Everything You Need to Know About Mobile Learning Platforms

Today, 85% of Americans own a smartphone.

This staggering stat holds a lot of weight and even more implications, including how you train your customers, workforce or partners. 

Why? 

Because any content you're delivering to your learners needs to work seamlessly on these devices — just as they would on a desktop. 

This is where mobile learning platforms or mobile learning management systems (LMS) come into play. 

Here's ever you need to know to deliver impactful learning to the mobile-first world. 

Mobile Learning Advantages and Disadvantages

Mobile learning makes it possible for your customers, workforce (gig workers and real estate agents) or partners to seamlessly access the content they need to be successful. Of course, mobile learning comes with many benefits, but there are some inherent disadvantages to consider.

Let's explore mobile learning from both angles: 

Advantages of Mobile Learning

Mobile Learning is Accessible Everything

Training resources that are optimized for mobile devices can be accessed by learners whenever and wherever they need them. They can find the help they require at their point of need rather than wait for scheduled training seminars. Mobile learning software allows gig workers, remote employees or a global customer base to take training materials at their own pace and learn wherever they are.

It's Easier to Scale (the Program and Your Company) 

Mobile learning is more scalable than traditional learning models. There’s a lot of effort and resources that go into planning and delivering in-person training. Mobile training software allows you to upload information about a relevant topic that can then be used by any number of learners. You don’t need to increase your training budget as your employee or customer base grows in size. Normally, you would have to invest more time and money into your training program to accommodate more learners as your company expands.

Mobile Growth

Mobile devices used to be a convenience, but now they’re basically a requirement of modern business. It’s a safe bet that the vast majority of your customers and employees use a mobile device every day. Keeping up with the kind of technology your learners prefer to use in their everyday lives can be a great way to improve the quality of their training. 

Your learners are already comfortable with mobile devices and have adopted them fully into their lives, so training that’s presented in the same format is more likely to provide an intuitive and comfortable learning experience. Whether your learners use mobile devices to complete training courses out of necessity or preference, optimizing your courses for mobile can potentially improve the learning experiences they have.

Disadvantages of Mobile Learning

Distractions

One of the most frequent criticisms of mobile learning is that it creates a distraction-prone learning environment. Since we use our mobile devices (particularly smartphones) for a wide variety of purposes, it’s possible that a customer or employee will take out their mobile device to do some training and become distracted by a message or a notification. 

Lack of Internet

Mobile training courses can be accessed from nearly anywhere, but they do require the learner to be connected to the Internet. If the learner is in a location where they don’t have an internet connection, they'd need to wait until they do have a connection to view and engage with the training materials.

Technical Issues

There's also always the possibility of a hardware or software issue preventing learners from accessing mobile training resources. Technology can be fickle and sometimes things stop working at inopportune times. Hardware wears out eventually, and if you rely entirely on mobile training, some people may not have access if they’re temporarily between devices. 

Likewise, all software is susceptible to glitches. Things like bugs in the code or compatibility issues with newer software could be a couple of reasons mobile training courses stop working for your learners. This would create some downtime during which the training courses would not be accessible to your customers or employees.

Types of Mobile Learning: How Can You Use It? 

Mobile training platforms can deliver a few different types of learning. This makes it a very flexible learning strategy. You can use mobile training tools in various ways to meet the specific needs of your organization’s customers, workforce or partners. 

Here are some initiatives you can tackle with a mobile learning platform: 

Onboarding for SaaS

Mobile learning is a great way for software as a service (SaaS) companies to onboard new customers. Whenever a customer purchases access to new software, it can be expected that they’ll need quite a bit of help getting it set up and learning how to use it. That’s normal.

Most people aren’t software experts before they've received some guidance. Using mobile training tools is a great way to get them up and running and teach them everything they need to know to use the software effectively — before long, they can become experts.

Ongoing Education for Gig Workers 

Gig workers are one of the groups that can benefit the most from mobile training opportunities. Ongoing education is just as valuable for gig workers as it is for regular, in-office employees.

Providing your gig workers with the ability to learn via their mobile devices can create chances for them to improve their skills and knowledge and advance in their careers. This often results in a happier workforce that makes the company more productive.

Strategy Documents for Real Estate Agents

Real estate agents are another group that can benefit from a mobile learning platform. Online learning software could be used to share important strategy documents with real estate agents.

This can help them develop new skills and improve at their jobs. Mobile learning tools are also great for enabling greater engagement and retention among real estate agents. It can also be very useful because real estate agents are always on the move and they may not have any time in their busy schedules for other kinds of training.

Upskilling for Remote Employees

Much like gig workers, remote employees of all kinds can get a lot out of mobile training courses. It’s important to provide opportunities for all your employees to continually improve their skills.

Not only does this make them more efficient and productive employees, but it’s also a great way to boost their confidence in themselves and help them gain the skills they need to move forward in their careers. This mutual benefit can be a great thing for company morale.

Mobile Learning Tools

There are many different tools to choose from when it comes to providing your users with mobile learning opportunities. One of the best kinds of tools to use is an LMS with mobile app support. 

A learning management system (LMS) is a kind of learning software that makes it simple to create, manage and deliver training content to an online user base. By extension, a mobile learning management system is an LMS that has built-in mobile device compatibility. Some learning management systems are even designed specifically to be deployed on mobile devices.

Here are a few examples of some of the best mobile learning tools that can be used to deliver mobile-optimized training to your user base:

1. Northpass
   
   

   Northpass is a comprehensive learning management system with features like learning paths, support for multiple kinds of content, certifications and a high degree of customizability. It’s also fully optimized for mobile devices so mobile users receive a seamless experience.

2. Absorb LMS
   
   

   Absorb is another LMS that can provide many of the common benefits of remote training software, like improved scalability and automation. It’s also optimized for mobile devices so your learners can learn on the go if they choose (or if they have no other option).

3. 360Learning
   
   

   360Learning is a learning management system designed to drive growth and improve collaboration within your education program. It utilizes a philosophy of collective expertise rather than teaching from just a handful of experts at the top. And, of course, it can be used to deliver training to customers, employees and gig workers that looks and functions just as great on mobile devices as it does on any other kind of device.