Elearning! Magazine: Building Smarter Companies via Learning & Workplace Technologies.
Issue link: http://elmezine.epubxp.com/i/133739
Editor'sWord LastWord The Challenges of M-Learning HERE'S A HINT: THEY HAVE VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH TECHNOLOGY, MORE WITH TRADITIONAL LEARNING PHILOSOPHY. BY RJ JACQUEZ T he future of e-learning isn't about adding more "animations" to our existing e-learning (in the name of making courses more engaging). Neither is it about an e-learning 2.0 or 3.0 vision. No, the future of e-learning and learning in general is mobile learning. Every new computing paradigm has challenges, and the new mobile revolution is no diferent. However, unlike some people who think that things like the price tag of a mobile device or its battery are holding mobile learning back from full adoption, I'm convinced technology has little to do with what's holding us back from crossing the chasm. So, then, what are the real challenges? Having the right mindset: Te reality is that we don't like change, and mobile is a new way of thinking. But we need to embrace change in order to make the most of this new opportunity mobile presents to us, and reinvent our learning industry in the process. What we need in e-learning is not an evolution, it's a revolution — and m-learning is just the kind of paradigm shif we need to make this happen. Embracing simplicity: As an industry, we have been conditioned to think that the more animations we have in our courses, the more engaging they are for the learner. Tool vendors focus their entire marketing strategies (I know, I was one of them) on selling "more interactive" features: more interactions, more widgets, more timelines, more triggers, more ways of animating text, and more support for all those animations in PowerPoint. However, the mobile experience is about simplicity; it's about sharing one big idea per screen; it's about looking at what's really important and then getting rid of everything else, the fuf. Lack of m-learning tools: I strongly believe we need new tools that are built from the ground up and that embody everything that is great about mobile, including a new mindset, new templates, simple, yet powerful and beautiful experiences and most of all, tools that can display these learning experiences in a personalized way and on every screen. Thinking desktop-frst: Most people today think desktop-frst and mobile-second, and that's a big problem. One of the quickest ways to immediately improve our desktop e-learning is to start thinking mobile-frst and then go back to our desktops and apply the simplicity that is derived from embracing mobile constraints that come with smaller screens. HTML5: And last but not least is the temptation to hit the new HTML5 publish button. E-learning was created for that very tiny mouse pointer, while m-learning requires a much bigger touch target for our fngers. Tis minor, seemingly insignifcant diference changes everything in terms of design, and it's yet another reason why one size does NOT fll all. 1 2 3 4 5 — RJ Jacquez is a mobile learning consultant, blogger and speaker, specializing in helping companies and individuals mobilize their learning. His prior experience came at Adobe Systems and Macromedia as a senior evangelist. Visit him at http://rjacquez.com. 50 April / May 2013 Elearning!