According to a study by ReportsnReports, wearable tech will account for nearly 30 billion in revenue over the next five years. At first glance, nanolearning delivered on wearable tech seems like a natural progression as an elearning solution. But, the problem lies in the fact that too often, content is adapted to be delivered on tiny tech that works just as well and often better via other delivery methods.
Understanding how to think about and incorporate nanolearning through wearable technology the right way can give you a better shot at making it an impactful part of your eLearning delivery. A good place to start is to consider the ways in which you tend to use your smartwatch and go from there.
Here are 3 ways wearable nanolearning can be applied to and enhance your current training solutions.
Location, Location, Location
Location services, for instance, might be one area of development. Utilizing location services on wearable tech is an obvious win for eLearning, but only if done well. Nanolearning that takes location and time into consideration could deliver timely hints to learners based on where they are in the office, plant, or even field. At the same time, rewards and incentives for being in the right place at the right time (based on those same location services) might inspire learners to keep their engagements and attend training meetings.
“In the Moment” Support
Sometimes you don’t the time to flip back through guidebooks or tutorials when you are on the job. Offering a step-by-step, easy to access guide for an employee on their smart watch can help out in those times your learner needs something instantly. A great example of this is if you own a retail store and one of your sales members is helping a customer find an item and talk about the benefits. The sales person could pull up the item location on their smart device and receive 3 bullet points about the product details.
Another example is if an employee needs the support of supervisor, instead of running to go find them, they can immediately connect with them via instant message or video chat to immediately address the problem on the spot. his allows for quick, effective, and in the moment learning without disrupting the learner’s workflow.
Instant Feedback
Wearables can add to simulations and trainings by providing instant feedback to choices learners are making during the training. For example, if an employee is in a training simulation and they choose the wrong answer, instead of just saying their choice was wrong, they could receive a pulse from the device letting them know they might want to try again or rethink their choice. The learner can now correct the behavior in the moment and discover the more appropriate choice.
Instead of forcing your regular training through the eye of a wearable, it’s best to come up with new ideas. Whether it’s in-the-moment tips and reminders, appointment reminders and points for attending training, or even something out-of-the-box like scavenger hunts and geocaching, wearables can be used for nanolearning–just not in the way you’d think. Go beyond adaptation to come up with new ways to make small teach and wearables work for you and your learners.
Bad eLearning sends one clear message from your business to your employees: “We don’t care about you!” Companies who value their talent invest in them, and one of the top ways to show employees you value their time and work is by providing them with great learning to help them progress in their career. Innovation stems from employees that feel valued and care enough about the company to want to make it better.
Connect with us here to find out how we can help you build learning that says to your employees: “We Value You!”