Avoiding "Ready. Fire. Aim!" with a Mobile Learning Strategy

Significant Work. Extraordinary People. SRA.

Avoiding "Ready, Fire, Aim" with a Mobile Learning StrategyChris King, Strategy and Planning Group

GMU/DAU Innovations in e-Learning Symposium

6 June 2012

Innovations in e-Learning Symposium | 6 June 20122

Agenda

• Mobile Learning: force multiplier or paradigm shift?• Organizational Readiness for Mobile Learning• The strategic framework• Selecting suitable content


How do you define “Mobile Device?”

In 2011, for the first time ever, more smart phones were sold than PCs.

Reference: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02/07/idc-smartphone-shipment-numbers-passed-pc-in-q4-2010/, http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2379665,00.asp

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02/07/idc-smartphone-shipment-numbers-passed-pc-in-q4-2010/



http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2379665,00.asp

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2379665,00.asp


How do you define “Learning?”

A course

A checklist

Performance support (aka

QRG)

Refresher from an ILT

course

Supplemental Learning

Assessments/ evals/surveys

• Requires expanded expectation of learning

• New possibilities for “blended learning”

• Is Performance Support “learning” or something else?


Is “mobile” a revolution in computing?

• Usage patterns are shifting from PCs to mobile devices• Ubiquitous connection patterns• Tablets are creating their own slice of the usage pie by

making it a bigger pie• Mobile devices are changing the way we search for

information, communicate, buy things, work, and interact with our world


Shifts in Usage Patterns: Going Mobile

• People are increasingly moving from PCs to mobile devices to connect. According to Pew studies*:

– 46% of American adults are smartphone users, up from 35% a year earlier

– A quarter of Americans with smartphones use the devices as their main way to get onto the Internet

– 9 in 10 owners of smartphones use their device to access the Web and check their e-mail each day

Data from Pew Internet & American Life Project, http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-2012/Findings.aspx (March 2012)

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-2012/Findings.aspx

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-2012/Findings.aspx

Shifts: Always Connected*• Global mobile data traffic grew 2.3-fold in 2011, more than

doubling for the fourth year in a row. • Last year's mobile data traffic was eight times the size of

the entire global Internet in 2000. • Mobile video traffic exceeded 50 percent for the first time in

2011. • The top 1 percent of mobile data subscribers generate 24

percent of mobile data traffic -- down from 35 percent 1 year ago.

• Average smartphone (data) usage nearly tripled in 2011. • Smartphones represent only 12 percent of total global

handsets in use today, but they represent over 82 percent of total global handset traffic.

• In 2011, the number of mobile-connected tablets tripled to 34 million, and each tablet generated 3.4 times more traffic than the average smartphone.


* Data from Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group, February 2012 - http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-520862.html

Within the next 5 years…

• Monthly global mobile data traffic will increase 18-fold, surpassing 10 exabytes in 2016.

• Over 100 million smartphone users will belong to the "gigabyte club" (over 1 GB per month) by 2012.

• The number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the world's population in 2012.

• Two-thirds of the world's mobile data traffic will be video.

• The average mobile connection speed will surpass 1 Mbps in 2014.

• Due to increased usage on smartphones, handsets will exceed 50 percent of mobile data traffic in 2014.

• Monthly global mobile data traffic will surpass 10 exabytes in 2016.

• Monthly mobile tablet traffic will surpass 1 exabyte per month in 2016.

• Tablets will exceed 10 percent of global mobile data traffic in 2016.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-520862.html

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-520862.html

Shifts: Tablets Make More PieGartner: Users are spending more time online with tablets*

“Tablets are not used in the same way as PCs, and they are not replacing other devices, such as smartphones. Instead they are

extending computing capabilities into new locations that were not practical before, and along the way are extending the amount of time

users spend in any computing environment.”


*Gartner, “Enterprise Applications for Tablets,” ID G00214074, June 13, 2011

3.5 hr/day 4.2 hr/day

As reported by Mobile Sales Force Workers When tablets

introduced: Users reported

smaller number of longer sessions

with their laptops; fewer number of shorter sessions

with phones

Shifts: Work & Telework

• “Workshifting”: Ability to work when and where we want to. – Telecommuting continues to rise – including employees working from home

(e.g., via laptop) and on the go (via other mobile devices)– Telework Act of 2010 gives federal workers the option to telework at least

part of their week.• Some interesting stats about mobile workers*:

– “Integral access” – 29% believe that wireless Internet access is as important as electricity and running water in their everyday existence; another 59% say “pretty close”

– During workday hours, 25% check the smartphone at least 3-4 times per hour. 12% check obsessively – 10+ times per hour

– 70% who check their smartphones during downtime do so for both business and personal reasons

– 60% sleep with their devices in the bedroom (80% for ages 22-34)– 56% send their first email before they arrive at the office. 73% send their last

email after they leave the office.– 61% of mobile workers work more than 50 hours/week; 21% work more than

60 hours/week


* iPass survey of 1689 workers at 1100 enterprises in March-April 2012, Global Mobile Workforce Report, May 22, 2012

Shifts: Search for Information

• Explosive growth of mobile Internet access: Sites are seeing increasing percentage of their traffic coming from mobile browsers.

• Mobile Spend:– Mobile ad spend in the US will reach $2.6B in 2012, with $1.28B spent on mobile search– Mobile search is not just for online purchases – 40% of mobile searches are local, with

approximately 60% subsequently visiting or calling the business

• Clickshare:– In 2011, mobile clickshare rose every month, peaking at 21.7% in December– Tablets are responsible for some of the change: Tablet ownership doubled over the Christmas

holidays. Tablet share of mobile clicks was almost 40% in January 2012, a 15% jump from December.

• Click Through Rates (CTR):– In August 2011, mobile click thru rate (CTR) went above PCs for the first time. – By January 2012, mobile CTR was 45% higher than computers.

• Cost Per Click (CPC):– Smartphone CPCs remain about 50% less than desktop CPCs– Tablet CPCs are catching up to desktop at about 20% less– Google: Mobile paid search ad volume doubled from Dec 2012 – Dec 2011


* Source: Mobile Search Trends and Best Practices, Feb 2012 -http://www.slideshare.net/performics_us/the-latest-mobile-search-trends-and-best-practices-february-2012

http://www.slideshare.net/performics_us/the-latest-mobile-search-trends-and-best-practices-february-2012




Shifts: Mobile in Government

• Digital Government Strategy Document

• 12-month roadmap with specific 3, 6, and 9 month milestones

• Significant shift in how the government develops and delivers digital services

Do we now have to consider citizens as a training stakeholder in the Federal space?

Source: www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/23/roadmap-digital-government

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/23/roadmap-digital-government





Is your organization ready for it?

• Are your workers self-directed learners?• Does your management understand the benefits?• Are their organizational policies and initiatives that

support it?• Do you know how to build it? If not, do you have the

budget to buy it?


Your audiences may not be ready.

• Adult learners are motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors

• Barriers to self-directed learning are likely external– Informational (unaware of educational activities)– Institutional (practices and procedures that discourage

participation)– Situational (life getting in the way of learning)– Dispositional (personal attitude about self and learning)

Widely cited: Adults as Learners. Increasing Participation and Facilitating Learning, by K. Patricia Cross, 1981.

14

Your managers may not be ready.


• “Management will resist “ is cited as a barrier by nearly 30% of respondents to an e-Learning Guild survey

• “Lack of understanding from leadership” has 23% responding “high” or “very high” in an ASTD study

Sources: Mobile Learning: The Time is Now, Clark Quinn, e-Learning Guild Research, 2012; Mobile Learning: Delivering Learning in a Connected World, ASTD Research, 2012


Your organization may not be ready.

• Common barriers across different surveys show mutual organizational challenges

Cost

Hard to integrate with our enterprise tools

Lack of standards

Security (vulnerable transmission)

Existing content does not transfer well to mobile devices

41%

43%

45%

45%

48%

Large barrier

Legal or policy concerns

Lack of IT infrastructure to support these technologies

Security concerns

Difficult to integrate into legacy learning systems

Budget constraints

0% 20% 40% 60%

32.0%

35.0%

36.0%

37.0%

46.0%

High or Very High

E-Learning Guild Research: Mobile Learning: The Time is Now, Clark Quinn, 2012

ASTD Research: Mobile Learning: Delivering Learning in a Connected World, 2012

“To what extent do you consider these barriers to adopting mobile learning technologies…?”


You may not be ready.

Build It if you have:• Developed in HTML5 and/or CSS3• Built mobile apps• Experience developing e-learning

Buy It if you have:• Strong project management skills• Deep pockets • Experience deploying e-learning


Organizational Readiness

• Before you make the investment….

Point TotalTo what degree should this mobile learning be introduced to your target audience(s)?

35 and above Mobile Learning is a viable approach

19 - 34 Consider a blended approach for learning delivery

18 and belowMobile Learning is not likely to be effective; consider a more traditional approach (e.g., classroom-based, experiential, etc.)


Content Readiness

Selection Criteria Rating Scale

Learning

Content

Attributes

How complex is the learning content? (Consider type and level.) Does it introduce simple theories and concepts, or does it require a significant amount of application for the learning to be effective? Can it be effectively delivered electronically without extensive explanation, or must the skills and knowledge be developed and built upon over time?

1Complex,requires critical

thinking

2 3Moderate complexity

4 5Simple,

procedural knowledge


Content Readiness


Learning

Content

Attributes

How important is context to the content delivery? Is the content more effective when delivered in the context of the workplace? Or is the content more effective delivered without supporting context in a neutral setting that can encourage reflection? Is context needed immediately to make meaning out of learning situations?

1Context can be applied

separately to the

content

2 3Context provides

some benefits to learning

4 5Context

critical for making

meaning


Content Readiness


Learning

Content

Attributes

What kind of activities are needed to support learning? Does the content require high-level cognitive processes (analyze, evaluate) or low-level cognitive processes (remember, understand, apply) and the corresponding activities for effective learning?

1Mostly

high-level cognitive

processes

2 3A mix of

high- and low-level cognitive

processes

4 5Mostly low-

level cognitive

processes


Audience Readiness


Audience

Attributes

Is the audience inherently mobile or casually mobile? Does the majority of the audience spend most of their working day at a desk? Or is the location of the work not fixed in space?

1Desk-bound

2 3Equal mix of desks

and mobiles

4 5 Inherently

mobile workforce


Audience Readiness


Audience

Attributes

How widespread are work-related mobile devices in the target audience? Does the target audience provide their own mobile devices, or are mobile devices provided for and supported by the organization?

1Few

Smart-phones or no support for Smart-

phones

2 3Pockets of

Smart-phones

4 5Smart-phones

fully supported


Audience Readiness


Audience

Attributes

How motivated are the Learners to own their development? To what degree is the target learner audience able and motivated to pursue self-directed learning? To own and manage their development?

1Low

Motivation

2 3Medium

Motivation

4 5High

Motivation


Environmental Readiness


Environmental

Attributes

Does the organization support mobile devices as part of IT Infrastructure? Can you call the help desk for help with your mobile device? Is there support for a wide variety of mobile devices within the organization?

1Little

support

2 3Some

support

4 5Wide-spread support




Environmental

Attributes

How mature are the organizational policies around mobile? Is there a mobile device policy? Are there policies on security? Social media? Privacy? Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)?

1No formal policies

2 3Some formal policies

4 5Formal

policies for most




Environmental

Attributes

Does your LMS support mobile delivery? This is necessary if mobile learning is to support or deliver formal learning. Mobile learning can support informal learning without integration with the LMS.

1The sales-people say

it does

2 3The

technical integration staff say it

does

4 5The LMS Trainers

say it does


Organizational Readiness

• How did you score?

Point TotalTo what degree should this mobile learning be introduced to your target audience(s)?

35 and above Mobile Learning is a viable approach

19 - 34 Consider a blended approach for learning delivery

18 and belowMobile Learning is not likely to be effective; consider a more traditional approach (e.g., classroom-based, experiential, etc.)


If they are ready, how do you deliver?

Mobile Learning strategy

Have a short time horizon

to account for rapid change

Address build vs. buy

Be device agnostic

Have clearly defined metrics


Strategy answers three key questions

What do you want to do?

Clearly articulated

vision of the future state

How do you get there?

• Culture• Organization• Competencies• Processes• Apps• Equiments• Delivery Vehicles

How do you know when you are there?

Metrics tied to organizational

goals


Integrate into your existing strategy

Build capacity to develop, or PM

skills to manage

Continue to coordinate and

cooperate with IT and Legal, just

like you’ve been doing all along

(hint, hint)

If your existing strategy it not

mature, Mobile Learning might

increase confusion

Does your LMS support mobile? If

not, consider mobile as

Performance Support


Mobile supplements traditional training

Consider the possibilities of a Performance Support solution built on a mobile platform….

Source: Conrad Gottfredson, Ontiuitive

The Five Moments of Learning Need


Choose your content carefully

Mobility Hierarchy Sample ApplicationsLearning

Affordances

Level

4Communication & Collaboration

• Real-time chat• Annotations• SMS• Email

Level

3Capturing & Integrating Data

• Networked databases• Data collection/ synthesis• Mobile library

Level

2Flexible Physical Access

• Local database• Interactive prompting• Context/ location sensitive

support

Level

1 Productivity• Calendars• Scheduling• Contacts

Communications Intensive

Group Work

Synchronous

Asynchronous

Individual Work

Content Intensive

Mobility

Adapted from Gay, Reiger, & Bennington, “Using mobile computing to enhance field study” in CSCL2: Carrying Forward the Conversation.


Mobile device use patterns inform content choices

Uses Pocket Tablet Laptop

Contextual Content

Communication

Contextual Capture

Contextual Create

Consume Content

Application Interaction

Create Content

Organize

Archive

Source: Mobile Learning: The Time is Now, Clark Quinn, e-Learning Guild Research, 2012

- High likelihood of use - Reasonable amount of use - Limited or unlikely use


34

Mobile and Accessibility

• Not hyperbole to say that mobile devices are revolutionizing accessibility

• Section 508 conformance is the law

Questions to ask• Does the base hardware &

Operating System meet Section 508 requirements?– Are there VPATs/GPATs

available?– Does it connect to common

assistive technology (e.g. TTY Adapters, Braille Screen Readers)

• Do the developers have access to device-specific instructions/API/code examples of products that meet Section 508 standards?

Voluntary Product Accessibility information (VPAT):

http://www.itic.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=vpat

Government Product Accessibility Template (GPAT)




Section 508 Compliance Status

Our Grade TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION

A+ Apple Leading the way for OS, Hardware, and developer support

A*Microsoft Windows 7 Phone, Windows 7, Windows 8

High level of support for OS and developers; *Note: Support by vendors varies

A RIM BlackberryRIM has a high level of support with their Blackberry line; the newest OS for PlayBook has a lot of accessible features

C AndroidVaries by which version of the OS and the hardware vendor, but fewest accessible features to date


ConclusionMobile Learning can make an impact, but

requires careful planning and coordination

If your workforce is not inherently mobile,

consider spending your resources (time, money, talent) on other things

Barriers exist, but they are becoming more

manageable

You cannot escape from your relationship with IT –

just like the LMS days!


THANK YOU

Chris King, Strategy and Performance Group

[email protected]


FURTHER READING


508/Accessibility:US Government Resources

• Section508.gov – for everything you need to know about Section 508– http://section508.gov

• BuyAccessible.gov– http://BuyAccessible.gov

• Access to resources and tools to help you meet Section 508 requirements• Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP)

– http://cap.mil/

• Provides assistive technologies and services to DoD and partner Agencies

• Federal Business Opportunities– https://www.fbo.gov/

• Example 70--Computer Support Services for Veterans Who Have Visual Impairments– https://www.fbo.gov/index?

s=opportunity&mode=form&id=62c0baba1eecc31699532b0d3d403bc4&tab=core&_cview=0


508/Accessibility:VPATs for common devices

• VPATs describe how a product or service satisfies U.S. Section 508 Guidelines

• Apple products:– http://www.apple.com/accessibility/resources/

• Microsoft Section 508 VPATs– http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/products/

section508/default.aspx

• RIM BlackBerry– http://us.blackberry.com/support/devices/blackberry_accessibility/

• Android VPATs will be vendor-specific– E.g. Samsung documents their VPATs at

http://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/citizenship/usactivities_government_Compliances&Certification.html


508/Accessibility:Developer Resources

• Designing for Accessibility on Android– http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/design/

accessibility.html

• Accessibility Programming Guide for Apple iOS– http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/

UserExperience/Conceptual/iPhoneAccessibility/Introduction/Introduction.html

• Developing Accessible BlackBerry device applications– http://docs.blackberry.com/en/developers/deliverables/11936/

Intro_to_Accessibility_API_791538_11.jsp

• Windows Dev Center: Accessibility main page– http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/bb735024.aspx


508/Accessibility:Additional Links

• Assistive Technology Industry Association– http://www.atia.org

• Accessible Technology Coalition– http://atcoalition.org

• Yahoo! Accessibility Blog: – http://yaccessibilityblog.com– Including http://yaccessibilityblog.com/wp/accessible-apps-

introductory.html. Describes tools used for enhancing accessibility, as well as apps that are accessible.

• Carroll Center for the Blind– http://carroll.org/

• VCU’s Assistive Technology Blog:– http://www.assistivetechnology.vcu.edu/