning App.
It allows learners to access their training whenever and wherever they are, whether they’re at work, on the move, having a lazy day on the sofa or squeezing in an eLearning unit in the dentist’s waiting room.
The mobile app even allows learners to access their training when they have no internet connection. They just need to download the eLearning materials while they are within range, they can travel wherever they please – or turn off data to save money – to take the training. When they reconnect, everything they’ve been done will be automatically pushed through to update their account.
That’s not to say that learners only want to learn on mobiles or tablets. The desktop PC and laptop still have their place in eLearning. There are some things which are simply much more efficient on computers, like writing assessments or entering text within eLearning units. But the option is there for learners to take their learning via any means they see fit – and this is something they really value.
Final Words
No wonder why mobile online learning has become today’s hottest training method! It meets the needs of your modern learners, while having the power to create meaningful business impact. Now you too can see what mobiles are capable of:
Learn more about Growth Engineering Learning App by arranging a demo tour!
