MLearning is a topic I have been interested in because many students carry around cellphones, particularly smartphones. Recently, I have been able to use mLearning during my own learning experiences in the MET program. As an end user, I was able to participate in the discussion forums using my phone. I was able to use the Safari website to access VISTA. The format was the same as if I accessed it on a computer. The main difference was the screen size and the need to continually zoom into the page. This made the process a bit frustrating, along with having to type each letter into a long discussion post. If we compare it to using a computer, the process is not as efficient. However, the smartphone serves its purpose and mLearning is still achieved. The benefit is that I can access VISTA and the discussion boards wherever I go, which is one characteristic that sets the phone apart from the computer. Overall, I would continue to access end learning activities with the phone, but only if a computer was not available.
As a course designer, I found that I was still able to use mobile devices to design pages. While I was working on the Moodle Quiz assignment, I lost Internet connection and could not access my Moodle site. Fortunately, I was able to use my phone and the 3G Network to access the site to design my quiz. I had no trouble with using the site, and it was just like designing on my computer. The only difficulty was the same difficulty I experienced as an end user and having to navigate with a small screen. A neat application I found is called mTouch which creates the Moodle experience for mLearners. The cost of it is $2.99, but I can see these applications gain in popularity. This could mean a raise in price in the future, but also a rise in Open Software developments.
The ease-of-use and availability are the strengths of mLearning. Especially with the growing trend of mobile devices, like smartphones and technologies like iPads, mLearning has become even more convenient than the laptop. Learning has now become available everywhere and anywhere. According to Cochrane & Bateman (2010), mLearning explores innovative teaching and learning practices, enables authentic and student-centred learning, engages students with the affordances of Web 2.0 (e.g. connectivity, mobility, social networking, and vodcasting), and bridges the “digital divide” by using tools and contexts that are affordable and increasingly owned by students. Here, any space becomes a potential learning space for students.
Cochrane, T., and Bateman, R. (2010) Smartphones give you wings: Pedagogical affordances of mobile Web 2.0. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 26 (1), 1-14.
Did you try any of the Moodle apps–you found it, but did you try it? 🙂
Most of the ones I found required some sort of payment or was in another language. I tried one called “Moodle Moot UK 2011 Conference mobile application”, but it required me to sign up as an attendee to the conference. I’ll try to find some more free Moodle apps.