We check our smartphones on average 52 times a day.
That’s over three times every waking hour. We use mobiles for messaging, checking social media, reading news, online shopping, online banking, taking pictures, and making videos.
Apart from their functionality, the obvious perk of mobiles is their accessibility.
Unlike desktop learning, mobiles promote anywhere, anytime learning. You can now learn when it’s convenient for you.
Mobiles allow for a tailored learning experience. It’s no wonder mLearning is such a popular way to train.
Why is Mobile Learning Important?
1. It’s Customisable
As markets are more saturated, a lot of businesses are offering custom services in order to stand out. From Coca-Cola creating personalised bottles, to designing your own clothes at Nike; today’s consumers expect a tailored experience. As personalisation becomes the convention, the Learning and Development industry needs to adapt.
It’s no longer enough for a learning solution to simply reflect your organisation’s colour scheme and font family. Your learning solution needs to feel like home for your learners.
These days, learners expect the same level of customisation at work as they do elsewhere.
It will provide a jarring experience if learners have to log into a platform or download an app that isn’t their very own.
The Knowledge Arcade is an engaging learning environment condensed into a mobile app. You can make it 100% your own, with your own dedicated app on the app store. You are able to create a bespoke platform to reflect their business.
Admins can also upload company logos and embellish the app with brand colours. All these elements make the learner feel they’re in familiar territory, offering a more relaxed learning environment.
2. Smartphones Are Now An Extension of Ourselves
Do you check your smartphone just before you sleep? What about first thing in the morning? 46% of Americans admitted to checking their phones before getting out of bed in the morning.
On top of this, 66% of adults suffer from nomophobia: the fear of being without your mobile.
Like it or not, smartphones have become an extension of ourselves.
As smartphones are such a big part of our lives now, it’s only natural to use them for learning.
3. They’re the Perfect Partner to Microlearning
We scroll an average of 300ft every day (the size of Big Ben and the Statue of Liberty). Yet, we actually only spend around five minutes on our phones per session.
Microlearning can come in any medium, be it video, word, or audio. Though there’s no set time limit, a nice guideline is that it should be between 2-5 minutes. This way you can deliver training perfectly suited to the way your learners are already using their phones.
4. Mobile Learning Apps Emulate Social Media Platforms
We’re used to whipping out our smartphones and checking our social media. In fact, an astonishing 71% of adults use the Facebook app on their mobiles. Mobile learning apps such as The Knowledge Arcade use elements from social media. This includes a social wall where you can share pictures, videos and anything else with your colleagues.
In fact, most apps have a social element where users can interact with each other. This is a great way of building communities with shared interests in specific topics. It will help you engage your learners and keep them coming back.
5. You’ll Appeal To The Younger Workforce
By focusing on mobile learning, you’ll be more appealing to the Millennials and Gen-Zeds in your company. 98% of Gen-Z own a smartphone, they also expect to get their first smartphone younger than any other generation.
Now Gen-Zeds have entered the workforce, they’ll appreciate learning via the technology they’re already so accustomed to.
Final Word
As mobiles are now an extension of ourselves, they’ve naturally become the go-to tool when it comes to training. Training apps can be personalised just like social media platforms. Learners can update their profile pic as well as writing their own bios. This naturally appeals to everyone who uses social media (which is basically everyone!). And with our tips you can create a magnificent mobile learning initiative.
Mobile behaviour is the perfect partner to microlearning. Investing in mobile learning is investing in the needs of your organisation.
It’s the perfect way to deliver training to your staff in today’s mobile-centric world. If you want to find out more about what mobile training solution is right for you – why not download our free explainer?
