Mobile Learning in 2016: Share Your Stories at #mLearnCon

The Call for Proposals for the 2016 mLearn Conference and Expo is open through December 4th, 2015. This post discusses the state of mobile learning and what we’re looking for in proposals for this year’s conference.

Next year marks the seventh annual mLearnCon Conference and Expo, the largest event in North America focused on the management, design, delivery, and practical use of mobile technologies for learning. How our industry looks at mobile, and mobile learning, has changed a great deal in the past seven years, and next year’s conference focus reflects that growth.

Realizing the Potential of Mobile

This year’s conference explores the true potential of mobile. The use of mobile technologies to support learning and performance continues to grow. Most of the examples of mobile in practice have thus far involved responsive interfaces that take desktop-based content and makes it appropriately accessible on mobile devices. Applications of some of the more unique affordances of mobile technologies are less common. We are especially interested in session proposals that are sharing examples learning experiences not possible without the use of mobile technologies.

The Expanding Definition of Mobile

The definition of “mobile” continues to expand. The rollout of wearable technologies on the consumer market continues to gain momentum, and we’re seeing the start of network-enabled devices that harness the potential of the Internet of Things. These and other technologies are changing the way we define “mobile” in ways that are no longer exclusively dependent on a smartphone. These changes are already changing the ways we interact with the world around us; we are interested in proposals that explore the learning applications of these technologies.

What’s Old is New Again

While some early-adopting organizations have been exploring the use of mobile technologies for learning for a number of years, the reality is that most organizations have either just started leveraging mobile, or are still trying to figure out how to get started. mLearnCon is the event those new to the mobile space look towards to find the answers to their questions – including the questions they did not know they need to be asking. As such, we continue to be interested in proposals that provide the “on ramp” for those that are new to the world of mobile.

Share Your Stories

If you’ve been leveraging mobile in your learning programs, consider sharing your story with others at mLearnCon. At the eLearning Guild we believe that Together We Are Better, and together we can help realize the true potential of mobile technologies for learning and performance support.

For more information on the mLearnCon Call for Proposals, as well as the Call for Proposals for our co-located events exploring Performance Support and Video, feel free to visit our Frequently Asked Questions page, or you can reach out directly to Mark Britz or David Kelly.