The world of training is constantly evolving and changing. Many companies are switching to mobile development for their training requirements as mobile phones and tablets become more prevalent and simple to access. Large companies have thousands of mobile employees spread across many cities. Even though there was always a need for digital training for such a mobile workforce, the majority of businesses continued to use instructor-led courses.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic hastened the requirement to switch to a mobile-first training paradigm. Mobile-friendly online courses, which were an additional option for training a year ago, are now necessary.
The good news is that employees, particularly those from the new generation, are accustomed to using mobile devices and are comfortable doing so when consuming content. Therefore, adjusting to mobile-based learning only requires a slight learning curve for younger employees.
These outdated computers are increasingly being replaced with more modern, reasonably priced learning devices. But with new technology and devices come new challenges and choices that eLearning designers and project managers must make.
Here are 5 tips to keep in mind as you create memorable, engaging, and mobile-friendly online courses.
- Keep Course Short And To The Point
After your target audience research and a general course concept overview, consider the course structure and ensure that the content is simple to understand.
- Break it up into digestible knowledge chunks to prevent cognitive overload.
- Break up complicated subjects into separate eLearning modules and activities.
- Focus on a specific learning goal.
- Specify points of need where more in-depth instruction may be necessary, and provide links to additional resources like manuals, external websites, and PPT files.
- Use repetition and evaluation regularly.
- Utilize an LMS And Content Delivery System Built With Mobile In Mind
First and foremost, partnering with an LMS provider like Thinkific, the platform of which has been specifically designed to be mobile-friendly, is essential if you’re going to take mobile learning seriously.
Even if the technology you are using to manage that content and deliver it to your learners is responsive, the course content itself may not have been created with mobile in mind. Users may find it challenging to navigate the platform, which will lead to a large number of disgruntled trainees.
Thus, it is best to look at the reviews before you select your tool. The Thinkific reviews, for example, make it evident that the tool works great on all kinds of portable devices and is great for learners on the go. This can help you make a decision easily.
- Be Thoughtful About Multimedia
It is true that audio, videos, and animations greatly aid in the learning process, particularly on a mobile device where the user finds constant clicking to be annoying. On a mobile device, images, animations, and videos, however, can significantly speed up loading times, or they might not load at all. When deciding whether to use multimedia, bear the following in mind:
- Make multimedia components and image sizes responsive to mobile devices.
- Don’t rely on audio. Make it an optional additional information source.
- Avoid file formats that aren’t universally supported by hardware.
- Include links to external websites and compress large files so mobile learners can access them later.
- Employ Navigational Symbol
Instead of using conventional navigation menus, choose a menu button with a drop-down list. By doing this, the amount of space needed is reduced without compromising navigability. Additionally, your icons should be easy to find and tap. Additionally, try to entirely avoid using hyperlinks in favor of well-known graphics and buttons. Mobile learners must be able to quickly and easily access the online course materials with just one finger. Small buttons and tiny hyperlinks in large text blocks will only frustrate mobile learners.
- Design With The Screen Size In Mind
Even though the brands and sizes of the mobile phones we use vary, we all tend to use them with just one hand the majority of the time. In contrast, when watching long-form content, we typically hold our phones vertically in one hand and tap with the other. It should have a touch map that shows where you can tap and click when holding the phone vertically with one hand and using the other hand to engage with the screen. The orientation of your course, whether it is in portrait or landscape, depends on how you want learners to engage with the material. Create your training courses in portrait orientation for easy scrolling if they need to contain lengthy content.
Conclusion
Mobile-friendly eLearning will probably become more and more necessary. When done correctly, a responsive design makes sure that eLearning is appealing and interesting to learners on all devices, anywhere and everywhere.
People are taking mobile learning courses, especially in the online training industry. Using these five aforementioned tips, you can give your mobile learners the required materials. No matter what your eLearning goals, time constraints, or budget is.