Handheld Learning - learning with mobile and ubiquitous technologies

Well done DW - it's good to know that persistence, commitment and dedicated leadership can get personal rewards on top of the satisfaction (and frustrations!) of the project.

David

I'd be interested to hear from anyone about students authoring materials of their own on the Nokia tablet - tell us what they can do and what it's limitations are, please.

Pocket slides has been at least as important on the Windows Mobile platform as Powerpoint on big Windows - but while the latter is easy to use the former is very clunky. It does though at least allow for multi-media materials to be created on their personal devices.

David

I have some reservations about Windows (!) on these things - if you'd like to see them I've just posted some thoughts here:
http://www.handheldlearning.co.uk/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,58/topic,1305.0

Responses welcome.

David Perry

I'm going to ignore Pam's reference to phones/Sims for the moment and piggyback on her neglected posting to show the world some draft paragraphs from a paper I'm drafting for a client LA currently. Pam - you might find this of interest. Others - I'd love some responses to what I's saying below, knowing that my positions draw from direct experience with a lot of schools.
ALL COMMENTS WELCOME:

Are we getting the right devices?
This question is asked in the context of emerging products in a rapidly changing market. The last year has seen a wave of new products at various price levels with varying levels of functionality. Some do include such as high-quality cameras with video that have been shown to lead in transforming learning practice, some are light and very portable, a few will fit in the pocket though many will not.

To my knowledge, only two small-scale computing devices have been produced specifically for school use and both were ill-fated, though for different reasons: the Apple eMate of 199? And the Fujitsu-Siemens EDA (Educational Digital Assistant). The eMate was ahead of its time, launched before its technology was mature enough and the EDA was behind the times, overtaken by more exciting devices from other manufacturers (notably HTC) and apparently lacking adequate robustness.

The T-Mobile Ameo (or HTC Advantage) has proved somewhat more robust than the Loox in year one of the project and has shown the advantage of 3G data connectivity as well as some of its pitfalls (Internet filtering problems, frustration at crippled telephony/SMS etc). 3G has to a substantial extent ameliorated the difficulties in achieving reliable and widespread enough wireless connectivity to school networks and added the enormous potential of out-of-school internet access.

However, the Ameo is not a pocket device and it relies on an operating system that will probably never provide what education needs.

The operating system burden
Part of the reason for limited take-up and the time it takes to gain users’ confidence, is the clumsiness of the Microsoft PocketPC/Windows Mobile operating system. Even inventive, dedicated applications developers find themselves unable to get past this to produce programs which are remotely user-friendly. Witness the clunky Pocket Slides application – utterly tortuous in comparison to its PC sibling Powerpoint or Apple Mac’s Keynote. And yet, the ability to author in multi-media is absolutely key to these devices transforming learning.

The Asus eeePC has received a very positive reception in education but has taken some time to come through in numbers so we are not yet ready to evaluate it properly. In one incarnation it has a lightweight and potentially cost-sustainable operating system that is very friendly for widespread application development. We can expect to see far more school-specific applications coming through built on Linux if this model is bought for schools in the numbers that seem likely. There is now a Windows version coming through which in my view is a nonsense but represents the power of the huge legacy of embedded skill in the technician and teacher workforces. Windows adds the bloat that Microsoft is notorious for, upping the specification, cost, weight and complexity of the eeePC.

Other manufacturers are jumping on the eeePC bandwagon rapidly and more such devices are appearing almost weekly. What they have in common is:
•   Bag-size not pocket-size
•   Light weight
•   Low cost (around £200 to the Ameo’s £600)
•   WiFi but no other connectivity (though 3G is a simple if costly and managerially complex addition)
•   No touch-screen, so less intuitive
•   Low grade cameras facing the user – the webcam model rather than a multi-media authoring component
•   Modest battery life

The other alternative product group is the so-called UMPCs (Ultra-mobile Personal Computers). These mostly have touch-screen technology using the Tablet version of Windows and their main problems are higher cost and short battery life. However, some are far more innovative in their mode of use than the cut-down laptop that the eeePC represents.

Other devices can be expected to emerge and perhaps one of them soon will be nearly right for schools. Critical criteria in my view include:
•   A high-quality stills camera (3MP plus)
•   A reasonable quality video camera (MPEG4) preferably with some optical zoom
•   Battery life adequate to give effectively all-school-day use (ie not in continuously use for  six hours but usable on-and-off over that timescale)
•   Standard (USB) charger connections and (5v) current requirements for versatility
•   At least one ‘killer application’ for staff, preferably integrated into the school’s IMS
•   Several such applications for students, primarily for multi-media authoring

David Perry
david perry associates ltd

I found the Bristol Uni report bland at first but in fact, it's pithy and dense. No doubt when a full report is developed next year some of the huge issues buried under short one-liners at the moment will have been opened up. I've been working with the Bristol schools concurrently with the BU researchers and have topped-up my insights into a range of the handheld activities in Wolverhampton this summer with visits to a range of schools from nursery through infant and junior to secondary and special schools.

Many of the issues flagged up by Angela's report can be found already logged in my reports on Wolverhampton such as the one Graham quotes. However, in the Bristol secondaries, with older students, some wider cultural issues are emerging, sometimes buried under simpler ones on the surface.

For example:
"When all pupils in a class have their devices with them, the learning benefits are optimised."

So why don't the kids bring their handhelds to lessons? I'm currently really interested in the attitudes of 15-16 yr olds to this star-spangled gift they've been given that we thought would a) excite them and b) serve their needs so well. By contrast, I've been talking to kids who are totally casual towards technologies in a most negative way. Easy-come, easy-go is one manifested attitude. "My iPod's better for music." "We've got two laptops at home, one's mine and I've got a desktop so this PDA isn't much use." Some have got small techno devices coming out of their ears! However . . .

Don't your parents care about you not using your handheld when they're paying for it?
Naah...

Mine broke and I ain't getting it mended.

Many of them have camera equipped phones but can't be bothered to keep the photos - they just show them to their friends, have a laugh and delete them if their memory gets full, or change their phone! They might download tunes onto their iPod but don't go any further with exploiting the devices potential. It's perhaps the preserve of a few nerds and the flash thirty-somethings to get their small devices interacting - playing their iPod through an FM transmitter on their car radio; uploading not just downloading on their smartphone etc etc. Or are these key technology skills that schools should be teaching?

Any sociologists out there interested in kids' changing attitudes to an over-abundance of technologies?!

David

New product from yahoo here:

http://uk.mobile.yahoo.com/go

Comments from anyone trying it out would be useful.

David Perry

I see the screen is quoted as having "300 nit brightness". I don't understand these things - does that mean 300 kids can view it at once?

David

Leonard adds some interesting insights into the SX-Gen's capabilities and of course, it's up to us as educators to prioritise and exploit these. Most of us will be glad that "sharing between learners in a socially constructivist pedagogical context" can happen - though I'd be content if students just talked to each other about what they're doing ;-)

Blackthing links us to another useful analysis but one that's too hung up IMHO on the limitations of Windows Mobile - though if the price quoted translates into £1400 in the UK as we'd expect the thing will be dead on arrival.

Things like price and battery life are utterly critical to schools - much more so than functionality even - so there I go prioritising. However, one aspect of functionality I'd applaud in this device is the array of ports. Silicon keyboards can be attached to the Loox 720's USB port for under £10 making USB a real gift on that particular PDA. I've just woken up to the USB, RJ45 Ethernet as well as Infra-Red and SD card slots on the SX-Gen which take this one's networking capability beyond the commonplace.

The best thing about this is that the mobile market is hotting-up again. One day someone will get the right device - and if this is timed for the point when the market matures (probably 2-3 yrs away) they could make some money. And others of us could do even more important things like light-up some kids' lives.

David

OK so this is a PDA not a UMPC - isn't it irritating when you get reams of marketing puff and then find that a trawl through the specification is necessary to find what's really on offer?!

Anyways, hardware is important despite Petra's valid points. Secondary students currently suffer a curriculum that puts an enormous emphasis on text and the Bristol project's experience so far has shown that students really need keyboard input. One of the schools is buying a batch of soft roll-up keyboards that the Loox 720 will connect to through the supplied USB socket - we'll see how good they are in practice soon.

This S-XGen is interesting to me despite the misleading marketing mainly because of the keyboard which looks to be implemented well and also because it has a camera, though only a 1.3 megapixel one. Whether the fact that it also has GSM phone capability is an advantage or disadvantage depends on your perspective.

I'm convinced that a built-in camera is a necessity for student handhelds. There's something about having a camera with both still and video capability that really fires the imagination of both teachers and taught. For example, in one of the Bristol secondary schools three teachers have recently started to innovation with PDAs off their own bat - and all three involved using the camera, for process recording in two cases (art and performing arts) and thirdly for recording aspects of the school environment for annotation and comment.

Also key to this is the full integration of the camera with all other PDA functions - a separate camera, though possibly of higher resolution and cheap - just doesn't measure up. And the slot-in type on CF cards are a) not constantly with you, b) not going to be supplied to all students and c) going to get broken as they stick out and are vulnerable.

So - without having seen one, I give the S-XGen a tentative welcome.

It seems the small-scale computing market is hotting up again. Here's another from HTC being marketed by T-Mobile:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/26/t-mobile_announces_ameo/

Note the postscript about a 7inch screen soon - same size as the nice little Psion Series 7/netBook that disappeared a while ago. When Lambeth Y6 children were using this it proved to be a very suitable size for them, easy to carry in hand or bag and big enough for some 'real' uses that PDAs aren't up to.

But you won't want to put one in your pocket . . .

Does anyone know of software (cf net nanny) to protect children using mobile phones for internet access?

David Perry

Di

Welcome to the forum - I'd got word that you were doing this study ;-).

I hope you'll keep us informed as your report develops, I look forward to seeing it.

In response to your question, it would be worth looking at the recent Becta publication 'Emerging technologies for learning' especially Geof Stead's bit. I like the idea of e-modules (my name for them) which take care of discrete tasks (eg comunicationg with the web, taking phots, emailing etc) all of which interact seamlessly. Then we could take with us the ones we needed depending on what we're doing. And the whole thing combined wouldn't be too big unless you opted to take  a large screen or keyboard with you, for example.

If anyone knew what the future killer handheld device would be they'd be busy getting rich but at least we're now learning what nonsense looks like, eg we could be carrying a digital camera in our laptop (eg Sony), PDA, phone and MP3 player. Some people already are. But the evidence is that eg phone camera photos don't usually get carried forward for posterity because most users don't know how to do more than email them to a friend's phone.

The Wolverhampton project suggests that children/learners having a still/video camera is really important to chaging learning approaches and pedagogy, but almost all manufacturers have dropped them from their PDAs. This indicates a need for people like you to report to makers what the education market needs.

Good luck

David Perry

If the TDA are talking about teachers' use of PDAs then I have, in part, to agree. I know I don't use my PDA for the sort of serious jobs I do nowadays that are my nearest equivalent to planning lessons and schemes of work. I need a big screen for that, partly because I think quite graphically, even when writing a page of text.

Teachers need to use applications that are subject-specific and not available, and in many cases not suitable for, handheld devices. Have you tried working your way through a multi-sheet Excel spreadsheet with a lot of data in it on a PDA. It's diabolical. Could a D&T teacher work on Pro/DESKTOP CAD on a PDA size screen? Of course not.

However, I wouldn't be without my PDA if it's only for the most basic PIM functions where it's critical to my work and life and I am absolutely convinced that there are a number of school-specific apps waiting to be developed to go alongside registration and photo records of achievement that will expand the utility of handhelds for teachers . Also, of course, working with Dave Whyley & Co in Wolverhampton I'm quite clear about the value of PDAs to children where they are eclipsing the value of lap/desktops if only in being constantly and instantly available. Then there's all the other learning-appropriate apps: dedicated (eg Espresso Learning Pathwyas), web-accessed (eg Grid Club) and generic (eg PWord, Sound Recorder or video).

But let's not confuse the teacher's role with the pupil's. At the present state of development I cannot imagine a teacher being able to work without regular access to a lap- or desktop. Though I know of a lot of London teachers who never carry their laptop between school and home. They travel on buses, bikes or the tube and find a combination of home machine, USB stick and school network terminal suits them better.

I'm sure some teachers would find a PDA fitting well into this scenario, better than the USB stick by far. But the moral of this story is 'horses for courses' - we need to differentiate between people's needs in everything and each should be able to find their own most suitable ICT solution. However, the idea that a teacher could manage without a lap- or desktop and do everything they need on a handheld seems silly to me.

But then I've always been a professional at winding people up ;-)

David Perry

The guy who wrote it tells me ;-) that the Becta booklet pays attention to each of your three headings umarfarooqali but it's a bit light on the learning end of things.

My latest report on the Wolverhampton project looks at this in much more detail here:
http://wgfl.wolverhampton.gov.uk/PDASite/index.html

This is a large file on an apparently slow server so can be a problem to download even over a broadband connection. If you have trouble send me a message and I'll email a lighter version to you.

Good luck

David Perry

I guess the four things that are emerging from the Wolverhampton project as essentials for transforming learning through anytime/anywhere ICT access are (in this order):

Long battery life
Instant on
Pocketability
Cost

Looks like Origami fails on only four of these. I see its future, if it has one, as a media player without the operating system being booted (what does XP cost?).

As I said in my Naace presentation at Torquay, I wish I'd got a photo of the guy I saw on London Bridge station trying to keep his briefcase safe under one arm whilst booting up his laptop with it resting on one knee - foot up on a low railing - one hand holding the laptop the other switching it on. He was probably just looking for a phone number that he didn't have on his mobile ;-)

Could he have got an Origami out of his pocket, switched it on, booted in an instant, fired up the right app and scrolled to the phone number all with one hand? I can with my PDA.

David Perry