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Dr. Margaret Driscoll is a project manager for IBM Global Services, Global Process Services practice.  She is author of Web-Based Training, and co-author with Saul Carliner of Advanced Web-based Training Strategies from Jossey-Bass.  She is a featured speaker at national and international training events.  Her work has appeared in the Training Magazine; Training and Development; Chief Learning Officer Magazine; and Michael Allen’s Online Learning 2009 Yearbook.  Margaret has taught at UMass/Boston,  Suffolk University, Teachers College Columbia University, NYC; and is a reviewer for InSITE papers.

Margaret Driscoll

How do you brush up on your skills—or get started in developing mobile learning assets?

The Rising Importance of Mobile Learning

Learning Technologies 2015

One of the best ways to identify trends is to connect with thought leaders who are advancing the training profession by researching and testing actionable ideas, and presenting new points of view. One such thought leader, Dr. David Metcalf, a senior researcher and director of the Mixed Emerging Technology Lab at the University of Central Florida, is an expert in mobile learning. We recently asked Dr. Metcalf to share three big ideas for mobile learning that are changing the design and delivery of training. Below is a summary of those ideas. Increasing Use of Crowdsourced and User-Generated Content This refers to material on websites produced by users rather than by companies or paid professionals. Mobile content and applications (apps) are being developed by amateurs and employees who are not part of training organizations. Cellphones provide the affordances of video, audio, and images, allowing rapid development of content that often meets an immediate training need. The speed and proliferation of this kind of content has the potential to change the roles of developers. In response to this training, organizations must think about how to support these amateurs and integrate their content and apps. Declining Reliance on Command and Control Social and mobile learning are changing the idea that learning comes exclusively from a centralized training and development organization. It is also challenging the idea that learning is delivered through a structured curricula. Users are finding their own sources for learning through formal and informal sources, inside and outside the organization. In this emerging, decentralized environment, learners draw content from a number of sources of their own choosing. Mobile devices can foster constructivist learning by providing a way to have conversation and interact with immediacy. There is no right way to deal with this change; rather, organizations need to think about how they can use this decentralization to their advantage. In short, we are entering an age of smart content, in which the intelligence and organization are built in. Learning playlists can serve as a curriculum map or advanced organizer for many types of content or delivery methods. Emerging Integration of Social, Mobile, Real-Time Learning, and Geo Location This refers to the Golden Triangle or what Ian Kennedy calls “Web Squared.” Web Squared is the integration of something like Facebook for social, iPhone for mobile, and Twitter for real time; and a fourth dimension location awareness app such as Google Maps. The combined power of these technologies promises learning design models that are authentic, personalized, and context aware. Learning design based on these technologies means learners can have real-time dashboards to monitor their progress and access to the right content or experts based on geo-location—all through mobile delivery. In Closing Dr. Metcalf recommended training professionals monitor mobile innovation beyond North America. One place to start would be monitoring the use of mobile technology in Africa, where innovations in banking and healthcare are noteworthy. It would also be helpful to look at industry verticals in which knowledge and mobility are critical, such as healthcare (mhealth), transportation, and customer service. Innovation and technology developed outside the realm of training and development offers insights and a look ahead.**Editor’s Note:** This post is excerpted from TD at Work “Applying Learning Theory to Mobile Learning” (ATD Press, 2015). In this issue of TD at Work, you will learn about: the varying definitions of m-learning, as well as drivers and barriers to its uselearning theories, and how to apply those theories to m-learninginformal learning methods, and how they can be part of a learning and development professional’s toolbox.

Insights From a Thought Leader—Big Ideas in Mobile Learning

Applying Learning Theory to Mobile Learning

Saul Carliner, PhD, CTDP, CFT, is a professor of educational technology at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada; author of Training Design Basics, Informal Learning Basics, and An Overview of Training and Development: Why Training Matters (with Margaret Driscoll); and a Fellow and past board member of the Institute for Performance and Learning.

Saul Carliner

This job aid provides some action to take to prepare for building a mobile learning strategy.

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