Mobile devices are such an integral part of today’s society that is it difficult to actually remember a time without them. But the first smartphone was introduced all but a mere two decades ago, which compared to the timeline of civilization is unbelievably minuscule.

There are many generations that still remember a time when if you wanted to get in contact with a friend or family member, your options were meeting in person or writing and sending letters. 

Things have changed exponentially in the last 20 or so years, and now one small device creates access to unlimited information and endless interactions.

At any moment, you are only a click away from video chatting with a friend all the way across the world, uploading photographs to networking sites that can be viewed by thousands of mobile-only users, or finding the answer to any question that your heart desires. 

And as smartphones continue to be upgraded and develop further, more and more elements of life are geared towards mobile inclusivity. You can now order pretty much anything online as virtual shopping becomes increasingly popular.

Gone are the days of purchasing physical copies of music or going to the local DVD rental as people stream this media from their personal devices. 

There has also been an increasing push towards virtual learning, particularly from mobile devices.

The options available for course content for mobile devices are vast and extensive and much of the learning has been specifically designed for eLearning through a smartphone.

Simply put, you can no longer disregard the importance of mobile inclusivity for eLearning as even the somewhat new invention of desktops is in decline as the more convenient and portable smartphone monopolizes the market. 

But you don’t just have to take my word for it. Mobile learning statistics speak for themselves. Throughout this article, we’ll go over these statistics to show evidence that this type of learning is on the rise.

These statistics can be useful for course creators to keep in mind before they begin creating content as it highlights the importance of making these types of courses more accessible for mobiles. 

(Click here to read more about mobile learning and details)

Smartphone Learning Trends & Statistics 

Want to know just how much potential accessible mobile eLearning has in the online learning marketplace? Keep reading about these surprising statistics. 

64% Of Individuals Value The Importance Of Mobile Accessibility

Now, more than ever before life has become incredibly fast-paced. Time is of the essence as we juggle all the adversities that life throws our way.

Being able to access learning on the go through the use of a portable device is now pretty high up in people’s priorities. 

And over 64% of people feel that the ability to access their online training material through their phones is a vital component of their learning. Not only this, but they want the interface of the course to be easy and simple for mobile users.

Many courses are designed to predominantly suit desktops, and while access through mobile devices is available, it’s not optimal for the smaller screen layout. 

Online learning platforms where layouts are slow, unorganized, and confusing for mobile users can deter and discourage over half of your audience.

This is why it is so important to ensure that online education platforms are mobile-friendly, otherwise many individuals are likely to look elsewhere for their online learning, something that you do not want in such a competitive market. 

Mobile Learning Equals A 72% Increase In User Engagement

Many individuals are more comfortable on their mobile devices and are actually over 70% more likely to engage with their online courses provided that they are available on their mobile phones. 

While many people may enroll in online learning courses, the drop in the completion rate can be quite significant.

Committing to learning a new skill can be very enticing but it is not difficult for life to get in the way of continuing and sticking with this commitment. People may not be able to find the time or may lose interest in the course. 

However, courses that are optimized for mobile users have much higher rates of user engagement and completion rates. A higher engagement will result in better training efficiency for the company or organization that produces the course. 

Mobile Users Saw A 43% Improvement in Productivity Compared To Desktop Users

Most individuals will use multiple devices throughout the day. They may spend a couple of hours working on their laptop but then wish to switch to their mobile device while commuting for example. 

And believe it or not, the type of device that is used for eLearning can have a huge impact on how productive the individual is. Statistics show that those using their mobile devices are almost 50% more productive than those that are using their desktops. 

46% Of Learners Use Mobile Learning Just Before Bed

Offering courses that allow for flexible time schedules is a must when creating content. We need to remember that most learners also have full-time jobs and a variety of other commitments.

The likelihood of individuals being able to learn on a strict time schedule is slim and ever declining. 

Statistics show that almost 50% of all eLearners will actually partake in their learning late at night just before bed.

Many of those who enroll in these courses will be learning as and when they can in their spare time and mobile-inclusive learning aids this much more successful than that desktops. 

70% Of Proffessionals Opt For BYOD Policies

BYOD stands for ‘bring your own device.’ This is a policy that a whopping 70% of working professionals have now adopted. This means that online training, for example, can be done through each staff member’s individual smartphone. 

With this in mind, it is important to ensure that online training for professionals is easily accessible with the use of mobile devices, otherwise, you risk being left behind by more inclusive competitors. 

Mobile Learning Solutions Can Save Companies Money And Have A High Return Of Investment

Embracing mobile learning market is quite a lucrative option for business owners. In fact, for every dollar that has been invested into mobile learning devices, it has resulted in approximately $30 in increased productivity. 

Studies have shown that companies that do opt in for mobile-accessible eLearning tend on average to have a 26% increase in their generated revenue per employee. And further statistics show that these numbers only stand to increase from the benefits of mobile learning. 

Mobile Learning & Microlearning

To make the information available on the smaller screens, much of the course content that is tailored to be accessible for mobiles has ditched large and long chunks of text.

Instead, we have seen an increase in the microlearning approach where multiple shorter and more concise snippets of text are used to convey the necessary information. 

According to statistics, individuals learn 17% quicker through the use of microlearning as opposed to longer excerpts of text. So when it comes to designing a course, you’ll definitely want to keep microlearning in mind. 

Mobile Micro Assessments

As mentioned above, mobile learners are evidently learning more quickly and effectively through the use of micro-learning. This is where large amounts of text are being swapped over for shorter and more easily consumed content.

And one trend that is seeing amazing results is the use of sound bytes and micro-assessments. 

You’ll notice that a lot of online training in particular will now opt for short watchable videos geared toward mobile devices instead of long paragraphs and articles for desktops.

This format is very on trend as it means that learners can quickly devour content and then test how well they’ve taken the information in through the use of micro-assessments. 

Integrating Mobile Apps Can Increase Completion Rates From 5% to 85%

Who knew something so simple could so drastically increase your completion rates? But it is true. 2U opted for a new strategy of integrating popular mobile apps into their training programs and their completion rates went from a mere 5% to a staggering 85%. 

As individuals, we tend to like what we know. Using apps such as Facebook Live, Slack, Zoom, and Whatsapp not only keeps learners comfortable but also creates a sense of community where individuals can discuss their work, their difficulties, and their successes.

And from the statistics, it’s clear to see that this strategy certainly works incredibly well. 

77% Of L&D Professionals Believe That Personalization Is Critical to Employee Engagement

Recently, we’ve seen a massive push for inclusivity and personal development of each and every individual, particularly in professional life. No two people are the same and this is something that needs to be kept in mind when producing content. 

77% of professionals also agree that personalization where training can be tailored to specific individuals massively increases employee engagement.

This is why in terms of eLearning training for jobs the courses are tailored to their role. This leads to quicker learning and a higher retention rate. 

80% Of Learners Agree Game-Like Designs Increase Productivity

Another main feature of smartphone users is the many games that are available in the app stores. And mobile accessible gamification of eLearning material is certainly on the rise.

It’s all about finding ways to keep your audience interested and engaged and a gaming interface is a great way to do so.

And a massive 80% of online learners agree. For courses, consider rewards and challenges in terms of your content that makes the course more interactive. 

App Notifications Will Increase Engagement And Completion Rates

While there isn’t an official statistic for exactly how many app notifications on mobiles will increase engagement and completion rates, it is undeniable that these notifications will do so to some degree. 

Notifications via mobile apps are a great way to remind learners to continue participating in the course. App notifications are a standard protocol of pretty much each and every app and it would be unwise to avoid them as part of your course content. 

70% Of Location Queries Are Shared With Third-Party Apps For Marketing Purposes

If you were to think that this statistic has nothing to do with mobile eLearning, you’ll be surprised to learn that it is actually very relevant. Pretty much every mobile device can easily locate a user’s geographical location.

Not only this but these devices share this information pretty freely. While its main purpose is for marketing purposes, it can also be increasingly helpful for eLearning platforms, especially those which are free. 

70% of these queries will be shared with third parties, and this information can actually be vital. In terms of eLearning, location-based technologies can aid with personalization, which we learned earlier is critical to employee engagement.

Knowing the geographical location of your learners can help you cater policies that can be interchangeable based on their location. 

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality was at one point, just a thing of video games, but as technology has progressed augmented reality has filtered its way into all facets of life. From healthcare to real estate, to cooking, to beauty, augmented reality is evident in them all. 

It is also a great trend that is being seen time and time again on all platforms of eLearning. A tangible sensory training experience has shown evidence in helping learners to absorb more information at a much faster rate. 

Virtual Reality

There’s such little difference between an augmented and virtual reality that it can be hard to differentiate where one begins and the other ends. However, both have shown evidence of being great learning techniques. 

The main way to explain the difference is that while augmented reality alters reality by adding new layers to it, virtual reality places you right in the center of something new.

For example, a filter on Snapchat that gives you a button nose and cute little cat ears is augmented reality, whereas feeling as if you are a cat, in a virtual world, living the life of the animal would be an example of virtual reality. 

Virtual reality is certainly on the rise in terms of the corporate learning world for both desktop and mobile training.

Learning to incorporate these features into your course content could be a contemporary and progressive feature that sets you apart from more traditional learning platforms. 

Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) is another feature that is on the rise. And it is changing the way online industries are working. For example, how often do you enlist the help of the most popular AI options Alexa and Siri? 

And machine learning in this manner is now often being implemented into many learning management systems (LMS.) There has also been a massive push in the amount of machine learning that is being geared toward mobile learning applications.

For example, the mobile technology of adaptive learning is increasingly popular. This is a technology that allows learners to figure out the next steps that they need to take in order to continue with their learning pathway. 

More Than One-Third Of Marketing Plans Expect To Introduce Voice Assistant-Enabled Apps For Mobile Devices Within A Year

Alexa, Siris, Cortana, Bixby. They are all examples of popular voice recognition devices that are built with the intent to make a user’s interaction with the software even easier.

And within the space of a year, over a third of marketers hope to introduce these types of voice recognition devices to their apps. 

This could be a trend that starts to take the eLearning platform by storm. There are hopes for the future that learners will be able to ask via voice for customized learning pathways.

There is also the potential to ask the app about certain aspects of the course, such as quiz scores or notes. This could begin to totally change the way in which students use eLearning platforms. 

Courses Need To Cater To Fast Mobile Connections

Not only do eLearning platforms need to be more accessible for mobile-friendly designs but they need to ensure that they are compatible with mobile connections.

An eLearning platform that cannot connect or load the information quickly and efficiently, is a platform that is going to be left deserted and undesired. 

We had 3G, and not long after 4G was introduced and now we’re on to the 5th generation of mobile connectivity. All that we have learned about throughout this article, will be rendered completely useless without a seamless and quick learning process.

While it may not be a particularly exciting trend to learn about it is arguably the most vital. 

Final Thoughts

As you can see, eLearning on mobile devices is quite clearly the future we are approaching.

And in much the same way that records were replaced with cassettes, cassettes with CDs, and CDs with streaming applications, desktop-only users are likely to be left in the dust within the next few decades. 

Simply put, the statistics show that engagement through smartphones is only becoming ever-popular. And it is a fair prediction that soon desktop learning will be obsolete as we make way for a more convenient method of learning.