Mobile technology is a powerful tool to support learning. Its ubiquitous nature offers great potential in terms of accessibility, connectivity, and collaboration, its ability to support blended face-to-face and online learning experiences, and its ability to aid differentiation to meet learning needs. But using mobile devices for learning also comes laden with complex problems. These problems may revolve around a lack of knowledge or skills to overcome technical barriers, implement mobile devices for teaching and learning purposes, or adapt content to a mobile learning environment.

In the last few years, organizations were busy evaluating whether mobile devices are an effective channel for employee learning needs. However, research suggests that “organizations have moved beyond this stage and are now focused on solving challenges around security, content, bandwidth and cost” (Brandon Hall). Why is it that many organizations excited about mobile learning are yet struggling to start implementing them?

Mobile computing continues to explode as consumers’ adoption rate of mobile devices increases significantly. How do we create and implement a strategy to capitalize on this and other new and emerging technology platforms? Many organizations are interested in walking this path, but they struggle with knowing how to get started. Knowing what the audience wants, whether to build or buy, and how to fund the project are just a few of the strategic questions that organizations face.

There is a popular myth in our industry: that courses do not belong on a mobile phone and that only performance support can be successfully delivered to mobile. This session will disprove this popular belief.

The AutoTrader.com sales-training department designed an innovative strategy to support their fall product releases to a team of over 700, going completely mobile rather than using traditional classroom and eLearning. The strategy employed a combination of mobile core content, performance-support video and documents, scenario-based learning, and manager coaching and support. Partnering with the sales-training team, the AutoTrader “MyLearning” mobile application was used to deploy 21 nuggets of core content and 41 support resources structured via gamification and badging.

The Brandon Hall Group’s research shows that most organizations are still in the early stages of mobile learning, if they have begun at all. All organizations have some level of a learning strategy in place already, and it can be very challenging to integrate mobile with that and to develop a strategy and identify what works and what doesn’t for your particular company.

Making the decision to go mobile is one thing—making it happen is something else. Mobile-learning projects are complex, and change often. For an organization accustomed to a linear project timeline for eLearning development this can be a challenge. It’s important that mobile-learning projects are managed in a way that allows for flexibility and organizational success.

Field-based performance support (PS) generally means printed job aids, which quickly become dirty and outdated and are nearly impossible to replace with new information. Today’s professionals carry and prefer using mobile devices. They expect performance support whenever and wherever they need it, which makes mobile devices the perfect vehicle for delivering PS. When PS can be accessed by scanning images and real objects, it’s not only the fastest and most preferred way to get PS, it’s fun and amazing!

The Internet is full of compelling images, video, and sound, but most learning designers and developers struggle with understanding what content they are allowed to use, and which content is limited based on copyrights. There is a continuing struggle to quickly develop content while balancing speed with protecting our own work, respecting the work of others, and using copyrighted works fairly.

A number of different documents are distributed to learners during an instructor-led course. In many cases these documents exist as PDF documents, which creates a number of challenges. Distributing the documents securely may eliminate external resources like USB drives. When the documents are stored locally, there is no central way to update them and keep them up-to-date. Most critically, it is extremely challenging for workers to take notes on PDF documents.

One of the emerging technologies that learning professionals are interested in is augmented reality. There is tremendous energy and excitement attached to the opportunities presented by augmented reality, but few actual case studies that organizations can learn from as they contemplate walking that path themselves.

In 2013, the sale of smartphones exceeded the sale of traditional phones and the sale of tablets exceeded those of standard PCs. This trend has led to more organizations who want online courses that can be accessed from both mobile and desktop devices. Because the technology is different, it is challenging to develop learning that accommodates each device’s unique attributes.