.KEYWORD elearning
.FLYINGHEAD MOBILE E-LEARNING
.TITLE When e-learning becomes m-learning
.FEATURE
.SUMMARY Mobile technology has already begun to enter the e-learning market. Jeremy S. Kossen has coined the term m-learning to describe this convergence of technologies. In this article, he’ll show you how mobile devices have the power to make e-learning even more widely available and accessible.
.AUTHOR Jeremy S. Kossen
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 About this e-learning issue
As every good manager knows, training is critical to organizational effectiveness. In fact, study after study has shown that the more you train your employees, the more they are both empowered to make the right decisions in keeping with your company’s mission statement, and the happier they are in their jobs. Generally, any training investment, both in terms of dollars and the time employees are away from their day-to-day tasks, is more than repaid in productivity benefits.
As we put together this special e-learning issue of PalmPower Magazine Enterprise Edition we got more and more jazzed about all the great e-learning tools that run on Palm devices, not to mention the other excellent resources available to help your employees get the most out of using their Palm devices for the good of your enterprise. We hope you enjoy reading this and the other e-learning focused articles in this month’s issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Happy learning! Make sure you’re paying attention, there might be a quiz. –DG
.END_SIDEBAR
At a conference I recently attended, speakers dedicated ample time talking up the future of mobile technologies and e-learning, an inevitable convergence that, for lack of a better word, could be called m-learning. While there were as many people as there were opinions on how mobile technologies would impact e-learning, nearly everyone agreed that in the future, mobile technologies would play a huge role in the rapidly growing e-learning market. Already, there are numerous applications for mobile technologies, from the ability to wirelessly transmit learning modules and scores, to enabling learners to assess their skills on the go.
.H1 E-learning defined
Generally, words appended with the letter "e," such as "e-commerce" or "e-marketplace," connote any Internet-enabled or facilitated interaction between people. E-learning is no exception. E-learning is a subset of technology-based training and encompasses all learning activities conducted on the Internet. It can be "live" (also known as "synchronous") learning, meaning students communicate with peers and instructors in real-time, or it can be completely self-paced, which is known as "asynchronous" learning.
In practice, however, e-learning has come to mean anything that has to do with learning on the Internet. Every company in the training and education space seems to proclaim they’re an e-learning company, from companies building authoring tools to companies digitizing instructor-led training for online delivery. Who can blame them? Who wouldn’t want to be part of an industry that analysts such as IDC (International Data Corporation) are predicting will nearly double every year through 2003?
.H1 The promise of e-learning
It’s true that most of us aren’t quite as enamored with anything prefaced by "e" as we once were-and for good reason. These days, it seems as if anything "e" is little more than "e-hype." However, I think e-learning, when put in the proper context and when the benefits are realistically promoted, holds real promise.
Few would argue the fact that training and continuing education are good for individuals and good for business. Numerous studies have shown that employers can accelerate development, deployment, and implementation time of business applications if they provide their workforce with high quality training. Moreover, companies can reduce administrative overhead and technical support costs by implementing effective training programs. The upside of e-learning, the fastest growing segment of the corporate training market, is that it makes learning more accessible and less expensive. Indisputably, this is a good thing.
.H1 The convergence of e-learning and mobile technology
While mobile devices are approaching ubiquity today, the industry is still in its infancy. In the grand scheme of things, today’s mobile devices are like the Model T. To say the best is yet to come is an understatement. While mobile devices work decently today, the improvements we’ll see in the future will doubtlessly be vast. Fortunately, the industry is growing up quickly, and it won’t be long before expectations nearly match actual performance.
Fusing mobile technology and e-learning is a no-brainer. A key benefit of m-learning is its potential for increasing productivity by making learning available anywhere, anytime. Because mobile devices have the power to make learning even more widely available and accessible, mobile devices are a natural extension of e-learning. Imagine the power of learning that is truly "just-in-time," where you could actually access training at the precise place and time on the job that you need it.
.H1 A tale of two companies
If the mobile industry is still in its infancy, then m-learning is still in an embryonic stage. While there’s a lot of talk about using mobile technology to extend e-learning, few companies are very far along in actually making m-learning a reality. That being said there are two companies I consider to be at the forefront of making m-learning happen. Each company has taken a unique approach. The two companies are Arizona-based KnowledgeNet (at http://www.knowledgenet.com) and Silicon Valley-based SmartForce (at http://www.smartforce.com).
.H2 KnowledgeNet
KnowledgeNet’s approach is to make its courseware universally available. Through its proprietary engine, known as Monsoon, KnowledgeNet is able to develop and deliver its training content in multiple formats. As KnowledgeNet’s VP of product development, Chris Dragon explains, "We are committed to making our content truly available anywhere, anytime, while not compromising the student experience. We are able to rapidly develop content for PDAs that is as rich and interactive as it is for the PC. Our courseware for the PDA contains animation, high quality sound, and intuitive navigation."
The result is impressive. Without a doubt, KnowledgeNet has created some very sexy courseware. What they’ve managed to develop is much more than simply reading text, what some critics deem "e-reading." They’ve developed learning modules that are rich, interactive, and built on sound instructional design principles. Their PDA courseware is actually much better than most e-learning companies’ PC-based content.
According to Chris Dragon, there’s strong demand for PDA-based content: "With an increasingly mobile workforce, from salespeople to IT professionals, people are craving to have more information available at their fingertips."
KnowledgeNet learning modules for Palm devices are still in the development stage, but they’ll be available soon.
.H2 SmartForce
SmartForce, on the other hand, has taken a different, yet equally viable, approach. SmartForce sees the greatest value of PDAs in assessment. They’re developing downloadable assessment exams that allow learners to test their knowledge and then track and report their results. Learners can download banks of questions that are anywhere from 30 to 100 questions. Their content has been developed exclusively for Palm devices.
Let’s take a look at an example. First, you need to go over the instructional material, like that shown in Figure A.
.FIG A First, you go over the lesson.
Then you’re be given a series of questions to test your retention of what you read. A sample question is shown in Figure B.
.FIG B Test yourself with a series of questions.
Finally, you receive your score, as shown in Figure C.
.FIG C The software tracks and reports your results.
Thus far, SmartForce is in Phase I, which is based on their eBusiness portfolio. Phase II begins next quarter, and based on feedback from Phase I, they’ll be adding curricula accordingly.
Mel Megarity, SmartForce’s manager of strategic alliances, says their customers have been very enthusiastic about SmartForce’s mobile initiative. Many SmartForce students work in information technology, and as Mel explains, "IT workers tend to be highly mobile. Go on any flight, and you’ll see IT professionals with their laptops and PDAs. So it’s no surprise that they are excited at the prospect of being able to study or prepare for an exam from literally anywhere. There’s nothing more mobile than a PDA."
.H1 The challenges
Like all technologies that show tremendous promise, there are challenges and obstacles that must be overcome before we can realize the full potential of m-learning. The most obvious obstacle is the limited memory of mobile devices. Palm devices come with 2MB to 8MB of memory, though more recent models feature an SD (Secure Digital) expansion slot, allowing more memory, or even full programs, to be added. Mobile phones, meanwhile, come with almost no memory. The consequence is that today the more robust PDAs can handle a limited amount of rich content. Thinner devices can handle basic textual content. And, lastly, mobile phones are at best useful for enabling students to check test scores remotely.
The workaround today is that students download only limited amounts of content. Fortunately, most courseware is "chunked" into relatively small learning objects that make it practical to download only a minimal amount of content at a time. In the future, the devices will be more robust. We’ll see more prevalent use of intelligent networks that can detect the kind of device the learner is using and how much memory they have and then transmit the appropriate amount of content.
.H1 The future is bright
The good news is that while the technologies are still very young, more and more companies are committing themselves to deliver on the promise of m-learning. Companies are finding ways to leverage new technologies while rapidly developing content and services that will dramatically improve the learning experience. The key to making this successful will be to stay focused on the learners’ experience while not getting distracted by new technologies simply for the sake of technology. At the end of the day, what’s most important is that learners come away with a greater experience.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on KnowledgeNet, visit http://www.knowledgenet.com.
For more information SmartForce, visit http://www.smartforce.com.
For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Jeremy S. Kossen, vice president of the consulting firm eLearning Professionals (at http://www.elearningpros.com), is a noted expert on IT training and certification. In addition to being a regular columnist and contributor to several publications related to IT training, certification, and careers, Jeremy is a freelance consultant and industry speaker. He is based in San Francisco and can be reached via email at Jeremy.Kossen@UCLAlumni.net.
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