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Mobile Learning Reaches the Tipping Point with OutStart Hot Lava Mobile; The Promise of Easy, Accessible Mobile Learning is Now a Reality

Boston, MA – November 17, 2010 – Mobile learning is now accessible and practical for any organization with the new version of OutStart’s Hot Lava Mobile.  Hot Lava Mobile is the first software solution to overcome key technical and usability challenges to enable the broad use of mobile learning and priority communications.  With it, organizations can confidently develop, deploy and analyze mobile learning programs that support key corporate initiatives.

In the past, learners, developers, administrators and executives faced several technology, usability and organizational challenges that prevented the widespread commitment to and adoption of mobile learning. These included:
•    Concerns that organizations needed to mandate and commit to a particular device to deploy mobile learning to a broad group of individuals
•    Lack of technology consistency among devices that prevented content, such as video, from being properly displayed forcing organizations to dedicate valued resources to reconfiguring content for multiple devices
•    Market solutions that could not adequately secure information gathered by remote devices or transmitted to them
•    The inability to gauge the usage and effectiveness of mobile learning once deployed, significantly limiting the ability to gain executive support
•    Fear that mobile learning programs required new staff and/or skills to integrate and operate
•    Specialized development tools that required considerable training to develop content

From the time of the Hot Lava Mobile acquisition more than a year ago, OutStart worked with forward-thinking customers to identify, and solve those challenges facing the mobile learning industry.  The result of this work is the latest version of Hot Lava Mobile, which makes mobile learning easy and accessible for any organization.  Learners, developers and administrators can now tap into new features and benefits that enable a broad range of mobile learning and priority communication uses. 

For Learners
Hot Lava Mobile enables individuals to access material where and when it is convenient without mandating the use of a particular device.  Additional benefits for learners with Hot Lava Mobile include:

Flexible learning – Learners are able to easily manage and track their course enrollments and progress
Enhanced accessibility – With the option to access course materials through new smart phone applications or a device’s browser, learners are able to access and manage their learning in the format that best supports their needs
Engaging learning – Hot Lava Mobile automatically re-sizes learning content to fit the screen of the learner, presenting a more accessible and effective learning environment

For Developers
Hot Lava Mobile makes it easy for learning professionals and subject matter experts to develop, manage and deliver mobile learning to anyone in the organization. Benefits for developers include:

Easy authoring – Anyone familiar with PowerPoint can now author and publish mobile learning including quizzes, assessments and polls without training through the new PowerPoint developer plug-in.
Device-independent delivery – With Hot Lava Mobile’s device-independent authoring, users do not need to worry about the multitude of devices and display options, as Hot Lava Mobile automatically presents learning, including audio and video content, appropriately for each device.
Seamless integration – Hot Lava Mobile can be easily integrated into enterprise learning environments to provide mobile learning functionality to their existing LMS’s.

For Administrators
With Hot Lava Mobile SaaS deployment, organizations are able to easily integrate mobile learning into their corporate environments.  Benefits include: Flexible deployment – Hot Lava Mobile can be deployed as a standalone server to add mobile-only functionality or integrated with a corporate LMS to add mobile learning to any learning management system.

Secure company data – Organizations now have greater measures to protect valuable company data stored on or transmitted to mobile devices.


Hot Lava Mobile is the leading mobile learning solution to rapidly develop, deliver and analyze device independent mobile content to employees, customers and partners.  The solution enables organizations to meet a wide variety of business, marketing, data capturing and mobile learning scenarios.  And, unlike traditional mobile content development, Hot Lava Mobile allows organizations to develop content once and deploy it in multiple formats to multiple handhelds and mobile phones (Symbian Phones, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile Pocket PC’s, etc.) without requiring additional development.  Hot Lava Mobile won a Best of Elearning! award for Best Mobile Learning Solution in 2009 and is a finalist in the same category in 2010.

Deployment Options:

Standalone Server – Any organization can quickly introduce mobile delivery and tracking through the standalone server.
LMS Integration – Hot Lava Mobile can be bolted onto any LMS enabling organizations to add mobile learning without having to acquire new LMS technology or change current LMS processes.
Hot Lava Mobile is available as a SaaS solution.  With SaaS deployments, software requirements consist of a simple download of Hot Lava Mobile’s PowerPoint developer component, while Hot Lava Mobile’s Delivery component will be hosted and supported by OutStart. 

 

Quotes

Bryan Chapman, Chief Learning Strategist, Chapman Alliance
“Anyone who can minimize the technical difficulties and reduce the barrier to entry for mobile learning deserves high praises.  This new version goes a long way in attacking some of the most pressing issues we see on a regular basis such as ease of authoring and LMS communication.  The real innovation of this new release is the move toward device independence.   The result is that organizations are able to concentrate on how to extend and enhance current learning goals through the unique or enhanced benefits mobile devices possess.   After all, mobile learning isn’t about doing the same old learning in a new medium, it is about leveraging the strengths of these devices to extend the continuum of learning and improve an overall learning strategy.”

Massood Zarrabian, President & CEO, OutStart
“OutStart would like to thank our customers who worked with us to identify and solve some of the industry’s most significant challenges for developing and deploying mobile learning programs.  Through their involvement, we have the solutions to real-world deployment challenges that have hindered the broad-scale adoption of mobile learning initiatives.”

 

Related Links
OutStart Mobile Learning White Paper – Through real-world customer engagements, OutStart has identified seven use-cases particularly well suited for mobile learning initiatives.  Read more in the white paper, “Mobile Learning Business Applications and Key Issues for Success.”

Hot Lava Mobile Website – View the website to learn more about features, benefits and requirements.

 

About OutStart
OutStart’s portfolio of software solutions helps organizations constantly learn across a continuum of ways – formally, socially, and now through mobile.  Recognized as a Visionary in Gartner’s Corporate Learning Systems Magic Quadrant since 2004, OutStart is regularly acknowledged for its industry leading solutions.  In 2010 alone, OutStart was named a Top Learning Portal, one of “Five Emerging LMSs to Watch,” and a winner of two Best of Elearning! Awards for OutStart LCMS and Hot Lava Mobile. 

OutStart’s solutions include OutStart LCMS the industry’s leading learning content management system;  OutStart TrainingEdge.com, a complete SaaS corporate learning system (LMS, LCMS, social, and mobile); OutStart Participate for social learning; Hot Lava Mobile for mobile learning and priority communications; OutStart Trainer for eLearning desktop development; and OutStart SoftSim for the development of software simulations.  

OutStart is honored to serve organizations that surpasses expectations and delivers exceptional business results, such as AgustaWestland, BB&T, Boeing Company, BT, CVS Caremark, DIRECTV, General Dynamics, Hewlett-Packard, Internal Revenue Service, McDonald’s, MetLife, Pilatus Aircraft, Prudential, Australian Defence Force, U.S. Navy, UK Ministry of Defence, Verizon Wireless, Xerox and Yum! Brands.  To learn more about OutStart, visit the company on the web at www.outstart.com.  You can also read the blog at http://blog.outstart.com and follow us on Twitter @outstart.

 

Media Contact:
Kelby Troutman
OutStart
+1 617 897 6833
ktroutman@outstart.com
http://www.outstart.com