Mobile Learning

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

Lastminute.com and Coolgorilla have made their talking phrasebooks FREE for a limited time (they used to cost £3 each).

These talking phrasebooks are great for learning languages “on the go”… the applications allow you to choose a phrase in English, and your mobile phone then “speaks” the phrase translated into whichever language you’ve selected.

Languages include French, Spanish, German, Portugese, and Greek… with topics including travel, accomodation, shopping and romance.

Use your Nokia or Sony Ericcson phone browser to go to http://www.mobilephrasebooks.com/ to download the phrasebooks you want, directly to your phone.

(via Pocket Picks)

technorati tags:languages, spanish, french, german, portugese, greek, travel, accomodation, shopping, romance, mlearning, m-learning, mobile-learning, mobile learning, LOTE, phrasebook, cellphone, lastminute.com, coolgorilla

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

In my last post, I picked up Dr. Paul Trafford’s idea for a $100 PDA, and he was gracious enough to add his comment:

Your thoughts on a $100 One-PDA-A-Learner are very welcome. Many thanks for picking this up. My musings on OxPDA are now more than 2 years old and since then connectivity has improved a lot, so my wishes should probably be revised.

An affordable Linux-based PDA sounds a good candidate, but brand new equipment always comes at a considerable premium. If it is to work I think it is important to bring in experiences from a broad range of initiatives, each of which can contribute at least some lessons. One project that offered much promise a few years ago was the Simputer, but it didn’t prove as cost-effective as hoped.

I’d be ecstatic to see Paul’s revised thoughts on what a $100 PDA might incorporate today, given advancements in technology in the last two years. I agree with Paul that brand new equipment generally carries abit of a price tag, but this is often the result of manufacturer, wholesale, and retail markups – a hurdle side-stepped by the creators of the OLPC by controlling their own manufacturing and distribution, rather than purchase a marked-up consumer model. Having control over design and manufacturing also meant the OLPC machines could be designed from the ground up to support pedagogical objectives – rather than the usual consumer entertainment or business objectives.

So… what if we could make this thing from scratch, and cut out the mark-ups? What if the project was run as an open-source platform, enabling its hardware and software to be continuously revised and improved by a community of developers? To inspire ideas about what might one day be, I refer to the Chumby project, (which I’ve previously blogged), an open-source handheld computing platform being developed as a from-scratch device with an expected retail cost of under US$150 – I reckon that would put the actual parts and manufacturing cost around $100.

Because it’s an open source project, all of the Chumby hardware schematics and component lists (indeed, even a blueprint of the PCB and assembly drawing) are freely available to their developer community, as well as the Linux-based OS that it runs. The documentation demonstrates that putting together a $100 handheld device from scratch is highly feasible. The Chumby concept certainly isn’t my idea of an ideal handheld learning device; but it does provide some inspiration for a working model of how such a device might be designed, refined, and implemented.

So… what would *you* like to see in an ideal handheld learning device? Ideally, such a question should be answered in pedagogical, rather than technological, terms, with every bit of incorporated technology in the design underpinned by a set of learning objectives or opportunities it facilitates, and justified on a (educational) return-on-investment basis.

technorati tags:chumby, olpc, open source, opal, pda, cellphone, education, edtech, edutech, educational technology, handheld learning, handheldlearning, hardware, schematic, clcommunity, talo, networkedlearning, m-learning, learning, mobile learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, ubiquitous, computing, oxpda, oxford university, flexible learning, e-learning, elearning, flexiblelearning

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

I’ve come across this product called iPoint, which provides a fantastic way to create your own, customised maps, with your own “points of interest” on Windows Mobile devices, which can contain active web links, images, and descriptive text. I’m still playing around with it, but it just might be the most flexible, customisable situated learning software I’ve yet encountered.

Unlike other map services like Google Maps for Mobiles or Smart2Go, iPoint allows you to upload your own maps – which means it can not only be used for outdoor, public settings, but could also be used to mark up the interior plan of a museum or gallery, or even a fictitious or hard-to-reach location (e.g. the surface of the Moon, or the Starship Enterprise).

The maps are loaded onto your Pocket PC and don’t require an internet connection to explore, unless you want to take advantage of the ability of the software to embed clickable web links into your point-of-interest information for each location.

The editing tool for PCs is easy-to-use, and the maps run quickly and seamlessly on my Windows Mobile Smartphone.

Unfortunately, this is not a free product, but for just US$10, it could provide a (relatively) low-cost solution for situated mobile learning approaches, with a very easy-to-use interface for both both editing and accessing information.

I’ll update this post if the vendor, iTravel, is able to provide any information on educational pricing or bulk discounts for schools, and if I’m able to provide a fuller review.

(via SolSie.com)

technorati tags:ipoint, itravel, map, navigation, situated, learning, education, m-learning, mlearning, mobile-learning, mobilelearning, mobile learning, windows mobile, pda, smartphone

If you’re a developer of M-learning resources for Pocket PC/Windows Mobile, and you’d like learners to be able to access your resources over-the-air (without a computer connection), then here’s a useful -and free- product that can help you achieve your goals.

AirWizard allows you to package your mobile learning software or resource(s) and deploy it/them over the air.  Examples of use in learning situations could include

• at a museum or art gallery, where visitors could download and install your location guide or exhibition catalogue to their smart phone, or
• to enable a whole classroom of students to download and install a resource or a set of software.

(via Mobility Site)

technorati tags:airwizard, installer, pocket pc, windows mobile, smartphone, pda, m-learning, mlearning, mobile learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning

I’ve already submitted my research recommendations for Australian Mobile Learning Standards (for which I was selected as Lead Researcher last year), so it’s unfortunate that this article on Mobile 2.0, wasn’t written earlier, as it summarises beautifully some of the considerations that were foremost in my mind when I was writing my recommendations and would have provided some excellent quotes:

Open Applications Leverage Open Standards

…it is important to note that mobile 2.0 applications need to leverage open standards. Applications that sit on top of closed and proprietary protocols and formats are antithetical to the kind of innovation that will be key to the growth of the mobile Web. Establishing open standards around html, CSS and XML has greatly contributed to the growth and success of the medium and to its continued innovation. We are already seeing standards pay off big-time on the mobile platform as well in both the Java/JCP space (where we are finally realizing write-once-run-anywhere) and in the mobile Web.

(via All about Mobile Life)

I’m happy to be able to say that the Australian Standards for Mobile Learning I’ve recommended favour open standards whenever possible. This should (hopefully) encourage and facilitate the development of open and interoperable m-learning applications in years to come.

My recommendations for M-Learning Standards (as well as non-technical “user guides”, co-authored by my colleagues Marg O’Connell and John Smith) are currently being reviewed by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework’s E-Standards Experts Group, the Project Reference Group, and the Vetadata Working Group. It’s a lot of people to please, but I am hopeful that this extensive review process will result in an end product subjected to considerable expert scrutiny, and thereby, of suitable quality.

When the Standards are finally approved, they will be made available via the E-Standards Experts Group website and the Australian Flexible Learning Framework. I’ll also be sure to announce publication on this site.

technorati tags:standards, m-learning, mlearning, mobile learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, open standards, mobile 2.0, web 2.0, mobile, eeg, aflf, clcommunity

Judy Breck at the Golden Swamp blog has drawn my attention to this page on the Adobe website, enabling developers of mobile content to make it available through various mobile phone network and service providers. For m-learning content developers, this is an opportunity to unleash your content for public consumption. As Judy states most insightfully:

Here is a call that should be answered by education if we expect to improve learning in our digital age. There is money to be made as well as ignorance to be diminished by selling mobile content for sciences, history, geography, technologies, literature and the 3 Rs.

I have one m-learning product concept I’ve been working on that I’m particularly keen to release, an immersive and engaging edu-game that has already proven successful on desktop PCs that could easily be adapted to a mobile environment. Now if I can just find some time to build it…

technorati tags:m-learning, mlearning, adobe, flash, lite, mobile learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, education, content, development

I’ve always loved science. All through my education, “Mad Scientist” was up there in my preferred 10 occupations after leaving school. I was a Gold Member of the Double Helix Science Club at the age of 12, and had numerous letters, photos, and competition entries published in the club’s magazine, The Helix. I was lucky – for me, science was made a lot of fun.

The E-Learning Queen blog points out this potential to make learning fun and engaging through video, and in particular, looks at pop-science serials such as Numb3rs and Bones, in which maths and anthropology (respectively) feature extensively in the deeds of derring do. The spate of “Diet Coke and Mentos” videos on YouTube was also highlighted as a potential learning tool; the videos of Bellagio-like fountains and rockets of soft drink were virally shared by tens of millions around the world.

[youtube]hKoB0MHVBvM[/youtube]

Who would have thought that this kind of viral media could actually be used as a means of teaching science? For, as stated on the E-Learning Queen blog,

And yet, if one watches the videos alone, it’s somehow unsatisfying.What’s missing? It’s the explanation. They never say HOW or WHY the reactions happen.

The answers came one night in an unexpected way. The boxed set of DVDs I had ordered had arrived. I was watching Season Two of Numb3rs when the characters in the series re-enacted the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment for an Applied Math course, and accompanied the explosions with an explanation. The answer involves surface tension. It’s about surface tension. There is extreme change upon the sudden introduction of a gum Arabic and gelatin disc into a liquid under pressure (due tothe carbonation), where the only way for gas to escape is through a narrow neck creates a rapid phase change. The way the surface tension changes is explained here.

This experiment, a catalyst for a physical reaction, provides a model for learning content, too. Sites like YouTube become repositories of viral video content that could be used by educators as catalysts for learning. Introducing a topic (such as “Surface Tension”) with a Mentos fountain is one way to engage students in online and mobile learning, and make them keen to understand the why and how.

These little chunks of sweetness can bring about big reactions – from our students.

technorati tags:diet coke, mentos, popular science, double helix, science, club, surface tension, learning, educational, design, m-learning, mlearning, mobile learning, mobile-learning, mobilelearning