Tablet Learning – Neither Mobile Learning Nor eLearning
There’s a definite movement towards delivering learning on tablets and mobile phones. It is quite common these days to get client requests for delivering elearning (meant for traditional desktops) or mobile learning (meant for mobile phones) solutions on tablets too. Is that a good idea? I think a more consciously chosen approach for tablets would be better in most cases, while sometimes just publishing to multiple devices may be suitable. Tablets are very different from the PCs or mobile phones. When it comes to delivering learning on tablets they are quite unique because: – They are mobile devices which may not be as personal as mobile phones – They are not as portable and one can’t hold them in hands for long – you will probably need some support eventually – The context in which learners would use a tablet vis-à-vis mobile phone may be very different. – Their screen size (~10”) is closer to that of desktops/laptops proving a larger area for multimedia displays unlike the small screens of mobile phones Tablet Learning – learning delivered on tablets seems to be getting clubbed either with mobile learning or with elearning. Elearning to me is the umbrella term which includes – CBT/WBT (normally delivered on desktops or laptops), – Mobile learning (delivered on mobile phones / smart phones), and – Tablet learning (delivered on tablets) And what about tablets with smaller screen sizes? I admit they will only add to the confusion but the solution remains the same – a conscious decision should be made when designing tablet learning (t-learning) solutions based on the type of learning you wish to deliver and the context in which it will be accessed. It is critical to understand that blindly converting any elearning / mlearning for tablets may not help.
