What is mLearning?
In its purest form, mobile learning (mLearning) is “learning that takes place when the students benefit from learning opportunities offered by mobile technologies” (Glew, et al. 2003). Layman’s terms, it is a micro-learning are dealt with on your mobile device such as Smartphone, MP3 player, Notebook, Kindle, etc. is predicted iPad mLearning also be offered at one of the most popular trends in the field of learning in 2010. In recent years, mLearning is on the edge of the mainstream. But new technologies and the widespread availability and use of mobile devices, especially those that are Web-enabled, mLearning finally take its full potential.
formal, informal and self-directed: Types of mLearning can be divided into three general buckets. Formal learning includes learning journeys through the message and the memories, such as text asks employees to confirm their understanding or participating in the event / task completion organized. E-learning course also includes an official mLearning. Informal learning includes strategies such as interactive messaging, to promote two-way communication, soliciting user feedback and data collection. Finally, self-directed learning of the user-driven learning is the reference for support materials, course content and media-based content such as podcasts and videos studied.
Are you going to mLearning?
mLearning expands and reaches the general population. It is expected that mobile learning projects submitted to established and emerging global markets more than they in North America (USA / Canada) because of greater interest to take rapid deployment, and readiness to benefit mLearning and delivered the basic feature phones and smartphones.
(Gadd, Robert President and Chief Officer of Mobile OnPoint Digital).
How do you ask? Well, the techniques, such as HTML5 and Cloud Computing facilitate people’s access to an interactive, engaging content. Training and skills development team fully embrace these technologies, if would fit their budget. HTML5 is the multimedia playback on mobile devices and the practical constraints also the need for Flash-based content for mobile, but its use in mLearning is so new it will change before the standard is set. Cloud computing enables the management of mobile devices, based on the cloud, but not in regular contact with the private corporate network. In addition to discussing how a smart phone applications that are currently living in a particular device may continue to live in the cloud and not on the Internet. So the cloud flattens app industry and the material could be done once and then used on any device.
mLearning is combined social networking and every student the mobile device when the two technologies are completely integrated user experience. Support for these two techniques is an integral part of any nuclear mLearning seller offers. Does not the common experience of students is to alienate a large portion of the audience.
Another trend in mLearning location-based Learning. Location-based Learning is to use the school’s physical location and the GPS device to instruct the moment. For example, the seller will receive important information about the city he has never visited the office building as they potential customers into force.
In addition, opens the touch-screen functionality of the interaction mLearning. Touch screens allow much more extensive interaction richer than a QWERTY keyboard and limitations of the old school than the traditional keyboard.
Benefits
mLearning offers many benefits for the target group, and you.
* It provides an easy way to displaced current, up-to-date information from the public.
* It speeds up the establishment of training and follow-up strategies.
* You can train people who may not otherwise be able to fully would have the training.
* It is more effective, students are able to do it on their own time and at their own pace.
* It delivers the productivity and revenue due to the time savings increased by other teaching methods.
Tools
There are quite a few mobile devices, SDK and API currently available. There are many different approaches when it comes to movement on the development, each with its own advantages and disadvantages coming. Mobile telecommunications is a rapidly evolving devices such as Kindle and iPad make its way into the site. The disadvantage of all these changes and the growth is the diversity unit hard to find one size fits all solution. There are two approaches in developing countries for applications for mobile devices: development of standalone applications and / or development of applications that benefit from the device built-in Web browsers. Browser applications have a better chance of more equipment to use and less ability to take in the local hardware and software features of the terminal, such as GPS or the accelerometer functionality goal.
Compromise
To mLearning is effective, it must be short, easily accessible and relevant. Consider supporting it as a performance. This is a compromise between teachers.
To mLearning effective, these strategies should be used.
* Re-thinking instructional design / content development
No text is short and concise. This is not a place to expand the theory of relativity.
No course can not be longer than 5-10 minutes, tops. Remember staring you really want to spend 30 minutes a try to learn, while packed like sardines on the subway during rush hour? Whether the students remembered the headphones rush out of the house? Probably not. Do the users of mobile devices is a long time to participate in learning activities? In general, do not use them as a means of access to information and documentation, tips and activities prior to the appointment of a new client for the first time mLearning.
* Simplification of the visual design of “Training via BlackBerry success or failure in the design. The technology can be revolutionary, but if people do not pick up and use it with little or no explanation, so do not use it.” Eren Rosenfeld, Director of Global Markets and Investment Banking Learning and Development, Merrill Lynch.
No screen layouts should also work without the pictures.
o Use pictures as seldom as possible and only if you. Many mobile devices have access only to the slow service, so download time can be very slow. Some users have to pay to Fri KB mobile web data.
Do not make images or other graphical elements small. If the image is too large, the user has to scroll horizontally or vertically, to see the whole thing. Some mobile devices do not support vertical scrolling, the frustrating stop to the image.
o Avoid background images or graphics. They can be more difficult to read the screen in some lighting. The ambient light sensor varies depending on whether the user is indoors or outdoors.
No fonts are very limited to mobile devices. Although the desktop or laptop computer is more than one font, the mobile device can have only two. Do not rely on others to make fonts to any important matter. Geneva and Verdana are optimized for small screen resolution and are a good choice.
o Avoid the subtle differences between the font color and keep color, high contrast fonts.
o Do not embed text in graphics. Often the screens are too small, so that the text readable.
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