Initially the term web was the inhabitant of fancy land which turned out to be revolutionary in its own perspectives. But now in the year 2016, the world is witnessing a new horizon in terms of digitalisation. "Mobile" and "cloud" are the new established key terms. With the advancement in mobile technology the human race is witnessing the reign of new edge smartphones and tablets. This technology has also revolutionised the education system that was known to mankind. eLearning is facilitating a well structured education system and have become an indispensable part of the education. But the smartphone technology has changed that term into mobile learning or mLearning. Although many scholars consider the mLearning as a part of eLearning process but it is better to say that the mobile learning is the next stage of the traditional eLearning process.
Another profit of implementing the mobile learning process is that it allows the students to share the notes or study materials and increases the interaction among the learners. This helps in developing the collaboration among the students and also installs team work which is very essential in the professional career.
Smartphone technology also enables the students to access the software known as Learning Management System (LMS). It primarily allows the students to cloud store their study materials and also helps in keeping the track of the learning activities, making assessments, giving scores and many more. The LMS technology not only make the learning process easy for the learners but also aids the teachers or learning coordinators to build the students for their better future.
In the points enlisted below are the 10 Key Trends in Mobile Learning:
1. BYOD
The Bring Your Device technology is getting real hype lately. Many educational institutions are allowing their students to bring their smartphones or tablets to get access to the benefits of mLearning. This technology inspires the learners to explore beyond the text books. This also makes the education system more vivid by going beyond the confined boundaries of the schools. BYOD facilitates the process of taking easy class notes and the learners have access to the notes or study materials in any place at any time.
2. HTML 5
With the introduction of mobile technology, HTML 5 is replacing the Flash technology in this arena. For many years flash has ruled the kingdom of mobile content delivery but with the development of HTML 5 the content developers are embracing the HTML 5 technology as it is faster, robust as well as smarter than its predecessor. HTML 5 is accessible in on all platforms unlike Flash which restrict itself from being properly used in mobiles.
3. Wearable Technology
Wearables pave the way to render context cognizant content, especially the live streaming of the educational videos. As the need for wearable technology is growing day by day so its implementation in the mobile learning process is also expected to increase. Apple Watch, Google Glass, Android Wear are meticulously designed to meet the need of wearable technology.
4. Big Data Analytics
Big data analytics also known as mobile app analytics vouches the possibility of creating innovative and personalised contents for learning. Though this arena is still unexplored mostly but the analytics is expected it to play a key role in giving the insights to understand the mentality of the learners by analysing the flow of page and the applications. Customization of the learning experience is a key feature of Big data analytics.
5. Geo-location
As the name suggests Geo-location enables the content designers to develop relevant, personalised and authentic contents based on the learner’s geographical location.Be it scavenger hunt or regional surveys, Geo-location is structured for benefiting the online learners.
6. Social Mobile Learning
As the smartphones are mean to the social engagement now a days so, it is sensible to add the social element in the mobile learning process too. Discussions, groups and events on social media websites like Facebook or brainstorming sessions in a specially designed social networking platform can change the face of the mLearning process by enhancing the interaction among the learners.
7. Responsive Web Design for Facilitating Multi Device Consistency
The responsive web design has been attracting the attention of lots of content developers. It enables to maintain consistency on multiple devices by designing contents that can adapt to the device screens of a variety of sizes. Laptops, tablets, PCs or Smartphones, this trend promotes learning in any smart device.
8. Cloud Computing
Everything is getting cloud based with the advancement of cloud technology. The innovative technology has stepped in the ring of mLearning. It enables the learners to store their class notes, assignments etc on the cloud storage platform and they can also have access to them at any time by a simple click on their respective tablets or smartphones. From Apple to Microsoft, all the big names in the technology world are incorporating cloud technology.
9. Gamified Learning
Gamification of the mLearning process makes it more interesting and fun for the students. Mobile apps are designed to engage the students in a fun and interacting sessions. Many gaming apps namely Showpad, QStream are helping the students through quizzes and mobile assessments. It has also enabled the teachers to teach their fellow students the textbook concept of team building and team work.
10. Performance Support on Workplace
The mobile learning also increases the performance support in the workplace. Employees can get access to any information or data anytime from their mobile devices thus it increases their efficiency.
Mobile Learning is considered as the future of the eLearning process. Of course, mobile learning enjoys all the pros of the traditional internet learning and also provides an opportunity for full utilisation of the blended approach of learning. In this so called hybrid learning approach, online learning is summarised with the traditional instructional teaching method. The smartphones provide the students more control on time, pace, place and path of learning. This is why the employment of mobile learning in this blended method works successfully.
What are the Key Trends in Mobile Learning according to you?
