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Go Virtual Classroom? Go Mobile? Why Not Do Both!
BYOD—bring your own device—has become ubiquitous both as achoice, where learners opt to use familiar smartphones and tablets, and as apolicy, where companies no longer issue mobile devices. This poses newopportunities and challenges for virtual classroom instructors. But with theright preparation, virtual classroom instructors can engage learners whereverthey are.
Choose tools carefully
The first challenge is selecting a platform. Mobile supportis hot, so virtual-platform vendors are touting their mobile support—and manylearners assume that anything they can do using their laptop, they can also dousing a tablet or even a smartphone. Instructors and learners should take note,though: This is simply not the case. Virtual classroom mobile apps don’tnecessarily include the same features as the desktop platform.
“Some programs are almost identical between the versions,while others are significantly different. If you know your attendees will joinby mobile device, and you have choice over which platform to use, then select avirtual classroom platform that accommodates it,” said Cindy Huggett, a virtualtraining consultant and author.
For example, the Adobe Connect mobile app allows learners—on iOS or Android tablets orsmartphones—to use chat, vote in polls, use status indicators, and view sharedcontent, but they cannot enter breakout rooms.
Jigsawpromises learners “the same training experience on any tablet,” but the websitecautions that using a screen smaller than eight inches will require scrollingand that activating some buttons “may present a challenge.” Jigsaw also workson Android phones, but not on iPhones.
Tablet-using learners “can actively participate in theimmersive and activity-based work from a mobile device,” according to Jigsaw’svice president of sales and marketing, Ginger Ackerman. But, due to limitedcapabilities of mobile devices, breakout rooms and desktop sharing are notsupported. However, mobile users can view content shared by an instructor whois using a laptop or desktop.
Other platforms claim that learners can access sharedcontent on their mobile devices, but give few details.
The takeaway: Instructors who anticipate that some learnerswill join virtual sessions using mobile devices should check with tool vendorsto see what they offer in terms of mobile support.
Design for all devices
Next, instructors need to think about the design of thetraining. Should the instructor make full use of the features and assets themobile classroom offers, or limit herself to options that are available on alldevices?
For example, WebEx Training Centerallows tablet-using learners to draw on the whiteboard using a marker tool butnot to type on the whiteboard—a feature that desktop users can access,according to Kassy LaBorie, the director of virtual training services at DaleCarnegie. WebEx’s mobile app is available for iPhones, iPads, and Androiddevices.
Some learners will find that they cannot view all sharedvideo formats on some mobile devices.
For some virtual classroom sessions, these limitations won’tmatter at all; for others, they could severely impair the learners’ ability to participateor benefit from content.
Advice to instructors: “Instructional designers should knowthe virtual classroom platform inside and out,” Huggett said. “They need toknow which features are only available in the full desktop version and whatfeatures are available in the mobile version. That way, when they aredeveloping a virtual class, they are aware and able to create activities usingthe available tools.”
If a must-have activity requires desktop-only functionality,instructors don’t necessarily have to redesign training to accommodate mobileattendees. “If—in order to meet the learning outcomes—you need to use featuresonly found in the desktop version, then let learners know ahead of time aboutthis requirement. Set them up for success by communicating expectations,”Huggett said.
While some learners may choose to join via tablet orsmartphone anyhow, at least those learners will have been duly warned that theywill miss out on important content.
Meet learners where they are
Ackerman said that about a quarter of virtual learninghappens on mobile devices. “That’s rapidly changing as participants understandthey can actively participate in training sessions on mobile devices,” shesaid. “Most products don’t have the same level of active learning as Jigsaw, soin the past, as people went to join on mobile, they were restricted to seeingcertain things but couldn’t actively participate.”
It’s not only learners who are on the move, either.Instructors are increasingly using tablets to present virtual sessions. Jigsawis ready. “We’ve built our virtual learning apps to include activity-basedlearning for instructors on the go.”
Adobe Connect also allows instructors to present fromtablets, including sharing whiteboards and all types of content; smartphoneusers can share presentations.
The growing use of mobile devices to access eLearningcontent has pluses and minuses. Providing content that learners can accessanywhere, at any time, offers them choice and lets them control their time andschedule. Allowing, and even encouraging, learners to use familiar devices willmean that they spend less time (and experience less frustration) trying to getthe device to work; and therefore, they might be more focused on the content.
However, busy learners who are fitting in eLearning betweenother obligations—consuming content while commuting or in an airport, forexample—are often located in distracting environments or dividing theirattention between two or more activities. Engaging learners in remote contentis challenging at best; engaging learners in these decidedly suboptimalconditions will be even tougher.
Instructors will need to get creative to come up withengaging activities that use only the features available to mobile learners orprovide alternate ways to participate. For example, if smartphone users can’t typetext on the whiteboard, invite them to participate via chat instead.Flexibility is the byword here; the payoff is getting more learners to spendmore time engaging with training or other eLearning.
Learn more!
Are you eager to learn more about creating virtual classroomtraining for mobile learners? Cindy Huggett is presenting two sessions at FocusOn Learning 2017 Conference & Expo in San Diego, California, June 20 – 22:
- Using Video in Virtual Training: Tips and Techniques for Success (Wednesday, June21, 11:00 AM)
- Designing Virtual Training for Mobile Devices (Thursday, June 22, 10:00 AM)
