Mobile devices have rapidly transformed our access to information and communication, making mobile learning an essential aspect of education and training.
The introduction of the first smartphone just over two decades ago fundamentally changed how we learn, interact, and access information. Today, smartphones are central to our lives, enabling video chats across the globe, social networking, and instant access to information.
This shift towards mobile inclusivity has also influenced the rise of eLearning, which is significantly focused on mobile-optimized content. As mobile technology advances, the importance of designing educational content for mobile platforms cannot be overlooked.
The upcoming mobile learning statistics will highlight the growing trend and necessity of mobile learning, offering insights for course creators on the importance of mobile accessibility in educational content.
Smartphone Learning Trends & Statistics 2024
Want to know just how much potential accessible mobile eLearning has in the online learning marketplace? Keep reading about these surprising statistics.
The global mobile learning market’s projected value is $37.6 billion by 2025.
Projected to reach $37.6 billion by 2025, the global mobile learning market is expanding rapidly, driven by technological advancements and increasing access to mobile devices worldwide.
67% of U.S. Companies are Incorporating Mobile Learning
With 67% of U.S. companies now including mobile learning in their training programs, it’s clear that businesses are recognizing the value of mobile-based training solutions for workforce development.
47% of Organizations Considering Mobile Learning Critical
About 47% of organizations utilizing mobile learning view it as an essential part of their learning strategy, underscoring its importance in meeting modern educational and training needs.
70% of Learners Prefer microlearning
More than 70% of learners prefer microlearning, indicating a strong demand for short, focused learning activities that fit into busy schedules and provide immediate value.
60% Increase in App-Based Learning Platform Engagement
App-based learning platforms have seen a 60% increase in user engagement, highlighting the growing popularity and effectiveness of mobile apps in facilitating learning and skill development.
64% Of Individuals Value The Importance Of Mobile Accessibility
As life gets busier, the importance of mobile-accessible learning grows, with over 64% of users valuing the ability to access educational content on their phones.
However, many online courses are not optimized for mobile, leading to a frustrating user experience. This oversight can drive learners to seek alternatives, emphasizing the need for mobile-friendly online education platforms in a competitive market.
Mobile Learning Equals A 72% Increase In User Engagement
Mobile learning leads to a 72% increase in user engagement, as users are more likely to interact with courses accessible on their phones.
Despite high enrollment rates in online courses, completion rates often drop due to various life distractions. Mobile-optimized courses, however, show higher engagement and completion rates, enhancing training effectiveness for organizations
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.
Believe it or not, the device used for eLearning can have a huge impact on an individual’s productivity. Statistics show that those using their mobile devices are almost 50% more productive than those using their desktops.
46% Of Learners Use Mobile Learning Just Before Bed
With 46% of learners engaging in mobile learning just before bed, highlighting the importance of offering flexible course schedules.
Many learners balance full-time jobs and other commitments, so the ability to learn on their own time is crucial. Mobile learning supports this need more effectively than desktop-based learning, accommodating learning in spare moments like late at night.
70% of Professionals 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 using 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 the mobile learning market is quite a lucrative option for business owners. In fact, for every dollar invested in mobile learning devices, approximately $30 in increased productivity has resulted.
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
Much of the course content tailored to be accessible for mobiles has ditched large and long chunks of text to make the information available on smaller screens.
Instead, we have seen an increase in the microlearning approach, where multiple shorter text snippets 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 learn more quickly and effectively through micro-learning. This is where large amounts of text are swapped for shorter and more easily consumed content.
And one trend that is seeing amazing results is using 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 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 keeps learners comfortable and creates a sense of community where individuals can discuss their work, difficulties, and successes.
And from the statistics, it’s clear that this strategy 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 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. Consider using rewards and challenges in your content to make 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 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’d 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 free ones.
70% of these queries will be shared with third parties, and this information can actually be vital. Regarding 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 repeatedly on all eLearning platforms. A tangible sensory training experience has shown evidence of helping learners absorb more information at a much faster rate.
Virtual Reality
There’s such little difference between 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 Snapchat filter 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 on the rise in corporate learning for 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?
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 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 change the way in which students use eLearning platforms totally.
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.
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FAQs m-Learning
What is the effectiveness of using mobile learning?
Effective for providing flexibility, accessibility, and personalized learning experiences. However, effectiveness can vary based on course design, technology access, and individual learning styles.
What is the strength of mobile learning?
Strength lies in its ability to deliver educational content anytime, anywhere, allowing for learning that fits into a student’s lifestyle. It also enhances engagement through interactive apps and multimedia.
How does mobile learning affect students?
It positively affects motivation and engagement but can be distracting if not managed properly. It can also help cater to diverse learning styles and paces, improving overall learning outcomes.
What percentage of students use their phones in class?
94% of students said they want to use their cell phones in class for academic purposes, indicating a high demand for mobile learning integration within the classroom setting.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, eLearning on mobile devices is quite clearly the future we are approaching.
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 behind within the next few decades.
Simply put, the statistics show that smartphone engagement is only becoming ever-popular (see How Many Teachers in the US). It is a fair prediction that desktop learning will soon be obsolete as we make way for a more convenient learning method.
What’s next? AI training tutors, yeah, why not?
