The coming explosion of the Internet of Things (IoT) will impact almost every aspect of human life. The integration of different sensors and wearable devices will play a key role in addressing some key challenges associated with mobile learning. However, to take advantage of these opportunities, it is important for organizations to understand the ways of bringing standards from both the IoT and mLearning worlds together, to enhance the overall learning experience.

Clients often ask for mobile learning solutions without considering whether mobile learning is the best fit for the business, instructional needs, and technology constraints. For a mobile project to be successful, instructional designers and managers need to be grounded in the fundamentals of mobile learning strategy. What questions should you ask when determining whether a mobile solution is the best fit? How do you educate your clients on the advantages and disadvantages of mobile learning?

When thinking about training and performance support, it should not be an either /or proposition. The most effective mobile learning solutions should provide ways to support both! During the Mobile Training Implementation Framework (MoTIF) research project, ADL collected data and feedback from many mLearning and performance support experts. One of the tools developed as part of this effort is a new reference model for mLearning design.

Learning is more than just the distribution of information. Motivation, memorability, and personal meaning should be required ingredients for a successful learning moment. An additional ingredient required for mobile learning is the fidelity of interface design. Touch-based designs can help, but as a mobile designer, you are pitted against the high-fidelity game and social media apps that are just a button away.

As more and more people are adopting agile-based development methods, the single biggest thing TorranceLearning hears is, “I’ve got to get my team/clients/boss/SMEs on board with this, or it will fail miserably.” You do need to get your team, your clients (internal and external), your boss, and your SMEs on board with this—because if you do not, then yes, it is likely to fail miserably. Agile is more than a project management method. It is a culture.

Mobile learning isn’t just for re-packaging eLearning. It is about going to where the learner is ... out in the real world, beyond the computer. The tried and true method for reaching people in the real world has been the QR code, but we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what can be done with this simple tool. Because it can open any content, the QR code affords the designer an opportunity to make a lot of things happen for the learning experience.

The world of training and development has changed. Today’s technologies provide dozens of new affordances that can be used in learning and development that were simply not available in the days of training being done in classrooms with instructors and three-ring binders. But making sense of these new affordances, and the opportunities they provide, can be a challenge.

One of the most popular authoring tools in use today is Articulate Storyline. As more organizations make the move to mobile, the need to find ways to use Storyline for mobile projects increases. But where do you start? 

There is a frustration on the part of many HTML designers and instructional designers. While they would love to be able to place content directly on an iPhone or iPad as a native app, they soon realize that a solid knowledge of Xcode is required. If you want a native experience without having to learn iOS, Android, and BlackBerry (soon Windows 8) native development, then Titanium is the perfect solution.