What does mobile offer?
Mobiles offer unique affordances. What is an “affordance”? It’s the ability to perform an action: while GPS may be a feature of a phone, the affordance is the ability to determine the current location and navigate to another one (Belshaw, 2011). Belshaw offers the following as affordances of mobiles:
- Mobility
- Ubiquity
- Accessibility
- Connectivity
- Context sensitivity
- Individuality
- Creativity
The affordances represent the unique potentials of mobile for learning ventures. A market analysis should consider how the unique affordances of mobile address learning problems in a compelling new way.
How is m-learning unique?
How is mobile learning different from other kinds of learning? Take a look at the following table based on Traxler (2009).
- How do the unique characteristics of mobile learning characterize the mobile learning marketplace?
- What kinds of learners would you target? How would you design and deliver content differently than for other types of learning?
Koole (2009) suggests that mobile learners face “noise”, or an overwhelming amount of information. Instead of the instructor focusing on what must be learned with which resources, Koole urges instructors to help learners navigate the information available to them and evaluate its importance and relevance for a given situation.
- Learners already have mobile habits: checking Google, Wikipedia, and other sources on the web. As part of a learning venture, how would you help learners filter the information they use already?
Traditional Learning |
Mobile Learning |
formal and sedentary | informal, personal
noisy (subject to interruptions) authentic, contextual, situated data capturing, location aware, collaborative spontaneous, opportunistic, bite-sized travelling, hands-free, eyes-free |
focused on “possessing” information | focused on “finding” information |
content provided “just-in-case” learner might need it | content provided “just- in-time, just enough, and just-for-me.” |
learner plans to carry a device for a particular purpose and amount of time | learner always carries their mobile by habit |
What makes a good m-learning device?
There are many kinds of mobile devices. Even concentrating on mobile phones, you still have many form factors, operating systems, displays and input types to choose from. How do you evaluate your choices?
Koole (2009) proposes a framework to evaluate mobile devices for learning, stating the successful devices successfully balance the device, the learner, and social context:
- Devices must allow learners to focus on thinking tasks without distraction by being portable, responsive, unlikely to fail, and offering easily used inputs and displays. Interfaces should be simple to use, exploit easily-grasped metaphors, and allow the learner to concentrate on their learning task, not the device.
- Learners must be assisted in using their memories of experiences in the real world, and in applying their learning to authentic problems as they face them. They should be able to interact with content, instructors, and other learners in real communities.
- Sociability must be supported by allowing users to follow social rules, use agreed symbols and languages, focus on interpersonal communication, and receive feedback to see how communication is received. Commonly used systems such as WIFI, cellular, 3G should be supported, as well as collaborative activities such as accessing resources and sharing documents.
Next Steps
- Assignment: Do you have a good m-learning device? Apply Koole’s framework to your own mobile. Would you use your device for m-learning? Why or why not?
- Assignment: Choose two apps from the sample list below (or find your own award-winning apps) and evaluate them with these questions:
- what problem does the app solve?
- what affordances of mobile does the app rely on?
- what are the non-mlearning (competing) methods of teaching the subject?
- how is the app’s mlearning approach more or less compelling than the competing methods? (consider cost, accessibility, learning outcomes)
- what changes are needed to make the mlearning app more widely adopted?
USE IN A UNIVERSITY – CHRISTIAN ABILENE UNIVERSITY
http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/video/videoindex.html
http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/video/year-one.html
http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/video/facultyinterviews201.html
http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/video/year-three.html
Carleton University Ottawa
An app that provides students with convenient access to various resources in the school
http://www.collegemobile.com/development/the-latest-mobilversity-app-carleton-u
JAPAN
http://www.slideshare.net/serkantoto/apac-mobilelearningserkantotofinal
AWARD WINNING LEARNING APPS
2011 Global Mobile Awards for learning
http://www.wsa-mobile.org/winners?field_year_value_many_to_one=All&field_category_value_many_to_one=m-Learning+%26amp%3B+Education
http://www.urbanplanetmobile.com/news/urban-planet-mobile-wins-global-mobile-award”>award
Autism communication performance support app
http://www.graceapp.com/guide-to-grace-app/
This shows video demos of the app
http://www.graceapp.com/media-press/videos
Urban Planet english samples
http://www.urbanplanetmobile.com/products/urban-english/basic
REFERENCE APPS
KIDS
Pearson Language for Kids
AUGMENTED REALITY
http://www.mobile-augmented-reality.com/
This sample includes video of game content
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBG0_jfXt7o
Lots of samples of AR learning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G3H3ImCWlE&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR1btzjMDVQ
SIMPLE BUSINESS EXAMPLES OF MLEARNING
http://www.skill-pill.com/demo.php
LMS ON MLEARNING DEMOS
Blackboard on iPhone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4q_UlHqLHE&feature=related
Blackboard on Android
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd74JXb30QQ
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