Universal Content Truths

A recent Learning Solutions magazine article by Gerry Griffin (June 20, 2011) presents 10 Tips for Designing Mobile Learning Content.

The key ideas, in a nutshell, were to keep it short, make it interesting, make it necessary and relevant, and encourage collaboration and reflection.

I would argue that most, if not all, of these principles can be effectively applied to nearly any learning environment. Content is so often "dumped" on learners with little in the way of context, motivation or need explanation, and concern for the emotional and affective stances that produce the deepest learning. While certainly not all types of content are suitable for all 10 of these principles, they are a great reminder of ways we can make learning more digestible to today's learner in any learning environment--mobile, stationary web-based, or even face-to-face.