Marc My Words: What Exactly Is Mobile Learning?

Mobile learning is exciting and full of potential. But if we are notcareful, how we see mobile learning can inhibit what we do with it.

Device confusion

Think about this. You’re home, late at night, and you start a course onyour tablet. The next day you head out on a business trip, and, while waitingfor your plane, you pull out your tablet and continue the course. Finally, atthe hotel, you log in, again on your tablet, and finish the course. Is this mobile learning?

Let’s change the situation just a little. You’re home, late at night,and you start a course on your desktop computer. The next day you head out on abusiness trip, and, while waiting for your plane, you go to a lounge withcomputer workstations and continue the course. Finally, at the hotel, you login again on a computer in the business center and finish the course. Is this mobile learning?

And what if you took the course on different devices, at differenttimes—a tablet, a laptop, and a desktop computer. Is this mobile learning?

The answer to all these scenarios is “yes.” They are all examples ofmobile learning. The fact that in the first scenario you used a mobile device,in the second you used a fixed device, and in the third you used multipledevices, is secondary to the fact that the learning moved with you, wasavailable on demand, wherever you were, and deliverable on a platform of yourchoosing.

A common misperception of mobile learning—or mLearning—is that it mustbe delivered on a mobile device. Why? Are we really concerned that the deviceis mobile, or that we are? Sure, mostmobile learning is made possible by the increasing mobility of our devices, butthe growing ubiquity of cloud computing is beginning to make specific devicesless important than anytime, anywhere access.

So the first part of our definition of mobile learning is learning that is available anytime andanywhere, and is platform agnostic.

Our viewpoint on learning may be too limited

Does the term “mobile learning” constrain us? Most of us wouldcertainly agree that delivering training on a mobile platform, accessibleanytime and anywhere, falls into the mobile learning arena. But what aboutthese situations:

• You visit a client and access a job aid onlineto help him or her through a purchase decision.
• In your car, you listen to a podcast from yourCEO.
• On the factory line, you punch up a video onyour tablet to explain an assembly process.
• On the retail floor, you show the customer howto access an app on their smartphone that provides additional information onthe product they are buying.
• As a field technician, you message a colleagueat another location and ask a question about troubleshooting a repair.
• In an art museum, you scan a QR code with yoursmartphone, bringing up additional information on the painting you are viewing.
• You have wearable technology that automaticallydetects proximity to something you are interested in and automatically beginsfeeding you relevant, curated content.

Clearly, we are not limited to training; in fact, training may be thelast thing we want to employ in a mobile environment. Performance support,knowledge management, social media, and other approaches and technologies—includingmuch of the mobile app environment—are all appropriate for a mobile strategy. Theterm “learning” puts us in a bind, but it’s a bind we can easily get out of. Inthis new context, learning goes way beyond courses and instruction to embrace amuch larger toolkit, or ecosystem of solutions. Don’t think of mobile learningas mobile training; that box is waytoo small.

So the second part of our definition includes all approaches to enhance learning and performance.

A new definition

Mobile learning is not simply training on a cell phone or a course on atablet; we’re long past that. Our new definition must reflect new opportunitiesand a broader playing field. So here goes—try this definition on for size:

Mobilelearning is the capability to seamlesslydeliver a wide array of knowledge and performance improvement resources tousers—anyplace, on any platform, on demand, and at the moment of need.

A mouthful, I know, so here’s a shorter definition that also works: Mobile learning is learning—in all forms andformats—that follows you.

Want to go further? How about using the term mobile performance support instead of mobile learning? It’s more comprehensive and includes abroader toolkit of strategies to improve performance. Perhaps it’s time—or longpast time—to recognize that instructional solutions are just a piece of what wedo.

Use the complete definition or the simpler one; both do the job. Oncewe break free of the bonds of a particular device or a limited learningstrategy, we’ll never look at mobile learning the same way again.

From the Editor

To go even further in your exploration of mobile learning, performancesupport, and mobile performance support, join us at either or both of theseconferences coming up June 10 – 12 in Austin, Texas!

• mLearnCon 2015 isNorth America’s leading mobile learning conference and expo, focused onapplying mobile technologies in the context of learning and support, the strategiesfor integrating these technologies into the training mix, and the bestpractices for designing, developing, and delivering mobile content. 
• Performance Support Symposium 2015 is the only conference dedicated to the topic of performancesupport and the goal of delivering small amounts of information directly intoworkflows when and where it is needed to enhance on-the-job performance.Registration for Performance Support Symposium 2015 gives you access to allsessions in both conferences!

Registerfor either event and receive access to the mLearnCon 2015 Expo, an outstandingopportunity to explore a highly focused collection of key vendors offeringleading technologies, tools, products, and services for mobile learning andperformance support applications!