The funniest thing is to see someone squinting to take a course on a small phone – in small text and tight spaces.
Elliot Masie
When was the last time someone said to you, “Look at my cool mobile learning delivery platform?” Never? Following the recent ATD conference in Washington DC, Elliot Masie shared his frustration with the description ‘m-learning’ after a day chatting to L&D professionals out shopping for ‘mobile learning solutions’ on the Expo floor.
We’re all multi-device users, but that doesn’t mean that all learning content should be designed to work on all devices, argues Masie: “The funniest thing is to see someone squinting to take a course on a small phone – in small text and tight spaces. It would work perfectly on a larger screen – or could be adapted for a different type of program on a mobile phone.”
This was music to our ears at Video Arts where we’ve been arguing for a long time that learning needs to work well on the device it’s delivered on: and what works well on a laptop doesn’t always transfer across well to a smartphone. Too many fiddly interactions on a small screen are frustrating, regardless of how effective the technology that builds them is. That’s why we launched our new range of e-learning courses at the show with a focus on design and usability specifically for a smaller screen. And that’s why for clients who want to reach their employees on the move with snappy learning bites we often find that video alone is the best way to deliver behavioural change. We think these kind of fit-for-purpose learning options are the way forward. Masie says we just need to stop calling them m-learning. I will if you will?
