Mobile learning for care workers

7 October 2009

Partnership between Social Care Institute for Excellence & Cimex

Ian HaynesDr. Talke Hoppmann

Summary

• Development & testing of a prototype mobile e-learning solution designed for care workers

• User testing methodology• Results of testing with cross section of users• Next steps

Background

• Social Care Institute for Excellence• Cimex

Social Care Institute for Excellence

• Remit – improve social care services to adults

• Research, define and promote best practice

• E-learning has grown into a key part of this…

Our audience: Care sector

• UK care sector > 1.6 million people• Likely to increase by 10 - 15% in 2010• > 21,000 care homes, providers and

social service departments• Employers: Private sector, local

authority, voluntary

e-readiness report - 2006

• SCIE commissioned MORI report• 47 % of employers believed that e-

learning could be effective in the next couple of years

• But current usage is low – particularly in private sector

• Lack of resources – big barrier

Current projects• Primarily Online delivery – aimed at desktops• Glasgow Council: Blackberry access to patient care plans• Barking & Dagenham -Tablet PCs• University of Plymouth: mobile support for work

placement students studying Social Work Degree

Benefits of e-learning• Flexible & cost effective• Not just about dissemination of facts• Application of complex guidelines to real life scenarios• Develop understanding and empathy with service users

e.g. Dementia project

Freely distributed SCORM based learning objects

Themed ‘gateways’e.g. Dementia Gateway

Social Care TV – new online TV channelLaunching later this month…

Mobile prototype developed for user testing

• Requirements gathering Workshops with paper-based prototypes

• Ethnographic researchDiary studies

• Usability researchUser testing with mobile camera device

• Online researchOnline surveys on mobile phone use

Outcomes of diary study

Researching mobile phone useUser experience

User remarks on paper-based prototype

Diary packs for week long study

User testing with mobile camera

Purpose & aims• Understand users’ backgrounds and

their use of learning resources

• Understand the effectiveness of mobile compared to desk-/laptop learning

• Define factors influencing future use, e.g. technical limitations, practical and situational factors

• Analyse what would be required of an effective interface

User experience

6 x 60 minute one-to-one sessions (4 female, 2 male)

Method PurposeQuestionnaire to gather information on job role,

internet/mobile phone use & experience

Pre-session interview for further data on job-related learning and resources and to explore scenarios

Website interaction to examine user’s interaction with the site and its perceived usefulness

Mobile prototype to examine user’s interaction with the mobile site and its perceived usefulness

Personalised prototype to explore user’s understanding of the proposed functionality and its perceived usefulness

Post-session interview to elicit feedback and ideas for improvement

User experience

• Too busy to access learning resources during work

• The (mobile) internet is used for quick reference, to check information, e.g. transport or policies, and to prepare for meetings

• Most commonly mentioned learning resources: Internet, books and magazines, and mandatory training (workshops)

• Advantage of online resources = ‘available at your finger tips’ and can be accessed when necessary or convenient

• Usefulness depends on situation: workshops preferred for practical issues, internet preferred for keeping up to date

User experience

Work & learning resources

User experience

Situations & use

• While travelling• Between

appointments• When meetings get

delayed• In preparation of

meetings or before seeing clients

• Checking facts • Looking up

information• Most can imagine

using video resources through their mobile, but there are some concerns and barriers

• All users liked videos as another way of learning

• Navigating on the site was easy enough, but there are some usability issues in terms of video functions (e.g. ratings, download options, transcript)

• Participants particularly liked having related resources

• Three participants would only use videos on the website due to the larger size and better quality

User feedback

Social care TV website

• Several users expect video to play in window, unsure about downloading

• Reasons: seems like you have to pay, might clog up space on the phone, not knowing where it gets saved

• Most users like the simplicity, apart from the participant with an iPhone, who thought the mobile site looked like it held only 5% of the website

• The audio was perceived as highly useful, and would be beneficial even without the use of videos

User feedback

Mobile prototype

Personalising the experience

• Mobile interfaces not so good for browsing• Delivery of interactive content challenging• Better at delivering focused content– Searching– Personalisation

• Two users were very excited about this option and thought it might be a very useful resource/tool kit for their work

• Having tailored content was also seen as very useful and requiring less time

• The GPS option (and being able to locate your colleagues) received both positive and negative feedback, some worry about privacy issues and feeling spied upon, while other think it’s good in terms of security and support

User feedback

Personalised version

• Time

• Screen size & quality

• Download

• Audio

• Money

User experience

Concerns & barriers

Next steps

E-readiness report - 2009

• Due out later this year• Focuses more on mobile use• Wireless availability in care homes

Conclusion• Mobile delivery of e-learning for this

audience is effective - but does have limitations

• Combine delivery of mobile e-learning with a personalised toolkit– Security– Meeting preparation– Promotion of learning opportunities

• Reach new audiences – e.g. informal carers

Thank you

• Ian Haynes ian@cimex.com• Dr Talke Hoppmann

talke.hoppmann@cimex.com