Training and learning traditionally follows rather than leads technological revolutions.  This certainly was the case with e-learning a couple of decades ago when multimedia technology, developed primarily by the games industry, first came to the PC via the CD ROM. These early steps were quickly followed by a continual and exponential rise in the power of the internet, or rather the speed at which people can connect to the Internet, which has seen e-learning become business as usual for many organisations.

However, despite two decades of experience and technological advances, much e-learning still suffers from being wedded, not to an Internet technology, but to a ubiquitous piece of PC software which is even older.  It saddens me to say that PowerPoint is still the tool of choice for many in Learning and Development and having been steeped in the PowerPoint tradition, many training people feel most comfortable when they are animating a one-way presentation online than when they are doing something more interesting with the technology available.  This is particularly true where the DIY ethos of the authoring tool has, apparently, de-mystified the creation of e-learning modules.  The trainer who was previously a wizard with PowerPoint, animating 20 bullet points on to each page – often with an amusing sound effect akin to a teenager’s text message alert – has now been let loose on creating their own content.  Of course, trainers are primarily in the role they are in because they are good at standing up in front of groups (or at least should be) so they have developed modules which deal with the dull stuff.  The one-way presentations about tricky subjects which gave them poor scores on the end of the workshop happy sheet can no longer sully our trainer’s records, because we have found new ways to make the dull and difficult even duller and less understandable.  We have used our authoring tool templates and put them on-line.  Rejoice, rejoice!

Recognising that most trainers are struggling with the basic technology of e-learning development, some organisations have handed over the authoring tool to their IT specialists.  This has some benefits in terms of functionality – maybe the images won’t just look like they were plonked there as an afterthought – maybe a few animations or audio clips can be included to spice things up.  Trouble is, the more technical minded may understand computers, but they don’t often understand learning.  Whereas a trainer may not be able to structure their e-learning output because of a technological lack, the IT specialist’s response is “why do we need a structure?”  Let’s see where we get to!

This has been the story of technology use in learning in many, many cases.  Of course there are always a few examples of good practice, of technology and learning being used in harmony to genuinely enhance a learning experience.  However, they are not as frequently available as one would hope.

And now a new technology has arrived that, like the early CD-ROM will change the way we deliver learning forever, or will it?  Mobile learning is not that new, there have been attempts with hand held games consoles, text messages and even tablet PCs as a forerunner to the iPad.  But the explosion in interest in mobile technology may mean that perhaps m-learning’s time has come.

The main growth of interest has been generated by the iPhone and more recently by Android based devices.  In a recent article on HTML 5 and the mobile revolution we spoke at length about how the mobile platforms are becoming more sophisticated and technologically aligned that there is now a common platform for learning development, HTML 5, that is accessible from either a PC, Apple Computer and any number of Mobile platforms including the iPhone, Android devices and the latest Blackberry’s.

The opportunities for m-learning seem significant.  The computing power previously only available through wired networks is now available in your pocket or handbag.  The screen size – previously a significant barrier has expanded, but also people’s acceptance of small screen technology has grown.  I’m always surprised when travelling to see people using their mobile device to watch movies.

So what are we going to do with it?  Well, I think that’s the problem in some ways.  The use of mobile technology in learning is still a little undefined.  In one sense you could put everything you have online through a PC based network on to a mobile platform.  But wait a minute.  Doesn’t much of what is available online fail to engage? Would we simply want to replicate that in someone’s pocket?  We must also consider that most mobile devices will continue to be privately owned rather than the company PC, so in most cases we’re asking people to use their own technology to access this material.  That does change people’s perception and preparedness to accept what’s available.

What’s needed is a set of new conventions for the use of mobile technology and we are in danger of a lack of imagination impeding the progress of mobile learning.  We definitely need to break away from designs that work well on PCs and start focusing on the strengths and limitations of the smaller mobile devices.  Perhaps even more importantly we must look at how people actually use these devices, and make it a natural progression for them to learn using those same methods.  As with existing e-learning solutions today there needs to be a level of appropriateness about when to use m-learning, using it for the right reason, not just because it is the latest technology.

m-learning will be:

• Short – modules of less than 5 minutes
• One way – animated and video based presentations with key reminders – most useful as refreshers/reminders rather than as mechanisms to learn new materials
• Action orientated – more like performance support than learning – the point about mobile is its immediateness.  I use it because I want/need something now.  It is not a reflective medium.
• Constantly renewed and updated – again the mindset around mobile is its ‘latest’ information not stuff which is out of date or static.

 

This last gives us a problem.  If we are going to create many new pieces of short learning bursts for a mobile platform, there needs to be a commitment to creating lots over an extended period.   The drive to reduce costs will potentially take us down the amateur content generation route we have seen in e-learning.  That’s not worked.  Let’s not make the same mistakes again.