top performers
Harnessing mobile learning
This is the second in a series of bi-monthly Award Winning Recipes that Towards Maturity is creating as a result of its ongoing Good Practice Partnership with the E-Learning Awards. Drawing on lessons learned from organisations that have won or been shortlisted by the E-Learning Awards over the years, these articles also reflect on the characteristics of the top performers within the Towards Maturity Benchmark. Together they provide every organisation with hints and tips for e-learning success
T
he use of mobile devices in learning has increased over the years – 39% of organisations are now using mobile phones, tablets or other handheld devices to support the learning process1. Last month e.learning age took a look at what business needs from mobile, this
month we consider how to get it. In our studies we found that top performers are three times more likely to support mobile learning in their organisation – either by providing their staff with mobile devices to support learning or encouraging them to use their own. These mobile devices are being used to help reinforce formal learning (62% of organisations) and to provide an alternative platform to PC based delivery (51%). When we consider the award winners over the past three years, there are a number of common ingredients for success that they share:
Be driven by the need not the technology The need driving change comes from the business rather than the technology itself. In the case of this year’s gold winner of best use of mobile learning – a partnership between Epic and Harper Collins (see Box 1) it wasn’t the marketing potential of a new app that drove the solution, it was the level of failure in maths GCSE resulting in business concern over numeracy levels behind the desire to find a new way to help. Likewise in this year’s silver award with the Royal School of Artillery and LINE Communication’s (Box 2) the focus was about how to improve communications in the battlefield in order to save lives rather than how can we harness the iPad in the classroom.
Addressing learner motivation Our award winners also show us that motivating a new generation of learners does not come from gimmicks but is a benefit that comes from great design aligned to their needs. When it came to addressing the numeracy skills of soldiers in Operation Numerika (Box 3 – the 2009 winner), young soldiers were engaged because the programme was designed to help them apply abstract or
maths ideas within the context of their own workplace. Yes, the Nintendo DS platform that the learning was delivered on was cool and helped relieve the stigma of being perceived as having their ‘head stuck in a book’ but, more importantly, staff were choosing to learn in their own time. They were also having fun and the gaming
Box 1: Epic and Harper Collins
45% of GCSE students failed to achieve a grade C or above in maths in 2010 so Epic worked with leading education publishers, Collins to develop the entire maths syllabus on an app series. The aim was to enable teens to revise anytime, anywhere with technology they love, and without being ridiculed for having their head in a book. So what lessons can we apply in the workplace?
Ingredients for success Before developing the app, testing was carried out amongst the core
audience with wireframe drawings providing feedback on usability, functionality and price.
Video tutorials support application using storytelling techniques and authentic student voice
Practice sessions support revision and diagnostic tests identify strengths and weaknesses
Design using familiar features of the iPhone encourage engagement – icons are familiar, swipe and zoom gestures used and the app could be found in iTunes.
Both the mobile platform and advanced bookmarking capability enables study in small units of downtime
Students can spread the word and tell a friend about their scores via Facebook. Benefits
At the time of winning, 15,000 copies had been sold since the launch. The trial showed that the app was particularly useful for engaging pupils with Dyslexia. Feedback on iTunes has been phenomenal featuring regularly in Apple’s top 10 educational apps.
(Winner of Best Mobile Learning Project 2011)
There is a freely available ‘lite’ version at
http://ax.itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ collins-revision-number-lite/id400873346?mt=8#ls=1
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e.learning age may 2012
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