| Why Mobile Learning is
Here to Stay
The United Nations predicts that the global human
population will reach about 6.3 billion by the end of 2009.
Technology analysts predict that, by then, 2.6 billion mobile
phones will be in use. That works out to 41 percent
of the global population carrying mobile phones by the end
of 2009.
The immense popularity of mobile phones
is laying the technological foundation for mobile learning.
A number of business drivers are influencing
the adoption of mobile learning. These drivers include the fact that
the workforce itself has become much more mobile in the last
decade. Training opportunities in the office or requiring
classroom facilities are becoming less frequent, and staff
members often have little time for formal training or e-learning
that requires a computer and an Internet connection. Mobile
learning allows businesses to provide training to mobile staff members
and to distribute materials quickly. It is a way to use short
periods of time where a staff member is waiting or traveling.
The pace of business change and
the need for constantly updated information have increased.
Mobile learning is now delivering key data at the point of
need. This is particularly relevant for workers who need access
to updated product information, pricing details, or other time
sensitive information. Mobile learning can be seen as a form
of performance support.
Written
by three Brandon Hall Research analysts, Adam
Cunningham-Reid, Gary Woodill,
and Richard Nantel,
Mobile Learning Comes of Age: How and Why Organizations
are Moving to Learning on Mobile Devices provides
an in-depth examination of the current state of mobile
learning and answers key questions:
- What are the advantages and disadvantages
of mobile learning?
- What can mobile learning do for a business?
- How effective is mobile learning?
- How do you create mobile learning
content?
- What factors need to be considered in creating content
for specific devices?
- How do you track your learners'
use of mobile learning?
- And much more.
|
Example of a course for the Windows
Mobile platform |
This report also includes six case
studies on how well-known organizations are using
mobile learning:
- Giunti Labs at Ericsson
- NGRAIN at the Canadian Armed Forces
- Questionmark at Eastern Washington University
- ReadyGo at Granville Stephens
- Spotlight Mobile at American Power Conversion
- SumTotal at the St. George Bank
Perhaps you've been sitting on the sidelines
waiting for proof that mobile learning isn't just a fad. The
reality is that new mobile learning initiatives are making
the news daily.
Google Trends chart showing the
growth in news stories about mobile learning
If you aren't using mobile learning today,
you probably will be tomorrow. This report provides the critical information you need to go mobile.
This report is also available through
a membership to the Brandon
Hall Research Library. |
