What is the future of mobile learning?

Mobile learning proponents suggest there are currently two types of learning technology that are coexisting: traditional web and mobile; but that we may soon see convergence or extinction of one as the other takes over.


With the advent of iPad and other tablet devices there is uncertainty as to whether or not these will become the dominant devices of the future. Tablets are more portable than laptops, they still lack the ubiquitous quality of a mobile phone. Users must make a conscious decision to carry a tablet with them whereas mobile phone usage is less deliberate – most people are rarely without them as they fit into a pocket or purse. “This gets to the heart of just-in time learning – a person needs information when they least expect it.”


Comparisons with phones and tablets are even less important when we consider that both are capable of rendering and interacting with the same content with the only difference being screen size. The suggestion then is that, if the content is available and usable on any device, then designing anything device-specific becomes pointless or obsolete.


It is suggested in this article that mobile devices would most likely be considered a performance support tool rather than a learning tool with the contextual nature and immediacy of the mobile device making the true intent really to support rather than to teach. The writer cites an example of workplace training in the chair manufacturing industry. The company previously spent a lot of time teaching sales people volumes of information about sizes, specifications, pricing and inventories. Not only was it challenge to store all the information in paper form it was also difficult for the trainees to remember it all. They found that by putting the information onto handheld devices, it made it readily available, current and easily updated, searchable enabling staff to use these devices with customers. It also increased performance because all of the information became immediate and at the sales peoples’ fingertips.


The writer suggests that in that context, mobile learning may always be considered performance-supporting. The ultimate goal is to deliver necessary information to someone who needs it in the time, place and context they require. Sound familiar?

ASTD stands for the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)

This article was retrieved from http://www.astd.org/LC/0711_ASTDmobilereport and is an
an excerpt from Mobile Learning; Learning in the palm of your hand (ASTD Research Vol3, no 1). (sorry - no dates or names )