The biggest challenges in implementing mobile learning in APAC

With today's talent increasingly moving to mobile, organisations have to keep pace with the needs of the mobile workforce. This includes integrating mobile into the learning and development programmes.

As with all implementation of new technology, there will be challenges.

In a new report by Skillsoft surveying 545 decision makers and participants of learning programmes across Asia Pacific, including Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, the biggest challenge when it comes to adopting mobile learning is "network issues".

That includes things like connection stability and speed, and VPN requirements. This challenge was followed by "information security issues" (for example, data leaks) and "infrastructure problems" (for example, device compatibility).

The study identified four types of respondents based on their experience with mobile learning platforms - adopters, intenders, users, and potential users.

More than half (57%) of intenders listed "network issues" as the top concern in adopting mobile learning, while inadequate support from IT was also a worry for 41% of them.

Half of the non-adopters, 51% of intenders and 47% of adopters listed security issues as one of the top concerns.

"Infrastructure problems" was listed as one of the top concerns by 44% of adopters, 43% of non-adopters, while 43% of the intenders cited "inadequate support from IT" as a concern.

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These challenges might be the reason why only 31% of the respondents' organisation have adopted mobile learning and 22% of them reported no plans on adopting it.

Nevertheless, 35% have said that their organisation plans to adopt mobile learning in the near future, after seeing the benefits of mobile learning to both the organisation and its employees.

Among those who have already rolled out learning on a mobile platform, the majority stated the desired length of time spent on it as under half an hour (42%), while 33% were content with between half an hour to one hour.

Interactive content that enabled active participation was the number one desired type of content (64%), while video tutorials and content with compulsory questions were not too far behind (63% and 61% respectively).

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