In December 2012, Interactive Services published an article that focused on tablet devices in the modern workplace and how tablet usage was impacting on global organizations as a tool for learning and development,
As we all know, things change and when it comes to technology, they change fast!
Fast-forward 16 months and where do things stand? Has adoption of tablet training increased significantly at a corporate level? How are organizations using tablets in training? And where does the tablet fit into the training blend? These and other questions are answered below.
Tablet Statistics
Highlighted below are three recent statistics on enterprise tablet usage which gives us a sense of how popular the tablet now is in the workplace:
- Between 2011 and 2012, a great number of organizations implemented BYOD policies to support mobile workers. The mobile workforce in the US and Europe grew from 15% to 29% during this period. These figures will continue to rise, as we will see 905 million tablets in use for work and home globally by 2017. (Source: 2013 Mobile Workforce Adoption Trends).
- 18% of global tablet sales between 2013 and 2017 will come from business buyers rather than personal buyers. (Source: Forrester Research Enterprise Mobile User Forecast 2013).
- From 2012 – 2017 total shipments of tablet computers to enterprises globally are expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 48%. This reflects a rise in shipments from 13.6 million units in 2011 to 96.3 million units in 2016.
Tablets & the Training Blend
Although tablets are being widely used for training purposes at enterprise level, most organizations are not yet at a stage where they are using tablet as a stand-alone training tool. Research has shown that tablets and other mobile devices are predominantly being used as a part of training blends. Organizations are slow to move away from traditional training methods such as classroom training but they recognise that using mobile devices such as tablets can be very useful in that they can:
- Cut down on time spent in the classroom
- Make training more efficient by providing learners with access to their training outside the classroom
- Make the training experience more enjoyable and engage employees more through innovative tablet training modules such as game-based training.
It is likely that tablet training will primarily be used as part of blended programs until organizations have sufficiently adapted to this new method of training and have seen just how successful it can be.
The Future of Tablet E-learning
So where does the tablet fit in to the future of elearning? Well, based on current usage statistics outlined above, ongoing advances in mobile technology and the seemingly endless need in organizations to introduce new and innovative methods of learning and development for employees, it is quite possible that tablet could be a permanent addition to the range of e-learning tools organizations use to support the corporate training process.
From a business owner’s perspective, if tablets and other mobile devices have the ability to make training and work processes more time and cost efficient, help to improve employee performance and increase ROI, there is no reason why they would not continue to be used.
As the saying goes, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it!
Are you interested in learning more about tablet training and how it could support your L&D initiatives in areas such as compliance, onboarding and sales among others?
Interactive Services works with Fortune 500 companies such as Walmart and Visa to develop their training for mobile. Contact us today to find out how we could help you.
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