Handheld Learning - learning with mobile and ubiquitous technologies

Things are a bit quiet on the forum, so heres another news item about some future hardware...
http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,1522,,00.html?orig=/770
Not due till later this year ,but an interesting set of supplied applications
Applications (in 2005 software edition)
    * Web Browser
    * Flash Player version 6
    * Email Client
    * Internet Radio
    * News Reader
    * Media players, Image viewer
    * PDF viewer
    * File Manager
    * Search
    * Calculator
    * World Clock
    * Notes
    * Sketch
    * Games

Our belief, at least in the corporate learning/mlearning market, is that a Linux-based thin client is actually better suited for JIT learning/information delivery than the traditional PDA.  The N770 is small, should be priced at a very reasonable level (understood to be under US$350/unit) and can be configured as a special purpose/single purpose learning appliance by systems integrators and developers via the Maemo development environment.  This makes it easy for companies to configure and distribute devices that are ready to deliver training anyplace/anytime, that are essentially virus proof (easily reflashed back to a starting point), that can't be reconfigured and that can't be bloated out with other non-core applications or user-installed utilities.  It serves its intended purpose first and foremost.  The added benefit that the N770 device is switchable from WiFi to cellular (GPRS) via a Bluetooth connection makes it useful in more places too.

For content developers, the big draw is the display.  While not fully SVGA, the 800x480 display, standards compliant Opera browser and support for Flash mean learning content build for most e-learning environments displays without refactoring on the N770 in landscape mode vs. a standard PDA's 240x320 portrait display.

Of course, the first generation release or two of the N770 will ferret out its early flaws and hopefully they will be addressed in short order.

My two cents worth.

Robert ;>)

Hi Juhana

Welcome to the Forum

I've been using a 770 and I'm impressed by its simplicity and ease of use. Unlike many handheld devices connecting to wireless networks and the Internet with the 770 is a snap. The Opera browser and Flash compatibility also mean that it's a very good web-browsing tool.

In my opinion things that would make it better for use within a learning environment would include the following:

- a camera and media editing facility (like those found on the Nokia N90 series)
- compatibility with Flash 7 or better (a lot of sites require this version for video, etc)
- GPS (for location based software such as G.I.S. applications)
- longer battery life (ideally 8 hours on a single charge)

And, of course, some great applications and content!

Hope this helps

Graham

If only it had a GSM (gprs/3G) connection. I am desperate to find a device like this that will allow for internet connection away from a wireless environment. A good pda with a large screen and 3G/gprs connection seems impossible to find. Most of the mobile phone providers seem to be stopping the jasjar (the only larges screen 'connected' pda that I know of). I think its such a missed opportunity to bring these devices into schools and then exclude a whole group of pupils from using them at home due to lack of internet connection.
I am beginning to think that it would be better to pay for the pupils to have a wireless broadband connection at home rather that waste money on devices that are only useful at school.

Just to add a little bit to the issue of the 770 not having a cellular radio of some sort... Because it has bluetooth this really isn't an issue at all.  I like to have a fairly small mobile phone most of the time, and am not too keen on having something the size of a Treo in my pocket all day.  However, if I need to do more than send a short SMS message, I can pull out my 770 and have an OK sized web browser and better text entry than t9 on a phone dial pad.  If I'm in a location with WiFi the 770 will connect with that, but if not it will just use my phone and I'm connected with edge or gprs depending on where I am.

It's a great solution for where things are with wireless data access as of today.

How that translates into use in schools could be more complicated with content blocking requirements and other political issues that come up.