When given the choice, 64% of global learners choose to access their online training materials via their mobile phones over desktop computers and tablets. Despite this preference, most eLearning courses aren’t optimized for mobile devices, significantly decreasing user experience and knowledge acquisition.
When not properly optimized, training programs presented on a smaller screen can be confusing, unorganized, and inaccurate. Plus, mobile accessibility is paramount for those living in areas without consistent high-speed Internet and who must rely on wifi to complete their tasks.
For the best chance of achieving your learner outcomes and providing a positive learning experience, here are some details to consider when optimizing your mobile eLearning course.
Clear, Concise Formatting
On a mobile screen, everything is condensed and space is limited. There’s no need to overcomplicate your material with long paragraphs of text, instead, we recommend focusing on only the essentials. Adding only the most relevant pieces of information will make it easier for the learner to comprehend and retain the information.
Keep the format simple with clear headings, bulleted lists, and icons to pique the learners’ interest.
Interactive Section Breaks
In a world of endless scrolling, learners are looking for something to grab their attention and help them retain the information they just consumed. You’ll need to come up with a creative solution to prevent scrolling with no purpose.
When you break up your content with interactive section breaks like a multiple choice question, the user will need to pause and reflect on what they just learned.
Carousel Content
Carousel content is a post containing more than one element, whether that’s a block of text, survey question, photo, or video. To scroll through the carousel, the learner will have to swipe right or left. Swiping left and right is intuitive and comfortable, and this format allows you to condense your content into smaller, bite-size pieces.
In doing this, you’ll create an interactive learning experience for the user, while making it user-friendly because you’ll bypass long vertical scrolls.
Mobile-Friendly Graphics
Not all graphics are considered equal - if you add an image, infographic, or video to your desktop course, it’s crucial to optimize them for the mobile version. If not, you risk the image taking a while to load and showing up skewed, which will slow down the course, cause frustration, and may get in the way of other important text.
A Multitude of Visuals
In the same vein, if they are properly optimized for mobile use, visuals can be extremely beneficial learning tools. Not only are visuals engaging to the learner, but they also save valuable space within the course that would’ve been used for text. This includes photos, graphics, videos, infographics, and icons.
A Consistent Feedback Loop
When creating your content, it’s always a good idea to go directly to your learners and test the course with them! A way to go about this is to break up your content into iterations, and every time you are completed with a section, ask the actual people who will be testing your content to review. They can check for discrepancies between the mobile and desktop courses and provide feedback on if the course makes sense from an educational standpoint.
Localized for Their Region
A course can be perfectly executed and mobile-friendly but will be meaningless to the learner if it is not properly localized in their chosen language. Localization ensures the content makes sense and is culturally and regionally accurate for the learner. Our eLearning content translation services take the culture and region of the learner into account and adapt the course accordingly. Without proper language localization, your learners will be unable to meet their learner outcomes as the content may not be accurate or as comprehensive as you intend.
Optimizing eLearning courses for mobile devices is crucial for achieving learner outcomes. If you have global learners, eLearning content translation can be the difference between informed, engaged employees and learners who are unable to comprehend the material. Contact us today for more information on how our eLearning translation process will transform your learning modules, for the better.