Handheld Learning - learning with mobile and ubiquitous technologies

Jocelyn,
I would agree with you on the screen size issue. It's something that we already found in the Palm Education Pioneer research we did back in 2001-2002, and has resurfaced over and over again. I would think this is an issue that will eventually disappear as the younger generations are coming of age and enter the teaching profession (which actually should already be happening).

This looks very interesting. I'm really wondering how our everyday use of mobiles affects our learning, not just in formal environments but also in informal ones. It also makes you wonder if and how we should/could redefine the term "learning" in general....

Wow, lots of good stuff here! And James, that video is hilarious!

Better late than never, I suppose, so again congratulations to all of the winners, and to Graham for putting on this event!

All,

The Research Center for Educational Technology just published its latest issue of RCETJ (http://www.rcetj.org). While it’s a special issue on multimedia, media convergence, and story telling, there is one article that may be of particular interest to SIGHC members, entitled The iPod Project: A Mobile Mini-Lab. Links to the intro to the issue and the iPod article are below.

Enjoy,
Mark

Vol. 4, no. 2
An Introduction to the RCETJ Special Issue on Multimedia, Media Convergence and Digital Storytelling http://www.rcetj.org/?type=art&id=89831&.

by Gordon J. Murray
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The iPod Project: A Mobile Mini-Lab
by Nikhil Sathe and Jörg Waltje
http://www.rcetj.org/default.aspx?type=art&id=90086

As a model project for innovative and engaging language instruction, the Language Resource Center (LRC) at Ohio University acquired a set of iPods (24 for a full class) equipped with iTalk Recorder Plugins. We loaned these iPods out to language instructors and their students who then used them as completely mobile Mini-Labs for a variety of projects. The students were able to record themselves and other people (e.g. international students, native speakers), practice their speaking and listening skills, keep an oral diary, read into the iPod, or create podcasts while on study abroad – all this in their target language(s). Then, after syncing the iPod with one of the computers in the lab, students were supposed to post their recordings either to the LRC server, to their Blackboard class sites, or to email them directly to their instructor for evaluation or for the whole class to share. With the iPods our students gained additional opportunities to become more actively engaged and independent in their language learning process. This article will report in detail on our project, its transferability to other learning environments, and the feedback we have received from surveying more than 120 students and their instructors about their language-learning habits.

About six months ago, Dr. Tak Wai Chan, a very well-known mobile learning researcher from Taiwan, posted a message to the g1to1 forum (http://www.g1to1.org), entitled "Has the 1:1 Classroom Era Arrived". I got permission to repost it to my blog, with some comments. It's really an interesting account of the last 10 years or so in mobile learning from his point of view and definitely worth a read. Instead of reposting the entire blog post here, let me just point you to:

http://ubiquitousthoughts.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/has-the-11-classroom-era-arrived/

Let me know what you think about all of this, either here or on my blog.
Thanks!

I think this is going to be a great event. If I come up with some brilliant idea I'll definitely give it a try, unless Graham has me doing other conference stuff at that time. I tell you, he's working us steering committee members hard 

Congratulations David, or should I say Doctor Whyley!! 
It was an honor to have you present at the NECC SIGHC forum. You guys have done an awesome job in Wolverhampton. See you next month at HHL!

Mark

Please post your results here once you can share them. I, for one, am very interested in finding out exactly what you found  .

All,
After the successful special issue on Learning While Mobile of RCETJ, we are doing a special issue of blended learning in Spring 2009. I think you'll see once reading the brief definition of blended learning below that there is all kinds of room here for mobile learning topics.

Here is the call (feel free to pass this on or repost):

The Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology provides a multimedia forum for the advancement of scholarly work on the effects of technology on teaching and learning. This online journal seeks to provide unique avenues for the dissemination of knowledge within the field of educational technology consistent with new and emergent pedagogical possibilities.

The Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology (RCETJ) is seeking articles on Blended Learning for a special issue, edited by Karen Swan, to be published in the spring of 2009. Articles to be considered for this special Spring 2009 issue should focus on the integration of face-to-face and online instruction in a planned and pedagogically sound manner, but they may address issues of blended learning from research-based, practical, or theoretical perspectives at any levels of academic and institutional contexts. Articles addressing the use of blending to increase access to education and/or link academic and various real world contexts will be particularly appreciated.

To have your article considered (even if it is presently in progress) you must submit an abstract of at least 500 words (full drafts will, of course, be gratefully accepted) by October 15, 2008 to the editors:

Karen Swan (kswan@kent.edu) & Mark van’t Hooft (mvanthoo@kent.edu)

Please put “submission for RCETJ issue on Blended Learning” in the subject line your email message.

Notifications of acceptance/rejection will be sent out by October 31, 2007. NOTE: Acceptance of the abstract does NOT guarantee that your manuscript will be published. RCETJ is a refereed journal, and as such, all submitted manuscripts are subject to a comprehensive review process.

Final submissions for the online journal articles are expected to include multimedia evidence and sources that might include: images; illustrations; video; sound; animation; simulation; and links to online data and references. For more information please visit www.rcetj.org or contact the editors.

Important dates:

October 15, 2008: Deadline to submit abstracts (250-500 words)

October 31, 2008: Notification of acceptance/rejection of abstract

January 31, 2009: Author deadline for submitting completed manuscript and multimedia files

February 27, 2009: Editor deadline for reviewing papers and returning comments to authors

March 27, 2009: Author deadline for making revisions and submitting final papers and accompanying materials

April 24, 2009: Expected publication date

To learn more about this special issue or RCETJ, please visit www.rcetj.org

Now that's an interesting use of the WiiMote. Any chance you can post some pictures here of what you're doing?

Interesting story, although I hope the use of the DS's will go beyond the brain "training" they are doing with them now. Definitely some potential to expand on this project ....

Hi Tom,
Great to see a fellow countryman on this here forum..... I read your review of the IADIS conference and I wish I could have been there. And by the way, calling Graham "a bit of a rebel" is an understatement ... 

Yep, can't wait to see it, and hopefully participate as well. I think this has to be a conference first ... Awesome idea!

Haven't heard of this one. How is it similar to/different from Google's Open Handset Alliance and Android?(http://code.google.com/android/)