Mobile Learning

The MobilED project is one of the most inspiring and interesting of all of the mobile learning projects currently in use around the world.  It’s a partnership between South African and Finnish research and educational organisations, aiming to design “learning environments that are meaningfully enhanced with mobile technologies and services“.

The MobileED team’s latest papers and publications are now available here, addressing issues such as the use of “audio wikis” as well as information on the technical infrastructure being researched and developed by the team to support mobile learning (the MobilED platform).

There’s a wealth of documented and demonstrated experience to help other educators and developers who are involved with implementing mobile learning approaches.  The video case studies on the website are also worth viewing, explaining some of their projects such as the audio encyclopaedia (allowing text-to-speech information from Wikipedia to be accessed using a normal mobile phone), and providing some insight into the actual use of the MobilED kits.

technorati tags:mobiled, m-learning, mlearning, mobile learning, mobile-learning, mobilelearning

“Learner Centric Design of Digital Mobile Learning,” [doc] [pdf] (which I co-authored with my colleague Margaret O’Connell), received the Best Paper Award at Queensland University of Technology’s “Learning on the Move” conference which I attended yesterday (despite a raging flu!).

This paper provides a model for digital mobile learning approaches that are underpinned by sound educational design, developed using a learner-centric activity model of mobile learning, and implemented through best-practice considerations that are informed by our experience of delivering computer-based learning.

Many thanks to my co-author Margaret for her educational design expertise; our peer reviewers, for helping us polish the paper, and the conference organisers, for putting together a fantastic event and recognising our paper amongst so many excellent contributions.

technorati tags:olt, learningonthemove, qut, conference, 2006, flexiblelearning, mlearning, m-learning, mobile-learning, mobilelearning, paper, model, 4r’s, pedagogy, education, clcommunity, networkedlearning

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There’s a great series on creating podcasts being authored at the Pod Pedagogy blog. While the article is written for users of Soundtrack Pro (for Macs only), Part 1 has excellent thoughts on why podcasting can be a Very Good Thing, and good tips for a podcast production setup in general, while Part 2 has more good ideas on recording and optimising podcasts that have general application.

technorati tags:podcast, podcasting, mobilelearning, m-learning, mlearning, ipod, soundtrackpro

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Small portable videos can be an ideal medium for some learning areas.  For example, one of my friends – a professional dance teacher – maintains videos of over 600 dance moves on his video iPod, which allows him to quickly search for and review more moves than anyone can remember on the go.  From my personal experience as a dancer, there is no better way to accurately capture and revise dance moves than video: attempting to record the intricacies of dancing in text (even using a mobile database) is a bit like trying to write down a guitar solo using words. Here, have a look at the dance moves database I created (which is still a great tool, don’t get me wrong) – tell me if a video wouldn’t give you a better idea of how the move goes than the text description I’ve written; or, tell me how you’d convert this routine to text.

I’d imagine that there are other learning contexts where the ability to capture or playback video would be the most advantageous approach.  Video is lifelike; it synchronises sound and action; it can accurately demonstrate a series of complex and inter-dependant steps or a sequence of events.  And using a mobile recording device, video can be relatively easily captured. (You can learn how to capture mobile video optimally here, at MobiFilm Academy).

The ability to recall video as a learning resource while mobile is particularly advantageous for situations where the need to access the learning resource is not likely to be conveniently located near an internet-connected PC.  Dance is a perfect example of such a situation.  We dance socially in nightclubs; we learn dancing in studios; we tend to travel interstate and even overseas a lot to attend workshops and competitions. We never dance near a convenient PC, or drag a laptop out to the nightclubs with us – even a PDA is a bit on the geeky/chunky side.  A mobile phone would be the ideal way to access learning materials in a “cool” environment.

Videos are also a great way to share visually complex information socially – the success of YouTube and Google Video demonstrates the popularity of video as a sharing medium.  With copyright reform in Australia that makes it easier to use Internet materials for education, and strong support for Creative Commons/Copyleft/Public Domain video sharing, video sharing sites are becoming increasingly useful as places to find learning materials – which can be converted into mobile forms using video conversion tools such as Super. 

Here’s an example video from YouTube made by Leigh Blackall that I reckon would be a pretty good mobile learning resource (on making a flat white coffee).  The resource could be accessed by a mobile learner while at a cafe where they are being trained; it has an appropriate amount of visual detail, and demonstrates the timing and interconnectedness of steps in the coffee-making process, and visual aspects such as the final crema.

technorati tags:mobilelearning, mlearning, mobile-learning, video, mobilevideo, education, youtube, googlevideo

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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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A number of models of “mobile learning”, or m-learning identify it as a subset of e-learning, including the main Wikipedia entry on the topic. These models focus on how digital convergence and miniaturisation nowallows us to access electronic resources using small, portable devices such as mobile phones, iPods, and PDAs.

The risk to my mind, however, is that educators may view m-learning through the mindset of the devices with which it is now so strongly associated – what I term a”techno-centric” approach to m-learning. The focus becomes providing learners with PDAs or mobile phones, without an understanding of the learning methodologies and activities these devices enable.

In my opinion, the focus should be on the learning process, rather than the learning platform. This position is supported by the statement “it is the learner who is mobile – not the technology” (a reflective outcome of the European 2004 MobiLearn project, cited: Sharples, M. (2005) Towards a theory of mobile learning http://www.mlearn.org.za/CD/papers/Sharples-%20Theory%20of%20Mobile.pdf)

One way to understand this paradigm is to realise that mobile learning precedes e-learning by over a decade. E-learning became popular following an increase in the affordability of personal computers in the mid-to-late nineties.

A decade earlier (in the mid-eighties), we were

• listening to audiobooks and lecture recordings on our cassette walkmans and car tape players,
• calling up classmates on the phone to ask for help with homework outside of the classroom,
• taking photos of relevant learning experiences, and
• writing in portable reflective and visual journals – albeit on paper.

I posit that these mobile, learning activities (and many others) were no less valid than the “mobile learning” activities enabled by digital devices today.

What the new generation of mobile devices facilitate is more convenient, portable, and immediate access to very similar tools. Given this link between “new” mobile learning and “old” teaching practices, we can use our understanding of best-practice teaching and learning to stimulate and derive powerful ideas for education.

I’d like to explore the idea that practical mobile learning activities can be informed by, and derived from, our understanding of teaching and learning theory, mobile learning activities that have not previously been digitally based, and e-learning standards and practices.

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Originally posted at the EdNa forum, where the topic of the month is m-learning. Other interested educators are invited to join the forum and participate in the discussions on mobile learning.

technorati tags:m-learning, mlearning, mobilelearning, pedagogy, learnercentric, learner-centric

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Source: http://builder.com.com/5100-6371_14-6095452.html?part=rss&subj=bldr

“The principal objective of recently issued working draft guidelines on Mobile Web by the W3C is to improve the user experience of the Web when accessed from mobile devices…This document covers best practices for delivering Web content to mobile devices.”

The article provides a concise summary of the issues associated with mobile web applications (bandwidth, battery life, capabilities, cost, input, memory, processing power and text input), impact of these variables, and principles for delivering quality mobile web content – based on the recently released W3C Candidate Recommendation for Mobile Web Application Development.

technorati tags:guidelines, mlearning, m-learning, mobilelearning, mobileapps, wap, w3c, education, standards

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While co-authoring a white paper for the “Learning On The Move” OLT Conference, I realised that there is, in fact, a “Fourth R” to add to my previous post on the learner-centric “Three R’s of Mobile Learning“.

Without recording or recalling any information, or communicating with others (“relating”), a learner can also use some mobile devices as a means of processing information – transforming it, performing calculations, or organising it in new ways. I’m initially inclinded to give this “fourth R” the mneumonic name “Reinterpret” – obtaining new knowledge from existing information.

Perhaps the simplest example of this “fourth R” is using a calculator: without storing or recalling any information, per se, a calculator can process input data to provide an informative result. Other examples of “reinterpreting” data include: “mining” a database for aggregate data, or using a mobile device to digitally interpret a 2D Barcode or aid or perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on text scanned with a mobile device.

Now, head over to Marg’s blog where she adds some excellent commentary from an instructional design perspective to our exploration of the Four R’s of Net-Generation Learning!

technorati tags:threers, mlearning, mobilelearning, reinterpret, pedagogy, education

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Tech-savvy folks interested in bioinformatics, cyber security, gaming software, visualization technology and other such topics have a new resource for learning on-the-go: podcasts from UNC Charlotte’s College of Information Technology. The podcasts are available from the college’s Web site or through Apple iTunes Music Store; they will likely become available soon through Yahoo!®.

To listen to or download UNC Charlotte College of Information Technology podcasts, go to http://www.coit.uncc.edu/coit_new/podcast/. The programs are also available through iTunes Music Store individually and through a free subscription that will send you current and subsequent podcasts via e-mail.

- extracted from Lincoln Tribune

StudyCell, a company specialising in mobile-phone-based flashcards and formative assessment quizzes, today announced it has surpassed the 10,000 downloads mark.

Their site, at http://www.studycell.com/, allows students to download a number of free “flashcard” games to their mobile phone, which will test them on subjects including several languages, mathematics, and even movie trivia. The quizzes even include “high score” tables so students can track their improvement.

What may particularly interest other educators is that you can even create your own flashcards games, online, for free. Teachers interested in providing fun formative assessments in a mobile format can use the site to develop their own content, which can be downloaded by students, and even shared between them.  If appropriate, teachers could also tell learners about the site to enable learners to create their own content.