How can Smartphones revolutionize digital learning?

Smartphones have become an important part of our daily lives. They play a major role in how we live, affecting our daily decisions in both, big and small ways. Demand warrants supply and that is why there is such a fierce competition in the Indian mobile market. It’s not shocking that most the media is consumed on smartphones, rather than on PC or any other devices. Imagine all the untapped potential smartphones have when it comes to digital learning. E-learning is growing at an exponential rate, for all the good reasons and digital learning that’s centered around mobile phones and extreme portability is termed as ‘M-learning’. E-learning is the acquisition of knowledge in a virtual environment, M-learning has the same goal but its scale is dialed back, rather it focuses on quick retrieving of data and portability. Thanks to constant advancements in technology, it’s being pushed to the mainstream. “How does M-learning differ from E-learning?”, you might ask. Here are some differences.

• Most M-learning lectures last about 10 minutes where E-learning lectures can go over an hour.
• M-learning offers more flexibility but at the cost of content. E-learning offers more detailed courses.
• M-learning is more informal than E-learning
• M-learning courses are designed to be as accessible as possible, with Android phones, iPhones, iPads being its focus whereas E-learning course are better suited for desks (and preferrably accessed on a Computer or a Laptop).
• M-learning focuses on navigation and accessibility whereas E-learning aims to be elaborate.

M-learning and E-learning are used interchangeably by plenty of people, but as it’s shown above, that isn’t the case. However, there was definitely a time when the line between M-learning and E-learning was extremely thin but thanks to constant advancements in technology and powerful smartphones, the two have never been more exclusive. Unlike how it seems, they are not each other’s competitors. Both, M-learning and E-learning, have their place and occupy different targets. As explained above, imagine someone who needs a quick course on a topic and doesn’t want to sit through hours of lectures. Why? That’s because he/she’s not looking for it. M-learning courses would be perfect in this case, providing the perfect balance between content, time and accessibility.
Even though E-learning and M-learning might differ in plenty of aspects, they do share some similarities. Just like E-learning, M-learning benefits just as much with technological development. Smartphones are getting better and better each year, with its hardware being capable of performing functions like never before. This improves the M-learning experience by providing faster and more accessible courses (thanks to a device’s more raw power), more complex assignments, better quality videos and animations, different and creative ways of learning (using a stylus to complete assignments) and much more.
At last, M-learning has accomplished a lot but there’s a long road ahead with a bright future. Thanks to the constant exposure by reputed E-learning platforms, it’s gaining more and more traction every day, for all the good reasons. There’s a lot of untapped potential and we’ve barely scratched the surface by now.