Feature


Down but not out M


Nicholas Kleanthous discusses why declining tablet sales is a good thing for trainers


uch has been written recently about the declining sales of tablets. While some writers have taken a


more nuanced view of the meaning behind these trends, a good deal of clickbait has accompanied the facts and figures. This suggests that the decreasing sales represent a terminal decline in the tablet itself, going as far as to say its usefulness has been


to understand their implicit strengths. They can then utilise them properly, both inside and outside the workplace, making their wider learning strategies stronger and more effective in the process.


How does this relate to mobile learning? Running parallel to this process of maturation, tablets themselves have broken down into several established form factors, each with their own distinct purposes, from smaller consumer- orientated devices to professional ones like the


demonstrated many times), but what isn’t often referenced is the synergy gained by putting mobile at the forefront of gamified and video content.


Firstly, mobile devices are what the average person spends the most time on throughout the day, so it makes sense as a matter of convenience. Secondly, both tablets and smartphones are ideally suited to consuming video and gamified content; gaming apps are the most lucrative type, and a report from Accenture, the professional services company, shows that one of the main uses of tablets is consuming video on demand.


‘Traditional’ written content


replaced by larger smartphone devices, called ‘phablets’.


While there is some truth to the cannibalisation effect that phablets have had on tablets, in reality, the market penetration of tablet devices is already huge. 2015 sales figures were down 10 per cent on 2014, but the install base of tablets has already surpassed a billion units and is still comfortably moving 200 million units per year. The vast majority of American and British homes now have a tablet, and at least part of the declining year-on-year sales can be attributed to a simple loss of the novelty value that initially accompanies such paradigm-shifting releases.


Regardless, tablets have established themselves as mainstays in homes, offices and schools, and this mature level of market penetration and familiarity among consumers now represents an opportunity for Learning and Development (L&D) and training professionals


iPad Pro and Microsoft Surface. Increasingly, these have detachable and foldable keyboards, extending their range of potential applications and threatening to further cannibalise laptop sales. More importantly, they make them ideal learning platforms.


Gamification and video learning Mobile learning (m-learning) strategies that employ smartphones and tablets have already proven to be extremely effective in delivering certain kinds of content, such as short e-learning videos and small quizzes, to test things like the product knowledge of a salesperson on the shop floor. The latter is especially important when discussing m-learning because of its status as a hot-button issue in L&D in general over the last few years. The increased incentive given by gamified elements within learning content can’t be denied (and has been academically


Another somewhat less discussed intersection between learning and tablets is the comparative ease with which existing training/L&D content can be migrated over to mobile devices. Most training is still conducted through written content: textbooks and manuals, as well as shorter written materials in PDF form. Tablets allow both management and learners to curate and interact with it in a more manageable way than they could with PDFs distributed via email or physical written materials. The fact tablets are dedicated e-reading devices also helps leverage this approach of migrating traditional managed content over to tablets.


Tablets represent an ideal form factor to try and engage and re-engage with learners, whatever sort of training or L&D environment. Nevertheless, serious forethought has to be given to your strategy before you embark on an app procurement process. Bespoke applications are often excellent, but tablets also offer an easy, low-cost way to migrate existing content across and communicate it to your audience in a more effective manner. Perhaps that is the best way to take advantage of the maturation of tablets. n


Author


Nicholas Kleanthous is YUDU’s head of marketing. YUDU has a wealth of experience developing L&D and training apps for companies as diverse as financial services firm Moodys to the Football Association.


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