Where is Mobile Learning Most Helpful?

In my previous post, I considered the question of "Who can benefit from mobile learning first?" Now I'd like to consider mobile learning from another angle: Where is mobile learning most helpful? After all, if you are sitting at your desk, using a robust laptop or desktop computer with access to all of your learning resources, then you won’t have as much need for learning on a smartphone or tablet device. It is when you are away from such environments -- when you are "mobile" but have a handheld device with you -- that you will realize the most benefits of "mobile learning."

In discussing this question, I always like to split it into two main categories. The first is what I and others have referred to as making better use of "stolen moments of time." These are most often moments when you are waiting somewhere, for something to happen next -- the time is "stolen" from you unless you make productive use of it. If you have your smartphone with you, perhaps you'll make a few calls from your to-do list or check and process some email. For some, keeping up with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or their other social media presences might be another good use of their smartphones during such stolen moments of time. And then, of course, there are entertainment diversions, such as playing a game or watching a fun video. But the question for learning professionals is this: Can you provide people in your organization with another productive use of their smartphone during such stolen moments -- a way to learn or improve their performance in some way?

Through my research and conversations with our customers, the following are some typical stolen moments of time that can be considered as opportunities for mobile learning:

• Waiting at the airport: This is perhaps the classic example -- how much more productive and enjoyable would that wait be if you could watch an instructional video, learn a new skill, or even take the compliance course assigned to you?
• On the plane, train, or subway: If the mobile learning solution you have available allows you to download learning content ahead of time so that a live connection is not required for streaming, then being able to review key information before the meeting you are travelling to, or being able to take a course module as part of your development plan can be a great way to pass the time in transit.
• In the car: If you are driving -- commuting to work, or anywhere really -- then audio-only mobile learning can be a good option. Alternately, if you carpool, as a passenger you could make productive use of that time by utilizing downloaded mobile learning content.
• Waiting in a line: I've often seen people checking email or doing other productive tasks while waiting in long lines at the post office, or while waiting at their doctor's office, hair salon, or in other similar contexts. If you have time to process email, you also have time to watch a five-minute video on a subject you need to brush up on.
• While exercising: Not all types of exercise lend themselves to simultaneous mobile learning, and some would prefer music while building up a sweat. But for those who want to learn something while they jog, stair-climb, or lift weights, many types of mobile learning content, such as audio-only content, could be a perfect fit.

All of the above are cases where, in many instances, people become bored and don't make the best use of their time. Another example of where mobile learning could be helpful is quite different from boredom; it is in urgent situations when immediate performance support is required. Here are some examples of typical job roles where providing performance support via a handheld device could be particularly valuable:

• Sales executives: The ability either to better prepare for a key customer meeting or to quickly look up product or pricing information on the most convenient device at that moment could be a big plus. Even short, motivational audio clips could put a sales executive in a better frame of mind going into a crucial conversation.
• Field engineers or repair technicians: I often see such field employees using laptop computers when they need to look up product information on the job. That is fine, but increasingly the more convenient devices will win out, as long as they can reliably provide the performance support content that is needed.
• Retail employees: Where a laptop is not practical, a smartphone certainly could be. Could retail employees better serve customers by using apps to quickly look-up additional product information from the sales floor?

As a learning professional, ask yourself if your consideration of mobile learning is more targeted on making better use of stolen moments of time, or providing performance support. Dealing with boredom and urgency are both valid uses of mobile learning. Which approach makes the most sense for your first mobile learning projects?

—  Thomas Stone (Tom_Stone@elementk.com  and on Twitter @ThomasStone)