Mobile learning is yet another buzzword in the elearning industry and has experienced explosive growth since the time it came into play. Ergo, it’s hard to ignore the hype all around mlearning which is why elearning course providers and those from other industries have shifted their focus to developing robust mobile courses.
While those of you who believe developing e-courses for mobile involves just adapting to the screen size from desktops to the handheld device, let me shed light on the reality. You can’t create a mobile course by just scaling pictures and fonts. Mobile courses are much more than that. So, to enhance your knowledge about the same we have listed the basic principles involved in creating a mobile-friendly course. Have a look at these below.
Break content into different modules
It’s the internet which is responsible for our reduced attention span today. We everyday consume small chunks of information on not only social media but almost every other online platform hence habituating the same.
Did you know on average one session lasts as little as 72 seconds? That being said, it is pretty clear that large courses are definitely a big no when it comes to mobile devices. It’s rather advisable to break lengthy content into numerous modules of 1-2 minutes which users are able to consume anytime and anywhere.
Centralise important information
As people read on mobile devices, their attention is focused at the centre of the screen. So, you must place all important buttons and notifications in the middle such that they grab the users attention easily and they perform the desired action.
Track progress
Make learning easy for your users by adding a progress bar to your course which enables them to see how much they’ve completed and how much is left. A progress bar can look like a line either on the top or at the bottom of the screen that moves from left to right as a learner is scrolling. The bar conveniently indicates which part of the course learners are viewing now and which part is yet to be completed.
Make interactive objects fat-finger friendly
You must be wondering what fat-finger is! It is a syndrome where interactive objects are too small that users end up clicking the wrong element. So, make sure that the objects are big enough to be clicked by users and don’t forget to leave enough space around different elements of a screen.
Bid goodbye to hyperlinks
Hyperlinks are used in ecourses which are designed for desktops. So, understand that it is not an obligation to include them in mobile courses too. When creating mobile-first content, it is always a good idea to avoid them as users might unintentionally tap them while swiping between pages which will redirect them to a page they do not want to visit. This in turn will ruin their experience. Hence, it is suggested to use buttons, tabs, and other large elements which are native to mobile user experience.
Optimize mobile popups
You surely would not want your learners to be annoyed with intrusive pop ups amidst their learning. Although there are different popup banner types for elearning businesses, it’s best to optimize them by keeping them unobstructive and limiting screen space. Moreover, dismissing them must be made easier for users as it is you have less space to work with. And, use them only when you need to convey important information.
Work out tutorial
Most often it’s the first time that users are taking up an online course via mobile so at first things might seem pretty strange and unfamiliar to them. In such a case, rescue your viewers from getting lost by providing a quick tour demonstrating all the buttons and explaining their functions. Tutorials in e-courses often look like popup hints over a shaded background. This will not only confuse the learners but they will also end up getting stuck on the next screen because they are unable to find the right buttons. So, opt for giving brief details to the learners anywhere in between as the course flows.
