Mobile learning is an increasingly popular learning method for people across the globe. It's a fantastic method for instructors to connect with new people and interact with students at the places they spend their time, on mobile technology.

The average Canadian checks their phone 144 times each day, while the average American checks their phone an insane 344 times per day.

In the process of integrating technology into their lives, it's no surprise that they're turning to phones tablet computers, laptops, and phones to learn. Mobile learning offers students freedom like they've never seen before when they are exploring new abilities, hobbies, trades, and even careers.

We will look into mobile learning's pros and cons and explore how m learning will benefit your students.

Skip ahead:

•         What exactly is mobile learning (M-learning)?
•         What are mobile learning advantages?
•         Which are some advantages of Mobile education?
•         Discover the right balance on mobile-based learning

What exactly is mobile learning (M-learning)?

What are some benefits of mobile learning?

There are many benefits to mobile learning, but we've compiled 6. These include accessibility, flexibility in content, motivation, engagement, and affordability. We'll look into each of them a bit more in the following paragraphs:

    Accessibility    

One of the main benefits of mobile learning is accessibility. Online courses for M-learning are available which means that students have access to their courses from anywhere in the world. It makes mobile learning versatile and can help creators get their message out to a wider public.

    Flexibility    

Like accessibility, but with a differently, mobile learning provides students the freedom that synchronous or in-person courses can't. Students are able to complete their course at whatever time they prefer and their schedule, regardless of whether they want to work at 12 noon or midnight.

If the course allows, students can learn at their own pace. This gives them more flexibility as they could complete the course in as little as an hour or for as long as few months.

    Motivation    

Both eLearning and mobile learning utilize technologically advanced methods of teaching and assessment. Methods like interactive quizzes and tests can make the learning more fun and motivate learners to improve their performance and engage in the subject, and recall important points.

An engaged and motivated student is likely to be able to recall what they've learned , and go home satisfied.

    Current Content    

Since mobile learning courses are on the internet, they offer an extraordinary advantage of revision. The creators cannot edit physical textbooks, in-person courses, and even webinars once they've been released. Online courses can.

Creators of online courses can take advantage of this feature and update their courses regularly when needed. This helps them to keep their classes relevant and useful for students.

    Engagement    

Duolingo has become the world's most popular app to learn new languages by implementing engaging methods like microlearning. The app provides students with bite-sized lessons which are simple to follow on a regular basis.

    Affordability    

Mobile learning courses typically don't need in-person or synchronous training as they are designed to teach one technique or attain a single outcome. The scale of a mobile learning course could make it much more affordable than courses that require more staff and maintenance, as well as scheduling and research.

What are some disadvantages in mobile-based learning?

Just like everything else it is true that there are drawbacks to mobile learning to be considered also. Mobile learning can leave students open to distraction, lack interactions with others, depend on technology too often, fail to provide individualization and leave students with no access to quality technology. Let's explore each reason more below:

    Distractions    

One of the benefits of mobile learning in education is that it requires students to access the material through an mobile device. But, it also means that learners are more likely to be distracted.

Students are likely to be receiving text messages, emails as well as social media updates during their lessons. These distractions can cause participation and even completion rates to decline.

    Lack of social interaction    

M-learning can encourage students to make meaningful connections via the Internet, but does not allow to have meaningful interaction in person.

Some students can thrive in a more isolated and self-paced environment, others could rely on their social connections for motivation. This can become even more noticeable when students enroll in a course that requires an ongoing commitment.

    Reliance on technology    

M-learning, just like eLearning relies on the technology. Designers should consider operating system compatibility and optimizing for mobile devices, or else risk making unwieldy and hard-to-use courses.

Reliance on tech can also eliminate skills that depend on experience. For example, artists or mechanics might have difficulty mastering real-world skills with no personal feedback and in-person instruction.

    Unprofessional personalization    

Feedback that is personalized usually comes from a 1-on-1 mentor, in-class instructoror a cohort leader. In spite of engaging assessments such as test-taking and quizzes that are interactive, students can still miss out on personalized feedback when they're enrolled in online learning classes, making difficult to master and improve their skills.

    Poor technology    

Although the majority of students have access up-to-date technology and reliable internet, there are some who don't. Students may be working using outdated technology or unreliable electricity and internet access.

The mobile learning model can provide an opportunity for education to many, but it can still limit access to students without the necessary tools for online learning. It is important to think about your target audience and make sure you design a course that's accessible to the students.

Find the right balance in mobile learning

The advantages for some may be a disadvantage for other students. In particular, the extreme range of self-paced courses might be demotivating for some audience members. In the end, it's your responsibility to determine the right balance for the target audience and then design the course accordingly.

Regardless, creators can outweigh the disadvantages of mobile learning and create higher-quality, accessible educational and accessible courses that have never been offered previously. If you have the appropriate content, mobile technology allows you to reach across the globe, engage students, and even build a community.

If you're considering creating an online course, try for no cost! You'll get the course creation as well as the marketing and selling instruments you'll need to make your course into an online business of learning.