RESTRICTIONS OF MLEARNING

With all of the fantastic strengths and benefits of mobile learning sometimes it’s worthwhile keeping in mind its limitations. Below are five of the more restrictive elements that I have encountered in my time developing mLearning.

BUDGETARY RESTRICTIONS

First and foremost let’s deal with the big fish. A project’s budget and timeline isn’t the be all and end all in regards to product execution, but it can really impact the size, scope and deliverables in an mLearning project. Assuming we have decided with the client that mLearning is the optimal design solution over eLearning; budgetary constraints can impact on many aspects of the product, not solely the length and duration.

These budgetary constraints can include developer licences that are often in excess of $1000. It is also worth keeping in mind that a single screen of mLearning equates to approximately a week of fulltime work. This work-week includes story-boarding, developing, delivery and testing. This financial reality for mlearning means that very rarely will you see a product delivered for less than $8000.

CLIENT RESERVATIONS

It can be difficult demonstrating the true value of your courseware to the client before it comes to fruition. Client reservations will limit the potential of your project unless you can communicate effectively the benefits of what you plan to implement. As always, proof is in the pudding, so using previous examples of similar projects and related success stories will demonstrate the value that you are adding.

THE RIGHT LMS

Unlike eLearning, mLearning doesn’t yet have a plethora of LMS platform options. Because it is such a new industry/ field of interest the options are still quite limited and unsophisticated, there are however a few Learning Management Systems that seem to be ahead of the pack. Some of the systems at the forefront of Mobile LMS that I have found preferable are the Lectora LMS, Docebo, ed and Captivate Prime from the Adobe team.

SECURITY

We want to offer end users the most streamlined learning experience possible, free of roadblocks and hindrances. This being said, the security of personal details and the LMS integrity is of the utmost importance; it is the marriage of these two priorities that poses quite the challenge. One must also be aware of the potential security threats present when employees have access to company IP and potentially confidential material on their own personal devices. Appropriate levels of encryption and sign in security must be coupled with ease of navigation and easy access to content.

SPECIFIC MOBILE ISSUES

When designing learning for i-pods, tablets and smartphones it is worth keeping in mind the specific limitations of our handheld devices. Each of these platforms have a limited battery life and storage facilities, plus not everyone owns a smart digital device (68% of adults in America 2015). Of those consumers that do, we need to cater for different platform sizes via appropriate media query tags and optimize the size of our courseware for those with limited data allowances. Furthermore, issues to do with usability and screen realty must be approached with tact and attention to detail.

These are a few of the more common issues that I have encountered building mLearning. Have you experienced any similar restrictions to Mobile Learning?

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