Summary of the page
This page examines the feasibility of Integrating Mobile Device To Support Learning Among Students. Mobile Device is seems as the potential tools to support learning. However, there are still many that disagree to integrate mobile device to support learning especially in conventional classroom teaching and learning environment.
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Contributors to this page
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| Name | Comment | Date |
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| Shaguftah | What is Mobile learning... and the features that I often use with my 3G mobile phone | 9 August 2007
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| Judith | What is Mobile learning...How does the mobile device support learning | 11 August 2007
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| Vasi | What does mobile learning means to you? and Functions of Mobile Device | 12 August 2007
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| Deborah | Mobiles support learning... used as ancillary research and reference device | 14 August 2007
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| Deborah | How does mobile device support learning? | 19 August 2007
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| Deborah | Mobile phones at public schools in NSW issue | 22 August 2007
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| Vasi | How Does Mobile Device Support Learning at my institution | 23 August 2007
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| Helen | email to mobiles - guaranteed connection | 23 August 2007
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| Merrilee | Mobile devices supporting learning | 29 August 2007
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Definition
Mobile learning is regarded as new frontier in education. Mobile learning is often known as learning on the move that accomplished with the mobile devices. However, this definition seems only to highlight the importance of mobile device rather than learning itself.
Keegan (ND) defines mobile learning as the "provision of education and training on mobile devices: Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), smartphones and mobile phones". According to Keegan, mobile learning should focus on mobility - learning through small, light and portable devices. Thus, Keegan disagree that laptop computers to be regarded as a mobile learning device.
Wagner (2002) defines mobile learning as a combination of "strategies, practices, tools, applications and resources with proven advances in technology to support anywhere, anytime learning".
To me, I personally define mobile learning as a revolution in both learning and device that enables learning to take place within different environment and transcend the time and space.
What does mobile learning means to you?
Mobile learning means the use of mobile/wireless devices to support the learning process. The learners can learn at anytime and any pace they want regardless of their location.
Mobile learning that is commonly abbreviated to "mLearning" to me is the use of mobile devices for learning on the move. One definition of mobile learning is from
Wikipedia
is: Learning that happens across locations, or that takes advantage of learning opportunities offered by portable technologies.
To me mobile learning is very similar to Shaguftah's response. The advantage is the any time/any place aspect - learning is not limited by access to a particular building or time of day any more.
Overview of Mobile Learning
There are growing trend in developed countries to integrate mobile learning in its education. However, in developing country such as Malaysia (my home country), mobile learning is a relatively new area with numerous potential to explore especially in its higher institutions. To date, research of mobile learning in Malaysia is still not found.
However, research of exploring new and emerging practices of mobile learning had been carried out in many developed countries. For instance:
1. Researches have been conducted by University of Birmingham, UK, to explore and developed the potentials of mobile learning. Besides that, it is also the designated Microsoft’s European Reference Centre for Research into Mobile Learning in 2003.
2. There are mega research projects such as Mobilearn, a world wide European-led development project in mobile learning.
3. M-learning, a pan-European research and development program which aimed to deliver information and learning experience to young adult who are most at risk of social exclusion in Europe.
4. In United States of America, many universities have began to undertake projects using mobile wireless device such as Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) in teaching and learning.
5. The Learnardo da Vinci From e-learning to m-learning project, led by Ericsson Education Ireland addressed the development of courseware for mobile phones, smartphones and PDAs.
6. The Learnardo da Vinci Project Mobile Learning: The Next Generation of Learning led by Ericsson Education Ireland aims to achieve the production of acceptable courseware for smartphones in XHTML.
7. The IST project M-Learnng led by the United Kingdom government Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) aims to help the 16-20 year old unemployed youths in the fields of literacy, numeracy and social skills. These youths have the urgent needs for additional training but refused to attend a training centre or college.
According to Wagner (2002), mobile learning provides "equal opportunity of access, ubiquitous connectivity, multigenerational users and uses, expanded services for mobile workers and enhanced access to services for mobile learners".
Jones, Issroff, Scanlon, Clough and MacAndrew (2006) identify six reasons why mobile learning might be motivating namely control, ownership, fun, communication, learning-in-context and continuity between contexts.
Why Use Mobile Device to Support Learning?
Mobile device could support learning any time and any place as it is:
a. Small in size
b. Portable
c. Affordable (due to the competitive marketing of mobile device).
With these features in mobile device, it encourage the adoption of mobile learning.
What Are The Mobile Device That Suitable To Support Learning?
Some popular examples of mobile device used in education are:
1. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
2. Mobile phone (cellular phone)
3. Mobile wireless computer (e.g. laptop, tablet PC).
4. Other Devices
Please add
Functions of Mobile Device
With the rapid emergence of technology, the mobile device such as mobile phone is no longer for voice communication or text massaging only. It is further enhanced with the functions such as web browsing and email. In fact, the popularity of mobile device and the increased reliance on broadband networks is ushering in a new era of learning (Wagner, 2002). As such, it has the potential to be integrated in our daily routine to support learning.
Through mobile learning, students could use their mobile device to support their learning any time and any place as it is small in size, portable and affordable. All these advantages make mobile learning experience compelling to the students. Therefore, academic institution should take this growing trend as an opportunity to integrate mobile technology into teaching rather than fight against the trend of using mobile phone among its students.
Besides voice communication and text messaging, what is the function that you use most often from your mobile phone?
I own a 3G mobile phone which I often use to listen to MP3 music or simply to listen to the radio while I'm on my way to work. Moreover,since there is no Internet connection in the school staff-room, I also use my phone to check for any new email that I've received - this is a convenient way to help me keep in touch with urgent e-mails. I also use the 3G connection to surf on the Internet by connecting my mobile phone with my laptop.
I use my BleckBerry to record voice notes and send them as messages or e-mails to colleagues and friends, especially longer once that will stretch my text skills or very personal once. Last year after I read some research on audio feedback I even tried recording verbal feedback for students and e-mail it together with the written feedback, which was very well received. I use it to access my e-mail: receive and reply as well as access the Internet. When I was a tutor I used to post on forum discussions or reply to urgent requests from students posted in an online course. Of course take pictures and short movies and then transfer to my laptop.
How Does Mobile Device Support Learning?
1. Email
2. Web surfing
3. Taking electronic note
4. Downloading and retrieving information
5. Moblog or mobileblogs - blogs with photos taken and sent by mobile phones to dedicated websites. Contributed by Deborah Griffin.
6. Vlogs - videoblogs, closely related to moblogs in that videophones can be used to post content. Contributed by Deborah Griffin
7. SMS
How does the mobile device support your learning?
I do not have a personal example here, but found an article about grade 3 children using 'palms' purposely built for classroom use (United States example). It sounds amazing. Find it at
SF students utilizing latest technology in classroom
I suggest that mobile phones with Internet connectivity and sufficiently fast and seamless access can be used as ancillary research and reference devices in educational activities. And I believe that in some high schools, SMS has been trialed in the school education sector as a mechanism to notify parents of student absences from classes! Not particularly valuable from the learning perspective but interesting use of SMS.
- Vasi's response There are some good examples of mobile devices used to support learning at my institution. StudyTXT is an on demand study support system using text messages on cellphones that our Nursing tutors use. They have developed podcasts and messages for nursing students. There are movie downloads on deer kidney, heart and lungs dissection for students to download and watch on their iPods, 3G mobiles or PCs. Students use the small gaps of time in thier day (waiting for a bus, traveling to Uni, etc.) to 'snack on study' with the StudyTXT messages. Here are some videos that I located on YouTube. The first one Robin Good on mobile technologies in supporting learning is likely to match how most teachers feel today about mobile devices in their classrooms, the second shows some M-learning Case Studies and the third looks at Mobile learning in the near future.
A function I have been using regularly is 'web-to-text' where I can send a text message from my college email directly to students' mobile phones. They always have their mobile phone with them and will regularly check and respond to text messages. When they are 'out and about' their access to the internet and, therefore, email is sporadic. Even though mobile phones can be used for internet access, the majority of students cannot afford to use this function on their phone plans and choose not to. Using 'web-to-text' also means I do not have to use my personal mobile to contact students.
My experience with mobile phone's for learning is similar to Helen's. I teach at a Korean university, and when I need to contact a class of students, email causes a big challenge because Korean email providers block a great number of non-Korean email accounts. A seeming solution for this is for the instructor to simply use a Korean account; however, Korean accounts are reciprocally often rejected by non-Korean accounts. Furthermore, students at my university usually do not have computers and Internet access at home; however, they all have mobile phones and use them constantly. Once last semester, I needed to cancel a class 15 minutes before it was to start, so I sent text messages to the group of students. This was highly effective because they all received the message immediately, as evidenced by the fact that I received numerous messages such as "Get well soon," and "I hope you feel better," within minutes. Thus, particularly in my context, communicating with students via mobile phones is a much more timely solution than other forms such as email.
Issue
There are many issues concerning integrating mobile device to support learning especially among school students. In Malaysia, most of the schools had banned the students from using mobile device. In fact it is regarded as a nuisance gadget among the teachers. According to Sharples (2006), this will result the students seeing school learning as irrelevant to their skills and interests.
Do you think the mobile device should be banned from the primary and secondary schools?
This is a difficult scenario and not only in terms of being considered 'nuisance gadgets' by teachers in Malaysia but a serious consequence here in NSW is 'video bullys' who post footage of their acts on YouTube. The NSW Government have ruled out banning students from having mobile phones at public schools as parents largely supported their children having phones.
Read the article....
It is a difficult situation for many educational institutions. To be fully supported in the use of mobile phones at schools would and will take a whole cultural shift about the way in which they are used. At the forefront of the media is bullying issues and the small percentage in the population that uses mobile phones in an unacceptable way. Schools would need to have clear policies and guidelines surrounding the use of mobile phones and other devices. We also need to be aware of social justice issues... are schools going to provide a mobile phone to those that don't have one? Are schools going to pay for the bills of these students? We need to be very careful about where mobile phones in education is heading.
What are the issues of integrating mobile device to support learning at your surrounding that you know? Please share!
Mobile Phones and Education by Therese Sippel
Mobile Technology for Supporting Student Learning At Secondary Level In Mauritius by Quavitum
mLearning by Colin Hill
Mobile Technology for Education
Enabling Mobile Technology
A General Classification of Mobile Learning System
The Use of Mobile Technologies To Support Personalised Learning
Disruptive Devices: Mobile Technology for Conversational Learning
Mobile Learning for Expanding Educational Opportunities
Designing an Untethered Educational Digital Library
Trying Out a Learning Environment for Mobile Learners
Language E-Learning On The Move
Old cell phones are educational toys!
Mobile Distance Learning with PDAs: Development and testing of pedagogical and system solutions supporting mobile distance learners
Defining, Discussing, and Evaluating Mobile Learning: The moving finger writes and having writ… .
Mobile Learning and Student Retention
M-learning research
M-Learning
References
Allan, C., Carbonaro, M. & Buck, G. (2006). A Survey of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) Use in a Middle School Environment: Perceptions of Teachers, Parents, and Students. Meridian. Vol. 9(2). Retrieved May 22, 2007, from
http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/sum2006/PDAS/index.htm
Goliath. (2005). Research And Markets: Malaysia's Mobile Phone Subscriber Base Grew By About 20% To 11 Million Users Last Year. Retrieved May 3, 2007, from
http://goliath.ecnext.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2750&item_id=0199-3675316
Jones, A., Issroof, K., Scanlon, E., Clough, g. & McAndrew, P. (2006). Affective Factors in Learning With Mobile Devices. In Sharples, M. (2006). (Eds). Big Issues in Mobile Learning. Retrieved August 30, 2007, from
http://telearn.noe-kaleidoscope.org/warehouse/Sharples-2006.pdf
Keegan, D. (ND). Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide. Retrieved August 29, 2007, from
http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson/corpinfo/programs/incorporating_mobile_learning_into_mainstream_education/products/book/introduction.pdf
Kims, S.H., Mims, C., & Holmes, K.P. (2006). An Introduction to Current Trends and Benefits of Mobile Wireless Technology Use In Higher Education. AACE Journal. Retrieved April 23, 2007, from
http://www.editlib.org/index.cfm/files/paper_6158.pdf?fuseaction=Reader.DownloadFullText&paper_id=6158
Oksman, V. (2006). Young People and Seniors in Finnish ‘Mobile Information Society’. Retrieved August 12, 2007, from
http://jime.open.ac.uk.2006/02/oksman-2006-02-paper.html
Prensky, M. (2005). What Can You Learn From A Cell Phone? Almost Anything!. Retrieved April 28, 2007, from
http://www.innovateonline.info/print.php?id=83&view=html
Sharples, M. (2006) How Can We Address The Conflicts Between Personal Informal Learning and Traditional Classroom Education?. In Sharples, M. (Eds). Big Issues in Mobile Learning. Retrieved August 30, 2007, from
http://telearn.noe-kaleidoscope.org/warehouse/Sharples-2006.pdf
Wagner, E. (2002). Mobile Learning: The Next Step In Technology-Mediated Learning. Retrieved August 28, 2007, from
http://www.clomedia.com/content/templates/clo_article.asp?articleid=1686&zoneid=77
Info. 
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HelenSandy
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