Mobile Learning

Flickr’s camera analysis pages (which uses embedded EXIF information from uploaded images to determine which devices users are taking photos with) have documented the surge in popularity of camera phones.  Camera phones are rapidly improving in quality and functionality, and their ubiquity and capability are making them a popular device for capturing images, even amongst dedicated media afficionados.

In m-learning, camera phones provide a ubiquitous tool for capturing, sharing, and reflecting on learning experiences, using web 2.0 tools such as moblogs.  They can be used to capture images or video for assessment purposes, or, beyond photography, camera phones can be used to access information and resources through 2D barcodes.

That’s why this article on taking better pictures with a camera phone, is useful for educators interested in utilising camera phones as a learning approach.  Passing these ideas on to learners could help them to maximise the quality of the photos they take using the cameras they’re already carrying around in their pockets.  In summary:

• use well-lit subjects;
• get in close;
• keep the phone still;
• take the best image first, and edit with special effects later;
• don’t throw away “mistakes”;
• avoid using digital zoom;
• experiment with White balance;
• take loads of shots and experiments;
• follow rules of composition – and then break them;
• keep your lens clean;
• observe camera phone ettiquette;
• rename your images; and
• use the highest available resolution on your camera phone.

Read more at the main article here.

(via SolSie.com)

technorati tags:mlearning, m-learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, mobile learning, camera phone, cameraphone, photography, moblogging

Semapedia is a project to link the physical world to the digital one, through the use of 2D Barcodes. 2D barcodes are placed on physical objects, and decoding a 2D Barcode with a camera phone provides a user with the Wikipedia article on that object.

There are a number of 2D barcode “formats,” each with various strengths and weaknesses, (the major three being Semacode/Datamatrix, QR Code, and ShotCode). Semacode used to be based on the Semacode method for creating and decoding 2D barcodes; but it seems that the open Datamatrix standard, upon which Semacode is based, has not been developing and innovating as fast, and has not been adopted as quickly internationally, as the Quick Response (QR) Code format, which is widely used in Japan. As a result, Semapedia is shifting towards the use of QR Codes (although Semacodes/Datamatrix will always be supported):

We have changed our 2D code base to QR codes instead of Datamatrix codes so far. Of course, all Semapedia tags generated and distributed up to now STILL WORK and will always work. We consider experimenting with QR codes an interesting new approach because they offer several extended features than Datamatrix codes. Also, the adoption of QR codes with cellphone manufacturers and scanning software providers has increased dramatically in the past 6 months. Our goal is to connect  the real and the virtual in a meaningful and beautiful way. Going with QR codes from here inherits the promise to have more people being able to use Semapedia Tags much faster than if they were based on the Datamatrix standard.

With its obvious educational value, this move by Semapedia brings QR Code closer to becoming a de-facto standard for 2D Barcodes in education.

(via All About Mobile Life)

technorati tags:mlearning, shotcode, qrcode, qr code, qr-code, m-learning, mobile learning, mobile-learning, mobilelearning, datamatrix, data matrix, semacode, semapedia, 2d barcode, 2d-barcode

In Japan, 2D barcodes are used to provide consumer information for a range of food products, allowing consumers to make informed choices. But could this model of tagging products with digital “links” also be used to enable both informal, lifelong, situated learning, as well as enhanced safety and first-aid practices in the future?

More and more people outside of Japan are catching on to the concept of encoding information that can be read by ordinary cellphones. Microsoft have only recently implemented a beta version of such a system with Windows Live Barcode; but in Japan, over 30 million people already use their mobile phones to digitally retrieve information from advertising, media, and food packaging, using QR Codes (as illustrated below).

Hank Green at the Treehugger blog notes the kind of information consumers might want to know about the food they’re buying, to enable them to make informed choices:

We need to tell where it came from, what it contains, the labor conditions of it’s harvest, how it’s going to taste, if it’s good for us, and whether we’re getting a good deal.

Hank further notes that the use of QR Codes to provide consumer information is common practice in Japan:

Almost all cell phones sold in Japan today contain QR code readers, and the Japanese Food Safety commission has already begun to notice preferential purchase of locally grown foods due to the QR tags. It turns out that knowing more about food actually results in buyers making better decisions…who’d have guessed!? Now I guess we’re just going to have to wait for the rest of the world to catch up.

Here’s an example of some sandwiches labelled with QR Codes – as a consumer, you would be able to find out everything you need to know about them with an ordinary cameraphone, loaded with reader software:

Encoded product information like this could provide a model for creating informal, lifelong, ubiquitous, situated mobile learning. Although QR Codes can store over 4,000 alpha-numeric characters within a single barcode, information could also be accessed via a QR Code containing a URL – launching a product web page for any product that provides details of what it is, what it does, or what it’s made of. The model need not be retricted to food items – potentially, clothing (manufacture & care instructions), tools (model & safety data), or chemicals (materials safety data sheets), for example, could benefit from this approach.

A student or worker who needed information on a particular chemical or tool would be able to access the information when and where they needed it. Since many first aid situations, for example, occur inconveniently far from an internet-connected computer, accessing materials safety data anywhere would be an enormous advantage, that could help save lives, as well as provide learning opportunities.

In a completely different industry, QR Code links on garment care instructions could enable students, trainees or workers in fashion or retail industries develop their knowledge of garment manufacturing processes and materials. Consumers would also have more ability to make informed decisions about locally or ethically manufactured products, to enable them to make better choices.

I think it’s going to be several years before we might start seeing products labelled with digital “links” to more information in this way; much depends on mobile telecommunications manufacturers and/or providers seeing the potential of these technologies to provide a useful data service for their users, and incorporating 2D barcodes into mobile handsets at point-of-sale (or manufacture), to remove the need for users to locate and install their own software.

However, with widespread use and obvious success in Japan, I’m sure that it’s just a matter of time before the technology becomes readily available in other parts of the world, triggering a global surge in user-centric mobile data use.

technorati tags:qr code, qrcode, m-learning, mlearning, mobile-learning, mobilelearning, mobile learning, 2d barcode, 2dbarcode, japan, keitai, mobile, phone, cellphone, cameraphone, camera phone, food, product, information

Steve Dembo, author of tech42.com has posted up a super video presentation entitled “Mobile Learning Redefined“. His “redefinition” centres around using the technology already in the pockets of students, rather than the introduction of “new” technologies. He covers a number of approaches already covered in this blog (such as 2D Barcodes, mobile web site tools, and moblogging), but also brings up a few new ideas worth exploring, such as:

• QuizFaber – QuizFaber creates multiple-choice quizzes for the mobile web
• Flickr – features a mobile version of Flickr.
• Mobilicio.us – Mobilicio.us allows you to remotely access your bookmarks, and Del.icio.us mona allows you to remotely save bookmarks
• Remote Podcasting – Gcast.com allows you to call a phone number to leave a message, which is instantly published as a podcast.

Check out the video here (warning: large file, 43MB).

“Mobile Learning Redefined”

(via Learning in Hand)

technorati tags:mlearning, m-learning, mobile-learning, mobilelearning, mobile learning, 2d barcodes, 2d barcode, semacode, datamatrix, data matrix, education, educational technology, ed tech, steve dembo, teach42.com

It seems that Microsoft have discovered the 2D Barcode. Expect to see a proliferation of mobile 2D Barcode products and services in the next two years, now that Microsoft have just released Windows Live Barcode (still in Beta).

The 2D Barcode standard they have chosen is the QR Code – distinguised by the three concentric squares visible in each code. Although it’s proprietary (owned by Denso-Wave corp.), it is the most widely adopted barcode format used in Japan, where over 30 million mobile phones already feature the software required to decode the barcodes. The next most popular format is currently Semacode (aka Datamatrix), which is an open, non-proprietary standard. Most popular readers (such as the Kaywa Reader) support decoding both of these major barcode formats.

Unlike other “proximity” technologies like RFID, “Smart Chips”, GPS, or magnetic strips, the 2D Barcodes can be read by an ordinary camera phone, loaded with the correct software; and can be created without any special hardware, software, or consumables. The barcodes can be printed on paper, read from computer monitors or TV screens, or even created on and read from another mobile phone. Just to prove the capabilities of this technology, I have even created a working barcoded T-Shirt.

A QR Code can store over 4,000 alphanumeric characters within a barcode. The capacity, flexibility, and inexpensiveness of 2D barcodes makes their application to education extremely diverse.

In the future, expect to see educators accopanying printed notes with automatically generated 2D barcodes on each page, linking to electronic versions available via students’ smartphones.

Expect to see 2D barcodes attached to “real life” teaching and learning realia, such as plants in a nursery (for example). A learner could find out more information about any tagged object, just by using their mobile phone to capture the Code, and either directly accessing the data stored in the code, or being directed to a URL (which could contain multiple links to related resources, including images, articles, and video).

(Click image for larger version – excepted from Low & O’Connell 2006, “Learner-Centric Design of Digital Mobile Learning“)

Expect to see learners sharing information with each other using QR Codes to encode, exchange, and store data – saving learners the trouble of manually and laboriously inputting text using mobile phone keypads.

Expect QR Codes to provide an instant context for information, so that a learner’s interactions and learning can be guided by their current situation or context, such as in this example of a tag that might one day be attached to the Sydney Harbour Bridge:

There are already a number of online tools for creating 2D Barcode enabled mobile websites, such as WinkSite… and a lot of online generators for creating your own 2D Barcodes for other sites of your choice.

I’m aware of just a few educators who are trying out 2D barcodes, but the true potential of this technology won’t be accomplished until we can get the attention of telecommunications providers – to have decoding software installed in Australian camera phones by default, as it is in Japan. I have previously tried to telephone and email Optus, Telstra, a number of other providers and industry groups including the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association and the Australian Consumers’ Telecommunication Network, but it’s been a struggle to convey to them the applications of this particular technology.

Still… Now that Microsoft are in on the game, we may see advances made in the deployment of 2D barcode technology software, even without the participation of telecommunications organisations. I’m certainly looking forward to a more connected future of learning!

technorati tags:2dbarcode, barcode, qrcode, qr-code, qr code, mobile learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, m-learning, mlearning, education, pedagogy, mobile, carnivalofthemobilists, 2d, 2d barcode, microsoft, live barcode, windows, live, situated, mlearn, mlearn2006, mlearn 2006, 2006

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So this mobile learning thing (you know, getting learners out of the classroom/computer lab and learning in the *real world*) is all very well… but when it comes to mobile teaching, sometimes it’s a bit inconvenient not having a board to scribble on or to quickly share information.

So for those of you who haven’t heard, I thought I’d share with you this nifty gadget, an LED-based, battery operated SVGA (800×600) light projector, from Toshiba. It fits in the palm of your hand and can operate for two hours without a power source, casting an image from 11″ to 68″ (measured diagonally).

Couple that mobility with the TV-out capability in many current mobile phones (such as my previous Samsung SGH-D600 (shown below, left), or my replacement Samsung SGH-D900), or add a video-out Compact Flash card to your PDA (shown below, right) and you have yourself a portable, multi-user, information-and-data-sharing tool.

Not only can a portable screen like this be used for presentations, or for recreating an electronic “whiteboard” for brainstorming ideas in electronic form… but it could be used to provide a mass-information-sharing platform through the use of QR Codes.  Imagine if the image on the projected screen was a QR Code, containing a URL link to a page of learning resources.  A whole group of learners could then use the QR Code to capture the URL instantaneously, without waiting for each other, and bookmark it for later reference.

Alternatively, a portable presentation screen like this could be used to display an Elluminate (interactive online classroom) session to a group of learners participating mobile-ly or wirelessly.  It could act as a central reference copy of a collaborative resource, continuously updating to display the evolution of that resource as learners contribute to it in real time.

Quite apart from group situations, a projector like this could also liberate an individual user from the frustrations of the tiny PDA or mobile-phone screen to something as large and viewable as a desktop screen – for example, how about a folding Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, interfacing with a PDA, throwing up a nice, big, desktop-screen sized image?

Finally… did I mention that it’s quite cheap compared with other video projectors?  Whereas most video projectors cost thousands, this one is advertised on the Toshiba site with an RRP of US$699 – expect to find this price further discounted elsewhere – and its LED lasts much longer than conventional, expensive projector lightbulbs (an astonishing 10,000 hours).

technorati tags:projector, toshiba, TDP-FF1AU, led, m-learning, mobilelearning, mlearning, mobile-learning, qrcode, qr-code

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Kaywa have just released a new beta service that sydicates RSS feeds to
mobile devices and makes then accessible via a QR-Code. Feed2Mobile
generates a unique QR-Code and even a preview of the RSS feed in its
mobile format. Here’s the generated results for this blog’s RSS feed, which I’ll also add to the Mobile page of this blog site.

20218134

technorati tags:RSS, 2dbarcode, qrcode, qr-code, mlearning, m-learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, clcommunity, networkedlearning, flexiblelearning

Blogged with Flock

From M-Learning World, in the footsteps of my previous post on “Why M-Learning is Cheap“, a series of posts on cheap and easy m-learning:

• How to create rapid and cheap mobile learning – text messaging provides advice on using SMS as a learning tool, such as message size, interactivity, and tracking; and provides example learning activities that capitalise on the strengths of text messaging.
• 20 Ideas: Getting students to use their mobile phones as learning tools refers to a blog post by Doug Belshaw, who regularly blogs on the use of mobile technology in primary school classrooms. Ideas include learning slideshows for mobile phones and iPods, educational blogging, podcasting and audio, and file sharing using Bluetooth. Best and happiest of all, Doug has caught on to the potential of QR Codes, via Ewan McIntosh’s blog which followed on from my original post on the potential of QR Codes in education – it seems the word is spreading.
• Finally, a blog post on one organisation who actually saved money by choosing an m-learning approach over a more “traditional” one, using iPods instead of binders to organise and disseminate learning materials.

technorati tags:mlearning, m-learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, cheap, easy, education, flexiblelearning, flexible-learning, iPod, cellphone, clcommunity

Blogged with Flock

It seems that Western countries are finally catching on to 2D Barcodes (which can be read with ordinary camera phones to access digital data – for example, point a learner at a URL with learning resources for a real-life context or situation). However, unlike Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China, who all favour the QR-Code symbology, Western countries seem to be deploying applications that use the DataMatrix barcode format.

Yesterday, my colleague Colin published this article on our department’s blog, which highlights a service based in the USA called SmartPox – which is more focussed on pop culture as a market for their DataMatrix tags. And today I received Newsletter #2 from MobileTag, a European company focussing on mainstream channels such as the Yellow Pages and information directories as places to deploy DataMatrix codes.

For Australia to catch up with Japan, however (over 80% of Japanese mobile phones have built-in 2D Barcode readers), we need to get the major mobile phone carriers on board to decide a standard for Australia, and incorporate software seamlessly into Australian handsets. Only then will 2D barcodes really take off as a realistic conduit to use mobile data services, and learning materials.

technorati tags:datamatrix, qrcode, qr-code, 2dbarcode, 2d-barcode, m-learning, mlearning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, cellphone, clcommunity, talo, networkedlearning, ednamobilelearning, edna, mobiletag, smartpox

Blogged with Flock

I just located an extension for PC-based Firefox browsers that allows automatic generation of a QR Code for the current URL. Here’s a screenshot of the extension in action, integrated with my Flock browser:

Mousing over the word “Barcode” in the bottom right of the browser brings up the page’s QR Code. This allows a QR Code – capable mobile device to “grab” the URL straight off the PC screen for later mobile viewing – like a mobile scrapbook of sites.  I only wish there was an easy way to save the QR Code (e.g. rightclick-and-copy) to paste into other applications on the PC!

A useful review of various 2D Barcode formats is also available on the developer’s personal blog.

technorati tags:2dbarcode, qrcode, m-learning, mobile-learning, mlearning, mobilelearning, firefox, extension

Blogged with Flock