Mobile First Today: New Innovations in LMS Mobile App Design

By Mohana Radhakrishnan, COO, Expertus

Remember when having an LMS mobile app that was designed for mobile devices was a huge differentiator? This initial round of Mobile First apps was mainly focused on convenience…

No need to zoom in or pan across pages.

Text is automatically adjusted to your screen size with legible font sizes.

And so on.

Fast-forward to today, and we now have LMS mobile apps that deliver new levels of convenience and functionality. Let’s explore some of these exciting innovations and how they can impact your learning business.

Early Adopters

A true Mobile First design will adopt the latest mobile features and technology, as soon as they’re available. These “early adopter” apps give users a second-to-none experience and dramatically improve their productivity.

For learners, this could be through an actionable mobile dashboard. One that helps them stay on top of all training activities (certifications, compliance training, virtual or ILT classes, orders, etc.), whether they’re on- or offline.

For instructors, this could be accomplished by automating their dreaded sign-in sheets and raising survey or assessment completions by pushing them to learners during class.

And for managers, this could be done by using actionable mobile analytics to quickly identify and call/text/email non-compliant learners─even when they’re away from their office.

Pushing LMS Boundaries

Another hallmark of today’s Mobile First LMS apps is their ability to push the limits of LMS capabilities. For example, with the ExpertusONE mobile app, you can use the GPS in a user’s device to restrict training hours and locations.

Known as geofencing, it creates a virtual perimeter (aka a “fence”) that enables or disables training based on the user’s location. And with geofencing, your organization can ensure employees:

  • Train onsite during approved, regular working hours more accidental overtime pay
  • View mobile learning from your secured network–keeping your business-critical data safe and secure and avoiding the need to reimburse employees for their personal data plan

Your Mobile First Checklist        

Now’s a great time to review the functionality of your LMS mobile app, especially if your “app” is still just a glorified web browser.

Here’s a checklist of the latest mobile technologies used in modern Mobile First designs:

  • Voice integration─ search, filtering, location mapping, and more
  • Push notifications─ including in-class surveys and evaluations
  • Built-in eCommerce─ purchase training, add discounts, use multiple payment options/currencies
  • LRS integration─ combine mobile interaction data with other training data for deeper learning analysis
  • Native content player─ move from desktops to mobile devices seamlessly; no progress lost, with the same viewing experience

And Back to Convenience

Even with all of the advancements that we’ve covered, if your LMS mobile app isn’t easy to use, then why bother updating it in the first place? Users probably won’t find, or use, its new functionalities.

That’s why─today, as always─it’s imperitive to have an intuitive, contextualized UI. As soon as a user opens your app, their dashboards, modules and preferences should all be tailored to their specific role and permissions. And their learning path or management activities should be clearly displayed, with one-click accessibility.

At Expertus, we’re continually looking for what’s next in LMS design. So, if there’s another way that you’d like to stretch your LMS’ reach or expand its mobile app’s capability, please reach out to me at: mohanark@expertus.com. Many of our innovations were driven by customer collaboration.