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mLearning Is Not eLearning on A Mobile Device
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[...] further reading: mLearning is not eLearning on a mobile device by Float mobile [...]
[...] least I think it’s an interest in m-learning. I worry that I may fall into the trap that this post tells you to avoid. My smartphone is so smart that it is really a pocket computer running a [...]
[...] mLearning Is Not eLearning on A Mobile Device » Float Mobile Learning – Mobile Learning Strat… True I suppose in the same sense that online learning is not distance learning on a computer – or at least it should not be. Some thoughts to ponder for our mobile project. (tags: mLearning usqict) [...]
[...] moment Het artikel was een post van John Feser met de titel mLearning Is Not eLearning On a Mobile Device. Het artikel gaat eigenlijk over de verschillen tussen eLearning en mLearning en geeft daar een [...]
[...] mLearning Is Not eLearning on A Mobile Device | John Freser | Float Mobile Learning [...]
[...] between the two: timing, information access, context, and assessment (for details see here: http://floatlearning.com/2010/04/mlearning-is-not-elearning-on-a-mobile-device/). The point he makes, though, is fundamental to anticipating the future of m-Learning. Feser [...]
[...] mLearning Is Not eLearning on A Mobile Device: Float Mobile Learning With the proliferation of mobile devices and the increasing capabilities of today's smartphones, mobile learning, or mLearning, has been getting a lot of press. Given the similarity between the terms eLearning… Source: floatlearning.com [...]
[...] Until I completed my reading, I thought that mlearning and elearning were relatively the same. “mLearning is the use of mobile technology to aid in the learning, reference or exploration of inf… [...]
[...] approach to instructional design, graphic design, user experience and information presentation” (Float Mobile Learning, 2010) and make decisions from the learner´s point of view more than ever before. Why? Because mLearning [...]
Hi jfeser,
A very thorough analysis of the topic in the above Blog. I liked the examples you used for the immediacy of mLearning in the workplace.
i am currently writing a research paper on the topic for an industry training organisation and would like to know whether I might quote you when referencing this topic.
kind regards,
Michael
I’d also add that mlearning is accessed at moments when you have time and are bored so immediate need doesn’t always enter into it, though of course relevance is always a factor. Case in point–I used my mobile to play with Google Earth tools while I was walking the dog and he was pondering the mystery of a patch of grass and that patch seemed to be very mysterious…In the case of this scenario, the engagement level of mlearning may need to be higher since I don’t have that immediate need so I’ll likely go to an app/website with more edutainment value…another argument, that games and mlearning also have a strong synergy.
Great analysis. I think you are correct in saying that mLearning and eLearning are not the same, as different as eLearning and instructor led learning. That is true insofar as people have tried to make eLearning as much like f2f learning as they can to the detriment of both. The 50 minute lecture was never really demonstrated to be pedagogically superior to smaller bits, it was just a compromise between the maximum attention span and a industrial workplace view of how long tasks should last. As the internet becomes more portable and handheld, eLearning can be much more suited to the type of just in time and untethered learning.
Yes, Yes, Very useful and provocative to my thinking.
A key difference for me is that I can do mobile learning at my desktop but it is different if I do mobile. Depending on the context mobile can be better. Right Here- Right Now.
Another advantage of learning on a mobile devise is that the learner control their learning more. On a desktop at work, many organisation block access to so much. They can’t do that on a personally owned and controlled tax deductible device.
Hi
I liked the examples given to explain each of the point, very nicely crafted!
And I also agree with Dianne, that mlearning is also considered when we have time but nothing concrete to do. Yes mobile gaming should also be considered with mlearning.
Thanks,
Kinjal Vora
What intrigues me about mLearning is the potential of learning to become an extension of self – I’m going to come at this from a K20 angle, but I think it applies to all learning – Perhaps when artificial barriers to learning (i.e. classrooms, bells, content-driven curricula, one-size-fits-all instruction) are broken down by the context-driven and apprenticeship-like learning mobiles promise, we will see a democratization of learning that will develop more natural, lifelong skills. When distributed knowledge is leveraged for just-in-time and on-demand needs, meaning will be experienced and internalized on the learner’s terms. Surely this increased sense of agency will transform institutionalized(?) learning into a more deeply personal and character-building act.
Nice article, like to add few factors.
there is an overlap area between e-Learning and m-learning. this has lead many people to present e-Learning through mobile devices as m-learning. even so called m-learning def. given as wikipedia m-learning page, “Any sort of learning that happens when the learner is not at a fixed, predetermined location, or learning that happens when the learner takes advantage of the learning opportunities offered by mobile technologies” gives wrong impression.
simply, every learning that takes place through mobile devices is not m-learning.
Thank you for the very nice summary. I know I can fall into the trap of using new technologies to do what I’ve always done just on a different platform. This post helped me to crystallize some of the unique advantages to using mobile devices. As a small example, I know I am a lot more likely to look up an unfamiliar word when all I have to do is move a cursor on my Kindle rather finding my laptop or, even worse, a dictionary. While I am not looking to encourage the path of least resistance, I think the more learners realize they have the power to find information quickly and easily, the more likely they will be to develop the habit of doing so. At least that is what I would hope. The issue still remains of how to encourage the pursuit of life-long learning in chunks (deep content) when bites (instant information) are so appealing.
John, Good article.
We often meet clients asking for e-learning that works on both desktops and mobile devices. It is so critical to get the difference between the two. Like you, I see mobile learning more relevant for just-in-time learning or performance support. Earlier in December I wrote about 3 ways to use mobile learning in workplace learning, which is very much in synch with your thoughts above.
I also think, the reason for this confusion could well be vendors’ claims about mobile learning. To my surprise I found a couple of incorrect definitions being propagated at the Learning Technologies Expo in London earlier this year – by vendors. I wrote this quick article to highlight some non-examples of mobile learning.
Thanks
I find this distinction between elearning and mlearning unneccessary and artificial. Who says elearning has to involve a computer … thats one narrow definition.
Is a student completing an assessment in Goodread with their iPad on a train doing elearning or mlearning? What about someone participating in an online tutorial, posting in a forum, reading an ebook on their phone?
I do agree with the closing section. Mobile devices are just another array of tools which students can access their learning and we need to think about cross-platform solutions to make them possible. Our learning should be broken into smaller chunks for mobile participants.
David,
I see your point and in theory I agree. In reality though, most people have a fairly narrow view/perspective of what eLearning is. By and large, eLearning is still primarily viewed as “courseware.” What we are trying to point out in this article is that many effective forms of mobile learning are not about courses but are about context.
I like to think of it this way, with traditional eLearning as instructional designers, our job is to create the context for learning. For example a course on conducting a safety inspection prior to operating a particular piece of equipment will focus on the context of safety.
With mobile learning, context drives the need for the learning. For example, a mobile safety checklist would be used in the context of someone getting ready to use said piece of equipment.
In general, eLearning prepares you for a need, whereas mLearning is available at the time of need. Both are learning and both are electronic, it’s just our perceptions of the two are different.
Thanks for your comment. I hope this distinction makes sense.
John
The distinction between eLearning and mLearning is a critical one to make. While eLearning involves the move to the digital from the analog world, mLearning is more about pedagogical changes with the context of digital learning. We are actually seeing changes in process rather than changes in content delivery. Of course, my statement waters the issue down tremendously (and Feser’s article states the case very well), but I find that it is handy to have the “elevator speech” handy for those moments I have the opportunity to bend the ears of people at the institutions that I visit.
I see that this article is from 2010, and have to wonder if the author has rearranged his thinking on the distinctions laid out here.
Mobile learning is increasingly less context-driven and very much so designed for process, retention, and “courseware.” Consider the abundance of teacher training and language-learning courses now delivered by SMS throughout the world (BBC Janala, EDC, and others). Are these to be considered “context-driven” and not designed for retention? At times it seems you are suggesting that it is the process of being led by an instructor (pedagogy vs. heutagogy), but there an exponentially increasing number of mobile programs designed for this as well.
I agree with David, above; the distinction is artificial, unnecessary, and entirely unstable. The quantifiable measurements you mention for distinguishing m- and e-learning seem equally blurry – what amount of time on task constitutes which? You use the term “tethered” – what does this mean to you? If a person is completing tiered tasks on a smartphone, using a home or public wireless connection while sitting in a chair, which type of learning is that?
A very thorough and practical view on the subject. Indeed a nice post.
Event though you wrote it in 2010, I think despite all innovations and developments in mlearning. It still holds true. Tablets have a perfect ecosystem to reproduce the same learning experience a user will have on a desktop elearning course. Their screen size is lends itself for a smooth user navigation and there are lesser interrupts.(your boss can’t call you on your ipad while you are taking a course) In case of a Smartphone, the screen size is too small to have a smooth learning experience for about an hour long course. What would work for a smart phone would be smaller practical apps that just give you snapshots or main pointers of a course while you are on the move.