There is pressure on everyone in learning and development to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new technology. Knowing the right questions to ask and getting clear information on how to educate clients enables you to switch gears from a reactive order-taker to a consultative partner. Instructional designers and managers need to be grounded in the fundamentals of mobile learning strategies.

Mobile is the new way of learning. Learners want it and companies want to provide it. However, app development can be expensive, especially if you are starting from a mostly print or standard eLearning model of training. Finding a way to give learners and organizations the mobile learning they want without breaking the bank is a must in today’s training market.

Including media in the training you create can be a fantastic way to make your content easier to understand and remember. But you don’t always have the time and budget to hire someone to create these design assets for you, and sometimes stock media just won’t cut it. There is another option, however: creating media yourself, as you likely already have with two tools that can help you out—your smartphone and tablet. By knowing more about the apps and tools that can help you create some of the media needed, and using a device you already own, you can be more efficient and keep project budgets down.

Most organizations operating in the modern training space ask many irrelevant and/or misdirected questions about mobile and social learning, e.g., “Will this be on an iPad, iPhone, or Android?” This question leads to discussions about screen real estate, etc., but misses the critical point relating to the learner experience in mobile and the equivalence of experience for others in non-mobile environments.