These days I think all e-learning content should be viewable on mobile devices - unless there are any particular corporate or technological reasons why not. In 2016 mobile devices overtook desktops and laptops for web browsing and this trend will only continue as data speeds increase and devices improve (5G is on the way). Many people, especially the young, no longer possess or use what we might term “traditional” computers and instead only use mobile devices - tablets or smartphones - to access the internet.
With people leading ever busier and complicated life styles its no longer sustainable for course materials to only be accessible on a traditional "static" computer. Learners need materials they can dip in and out of when they have spare minutes and materials they can fit around their busy lives.
First of all lets define some terms. Responsive websites are designed to be equally (or close to) usable on both desktop and mobile devices. There is just one version of the website needed which is correctly rendered depending on the device the user is viewing it on, the days of having to maintain separate desktop and mobile versions of websites have now thankfully long gone.
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| An example of my e-learning, the same content viewed in desktop and mobile mode |
However creating a responsive website entails a whole new set of considerations and complications. On this blog I will look at some of these as they relate to creating responsive e-learning and m-learning in future articles. Obviously the sort of tools you can use and need will depend on your own circumstances and project needs; though you need at least to have authoring tools which can create responsive courses in HTML5, such as Adobe Captivate. Older tools such as Flash are a big no-no as far as mobile development is concerned. Many mobile devices (especially of the Apple variety) cannot load Flash and in any case Adobe is slowly killing it off.
Why Not An App?
You could of course create a learning app instead of creating responsive HTML5-based e-learning. Many companies do this for their staff training, there are some very good examples out there, and there are valid reasons why apps are a good idea in some training scenarios such as when you have control over the learners’ choice of device or require bespoke specialised functionality.
However, if you do go down the app route for the general public, you will need to provide multiple versions of the app (iOS and Android at least) and have to rely on your learners keeping the app up to date. This is a big investment. Installing an app is also another obstacle between your content and the learner beginning to study. With responsive e-learning materials, the only app you will need is the web browser built into every mobile device.
