Create free quizzes for cellphones/ Facebook/ Moodle May 24, 2008
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes, Applications, Assessment, Interactive, Mobile, Mobile LOs, Mobile Phone, Products.3 comments
Here’s today’s awesome m-learning find: a website where anyone can create a multiple choice quiz which is compatible with the vast majority of current mobile phones (it runs as a Java application, which most of today’s cellphones support).
The site is called Mobile Study, and the finished multiple choice quizzes can be downloaded to a mobile phone from a computer, by visiting a URL with a mobile phone browser, via an SMS message (a small allocation of free messages is provided for each account), or even by using a QR Code (which you should be able to do if you’ve been following my thread on 2D Barcodes!). If you or your students prefer Social Web applications to mobile ones, it’s also worth noting that quizzes can be made for Facebook, and if a walled garden is your course approach of choice, yes, quizzes can even be imported into Moodle.
Given that there are a large number of ACT Innovative E-Learning Projects that have, as a component, various formative assessment needs, this site should prove to be extremely useful!
You can try out some of the sample quizzes here - they can be done online to give you an idea of how the quizzes provide feedback, or you can install the sample quizzes to your mobile phone for the full m-learning experience.
Happy quizzing!
(via Ignatia Webs)
Tags: quiz, quizzes, assessment, jar, java, jad, mlearning, m-learning, mobilelearning, mobile, learning, mobile-learning, education, mobile study, mobilestudy, mobile-study, qr code, qrcode, 2dbarcode, 2d barcode, qr-code, 2d-barcode
Mobile Assessment Made Easy August 25, 2007
Posted by Leonard Low in Applications, Assessment, PDA, Standards.1 comment so far
There’s some great news from the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, the national organisation which promotes flexible learning opportunities in the Australian Vocational Education and Training system.
Not only has the Framework successfully drafted a further 4 year strategy to continue to support teachers and trainers Australia-wide (congrats and hurrah!), but work has begun on improving tools for conducting assessments using mobile devices.
This work will build on a previous Framework project which produced the QTI m-Player. a free mobile assessment tool compatible with the international Question and Test Interoperability Standard (QTI). According to the Framework Press Release:
Peter Higgs, Manager of Learning Technology at TAFE Tasmania said: “The first version of QTI m-Player looked at quizzing and not uploading assessment outcomes and results onto an organisational system.
“The new functions will include the ability to send assessment information, including photo attachments via secure e-mail to upload directly into a Learning Management System.
“Assessors will no longer have to manually enter the data into their administration systems and process the results once they get back to the office,” said Mr Higgs.
The work is being supported and funded by the AFLF’s New Practices In Flexible Learning project. The M-Learning community looks forward to hearing more about this work in the year ahead!
technorati tags:qti, m-player, aflf, new practices, flexiblelearning, flexible learning, mlearning, m-learning, mobile learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, clc, flexible, learning, australian, australia, framework, assessment, education, question, and, test, interoperability, standard
Free Mobile Poetry Resources May 1, 2007
Posted by Leonard Low in Applications, Assessment, Interactive, Mobile LOs, PDA, Products.add a comment
Tony Vincent at the Learning In Hand blog reports that K12 Handhelds has made some great poetry resources available, for use on Palm and Windows Mobile devices, as well as laptop and desktop PCs:
- Two mobile references in the (free) Mobipocket e-book format: a brief overview of “Types of Poetry,” and an anthology of some of the best classical poems.
- A Poetry Scavenger Hunt in Microsoft Word format, which can be viewed and completed on PDAs with Word software, or on a laptop or desktop computer.
- A brief poetry types quiz in Quizzler format.
- Links to additional supporting materials online.
- A guide to using these resources for classroom activities.
These are great resources, and provide good examples of what can be developed for mobile platforms using free authoring and reading software.
technorati tags:k12 handhelds, pda, palm, windows mobile, mobireader, quizzler, poetry, english, literature, literacy, education, language, poems, verse, forms, m-learning, mlearning, mobile-learning, mobilelearning, mobile learning
Mobile Gradebook September 18, 2006
Posted by Leonard Low in Applications, Assessment, PDA, Products.add a comment
This post is more on the Mobile Learning Administration side of things, but may interest some educators: Excelsior Software have released Pinnacle PDA, a new gradebook product out for PPCs, and you can download a copy for free. The functionality looks pretty good, and Pinnacle also offer a range of “add on” tools for the gradebook tool that allow it to do other things too, like web display of student progress.
(via Mobile Musings)
technorati tags:pinnacle, pda, gradebook, mobilelearning, m-learning, mlearning, mobile-learning, ppc
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Four R’s Model and Mobile Learning Activities August 11, 2006
Posted by Leonard Low in 2D Barcodes, Applications, Assessment, Audio, General, Interactive, Mobile LOs, Mobile Phone, Moblogging, PDA, Pedagogy, Photo, Podcasting, Products, Recall, Record, Reinterpret, Relate, SMS, Technical, Video.comments closed
Repost of posting to EdNa forums, with other commentary here. A summary of previous theorisings on this model, here and here, supplemented with diagrams.
We can classify mobile learning activities using an activity-based model of the “Four R’s of Mobile Learning”.
In a reflection of the “Three R’s” of the essential pre-Net Generation skills (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic), the “Four R’s” of Net Generation learning reflect the current sociocultural shifts in thinking and learning for an increasingly mobile twenty-first century. Defined from a learner-centric viewpoint, these are:
Record : The learner as a gatherer and “builder” of new knowledge
- The learner may use a portable device to capture, preserve, memorise, note, or create information.
- The information recorded may be in response to a prompt from the portable device itself; or in response to a stimulus from a situated learning environment or their teacher.
- The information may be recorded to the portable device itself; or the portable device could serve as a conduit for storing the information remotely.
- Underpinned by a Constructivist theory of learning
Reinterpret: The learner as an analyst of existing data to discover new knowledge
- The learner may use the portable device to discover, process or enhance existing data so that it is transformed into new information, or “remixed” to enhance learning. In these conditions, the mobile device enhances or supplements the learner’s own senses or processing abilities.
- Underpinned by a Constructivist theory of learning
Recall: The learner as a user of existing information and resources
- The learner may use a portable device to recall information, events, experiences or stories, stored on the portable device (e.g. iPod recording), or by using the device to access information remotely (e.g.on the internet).
- Underpinned by a Connectivist/Instructionist theory of learning
Relate: The learner as part of a social context and a network of knowledge
- The learner may use a portable device to communicate with other people; for example, with other learners, or with a teacher (i.e. in a learning relationship).
- The learner can use the device to communicate directly and synchronously (e.g. mobile phone conversation), or access asynchronous communication services (e.g. web discussion board or weblog).
- They can also recommend and share resources, for example, linking mobile devices (usually wirelessly) and sending a file from one to the other.
- Communicative and collaborative: underpinned by a Social Constructivist theory of learning
Related activities include Mobile Assessment (self, formative and summative assessment), and Teaching and Learning Support (tools to help teachers and learners, such as mobile gradebooks, rollbooks, etc.)
Mobile Learning Ideas
Record : The learner as a gatherer and builder of new knowledge
- Moblogging: (Remote Record) using a mobile device to record audio, video, or (most commonly) images and save them to the web in a reverse-chronological format with text annotations.
- http://moblog.co.uk/blog/mobilelearning example
- Social aspects of blogs – other learners/teacher can access and comment
- Done on PDA or Phone
- Database/Form Entry: (Local Record) inputting data into a mobile device that can later be reviewed or assessed. Example applications include:
- Dance moves database demonstration – uses XSForms by Grandasoft (freeware)
- Recipe database
- List of vocabulary/glossary
- Database of procedures
- Generally done on a PDA
- Recording media: learners can record audio and video to devices like mobile phones, audio players, and PDAs. Example applications include:
- Recording a class or lecture for later review as an mp3 file NoteM demonstration
- Recording a mock “interview” or interaction for review or assessment
- Recording a video (e.g. “Changing a Tyre”)
- Done on PDA, Phone, audio device, digital camera
- Journal Using Calendar: If an online blog is not appropriate, Outlook Calendar can be used to diarise and record events, class notes, assessment deadlines, and more.
- Why? Because this is what PDAs were originally designed for, they perform these functions well.
- May also be possible (though less convenient) on some mobile phones.
- Freehand Drawing: Ability to quickly sketch drawings, diagrams, and jot notes could be useful on PDAs. MobilePencil is a good product for this.
Recall: The learner as a user of existing information and resources
- Accessing a local Learning Object: I’m using a very broad definition of “Learning Object” – includes learning video or audio file, a learning interaction such as a Flash activity, even a document. Some examples:
- Podcast/Vodcast: an audio or video file stored for later viewing/listening – TEDTalks and Motorbike Tips for New Riders examples
- Flash-based learning activity – New Practices in Flexible Learning examples
- Accessing a remote Learning Object: as above,
but not stored on the mobile device itself, but at another location in
“cyberspace” – a network server, a PC, or the Internet. - Text content pages on WinkSite – Project management example at http://winksite.com/guideto/projman
- Accessing an RSS feed: what’s awesome about mobile RSS aggregators is that they allow “real time” updates of information to a mobile device.
- Mobile Web Search: Google mobile is an example – provides mobile web search from a connected mobile phone or PDA
- SMS-based information service: these require a bit of preparation. A service is set up by a commercial provider that enables a student to send a text to a number, which then returns some information. For example:
- a student sends an SMS with the word “impasto” to 131234
(example only). They then receive a dictionary definition of the term
back via SMS.
Relate: The learner as part of a social context and a network of knowledge
- Ad-hoc networking: Programs such as “Proximity Mail” enable PDAs within Bluetooth range (approx 10 metres) to form an ad-hoc networks allowing instant messaging. Other products also allow file exchange, and operate on the longer-distance (100m) 802.11b wireless protocol. Examples of use:
- Learners engaged in local text-based chat in a quiet environment e.g. art gallery, lecture
- Learners share learning materials and resources in real time,
as they discover them in their browsers or write down their own
learning experiences - Instant Messaging: the preferred communication
channel of the Net Generation. IM types include SMS/MMS between mobile
phones, MSN Messenger (installed in Pocket PCs), and other IM products
can be installed which operate over wireless Internet (802.11a/b/g).
One of the most comprehensive is Agile Messenger, which supports five of the most commonly used IM clients on Pocket PCs: Yahoo, ICQ, MSN, AOL and XMPP. - Voice Chat: most commonly implemented in mobile
phones, but also possible to accomplish from a PDA with a suitable
Messaging Client installed. Some include “Press To Talk” functionality
that allows PDAs connected to wireless internet to operate like Walkie
Talkies. - Mobile Blogging:
- Winksite demo (text), Moblog.UK
demo (moblog)
- Mobile Discussion: Asynchronous communication tool. Truly Flexible Mobile Learning – anywhere, anytime participation.
- Winksite demo
- Mobile Chat: Synchronous communication tool. Text-based group chat, allows group interaction using mobile phones (Winksite)/PDAs (ProximityMail)
- Winksite demo
- Mobile Wikis: Collaboration tool.
- No free implementations (yet), but some well-documented reasons why these are/will be a Very Good Thing for learners.
Reinterpret: The learner as an analyst of existing data to discover new knowledge
- Location-specific (potentially, situated) learning: PDA used as a processing tool to provide contextual information to learner. GPS, 2D-Barcodes, RFID tags connected with learning materials.
- Data mining: searching a mobile database for trends and patterns in data
- 2D Barcodes: a “bridge” between print/screen and mobile devices.
- A QR Code could be a link to whole range of resources. Instead of a studentcopying down homework tasks, they can simply capture the information, or a linkto it, with a camera snap. When they get home, they gain access to, say, adel.icio.us (or mobilicio.us) page, wheretheir resources are assembled. Some of the resources might even be mobilethemselves, such as resources developed in mobileprep - a mobile phone flashcard creator.
- This example links to a Wikipedia page on the video game Grand Theft Auto.With a click of their camera button, the user gets access to the information directly on their mobile device:
technorati tags:4rs, mobilelearning, m-learning, mobile-learning, pda, model, pedagogy, 2dbarcode, qrcode, recall, relate, record, reinterpret
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Moodle for Mobiles July 20, 2006
Posted by Leonard Low in Applications, Assessment, Interactive, Mobile LOs, Mobile Phone, Products, Technical.comments closed
I’ve just become aware of the Moodle for Mobiles extension for Moodle 1.6 - a development begun just this year. It can provide mobile feedback and quiz activities, with most quiz module features supported, including matching and multiple choice question types, auto question marking, password protection of quizzes, minimum time between attempts, and resumption of quizzes if aborted before completion.
technorati tags:moodle, moodleformobiles, m-learning, mlearning, mobilelearning, education, assessment, quizzes, feedback, quiz
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Workplace Assessment with Mobile Devices May 31, 2006
Posted by Leonard Low in Applications, Assessment, Pedagogy.comments closed
While this blog focusses on mobile learning, I thought I’d share some ideas on the related area of mobile assessment, which I wrote up for a seperate dicussion board.
Work place assessment often requires the gathering of evidence against a number of predetermined competencies. This lends itself to several mobile approaches, for example:
- The use of a mobile device such as a digital camera, or digital camera incorporated into a multifunction digital device such as a mobile phone or PDA, to capture images of evidence of competency: for example, stages in the completion of a work place process.
- In a learning situation, the photos could be stored on the digital device for later retrieval by the learner, other learners, a trainer, or an assessor.
- The photos can be sent wirelessly from the digital device to other learners, a trainer, or assessor, or to some other storage or display facility such as a moblog.
- The use of a mobile audio recording device such as an mp3 audio player/recorder or a PDA or mobile phone equipped with a sound recording facility, to capture either evidence of competency, or the assessor’s notes on the learner’s demonstration of competency.
- In the first instance, a learner may record themselves conducting a client interview in the workplace, for example, that may later be reviewed by an assessor
- In the second instance, it may be safer or more practical for an assessor to dictate their notes on a learner’s competence verbally into an audio device, than writing any notes on paper; for example, in a driving test or situation where a learner requires continuous supervision.
- The use of a mobile device, such as a PDA, to record assessment results (by the assessor) in the form of an assessment tool. Usually, this would happen in text or checklist form; but a more advanced version could also incorporate links to photos, videos, or audio samples of the learner’s evidence. This approach to assessment lends itself to a database approach with a form on the front end to make it easy to enter and recall data and link to other files.
- The use of a mobile device (usually a PDA or laptop computer) to provide mobile assessment in the form of a test or exam. This might be an appropriate approach where underpinning knowledge or theory is being assessed.
One development environment I’ve found particularly suitable for developing data capture tools is GrandaSoft’s XSForms and XSDesigner. I’ve used these to quickly develop and deploy PDA-based databases with form front ends, suitable for use as Assessment Tools or mobile quizzes. They use a Pocket Access database backend and are designed on a desktop computer, which makes them much quicker and easier to develop. Best of all, both products are free. 
Here’s a link to the blog article on the GrandaSoft software: http://mlearning.edublogs.org/2006/04/13/database-product-for-pocket-pcs/.
