Handheld Learning - learning with mobile and ubiquitous technologies

Wolfluecker gimme a frickin break! as Dr Evil would say... Here I am stuck in plaster with only the Internet for daytime company and I get the OMG Get my name spelt right brigade on my back! At least your name only gets spelt wrong, invariably I am Simon, Steven or Ste and even when they do get it right I am often Stewart! Even from people who are replying to an email signed with my name!

So spank your inner moppet matey! or whatever it is and so get over it!! LMAO.

Rant done

BTW name spell updated thanks for the proofreading!

Hi

A couple of reports  (one Cisco and the other Nielsen Mobile - http://3sheep.co.uk/2008/07/10/critical-mass-of-mobile-web/ for a blog post on them) suggest that the mobile web has reached its "Critical Mass" (from the Nielsen report). Both the reports are ecommerce focused but I've been pondering what this critical mass means for learning http://anywherelearning.blogspot.com/2008/07/critical-mass-of-mobile-web-for.html, if anything at all.

Obviously I think it does  otherwise why bother with a forum topic LOL but when I am out and about the mobile web still seems to scare education in a way other handheld topics don't, be interested to her other colleagues views and opinions on this on here or the blog.

Stu

Well looks like I will have to spend a little more Linuxing up, but for now I will stick with Xandros as I am put my techie time into other areas.

As we've ventured into the political world of OS' I make the point that I think you also allude to - about locked away data. I almost feel like when reading the point you make about XML and linux that a light was switching on!!

I've never been anti-Microsoft. The proprietary model has some distinct advantages but it's seduction of users who end up locked into systems because of the over-the-top approach of making sure everything only works well with one system is locking the user out of the future development of the Web.

...and that is my problem with the proprietary model. The inability to truly value interoperability as a competitive advantage!

Hi Saku

You can read more about it all here

http://anywherelearning.blogspot.com/2008/02/hairdressing-training-goes-mobile.html

It essentially brings a mobile interface to those aspects of the desktop service that are suitable for mobile delivery.

I've presented on this quite a bit, so have a look at the videocast at
http://anywherelearning.blogspot.com/2008/05/delivering-mobile-learning-video.html

I hope that helps. Access could be arranged but not until the end of July, as we are moving the service to Federated Access.

If you want to know please let me know.

Cheers

Stu

Hi Saku

I designed Hairdressing Training for mobiles, which is a LSC funded national UK resource for students. It is free for subscribing collleges and is the first service of its kind in the UK. Also I have been consulting on a couple of Molenet projects which have been using the service.

So if you are interested in knowing more please do contact me.

Cheers

Stu

I think Xandros is letting itself down on the update side. I tried a bios update and it was a disaster. Had to reset to factory settings.

This is a poor show for the Asus EEE distro, apparently the bios updates are to be avoided.

So now I am only update actually applications rather than the bios or OS.

The bad PR for Asus is that is adds credibility to the argument that Windows is better. I think updates and installs are the area that really holds linux back at the moment. If they can crack that (and it is done the Mac, another 'nix) then we have a real contender.

I am not a Linux expert and didn't get the Asus to become one. So for now I am happy enough.

Let us know how you get on with Ubuntu on the EEE.

Cheers

Stu

There is no doubt from time-to-time that discussions on this forum touch on the use of proprietary and open source software and there are some good points made on both sides. Anyone who follows any of my amblings will know that I have concerns about education, which is largely public funded (in the UK anyway),  being dominated and tied into one or a small number of mega suppliers. I don't want to criticise the products but the situation whereby increasingly educational establishments have shackled their carts so closely to one supplier or even system they are now effectively trapped.

A good example is the Asus EEE, which comes with its own open source operating system. Anyone with a reasonable amount of IT experience should be able to use it 'out of the box' but so many educational establishments are rejecting it unless it has a certain proprietary OS added. The addition of this OS increases the unit cost and thus burden on the tax payer. It is of course a legitimate argument that a new OS will be a 'cost' on the IT systems staff in terms of training but as I stated earlier the EEE is pretty simple out of the box, so anyone who has difficulty with it has IT training problems anyway.

The Web is rapidly moving away for OS dominated systems and increasingly web applications are available on any browser and any OS.  One example is  Google Docs, which gives most of the office functionality you will ever need. There are countless others, most of which are free at a basic level.

Also, increasingly we see a world in which our transactions are dominated by the web. And the web is increasingly dominated by flexible integrated development not monolithic proprietary systems. Those being educated now will have to operate in this new world. So another concern of mine is that students are not being taught the flexibility they need to operate in the 21st Century web world as at the moment it seems to me education is lingering in a land where there is one OS to rule them all... (you know the rest

I am not against proprietary systems. Different systems have different cost and recuperation models. (Maybe another time I'll post about the concerns of the Open Source consultancy model!). But am I concerned that education is too closely tied to one way of doing things and that is bad for the funders (i.e. use the Taxpayers) and bad for the students since they are not learning how to be flexible and adaptable in skills application and boy are they/we all going to need it!

Sticking with Xandros for now but might switch to PuppyEEE at some point.

The reason being in terms of an office on the move Xandros pretty much gives me all I need and I can run Lamp and Python, which is good for development snippets.

I wouldn't put Windows XP on it because it will take up too much battery power, it's entirely unnecessary.

I might move to PuppyEEE when my Linux experience grows and I am really looking for even more efficiency. One of the problems with Xandros is it is too hard for novices to add and remove programs that are outside it's distro. It is probably the biggest weakness of Linux per se and is something that might well hold wider adoption.

Out and about when I need a computing the power the Asus EEE out of the box gives me almost all I need (except a backlight).

I expect the answer is going to vary from forum participant to participant. I've worked on handheld learning in FE, HE and post 14 schoolage.

It depends on what you are doing whether Internet access is an essential criteria in my experience. For example Ipods have no Internet access but are used in lots of projects and the use of MP3 in learning is a very big area we don't really touch on much anymore in this forum.

Also, in terms of connectivity I've worked a lot with mobile connectivity the latest work I've been doing on some of the Molenet projects demonstrates that Wifi is not the only option and mobile connectivity opens up a lot more (cheaper) devices with Internet access for learning. Materials I've created for example work pretty well on 2G phones up.

So no doubt there will be other views. I really think 'what is handheld learning' will depend on your perspective.

However I'll end with this view. I don't think anyone has cracked it yet we still see a lot of emphasis on the devices rather than the learning. Any new technology in it's first implementation tends to mimic it's closest predecessors.  I think Handheld Learning is still in very early days so we need to be flexible and open to new ideas because it's still an undiscovered country!.

OK I am sure everyone has seen this but as I am laid up with a ruptured achilles tendon indulge me!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/k4VwKHrit6s&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/k4VwKHrit6s&rel=0</a>

I am sure it is fake but I reckon it should tried out during a keynote at HHL 08!

I'd go for a geeky maxed mac book pro too!! but got to admit love the weight of the Air but like the Sony Vaios I think it is too expensive for education.

Graham you are right  the mobile phone industry is full of 'unhelpful' practices, which in many cases are unfair and definitely stifling to the uptake of the device in education.

I think the most exciting thing about the Iphone is it has affected the industry fundamentally and although it was not the first to do so, it is the first to be noticed on a large scale to bring some of the functionality normally reserved for business phones on to a consumer phone.

It'll be interesting to see if Nokia's response later this years measures up and of course to see how Android makes an impact.

Here is my problem I want an Iphone, they look great and everyone who has one seems to love it. Until now I used the 2G, poor camera etc. as a good excuse not to get one but thats gone. But I still don't like the way a knife is held to throat with regards to service provision. I am still amazed they can get away with it!

Well like Jont's early post on this thread I worry about the Microsoftisation of education, not because they are bad products but increasingly it is not a level playing field for competition. Large organisations are struggling in the Web 2.0 because innovation outpaces their business practices. The Microsoft and Yahoo failed courtship shows it nicely.

There is no doubt that the various OS's have their champions but for me its about finding the right tool for the job. I use mainly an Apple Mac but out and about the Asus eee does what I need relatively cheaply with the tools I need. It's saddening (and as a taxpayer maddening) that when we need an agile workforce so many institutions are throwing away the opportunity to teach learners there is more than one OS and content can work across platforms. Ahh that's my tuppence's worth Good discussion got me thinking!

Well it feels like a while since I posted here! It's been a very busy few months with various conferences speaking and looking at mobile web development, very immersive lots of new ideas to try out. Yesterday saw me at Solstice as Edge Hill [http://anywherelearning.blogspot.com/]. It was the first time in a while I hadn't been speaking and it gave me the chance to listen (rare for me to do that lol . Some interesting pieces about ubiquitous computing but what struck me the most is just how new elearning still remains. Some many things I take for granted were really new for lots of attendees. If elearning was new then mobile learning was almost (but not quite) off the radar.

For a while now I've been thinking its time to move from project to embedding mobile practice and HHL often confirms that for me but yesterday was  good reminder that we don't all move at the same pace!