Handheld Learning - learning with mobile and ubiquitous technologies

I remember my first computer - a Commodore Vic 20 - with cartridges or a tape player - my favourite game was mole attack!  I keep finding old games on the internet and showing them to my son, who thinks I must have been crazy to have been entertained by them!

http://www.ovine.net/game_moleattack.php

My experience is with Tablet PCs - kids in Maidstone took them home and brought them into school each day.  There were many more damages than we thought but no thefts in the cluster of 60 I managed for a school year.  Bearing in mind a lot of the kids in question have mobile phones, ipods, PSPs and trainers worth equivalent money and with often more street cred maybe those devices are more likely to be targetted?  Anyway, if you want more detail on the project, I have now moved schools, so maybe try contacting Cornwallis school direct.

urgh, I have just read all the comments on there and now I have a nasty taste in my mouth...

It certainly makes sense to me that the more apps available, the more handsets they sell, but apple might be thinking they don't need that, people will buy the iphone for the same reason they buy the ipod instead of other mp3's - its the 'coolest' - the one with the most street credibility... but the students I teach who understand the technology are turned off by limitations like this.  I'm just turned off by the 2 year contract!
Graham - I will have to get some of my little genius kids to post on this forum instead of just talking to them about it! 

Hi all,
I was talking about the iphone and this thread with a group of techy year 11 students and they wanted to know what you thought of the FIC neo1973 - open source, which they love!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/15/open_phone/
gerry

Wow, this is great Dave, all you could ever need to know about the project in one handy place.  Ta!

11pm on a Friday, I know, I know, I should have a bit more in my life than work!  But here goes, I am going to have a rant.    Humph. I have just spent a miserable few hours marking mock exam papers that could have been done in no time at all in class with my students using their mobiles.  If I had enough time (IF!!!) I could have transferred the questions on to moodle or my school website and created instant feedback so the kids would know immediately what grade they got, and didn't spend all weekend with the wrong answers cemented in their heads.  I know that the students all have their phones (even though they are banned in my school) and I have the expertise needed to set up the electronic marking.  It would save me my evening (and my sanity) and help the students evaluate their learning more efficiently.  It would also stop them from relying on me to provide the 'right' answers. Ahh, that's better.    Anyway, y'all have a nice weekend now!

The kids I teach don't take care of their ipods and phones - the more chipped and cracked they are, the cooler they appear to be - 'look at me, my psp is falling apart, I'm so cool I don't look after my stuff' 

I am trying to encourage my Applied Science pupils to include photographs in their portfolios (paper based, so printed pictures only, boo hiss) and they are very creative in not photographing anything more than hands or feet (or covering faces!)

I thought there would be more teachers at the conference, but it seemed it was more leaders, like headteachers.  I think teachers also need a support network of others like them when they are using new technology.  The teachers I met at the conference are now giving me help and advice about the trivial things that us teachers worry about.  The trouble I have found is how to find other teachers like me to share ideas and moans with!

I spoke to them!  Well, I spoke to Margaret Wright, the QCA Adviser for ICT & e-learning - I am hoping to be involved with them sometime in the future.  I don't know what the solutions are but I am willing to try out new approaches to assessment with my classes.  I hate having to give kids tests that they can't get more than a C on.  Don't mind me, I had a tough day today, year 11 were making sure I earnt my money, they kicked off at the 'assessment' (mock exam) they had period 5.  Oh well, tomorrows another day 

Thank you!      I don't know much about Smart Notebook, I haven't used it on a PDA.  Onenote is good for me and my learners as they don't have to save work, they can write/draw/type, they can click and drag files into it to make a hyperlink to that file, insert pictures and record sound and video into it.  About the interactive whiteboards - the school had enough money for two interactive whiteboards, laptops for all the teachers and data projectors for each lab.  But we worked out that we could get for the same money, tablets for all the staff and data projectors for each lab.  So we use the tablet instead of an interactive whiteboard.

One note for the PDAs - excellent!  When might it be available?  I would love to use PDAs in my school.  I wish I could convince them quicker!

Excellent idea!  Next year, we may be able to log on to the forum and post questions to the panel when they are having their discussions in realt time, eh Graham?

I have a few ideas to possibly try out on Monday from the conference these past two days, like videoing one of my lessons and post it on YouTube and taking pictures of the outside areas of my school to make a virtual nature trail... I'll keep you posted on what happens!