Notre Dame launches eReader study, creates first paperless course

�This has become known as the iPad class,� Corey Angst, assistant professor of management at the University of Notre Dame, told his students on their first day of class Aug. 24. �It�s actually not�it�s �Project Management.��

A member of Notre Dame�s ePublishing Working Group, Angst is debuting the University�s first and only class taught using Apple�s new wireless tablet computer to replace traditional textbooks. The course is part of a unique, year-long Notre Dame study of eReaders, and Angst is conducting the first phase using iPads, which just went on sale to the public in April.

Read the full article here-

Rapid Prototyping For Mobile Learning Applications

The Updside Learning Solutions blog has three great articles on rapid prototyping for Mobile Learning applications.

Part 1 covers the initial needs assessments and questions you should ask before beginning.



Part 2 explores the levels of fidelity and how to determine which level works for the mobile application design project.



Part 3 covers what to consider when choosing a prototyping tool.

Mobile Learning: A 4th Reading List

Here are 10 of the more recent articles and blog posts that I have read concerning mobile learning. Links to the other 3 lists can be found at the bottom of this blog post.
1) 5 Steps to Harnessing the Power of Cell Phones in Education Today: This blog post provides 5 ways that teachers can begin using cell phones in their classrooms to help their students learn.
2) 7 Things You Should Know About Mobile Apps for Learning: An article by Educase discussing the value of mobile apps in teaching and learning.
3) Kids More Likely to Own a Cell Phone Than a Book, Study Finds: A ReadWriteWeb article discussing a study on today�s ownership trends.
4) Full Interview: Marie Bjerede on cell phones in the classroom: A podcast episode from CBC�s �Spark�

Read the rest at: http://themobilelearner.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/mobile-learning-a-4th-reading-list/

Featured mLearning Books

The Disadvantages of Mobile Learning (Only 5 years too late)

Once again, we are graced with another article touting the problems with Mobile Learning. eHow gives us "The Disadvantages of Mobile Learning". The main problem with this article, is it is at least five years out of date. Not only could this article have been written five years ago, it is pretty much a re-hash, word-for-word, of many of the same misconceptions.

Let's address some of these myths.

1. Cost- While an end-user does need to have a mobile device of some sort to participate in Mobile Learning, so would a user need to have some time of Web enabled device to participate in most types of eLearning in general. Properly set-up, a mobile learning strategy should not have to require all your participants to buy new devices. One of the first considerations it would take is what type of devices do your users already have. Even if new devices were required, the price ranges presented in this article represent the premium end of the spectrum. A good mobile learning strategy can take advantage of even simple devices that cost little to nothing from most wireless carriers.

2. Size of the Device- This is only a challenge if one incorrectly plans mobile learning content to be nothing more than compressed eLearning. If your users are already using their mobile device that you plan to push learning to, your strategy should be what content do they need in the context of using the device. Add to that, the greatly improved displays, such as the OLED display on the DROID Incredible, and size isn't a detriment any more, but an advantage.

3. Battery Life- The article incorrectly states that the battery life for mobile devices is 2-4 hours. This is further evidence that this article is outdated. Your average smart phone these days has at least 2-3 days of stand-by power and the battery will run 8-10 hours of continuous operation. If a learner needs a continuous learning experience that is mobile and lasts more than several hours, you should probably re-evaluate your mobile learning strategy.

4. Technology- Two major failure points in the article. First is the issue of limited storage capacity. Not even taking into account that common memory chips now can store well over 32GB of data- far beyond the needs of most learning curriculum, this fallacy assumes the learning content would be stored directly on the device versus accessed from a remote server versus streaming. The second error in the article is the limitation because of the different operating systems. While yes, there are some limitations that various mobile operating systems have, such as the iPhone's ability to run Flash content, this is only a limitation for poorly designed mobile learning programs. A good mobile learning strategy takes into account what the learners have and need and designs accordingly. This is much the same challenge eLearning developers face when it comes to just conforming to various IT and security standards of the learners' computers.

5. Usability- Simply watch any 12 year old with a mobile device and you can kiss this limitation goodbye. Again, a good mobile learning strategy takes into account these items before a single piece of content is developed. A good strategy accounts for how users already use their mobile devices and conforms course content to that.

Don't let these challenges deter you from considering a mobile learning strategy for your organization. Remember, it is all about how you develop your strategy that revolves around your user's experience. Mobile Learning is NOT just compressing eLearning down to a smaller form factor.

mLearning and Accessibility

Question of the month. What are your experiences making your mobile learning solutions accessible to people with disabilities?

6 Teachers talk about the iPod Touch and learning

This new paper describes how Australian teachers are using the iPhone and iPod Touch to A. assist them as Educators, and B. to enhance learning. As such, it presents a vital survey of apps and ideas to be shared with other teachers also beginning to use this platform. Thanks to the included Teachers for their keen responses.

6 Educators Talk About iPhone Use High Qual

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Internet & Technolog Research learning iphone

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New Apps on Blackberry Make Online Learning Easy

I've always been a proponent of Blackberries in the mLearning world because I feel it is the choice device of 'road warriors' who would need an mLearning tool. Now, online schools are targeting the Blackberry for courses.

What if someone told you that you can earn a degree from your Blackberry? What if they said that you can study anywhere and anytime to fit it in with your schedule?

With this July�s updates, it will be much easier to take online classes on the go. Google plans to release software to make its email and calendar services work for the Blackberry. Google Apps Connector will allow users to access Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar and Contacts using built-in applications. It also connects to the Google Apps servers and synchronizes email, calendar and contacts.

Why is this helpful for online learners?

Read the rest here..

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mLearning-World Welcomes our Newest Author- Thomas Curtis

(From Thomas)

Hello, I'm Thomas Curtis and this is a little about me and a mini blog post combined.

I'm an e-learning developer at South East Essex College a FE/HE institution located in Essex, United Kingdom

I've worked at a range of Colleges and Academies, all of which pursue e-learning & ICT as a medium to enhance and support the learner experience. My education was interesting to say the least, I barely graduated from School as I had become disaffected with the learning experience, the traditional teaching methods used at that time and struggled with both the learning difficulties of Dyslexia and Dyspraxia.

It was not until I went to College (ironically it is the same institution that I work for now) that reignited both my passion for learning and computing in general. Through hard work & the support of lecturers I managed to secure both a recognised computing qualification, acceptance on a university degree and without sounding too melodramatic forge a new path for myself. I also feel having studied at the same College where I initially studied gives me a unique perspective, enabling me to see both sides of the coin so to speak.

As e-learning & the Internet itself was just getting started as a learning medium when I studied at the College (99-01), teachers and students were just getting used to the Internet as a resource let alone a method to evolve learning. It was as a result of my personal experiences as a student that I decided that once I had completed my Degree that I would try and return to the education sector to 'give something back' for lack of a better cliche, as I had personally benefited from the range of e-learning tools which enabled me to attain a level of education I had initially dismissed as an irrelevance, if not an impossibility.

From the abacus to the mobile phone, technology has always been used with varying degrees of success, at College & University I was introduced to the benefits of word processing, mind mapping, spell check, font and colour manipulation to improve readability and a whole host of other resources and techniques. The tools on offer to today's learner far, far exceed anything I could have dreamed of, case in point; teachers can communicate with Students in an instant, show multiple videos on a interactive whiteboard without having to wheel in a 28 inch CRT, via mobile technology we are providing students with the ability to send/receive course content from anywhere that can connect to the Internet, be that the gym, on holiday or even in bed (now that's personalised learning)!

Enough about history, I should talk about the present, what I do and where I hope to go from here.

In my role as an e-learning professional I develop applications & solutions to support teaching and learning (based primarily on Microsoft ASP.net and related technologies), this can range from simple web forms, event management systems to project managing multimedia recording solutions and full upgrade to lecture theaters. I also Blog about ICT and Twitter with other e-learning colleagues, both inside and out of College about e-learning, what it is and how it can benefit students and teachers.

The future..

I hope to continue blogging and establishing contacts with e-learning providers across the world, one thing that hinders e-learning is standardisation. From playschool, to Junior, to high school to university we all have differing systems, schemas, teaching methods and datasources. We do not teach in English Junior school and then switch to French from College onwards, so why do we do the same when it comes to e-learning? Moodle, BlackBoard, Bespoke software, some training, no training.

E-learning is supposed to make things easier for the learner, so why do we change the game at each step? It is this that I hope to change, perhaps open source is the key, perhaps not either way I'm looking forward to finding out.

- Show quoted text -

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iLearn program launching next year

Friday, April 24, 2009

KILGORE � Some high school students might have more than textbooks to lug to class next year.

School officials in the district of 3,700 students are launching iLearn, a new program aimed at incorporating iPods with daily educational instruction.

Director of Technology Mark Lane said Thursday that teachers will upload curriculum, lectures, study plans and homework assignments to computers at the high school. Students will then download the lessons onto an iPod Touch, where it can be completed at home or on the go.

"We plan to start out with 60 iPods and introduce the program to our math and science classes at the high school. Later in the year, we will introduce it to our English and social studies classes," Lane said.

"By the start of the 2010-11 school year, we hope to have the program started at the middle school and phase it into our other campuses each new school year. The goal is to provide every single student in Kilgore ISD with an iPod." he said.

Lane said the school district estimates it will cost $135,000 to operate the program. He said about $95,000 will come from the school district, while the newly chartered education foundation has pledged funds for the remainder of the project to upgrade and integrate software at the high school, to purchase iPods and to send teachers to training for the project.

Lane said the goal of the program is to give students another resource to grasp educational concepts that some find difficult learning during traditional school instruction. He said school officials hope the new program will raise test scores and overall student achievement.

Kilgore won't be the first East Texas district to use the handheld electronic devices in school.

Hallsville High School students participate in a similar program using iPod Nanos and iPod Touches.

Toni Erickson, assistant technology director for Hallsville schools, said the program has been successful.

"We have added 450 new iPod Touches this year at the high school for math and science classes to continue the program," Erickson said. "So far, so good for us."

Lane is hoping Kilgore schools will experience the same success.

"The community has been so supportive of this project," Lane said. "I think our residents and businesses realize that our economy is changing, and we must prepare our students for it."

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