"Communication and learning are merging"
Schwalbach, December 2015 - In Korean, the name Samsung means "three stars", referring to the three elements that the conglomerate defines as standing for its corporate values: size, strength, and quality. Sören Bezzegh has worked as a trainer for products and sales at the German subsidiary's Samsung Learning Academy since 2011, where he champion's mobile learning. At the LEARNTEC 2016 Congress, Bezzegh will report on the development and deployment of a new mobile platform that smoothes the Samsung employees' pathways to learning.
How would you characterize the current state of development of mobile learning? In your opinion, has a standard already crystallized?
Sören Bezzegh: I’m afraid I can’t recognize one, and actually, I’d say we’re rather still at the very beginning and have a lot of work ahead of us. There are a lot of options, and we’re a long way from exhausting them. Those responsible need to be shown the possibilities that already exist: Smartphones and tablets are used far too little, and we’re still concentrating on the PC far too much.
Why?
Sören Bezzegh: The decision-makers have not yet looked into the possibilities sufficiently. The advantages of mobile learning have not yet penetrated their way to the fore.
When you sit in your office, you concentrate the problems of your daily work. This leaves little or no time to for education and training. With mobile learning, you can address this while you’re on the go or at home - even in your spare time. There’s no pressure, and you can set your own schedule.
Who can use Samsung mobile?
Sören Bezzegh: Everyone, the training apps on the online platform are available 24x7. In collaboration with AppsFactory, we have developed our own system, which has been in operation since 2014 and allows all learners at Samsung direct access to the learning units and materials via apps. There are no complicated systems that use browsers and the Web, no interminable registration processes or the like. Since this system has been in place at Samsung, the usage curve has risen steadily.
The employees have recognized the added value. Of course use various audiences use it with varying intensity. For a member of the sales staff, a single look at information on the latest product details may be sufficient whereas a promoter or merchandiser uses the materials more frequently - often actively in the presence of end customers.
What further developments in this area still exist for in-house training, or in the future will everything be "mobile"?
Sören Bezzegh: In my opinion, mobile learning is largely going to replace learning on the PC. Mobility today is already the linchpin for modern communication, and therefore we’ll see a growing fusion between communication and learning. Only in the topic areas of learning transfer and quality control is the situation still a bit different.
How important do you feel responsive design is in these processes?
Sören Bezzegh: It plays a relatively large role in making the various devices accessible. It's all about being able to test as many formats as possible, testing whether they are productive, and then integrating them: videos, presentations, eLearning, online training, etc. Responsive design makes it easier.
What’s the next step in mobile learning?
Sören Bezzegh: I think the users are interested and motivated. On the level of decision-makers, greater emphasis must be placed on mobile learning since there is a need to catch up. In my opinion, making mobile learning the learning standard depends on two factors: greater competition among the technology providers and a greater awareness of the topic among the decision-makers.
