Day 1 If we are to narrow m-learning to the context of cellphones as mobile learning devices, I would not consider myself a very active participant. This is for two reasons; I do not consider my device a great m-learning device and second and most relevant reason, it is too expensive. I own a blackberry […]
Continue reading Day 1 & 2 Posted in: Week 11: Mobiles
I think a well designed Apps can be quite useful, but unfortunately I have a Blackberry and there are not a lot of apps available for this device. I had a quick look at the How Stuff Works app as I have often used this site for my teaching, but unfortunately it was not available […]
Continue reading Day 2 – Mobile Apps Posted in: Week 11: Mobiles
I am looking forward to exploring some of the apps you mention Juliana for the BB – My biggest frustration is that my BB is owned by my employer – they monitor my data usage and when I am out of the country I cannot use it unless I am prepared to pay the huge roaming charges…and there is something creepy-feeling knowing that they can check my BB at any time – so my Twitter and Facebook use is only for professional networking just in case! And I do really like my Evernote app since I use it constantly on all of my devices. I will take a look at some of the other apps tonight!
Brenda
I understand the creepiness of the employer watching over you. Truth be told, if you are using a work computer, laptop or mobile device, the employer has the right to monitor your usage, no questions asked. They can monitor all your emails and other communications, so you do need to be aware of this.
Juliana.
Juli,
I would be happy to know when you found out. Do we have to use the apps on the mobile for it to be considered mlearning? or even if it is transferred it is classified as that? What if I bluetooth graphics from my BB to laptop for class; or transfer a few videos, is it still mobile learning?
Everton
There is a debate… some see m-learning as learning using any kind of mobile device regardless of circumstances. Other see m-learning as learning while you’re roaming and depending on devices while you’re out in the world, untethered. Which do you think makes most sense and why?
I personally am not a big user of Apps and I don’t consider it to be the only mode of mLearning. I would say the ability for me to access the Weblogs and Moodle make it more of an mLearning experience for me. My viewpoint is that mLearning is any learning that can be done by using a mobile device. The luxury of this type of learning is that it can happen during anytime.
Future updates that I would like to see with mLearning is having immediate notification of replies to my posts in WebCT. I would like the flexibility of replying to those posts much in the same way as I do with my emails. May be this is ability is already present, I don’t know. As can be seen through my various posts, I am not a huge mLearner. If this capability is already present with WebCT, I would love to hear about it 🙂
Juliana.
Your Blackberry experience exemplifies the issue of multiple platforms… how does a venture choose which platform to focus on? What happens to your learning venture when that platform loses favour in the market? The multinational I spoke with focused on BlackBerry for their pilot… but it seems that they may be looking elsewhere for future projects.
My sense is that many people just don’t want to develop Apps for BB. I don’t know if it is a function of the users or if there are technical issues with the device itself. For instance, if I am typical of most BB users then I wouldn’t get an App unless a) it was useful b) free. I feel that I have already spent enough on my phone and frankly spending more money on Apps wouldn’t be feasible unless it is especially worthwhile. Also I find that many Apps have a tendancy of trying to access different other applciations that they really shouldn’t have to (ie. GPS etc.), which drain battery power.
Juliana.
Hm… that’s an interesting point about not wanting to spend $$ on apps. Are BB apps more expensive than the ones at Apple (a few dollars to $50)?
How does this make you feel about the potential for developing a learning venture and getting paid for it?
I can’t answer that well myself. I don’t have an iPhone and I don’t know many people who have one right now. Most people I know have a BB.
As for your second question, if I have the opportunity to develop a learning venture and get paid to do it, I would be more than happy to do it. In some ways that is why I am in this program and it is one of my interests. I would like to see that the technology and applications that we develop for education get used appropriately. Too many times things have fallen flat because the correct questions were not asked.
To give you an example, I did a survey about my experiences with the BEd program. I can’t remember all the questions that they asked, but I do remember that they didn’t really ask about things that weren’t covered well by the program. I remember giving them an earful about how there should be more emphasis and support on classroom management skills and some other gaps that I experienced.
Juliana.
I use a Blackberry Torch and it is set up well for mLearning in most respects. I don’t need to worry as much about exceeding my data plan because the information is compressed. I can watch YouTube videos without much interruption from pretty much anywhere. Surfing the net is pretty easy. It’s flexible touch screen […]
Continue reading Day 2 – Blackberry Torch Posted in: Week 11: Mobiles
Thanks very much for your post…. great to hear from a smartphone user.
It sounds like your mobile works best for relatively bite-sized information (WebCT/Wordpress posts) but not for a lot of data entry… that makes sense given its affordances. I’m very interested in your Moodle LMS experiences (why do you use Moodle on a mobile…. how does it compare to a desktop experience) and what you see as the real strengths of your device for m-learning…
You don’t talk about your use cases… in what situations do you use your mobile most?
I will be honest in saying that the only reason why I used my BB for Moodle was because it was a class activity where we were to explore mLearning. Otherwise, my learning is done through my laptop because it is easier to type (I’m a touch typer and have difficulty just using my thumbs). Also by using my laptop at home it is quieter and I do have less interruptions.
Currently I use my BB for email mostly. Sometimes I use my browser if I need to get info about something (usually to settle a bet 😉 ) or get info about a restaurant (ie. menu info).
Juliana.
Hello Everyone, My name is Doug Smith and I’m entering my second year into the MET program. I’m a teacher-on-call (ie substitute teacher) in Vancouver, focusing on math science and physics. Prior to teaching I was a mechanical engineer for 15 years. Partly due to my background, I’d like to develop and grow some skills […]
Continue reading Blogging from Vancouver Posted in: Week 01: Introductions
Good luck on your event! I am envious of your ambition in this race! And I would love to hear about your Playbook experience…I am a blackberry user surrounded by iPhones and iPad, but have quite an affinity for the Playbook despite the derision of the Apple users…am I crazy for wanting one over the iPad??
Not crazy at all, especially if you want a mobile device or something that is smaller. Only recommended for people with Blackberry phones though, but that may change in the next few weeks with an OS update. Otherwise, frankly, tablets all seem to behave relatively the same (I’m testing out an HP Touchpad right now). They have decent web browsers, apps for reading books, calendars, etc. Ask anyone with a tablet what apps they use the most, and you’ll see that most people would do okay with any platform.
Hey! Best of luck in the ride, Doug. You’ll be riding right past us 😎 Do you tether your Playbook to your phone’s data plan?
I tether it all the time, the Blackberry Bridge is always connected. I have my email, contacts, calendar synced and can use the internet wherever there is a cell signal. I imagine most/all tablets have equally accessible tether options (I hope!).
Doug,
All the best with your riding adventure. Good luck with your MET course when you return.
Good luck on your race!
Hi Doug, I think we have met in one of the courses I have taken in this programme. I am happy to be in the same class with you. I am mathematics and physics teacher who I think that this programme will help me to be more marketable my profession.
Hi Conroy, you’re right. I think we took 512 together?
I couldn’t find your introduction for a while, then I realized that it was posted under “uncategorized”. I was trying to figure out who “hall” was.
Have a good course!
Hi Doug,
I see our UBC Elearning website in your Playbook pic. Did you open the website using Safari or Internet Explorer? I’ve tried opening the website on my iPhone as I’m always carrying my mobile device with me just like you. It’s very convenient and efficient, isn’t it? I’m also amazed that many places (e.g. mall, retaurant, bank, etc.) offer free WiFi these days.
Nice meeting you and looking forward to working with you. 🙂
Deb
Before you publish your posting, please make sure that you select a category (eg. Introductions) as well as assign some meaningful tags (keywords).
David William Price 8:57 pm on November 18, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks very much for evaluating your BB and reviewing Urban Planet English.
I have to admit I haven’t heard a lot of good things about BB and m-learning. It was the platform chosen by a multinational I spoke with… they created bite-sized learning for their professionals to consume to refresh their memory just before walking into client meetings. That was the key for them – mlearning was performance support, not a lot of reading and not learning things the first time. They didn’t do any kind of assessment on their BB mlearning partly for that reason.
It is possible to do a lot of learning activities without any Internet access… capturing real world audio, images, video for instance to share back with classmates or coworkers to illustrate the issue of learning in the real world. Another possibility is standalone apps that coach learners through doing processes they’ve learned previously and now must do in reality. One example at Christian Abilene University was providing students with a coaching app to facilitate meetings out in the real world. THen they could record data about those meetings and bring it back to class to share and comment and reflect.
You’re right that Urban Planet English doesn’t in itself give the ability to practice… but one thing I’ve seen in reading journal articles about the use of mobiles in the developing world is sharing the mobile in a group of learners… the app may encourage sharing itself, or sharing may simply be something learners do so they can practice what they learn together.
What do you think?