Handheld Learning - learning with mobile and ubiquitous technologies

one more for your research...wildknowledge (www.wildknowledge.co.uk)....we have 4 applications:
1) wildkey  - mobile decision tree app...primarrily used for wildlife id and recording
2) wildform - mobile recording form that can be used to replace any pen & paper exercise
3) wildmap - interactive learning trail program
4) wildimage - interactive diagrams

we have a portal which allows people to share keys,forms,maps and diagrams with one another and allows them to store/share their records
regards
neil (neil@wildknowledge.co.uk)

Hello All....not sure if I will be swamped or pilloried but I have 2 'new' EDAs available for sale...they are the last 2 in our stock and had been reserved for a customer.  However, they want to use the GPS in a heavily wooded area and when I trialed them on location didn't too well in getting a fix....so is anybody intersted in having these 2?...if so drop me an email neil@wildkey.co.uk or call on 01865 250251

Hello Jonathan....GPS and handhelds is what we do at WildKey....coming from a background of GIS and spatial information...the whole ethos of WildKey was born the day some bright spark stuck a GPS and PDA together!....I personally feel that one of the main advantages of mobile learning is the ability to recieve or create info about a particular place.....as such we have 3 applications which may be of interest to you
1) WildKey - decison tree program to help novices identify and record wildlife sightings using GPS
2) WildData - recording form program (you create the form and get the kids to undertake the survey..again can gather spatial info)
3) WildMap - interactive trails that contain Point of Interest with multimedia info (videos, taxt, auio, multichoice q's)

We have use WildKey with special needs no problem and at the end of the month are with Aylesbury College Special needs pupils to undertake 3 examples of the above (they are identifying fruit, undetaking a treasure trail of the college and creating a survey)....next month we are launching our new website which will allow you to subscribe and share content so let me know if you need more info
cheers
Neil

Not sure if picked up on this but Voda have given the mobile web a nice shot in the arm by making  access to the mobile web free to their customers.....as we are shortly going to be launching our new website for downloading interactive keys, forms, maps and images, its nice to have an extra 18m customers being able to acess your stuff for free!

http://www.vodafone.com/start/media_relations/news/local_press_releases/uk_press_releases/2007/unlimited_internet.html

 

Neil

to return to an earlier point by Graham....I think you are totally right and feel that the situation is made worse by an 'all gear no idea' mentality amongst many purchasers...my background is not in ICT so I was rather taken aback when to witness the apparant desire to buy hardware without much thought being spent on what to do with it....I would love to know how many people who bought PDAs/EDAs really experimented with what they could do with them as an educational device...I wager that many barely made it out the box before the next eye candy appeared on the scene (e.g. AUSUS eee)...so as well as a plea for there to be a greater willingness to spend a decent amount on software there also needs to be an increased desire to move away from the gear and start expanding the idea.

Yes...thats right Wolf I did mean educational....must say I am a bit envious on the support side of things....I'd give my right arm not to be sorting out support issues....I guess that as our software is improved/simplified and people become more used to using their phones as educational devices some of the issues will go away...however as it is handheld learning needs a lot of ....handholding
cheers
Neil

crumbs...thats where we have been going wrong!!.....no seriously I think the point for us is that there is not much difference in support levels between an individual and a school, thus the ability to reduce prices per head for volume sales....just to throw something else into the mix....the industry seems to be moving into a subscription model which may enable the LEAs to be satisfied on their 'low price per pupil' measure whilst also supplying developers with sustained revenue...hopefuly this coupled with easier delivery of software over the web will makes things more bearable for organisations such as RedHalo and WildKey... as it stands I don't think there are many profitable mobile software developers out there at present?
Neil

Some good points Graham...I was particularly interested in the £5 limit set by LEA's....this ties in nicely with our current educational pricing policy where we typically charge £250- £400 for a 60 user licence (i.e. £4-£6 per user)...as you say this is a matter of volume which make the economics feasible....on the otherhand when you have the odd individual who wants software posted on an sd card the economics are very different (these customers are always the ones who require loads of support)...having said all this we have a growing number of pensioners on our books who are now getting to grips with handhled learning...it can be painful in support terms but we are too passionate about promoting this type of learning to  say no!
cheers
Neil

Hello Wolf
I agree that its not on the cheap side but we have to consider that the CDROM goes for an equivalent amount and sells well....we are also kind of hemmed in by the fact that the application uses 3500 images which have taken many years to gather (which has a resultant cost)...if the product where to be much cheaper it would not financially viable to produce such an application....I guess this links us nicely to the mobile web...as this takes over as the means by which applications are delivered the days of  loading a storage card/obtaining packaging and posting out to the consumer will pass and allow us to reduce prices accordingly....on another note the application has also enabled us to explore how items can be selected from a list of 1000's which cannot be feasibly done with our 'wildkey' approach...in time we hope to create a simple tool that will enable users to create their own 'filtered databases' so look out for WildFilter!
cheers
Neil

This story appeared in the Independent last week..

http://www.complete-gardens.co.uk/online/online-gardening-news-item.php?id=27

Its about a CD-ROM that enables users to identify plants, work out which plants grow in a garden (based on soil type, aspect etc) and also how to care for their plants....WildKey along with our development partner Adit have given this CD an extra dimension by making a handheld version (wm only at the minute) so you can do your plant id/suitability test out in the garden...we use a 'filtering database' approach that enables users to pick characteriscs to narrow down their selection from 3500 plants to a handful....so if you have a database that you wish to mobilise give us a shout!
Neil

Hello Jonathan
You might want to think about using WildMap (particularily with the GPS enabled Mios but will work on any WM phone)....we have used this before with pupils to record the areas they like about their school....whats good about this is that the information is portrayed as a trail on the handheld...so the information is spatially set out....if the devices have GPS the user can see where they are and access the relevant interest point (if no GPS they can just click on the points as per a digital map)...WildMap allows people to establsh an initial trail of interest points which the pupils can then add to in the field...content includes images, video, audio, weblinks, quizzes etc...any information created in the field can also be converted into a webpage (see www.wildkey.co.uk/heligan/ for a recent example from a training day we undertook) ..we will be using this software with special needs students at Aylesbury as we have built up some experinece in this area...see http://www.educationbusinessuk.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=336&Itemid=3
regards
Neil

Hello Dan
I've just stumbled across the HA project...and it looks very exciting....as Brian mentioned we have been working with him on the Anglo Saxon site to create a hsitorical tour.....WildMap would definelty tick many of the boxes you wish to tick!...drop me a line on 01865 250251 and we can have a chat
regards
Neil 

Hello Phillip
I guess it goes back to the adage of 'horses for courses'.....due to what we do, we at WildKey prefer the handheld option.. our software is designed to capture and create information on the move (wildlife ID, data logging, multimedia trails) so there is an obvious need to be truely mobile....however, for many teachers this is a large leap to make and so a portable device may be a necessary stepping stone before they see the light!....I guess we at WildKey just need to be able to operate on all devices!
cheers
Neil (wildkey.co.uk)

Very true about an actual phone but its just a matter of time....see http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gphone/googles-dream-phone-is-the-real-gphone-318946.php

check this out, things are going to start happening!

 http://www.openhandsetalliance.com
neil