Tearing down the classroom walls
Sunday, July 26th, 2009 
“Dude. Let’s tear down the barriers to organizationl learning though a mobile learning platform, also known as an MLN.”
We’ve recently spent some time on a new mobile learning platform, the MLN, or mobile learning network. Pretty soon you will be able to see it. In the meantime, let me, erm, talk about it!
The old problem
The platform has been designed to work for groups, dedicated cohorts within companies or other organizations, and to solve the biggest problems they face with language instruction: low attendance and the flagging interest that inevitably follows.
The MLN is designed around the possibility that this group may (or may not) wish to convene in a physical classroom as part of the learning mix. Example: a group of colleagues in Beijing who need to work on their business English skills. They meet for a certain amount of classroom instruction, but because of travel and scheduling restrictions, cannot often make class together. Once people start to miss classes, motivation takes a dive. In fact, by week 6 of the training, attendance typically trails off dramtically and few are getting the benefit of the thing.
We’re talking low impact and poor return on investment in this scenario. It is not uncommon. I would argue that it can even be quite bad for the organization as it sends the message that learning and training are neither effective nor important.
Enter, the mobile solution
But this could be about to change and it is mobile that could make the difference. Mobile access to the content and the cohort has one major effect: it collapses the classroom walls so that learning/engagement/interaction are no longer confined to any physical space or schedule. You can now have many of the benefits of the classroom without the physical and scheduling barriers. Any cohort of learners with a common goal can build a community of paractice that extends to wherever they happen to be, at whatever time and place they choose to do the learning. If 4 of them are in class with the teacher in Beijing while the rest are in various parts of the county, they are all still connected to the learning events that occur around the publication of the lesson, the dicsussion, etc.
In this regard, the MLN platform also builds around some older features from ChinesePod, most notably the freedom to choose from a large database of learning objects - short audio lessons with exercises and extras on top. One major difference is that the CPod platform is for individual study, while the MLN is for groups, with a teacher to choose the lessons and lead the learning. This dimension is critical in the context of the organization. It means that learners can work as team towwrds a common goal, while HR managers get an overview of who is learning what and the effort/progress they are making relative to each other.
Anyway, that was my 20 minute essay on collapsing classroom walls through mobile access. I think it offers a taste of what we’re working on, though I realize I’m just touching the surface.
Ken Carroll