What's going on with Mobile Learning?

Found a very good article on mobile learning by John Stokdyk over at trainingzone.co.uk...

Whatever happened to the mlearning craze?

The article covered different perspectives from various e-learning gurus and analysts.  Stokdyk quotes e-learning pundit Donald Clark, "n Clark's view, "m" stood for "missing". Mobile learning was proving elusive because "people don’t really seem to understand what they want to do with these devices", he wrote. Different models with different screen sizes and operating specs meant the mobile market was very fragmented, and mobile video was dead in the water, he added."

Stokdyk goes on to talk about Jane Hart's perspective on the subject, "Jane Hart, who compiles a list of the Top 100 Tools for Learning, confirmed that educators are much more willing to embrace new technologies and informal approaches than commercial trainers....". 

He goes on to talk about the economic factors holding back mobile learning citing Clive Shepard, "Clive Shepherd recently warned smaller elearning content developers about the impact the downturn would have on client behaviour. Because of the time, cost and environmental advantages, elearning should hold its own, he said, but there's likely to be less interest in experimenting with new approaches using sophisticated blends or web 2.0 techniques.

"To get these going you'll need to demonstrate cast iron cost savings, a low initial investment and the minimum risk of disruption. Remember, training will not be the biggest issue an employer will be grappling with," Shepherd wrote."

Stokdyke discusses the technical obstacles of different browsers, various platforms, bandwidth considerations, and tiny screen sizes as a hindrance to content developers.   He also cites Michael Hanely's lament," is it any wonder that training and content providers are reticent about developing courseware?"

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Dave Boggs
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