IMPLEMENTING MOBILE LEARNINGIN GLOBAL ORGANIZATIONS

CONTENTS

01

02

03

04

05

06

Mobile Learning’s Time Has Come

Another Growing Technology: Online Business English Training

Online Business English Training via Mobile Delivery

ROI of Mobile Learning

Getting Started with Mobile Learning

Mobile Hardware Considerations for Mobile Learning Success

Mobile Learning’sTime Has Come

The rapid development of technology has propelled us into a new mobile era. In fact, the Cisco Visual Networking Index™ (VNI) Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast indicates that by 2020, there will be about 5.5 billion mobile users, or about 70% of the global population. Interestingly, the report also indicates that by 2020, 98% of mobile data traffic will come from smart devices, which the report defines as “connections with advanced computing or multimedia capabilities and a minimum of 3G connectivity.” This figure is an increase from the 89% it accounted for in 2015. Smart mobile devices are also expected to represent 72% of the total number of mobile devices and connections come 2020.

Mobility has rapidly changed our way of communicating: the reliance on mobile devices of all shapes and sizes has now surpassed the use of familiar stationary technologies such as radio, television and PCs. Today, we expect information to be available instantaneously, at any time and everywhere, and we turn to mobile devices to provide for this increasingly unavoidable demand.

By 2020, the global mobile workforce is set to increase to 1.75 billion, accounting for 42% of the global workforce. In addition, the market for mobile devices is growing exponentially.

Numerous studies demonstrate the rapid mobile device adoption. As of 2015, there were 2.6 billion smartphone subscriptions worldwide, a number which is anticipated to grow up to 5.5 billion in 2020.By this year, about one in five tablet purchases will be made by companies, resulting to about 68 million tablets purchased for corporate purposes. Forrester Research’s VP and Principal Analyst J.P. Gownder pointed out that tablets will play “an increasingly critical role at work,” and this may also include that of a device for learning and training.

Combine those statistics with the fact that the growing millennial workforce prefers mobile phones over any other personal technology and the opportunities to deliver learning are limitless. No longer is it a question of “if” an organization should deploy mobile learning but “when” and “how” does an organization deliver mobile learning.

Another Growing Technology:

Online BusinessEnglish Training

As organizations are looking to expand their global footprint and reduce costs, they seek a common business language. Online Business English Training can improve your business communications and expand your opportunities globally. Over 750 million people worldwide speak English as a foreign language (Crystal, The Future of English), and according to a 2014 Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) report, there are about 1.5 billion English learners worldwide today. By uniting your workforce with the most commonly spoken language in the world you can improve your employees’ confidence and improve your bottom line. Business English Training delivered by a vendor partner offering eLearning and mobile learning can help you deliver the English training that your employees need, when they need it for a fraction of the cost of classroom training therefore significantly reducing your investment.

Online Business English Training ViaMobile Delivery

Last year, the Pew Research Center found that both smartphone ownership and Internet usage have continued to climb in emerging and developing nations. In fact, they found that two-thirds of the world use the Internet. Additionally, smartphone ownership rates in emerging and developing nations have risen from 21% in 2013 to 37% in 2015.

The statistics above demonstrate that mobile devices are a familiar and universal communication tool. Offering the convenience of anytime, anywhere access, mobile learning combines the convenience of learner comfort with their device with the immediate distribution of knowledge.

Mobile delivery facilitates on-demand contextual learning, whether it’s in the office, at the airport or prior to the next client meeting. The speed of communication facilitated by mobile delivery makes learning immediate, just-in-time, and especially relevant.

“With more smartphones being sold every three months than computers, mobile learning has

positioned itself as a viable means of eLearning delivery, challenging other forms of eLearning

as the most popular technology-delivered learning mechanism.”

- Christophe Ferrandou, CEO of goFLUENT

The ROI of Mobile Learning

Putting aside all of the excitement and statistics surrounding mobile device usage for a moment, mobile learning is not the end all eLearning solution. It should not be considered a standalone eLearning solution. Mobile learning, is, however, an established delivery model for a global distance learning solution, where learners can get the service and information they need to accomplish their learning goals. ROI for mobile learning can be measured in the same ways that eLearning is traditionally evaluated by measuring speed to market, speed to competency, automation efficiencies, course completions, compliance and other organization specific analyses.

The question becomes then, is there more ROI difference between an eLearning program with or without a mobile delivery component? To answer this question we look to global workforces and how they are using mobile learning.

The ROI of Mobile Learning

With the popularity of mobile devices already defined, which employee groups can reap the benefits of mobile learning immediately? Your primary audiences are first going to be those whose learning needs are not already being met through online learning via a computer or classroom instruction. Those that can benefit first may include:

What employee groups in organizations today have some or all of the above characteristics?

Mobile workersThose that are rarely in front of a traditional desktop computer.

ExecutivesTravel often, desire succinct communications and were early adopters of mobile gadgets and technology.

Marketing ProfessionalsThose who utilize the power of social media to promote their products and services, maximize the use of such connections to engage directly with leads and potential clients.

Field Engineers and Repair TechniciansLike sales personnel, such “in the field” employees are inherently mobile and can use mobile learning to catch up on training and be best prepared to meet with a customer or partner onsite.

Sales RepresentativesVery busy and mobile, often require instant information to support customer queries, can benefit from easy access to information and customer support.

International business professionalsThose with nontraditional work schedules due to frequent travel.

Field workersThose who seek access to just-in-time learning prior to entering a meeting or accessing learning information while engaged with a client face to face.

Users comfortable with technologyProfessionals who already know how to use their phones and don’t have to learn to use new hardware.

Mobile Learning in Action: Applications and Examples:

Getting Started withMobile Learning

Last year, the Pew Research Center found that both smartphone ownership and Internet usage have continued to climb in emerging and developing nations. In fact, they found that two-thirds of the world use the Internet. Additionally, smartphone ownership rates in emerging and developing nations have risen from 21% in 2013 to 37% in 2015.

The statistics above demonstrate that mobile devices are a familiar and universal communication tool. Offering the convenience of any-time, anywhere access, mobile learning combines the convenience of learner comfort with their device with the immediate distribution of knowledge.

Mobile delivery facilitates on-demand contextual learning, whether it’s in the office, at the airport or prior to the next client meeting. The speed of communication facilitated by mobile delivery makes learn-ing immediate, just-in-time, and especially relevant.

Selecting an eLearning solution that offers mobile delivery in addition to a computer delivered application puts the choice of accessing the training in the hands of the learner. Learners are then empowered to decide how they will learn, which delivery model best fits their learning styles and per-haps overcomes any learning constraints (geographical, technology, etc.) that they are dealing with.

Once you have selected an eLearning solution with mobile delivery, it’s important to create and execute internal communications and marketing plan for your solution. In order to decide if your organization is truly ready for mobile learning, start by answering these questions:

01 Identify business challenges and define strategy.

For any learning initiative to be effective, leaders first need to identify what problem that initiative is going to solve. A mobile learning initiative is no different.

To review, common business challenges that are addressed by mobile learning can include:

Enabling access to Business English Training content and services across a global workforce.

Offering learning to a workforce that is already mobile.

Delivering just-in-time learning when it is needed most.

Getting Started with Mobile Learning

02

03

04

Define the solution.

Pilot the mobile learning solution.

Measure, analyze and refine.

When defining a solution to address business challenges and fulfill strategic vision, it is important that learning leaders consider specific areas within the organization related to the elements of an eLearning ecosystem.

Limiting risk and cost, piloting a mobile learning program is becoming an industry best practice. There is much to be learned from taking a sample group and running them through the entire program before rolling the program out to your entire learner population.

Measure effectiveness in order to gauge success. Evaluating a mobile eLearning solution shouldn’t be any different. If you are just getting started with eLearning measurement, a few good indicators to measure are performance improvement, course completion and skill mastery results.

Technology or infrastructure: If you make a decision to implement mobile learning, it doesn’t mean that you have to provide smartphones for all of your employees. As smartphone usage continues to rise together with the availability of faster mobile data connectivity, more than likely, your employees already have the tools, you just need to deliver the content.

Culture: Consider different workforce groups. Millennials prefer mobile phones over any other technology, social learning and just-in-time learning.

Content: What is your need to deliver video and which mobile device delivers it most effectively?

Getting Started with Mobile Learning

Mobile Hardware Considerations For Mobile Learning Success

When it comes to the hardware side of mobile learning, evaluating the possibilities is challenging. Your strategy about the hardware technology is equally as important as the content that you deliver on it. After all, what’s the use of curated content when it cannot be smoothly accessed via the learner’s mobile devices?

This is where modern software technology also comes into play. Today’s mobile devices are mostly powered by Android or for Apple devices, the iOS. A significant number of learning apps have been strategically developed to target users of such devices. Apple devices, however, have a well-known preference: they do not support Flash. That’s where HTML5 comes in.

Fairly a young player in the programming world, HTML5 is the latest version of the Hypertext Markup Language and was designed to deliver the best online experience without having to install various browser plugins. From animation to movies and music, HTML5 can showcase media on most browsers without any required add-ons. What’s even more interesting about HTML5 is that it runs across platforms, enabling users of smartphones, tablets, phablets, netbooks, notebooks, ultrabooks, and even Smart TV’s to get the most out of online browsing.

“In Q1 of 2015, phablets accounted for 21% of all smartphones sold

in the United States alone, 44% of which were the iPhone 6 Plus with

its 5.5 inch screen.”

Mobile Hardware Considerations For Mobile Learning Success

HTML5 has also influenced the way mobile learning providers create their programs. While some have retained Flash, others have been migrating to HTML5 to reach more users. On the other hand, Android technology does support Flash, and in general terms any eLearning website works well with Android smartphones. Therefore, where should an organization focus first?

To narrow the hardware options, start by looking at usability. While your employees may have smartphones, taking learning from a small device such as a smartphone can be challenging. It’s much easier to learn from a tablet or phablet. Leading smartphone device manufacturers have addressed this challenge and modified their product development by producing larger smartphones, or phablets. In fact, in Q1 of 2015, phablets accounted for 21% of all smartphones sold in the United States alone, 44% of which were the iPhone 6 Plus with its 5.5 inch screen. When you do your hardware research, you will find that there are hardware solutions available with a larger visual field that can meet your needs and be deployed in combination with smaller mobile learning devices.

Iphone 5S Sold

44%

35%

Phablets Sold

21%

US Smart Phone Sales

To learn more about Mobile Learning and Business English Training, contact goFLUENT at

To download the goFLUENT app,

Sources: Cisco Newsroom, Cisco VNI Mobile Traffic Forecast, TechChrunc, BusinessWire,

sales@gofluent.com

visit Apple’s App store or Google Play for Android devices.

Global Mobile Workforce, Forecast, USA Today, Pew Research Center, HTML5