As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I work in Professional Development at a law firm. Our department runs both optional and mandatory CPD (Continuing Professional Development) programs for a wide range of audiences. Mobile devices are a staple at our firm. The firm issues devices to all lawyers, law students, and senior management (or they can opt to use their own phone with firm access). Despite the prevalence of mobile devices, they are often not incorporated into our learning programs.
The firm does not really have a position when it comes to using mobile devices in learning. It is a given that most (if not all) attendees will have their mobile devices at our programs. Lawyers especially like to be connected at all times and will often check their email during our programs. You will even see facilitators checking their phones during group activities. Sometimes I think this points to a lack of engagement, but often it is driven by workload. The downside of live sessions is that they will never be convenient for everyone. If you are in the middle of a large deal it is challenging to disconnect and focus on a CPD program.
In the past, we have used polling software like Poll Everywhere and Socrative at our programs and the feedback has been positive. Participants enjoy the real time results and like seeing how they stack up against their peers. I also think it adds a level of interest and “fun” to our programs. The main challenge when utilizing such technology is teaching facilitators how to use it. Our programs are typically delivered by SMEs and they have varying levels of comfort with technology. It is not always feasible to have a member of our team who is well versed in the technology at the program.
With that said, I think we are missing an opportunity by not utilizing mobile devices more. As the Ciampa article pointed out, mobile devices (when used properly) can lead to both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In the case of our lawyers, I see the extrinsic rewards being slightly more appealing: competition, cooperation, and recognition. We have found friendly competition and bragging rights to be highly motivating in the past. However, the Ciampa article talked a lot about learning apps and games. I don’t think there are any learning apps/games that would have content reflecting our firms’ procedures, standards, and expectations. The same (to a certain extent) can be said of social media. The firm’s social media and privacy policy make utilizing applications like Twitter a bit challenging.
Any suggestions of software/programs that can be used in a professional context?
References
Ciampa, K. (2013). Learning in a mobile age: An investigation of student motivation. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(1), 82–96.
Hi Colleen,
Interesting post, I had a couple of things jump out at me. Mainly the use of phones during a session for ongoing business is seen as a necessary part of the process. I imagine as a trainer that would take some getting used to.
I would think that through Moodle you could build some courses and interactions that could accompany your professional development offerings. That way you could achieve your goals and still have control over the content. That way you wouldn’t have to worry about privacy or social media policies.
Jason
Hi Colleen,
It’s always challenging to get people to disconnect from their mobile devices during training (we do it too!). I have found that if I use a more social constructivist approach and use technology for collaboration, it helps with engagement. For exemple, I will get the teachers (I train teachers) in groups of 3 or 4 and get them to put their ideas in a Google document. They then can also see the other teams adding their ideas in the same document and it seems to keep them more motivated and on task. Socrative and Poll everywhere are good options for collecting participant responses. The more recent version of SmartNotebook also has a quiz feature where participants can log in to the quiz using any device with a web browser to answer the questions.
Veronique
Hi Colleen;
The issue that jumped off the page at me in your post was how excessive workloads requires learners to use their mobile devices to check on other issues, even in the middle of a program. I think that is the issue when it comes to working with professionals, much more than an issue of engagement. There is simply too much going on in their day.
I recently saw one of our physicians standing at a bus stop on my way to work. I offered him a ride, and he accepted. However, I learned that the reason he normally takes the bus is so that he can use the time to read journal articles which, of course, he can’t do if he is driving. It surprised me that something as normal as a daily commute had to be considered in terms of professional efficiency.
It actually saddens me that we rarely have the luxury of focusing on one thing at a time. We are taking multitasking to an extreme.
Kind regards
Tanya