5 Reasons you Cannot Escape mLearning in 2018

You have been hearing all the noise about Mobile Learning for some years now. We all have! Since mLearning made an entry in the learn-tech space in the early 2000s (source: The evolution of Mobile Learning), it has been touted as the next big thing, the silver bullet for learning and training, the panacea for L&D challenges, and what not. And oftentimes for the right reasons too! On one hand, mLearning was welcomed with open arms, and on the other, it was met with skepticism and technical constraints.

Cut to 2018.

The global mobile population amounted to 3.7 billion unique users in January this year (source: Statista) with the mobile phone penetration forecasted to continue to grow, rounding up to 67 percent by 2019 (source: Statista). While the global mobile data traffic is projected to increase nearly sevenfold between 2016 and 2021.

And this is just the beginning.

If you dig deep, you will uncover layers of mobile and mobility embedded seamlessly into our lives as we transition from personal to professional spaces every day. And learning is no exception! As we have accepted mobile phones as a primary device of choice in showing us directions (GPS), buying and selling online (eCommerce), communicating and networking (Social Media, Messengers, etc.), conducting money transactions (bill payments, etc.), amongst other things, we have come to rely on these pocket-sized devices to provide us learning, training and performance support. And why not? Mobile phones are always on, always with us and their affordances render them for just well for all things 'learning'.

For Mobile Learning, in particular, there are a number of catalysts driving the adoption and usage today. But five, in particular, will dominate the business landscape in the time to come; pointing to mLearning as a major player and the very reason you cannot escape it in 2018.