Instructional Design for Smartphones: Learning Pills for Smombies

By Karen Rempel | STC Senior Member

They’re ubiquitous. People love their smartphones and the smombies are among us! You’ve seen them—people walking slowly, looking down at their phones, oblivious to their surroundings, possibly risking an accident—an increasingly common social phenomenon.

To smombies, the content on their phones seems more interesting than real life. I did a one-minute video of a New York subway platform (https://youtu.be/I786T_3rRvc), and almost everyone on the platform was looking at their phones while waiting for the train. The situation is becoming extreme. But I understand, because I’m addicted to my smartphone, too! It seems like fun, not work, to learn on a smartphone instead of a computer. So how can we use this technology to teach?

M-learning for the Workplace

This article focuses on the application of mobile learning, or “m-learning,” to adult education, and specifically to workplace learning. The same design principles apply to other types of learning, but m-learning is uniquely suited to workforce learners. It allows people to use their phones to do short trainings wherever they are, whenever they have a free moment.

The connection between smartphones and video content

Pew Research states that 64% of American adults own a smartphone and 90% own a cell phone (2014). Tony Danova in Business Insider reports that about 50 million people in the United States now watch video on their mobile phones and 15% of all online video hours globally are viewed on tablets and smartphones (2014). These two trends go hand in hand, and, not surprisingly, video is an effective and popular method for delivering m-learning.

How m-learning differs from e-learning

E-learning arose in the 1990s with the proliferation of electronic technology, particularly computers. M-learning is the next generation of e-learning, delivered via smartphones and tablets. (While laptops are mobile, too, they aren’t usually considered devices for m-learning.) M-learning is context-specific, immediate learning—available anywhere, anytime. It is more flexible and informal than e-learning, uses shorter training segments, and is designed for instant use. Having a positive user experience is an important aspect of m-learning, and learning by phone can be fun. However, m-learning providers have less control over training deployment and the learning situation.

How learning on a smartphone is different from a tablet

The smartphone is smaller than a tablet, with an average diagonal screen size of 4" to 6". You can hold it in your hand, and the way learners hold their phones is different than the way they hold and use their tablets. Typically, users sit back and relax when using a tablet—a “lean-back experience”—while phone users are busy, interrupted, active, and only have short snippets of time available—an “on-the-go” experience. According to Nicole Legault (2014), this means that tablets are more suited to immersive learning experiences, while smartphones are more suited to performance support.

This article focuses on instructional design for the smartphone, but many of the principles apply to designing m-learning for tablets as well.

Benefits of M-learning

M-learning immediately addresses learning needs

Conrad Gottfredson and Bob Mosher (2012) identified five moments of learning need:

When learning for the first time
When wanting to learn more
When trying to remember
When things change
When things go wrong

M-learning can be useful in any of these situations, but it is particularly suited to the latter three, which are situational (context-specific) and time-sensitive—people need the answers right away. As you’ve seen in many restaurant conversations, when people can’t remember a fact, they turn to their phone to find the answer. So it is with m-learning. People stop arguing and pull out their phones to find your context-specific training to help with the problematic situation.

M-learning facilitates increased collaboration and learning success

The convenience of a small, portable device is obvious, and clearly a smartphone is less expensive than a PC or laptop. There are some surprising benefits as well. Sharing is virtually instantaneous among everyone using the same content, which leads to learners receiving instant feedback and tips. According to Michael Saylor (2012), this high level of learner interaction has increased exam scores from the 50th to the 70th percentile, and cut the dropout rate in technical fields by 22 percent. In the workplace, this same connection and collaboration translate into learning success on the job.

Limitations of M-learning

M-learning may not be the optimal solution for all your training needs. Tanya Elias and others have enumerated some of the drawbacks of m-learning (2011):

Device variability
Interruptions in internet access
Slow download speed
Small screen size
Awkward text input (unless you’re under 40 and have mobile thumbs!)
Limited memory and battery life
Data usage fees
Security
Work/life balance

You can alleviate some of these issues with your m-learning design. For example:

Design for a screen size of 4" to 6"
Minimize text input
Keep file size small
Allow users to download content onto their device for later viewing

Applications: Who Is Using M-learning?

Sysco delivery drivers use it anywhere

Sysco Canada deployed mobile training for delivery drivers, to standardize procedures and improve customer service. I helped Sysco develop a handbook of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for every aspect of the driver’s shift, from pre-trip check-in to refrigeration requirements on the truck to customer interactions to unloading to post-trip check-in. Supervisors and managers ride with drivers during their onboarding period to provide on-the-job training. Sysco follows up with annual ride-alongs during which the supervisors and managers use an electronic scorecard to check off driver competency with each operating procedure. The company has achieved 96% compliance since this program was implemented in 2014.

Currently managers and supervisors use a tablet loaded with a PDF handbook of SOPs and digital scorecards. They upload training results from the tablet to a training portal on the corporate intranet.

Accenture executives use it anytime

According to Sarah Boehle (2009), Accenture was an early m-learning adopter, delivering training via Blackberry devices in a pilot project in 2007. Finding that busy executives didn’t have open blocks in their schedule to sit down and focus on e-training, Accenture developed m-learning to bring its international executive team mobile compliance training on topics such as privacy, imports and exports, and financial regulations. M-learning allowed Accenture’s 4,500 senior executives to complete required training using small segments of open time between meetings and while commuting. During the prototyping phase, 92% of surveyed executives said they would like to use their phone for training, and preferred downloadable training chunks ranging in length from 10 to 15 minutes.

Accenture delivers content via a proprietary smartphone app. Users only need to connect to the Internet twice: when they register and download the course, and once they pass the final quiz.

Methodology of Designing for Smartphones

The ARCS model—design to motivate learning

John Keller developed the ARCS model in 1987, and continues to teach and refine it (2013). ARCS is popular among m-learning authors and designers because it teaches how to motivate learners by satisfying their personal needs and returning a positive result from the learning activity. M-learning is all about engaging learners so they want to pick up their phone and take a training. They already love to use their smartphones, so we just need to nudge them to take the next step, which is to do a training and receive a reward (get the positive result).

Table 1 shows the ARCS model, consisting of four necessary conditions for motivating people to learn: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. The second row elaborates on aspects of the four conditions. The third row describes how to satisfy or generate these conditions with m-learning.

Plan your technology

Of course we want to design training content that our learners feel motivated to use. We also need to define and meet specific corporate goals and requirements. In addition, when designing for m-learning there are various technological factors to consider:

Determine tracking requirements (for both technology usage and learning completion)
Plan for disconnected mobile users
Think about data usage for BYOD users (see below)—leverage Wi-Fi when possible
Know the limitations and capabilities of the hardware and software technologies involved
Determine the appropriate media types and file size for your content delivery (use guidelines from device manufacturers)
Select content creation and delivery tools that use HTML5 (many devices do not support Flash)
Make sure your m-learning materials work as needed on all mobile browsers
If developing for iOS, make sure you meet Apple’s requirements
Don’t ask more of this method than it can deliver—if you have a large amount of material to teach, consider a blended approach with both e-learning and m-learning components.

Designing for Millennials

Millennials, those born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, now comprise the greatest percentage of the workforce (Pew Research, 2015). They have grown up with computers and cell phones. According to Victoria Deen McCrady, Millennials are a new breed of novice (2015). They like to figure it out themselves, are impatient, and want instant gratification. They look outside the app for help (to Google or YouTube videos). Here are some keys to designing for Millennials:

Provide a Search box that uses common language and accommodates misspelling
Give immediate feedback on usage
Provide tips, tutorials, and wizards, and allow the user to turn these off easily
Provide online video tutorials
Avoid text-heavy content

rempel-table1

Evaluate your design

As with all instructional design, user testing is key. Enlist learners to evaluate your design using a variety of mobile devices and—unless you are designing for a specific device—ensure the delivery is platform-agnostic.

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

M-learning is more successful when learners use their own personal devices, with which they are familiar and feel personally connected. If you want to motivate learners, let them BYOD. Remember, it’s all about creating a positive experience.

Design Elements for Smartphones

When designing your m-learning platform and content, keep the user interface clean, simple, and responsive (rotatable and resizable). Find an appealing way to organize your content given the small size of the screen, so that users see the relationships between different modules, chunks, or categories of training, and can easily find what they are looking for.

Top 10 Design Tips

Keep it simple (three tap max)
Design short, bite-sized learning pills, three to five minutes—one discrete learning objective at a time
Provide a search box that uses common language and accommodates misspelling
Use conventional navigation methods that are familiar to learners
Let people know up front how long a module will take to complete
Take advantage of touch screen capabilities (pinching, spreading, swiping, tapping)
Use HD HTML videos
Optimize quizzes for mobile devices (e.g., multiple choice with radio buttons)
Provide job aids for users to take away when learning is complete
Allow learners to pause or bookmark training and return to it later

Design for the device

Design for the size of screen (4 x 6" diagonal). Use the simplest possible format.
Tip: Use 3 x 5" index cards, or design a 3 x 5" table in Word for planning content to fit the mobile screen. Use short text and bullets.
Don’t use pop-ups; they can make navigation difficult on a smartphone.
Design hyperlinks and buttons to be easy to press.
Consider how your design looks and flows in both portrait and landscape orientations.
Consider how usable your design is for learners who use two thumbs, one thumb, or a finger to touch the interface.

Take advantage of the unique features of smartphones

Smartphones have many features that distinguish them from tablets and desktop computers. Using some of these features to deliver m-learning content helps engage learners and make the learning experience more fun. Consider how these common smartphone features might enhance your learners’ experience and help you achieve your training goals:

Cameras that allow students to take photos and videos
GPS
Push technology (messaging, banners, and alerts)
Haptics (the sense of touch, including the phone’s vibrations and smooth surface)
Accelerometer (motion and orientation detector).

To take advantage of the smartphone’s unique features:

Consider unconventional assignment options, for example using the smartphone’s audio or video capabilities to interact with the external world.
Provide opportunities for learners to illustrate and animate their courses.
Create an interactive learning community where people can see what others have posted (mob-blogging).
Leverage GPS to group learners’ blogging activity according to their geographical locations, to localize and increase relevancy of information.
Get creative and find fun ways to pull in learner-generated content (text messages, audio, pictures, video).
Make boring content fun by making it interactive (e.g., by dragging words into different locations to demonstrate learning).
Depending on your learner group and their affinity for text messaging, you can push reminders, quizzes, and questions to students. Generate discussion, invite feedback.

Design for the future

Remain aware of the key players in the mobile device market, and design to make the best possible use of screen real estate for each model.

Learning Objects: Content Types for Smartphones

The key to designing content for smartphones is to create small chunks of instructional content (known as learning objects or learning pills). Guidelines for training completion time vary, but Docebo reports that the best practice is 3 to 5 minutes (2014). Giving your learners a quick payoff will increase motivation for future learning.

Provide a variety of learning pills for learners to consume

Learning pills can be text-only, or incorporate these content types:

Videos
Podcasts—audio recordings of lectures (max. 10 minutes, shorter is better)
Job aids and SOPs that learners can use while performing a task, for just-in-time learning
Forms, checklists, and decision-support tools
Social networking opportunities (e.g., Facebook page or blog with content and interactivity)
Educational gaming and simulations
Location-specific content (e.g., location of shut-off valves or alarm panels) that uses GPS and mapping
E-books—textbooks, manuals, papers, reference guides
Links to external content

Instructional Video Design Tips

Include a title slide for orientation
Use high resolution (1080P HD)
Include still pictures—both iconic (resembling real objects) and analytic (symbolizing objects or states)
Include short on-screen texts—labels, call-outs, short text slides
Facilitate closed captions and subtitling—create your own or use YouTube’s automated features Include background music
Eliminate unpleasant background noise (electronic hums, static, and so on)
Use a speaking rate of 180 words per minute (faster is more popular than slower)

Adapted from Petra ten Hove and Hans van der Meij’s research (2015).

Learning object design tips

Consider these tips as you develop learning plans and content templates:

Indicate the time required to complete each learning object
Describe the learning objective at the beginning
Include a quick knowledge check at the end
Ensure each learning object relates to your overall learning plan

Content Creation Tools and Delivery Platforms

M-learning content creation tools and delivery platforms are available in every price range. See the Suggested Reading for a list of HTML5 authoring tools. Budget is always a consideration, but there are a number of cost-effective solutions for designing and delivering m-learning. You can use secure sites such as DropBox for file storage and sharing. You can develop and deliver your own private apps via URLs; you don’t need to use the App Store or Google Play to deploy them. Or you can simply use a mobile site to deliver training. There are lots of great mobile-friendly WordPress themes with which you can develop a mobile site for your learners.

M-Learning Delivery Example

GCFlearnfree.org, accessible via browser on your smartphone, is a mobile-optimized site with dozens of tutorials about software applications, smartphone apps, and so on. Easy to use, the tutorials include video samples and demonstrate many of the features of ID for smartphones discussed in this article. Compare the site’s design for desktops with their design for smartphones.

Conclusion

In the end, m-learning is about the experience, not the technology. If you create a positive m-learning experience, your learners will be motivated to eat your learning pills on the train, while standing on line, on their breaks, from 6 to 8 AM, at their desk, between meetings, and when they’re stuck in waiting rooms. As long as we’ve got cell towers, smombies are here to stay. Let’s give them something good to eat. Starting with an app that teaches them to look for oncoming traffic!

References

All links accessed 19 March 2016.

Boehle, Sarah. Don’t Leave Home Without It. Training (September 2009): 30–33. www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/training0909/#32.

Danova, Tony. The Mobile Video Revolution: How Netflix, Vevo, and YouTube Have Thrived on Smartphones and Tablets. Business Insider. www.businessinsider.com/mobile-video-statistics-and-growth-2013-12. 5 January 2014.

Docebo. Learning on the Go: Tips and Trends in M-Learning—A Report. www.docebo.com/landing/contactform/docebo-mobile-report.pdf. November 2014.

Elias, Tanya. Universal Instructional Design Principles for Mobile Learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 12.2 (February 2011). www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/965/1675.

Gottfredson, Conrad, and Bob Mosher. Are You Meeting All Five Moments of Learning Need? Learning Solutions Magazine (18 June 2012). www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/949/.

Keller, John. What is the ARCS Model? and What Are the ARCS Categories? www.arcsmodel.com/. 17 September 2013.

Legault, Nicole. Considerations for Designing E-Learning for Tablets vs. Smartphones. https://community.articulate.com/articles/considerations-for-designing-e-learning-for-tablets-vs-smartphones. December 2014.

McCrady, Victoria Deen. Millennials: A New Breed of Novice. Intercom (September 2015): 11–13.

Pew Research Center. Millennials surpass Gen Xers as the largest generation in U.S. labor force. www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/. 11 May 2015.

Pew Research Center. Mobile Technology Fact Sheet. www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/. October 2014.

Saylor, Michael. The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything. Perseus Books/Vanguard Press, 2012, p. 176. Quoted at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-learning#cite_note-4.

Ten Hove, Petra, and Hans van der Meij. Like It or Not. What Characterizes YouTube’s More Popular Instructional Videos? Technical Communication 62.1 (February 2015): 48–62.

Wikipedia topics: Instructional design, M-learning, Mobile blogging, Smartphone, Smombie