\Since the start of the current millennium, experience and expertise in the development and delivery of mobile learning have blossomed and a community of practice has evolved that is distinct from the established communities of 'tethered' e-Learning. This community is currently visible mainly through dedicated international conference series, of which MLEARN is the most prestigious, rather than through any dedicated journals. So far, these forms of development and delivery have focussed on short-term small-scale pilots and trials in the developed countries of Europe, North America, and the Pacific Rim, and there is a taxonomy emerging from these pilots and trials that suggests tacit and pragmatic conceptualisations of mobile learning.

What has, however, developed less confidently within this community is any theoretical conceptualisation of mobile learning and with it any evaluation methodologies specifically aligned to the unique attributes of mobile learning.

Some advocates of mobile learning attempt to define and conceptualise it in terms of devices and technologies; other advocates define and conceptualise it in terms of the mobility of learners and the mobility of learning, and in terms of the learners’ experience of learning with mobile devices.

The role of theory is, perhaps, a contested topic in a community that encompasses philosophical affiliations from empiricists to post-structuralists, each with different expectations about the scope and legitimacy of theory in their work. The mobile learning community may nevertheless need the authority and credibility of some conceptual base.

Such a base would provide the starting point for evaluation methodologies grounded in the unique attributes of mobile learning. Attempts to develop the conceptualisations and evaluation of mobile learning, however, must recognise that mobile learning is essentially personal, contextual, and situated; this means it is 'noisy' and this is problematic both for definition and for evaluation.

Furthermore, defining mobile learning can emphasise those unique attributes that position it within informal learning, rather than formal. These attributes place much mobile learning at odds with formal learning with its cohorts, courses, semesters, assessments, and campuses, and with its monitoring and evaluation regimes. This raises concerns for the nature of any large-scale and sustained deployment and the extent to which the unique attributes of mobile learning may be lost or compromised.

Looking at mobile learning in a wider context, we have to recognise that mobile, personal, and wireless devices are now radically transforming societal notions of discourse and knowledge, and are responsible for new forms of art, employment, language, commerce, deprivation, and crime, as well as learning. With increased popular access to information and knowledge anywhere, anytime, the role of education, perhaps especially formal education, is challenged and the relationships between education, society, and technology are now more dynamic than ever.

The paper explores and articulates these issues and the connections between them specifically in the context of the wider and sustained development of mobile learning.

/pdf/defining-discussing-and-evaluating-mobile-learning-the-280ncrr7sh.pdf

Defining, Discussing and Evaluating Mobile Learning: The moving finger writes and having writ . . . .

S.R.I. International Abstract Many researchers see the potential of wireless mobile learning devices to achieve large-scale impact on learning because of portability, low cost, and communications features. This enthusiasm is shared but the lessons drawn from three well-documented uses of connected handheld devices in education lead towards challenges ahead. First, 'wireless, mobile learning' is an imprecise description of what it takes to connect learners and their devices together in a productive manner. Research needs to arrive at a more precise understanding of the attributes of wireless networking that meet acclaimed pedagogical requirements and desires. Second, 'pedagogical applications' are often led down the wrong road by complex views of technology and simplistic views of social practices. Further research is needed that tells the story of rich pedagogical practice arising out of simple wireless and mobile technologies. Third, 'large scale' impact depends on the extent to which a common platform, that meets the requirements of pedagogically rich applications, becomes available. At the moment 'wireless mobile technologies for education' are incredibly diverse and incompatible; to achieve scale, a strong vision will be needed to lead to standardisation, overcoming the tendency to marketplace fragmentation.

https://www.it.iitb.ac.in/frg/wiki/images/0/0b/113050009_paper4.pdf

Unlocking the learning value of wireless mobile devices

Over the next 10 years, we anticipate that personal, portable, wirelessly-networked technologies will become ubiquitous in the lives of learners - indeed, in many countries, this is already a reality. We see that ready-to-hand access creates the potential for a new phase in the evolution of technology-enhanced learning (TEL), characterized by "seamless learning spaces" and marked by continuity of the learning experience across different scenarios (or environments), and emerging from the availability of one device or more per student ("one-to-one"). One-to-one TEL has the potential to "cross the chasm" from early adopters conducting isolated design studies to adoption-based research and widespread implementation, with the help of research and evaluation that gives attention to the digital divide and other potentially negative consequences of pervasive computing. We describe technology-enhanced learning and the affordances of one-to-one computing and outline a research agenda, including the risks and challenges of reaching scale. We reflect upon how this compares with prior patterns of technology innovation and diffusion. We also introduce a community, called "G1:1," that brings together leaders of major research laboratories and one-to-one TEL projects. We share a vision of global research, inviting other research groups to collaborate in ongoing activities.

/pdf/one-to-one-technology-enhanced-learning-an-opportunity-for-xawanamjqn.pdf

One-to-one technology-enhanced learning: An opportunity for global research collaboration

Many researchers see the potential of wireless mobile learning devices to achieve large-scale impact on learning because of portability, low cost, and communications features. This enthusiasm is shared but the lessons drawn from three well-documented uses of connected handheld devices in education lead towards challenges ahead. First, 'wireless, mobile learning' is an imprecise description of what it takes to connect learners and their devices together in a productive manner. Research needs to arrive at a more precise understanding of the attributes of wireless networking that meet acclaimed pedagogical requirements and desires. Second, 'pedagogical applications' are often led down the wrong road by complex views of technology and simplistic views of social practices. Further research is needed that tells the story of rich pedagogical practice arising out of simple wireless and mobile technologies. Third, 'large scale' impact depends on the extent to which a common platform, that meets the requirements of pedagogically rich applications, becomes available. At the moment 'wireless mobile technologies for education' are incredibly diverse and incompatible; to achieve scale, a strong vision will be needed to lead to standardisation, overcoming the tendency to marketplace fragmentation.

Keynote paper: Unlocking the learning value of wireless mobile devices

Defining mobile learning

Based on experience in orchestrating collaborative learning scenarios with ubiquitous computing technology, three approaches for extending co-constructive modelling and discussion environments with Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) connected through a wireless network are described. One application is an annotation tool, the second one replicates a modelling system on the PDA and the third one makes use of a wireless optical reader in addition to the PDA. They all provide 'lightweight' synchronisation mechanisms in PC-based environments. General design and implementation strategies for such extensions are discussed in terms of model, view and controller.

Educational scenarios for cooperative use of Personal Digital Assistants

Adaptation in current e-learning systems

In order to support rich forms of collaborative learning, learners need appropriate tools to share, exchange, and negotiate their ideas. The use of wireless networked handheld computers in education is rapidly increasing, thus providing new opportunities to engage students in collaborative activities independent of time and space. In this paper, we describe our work in progress related to the design and implementation of a mobile and wireless application to support collaborative knowledge building. The paper presents an innovative approach for supporting the exchange and discovery of key ideas among students by using wireless optical readers, handheld devices and an application we have developed using Java and XML.

C-notes: designing a mobile and wireless application to support collaborative knowledge building

Voice interactive classroom, a service-oriented software architecture for speech-enabled learning

This paper proposes a model of adaptation called Feijoo.net. Feijoo. net is a system which adapts contents and the presentation of these contents to the learning style of each student. In this model, contents are separated from their presentation on the Web. Feijoo.net is focused on university students. The main goal is to get an adaptation model of the learning of each student following the directives proposed by the cognitive psychology and pedagogy.

/pdf/feijoo-net-an-approach-to-personalized-e-learning-using-2k26jagjbo.pdf

Juan Ramón Pérez Pérez

Papers

Educational scenarios for cooperative use of Personal Digital Assistants

Adaptation in current e-learning systems

C-notes: designing a mobile and wireless application to support collaborative knowledge building

Voice interactive classroom, a service-oriented software architecture for speech-enabled learning

Feijoo.net: an approach to personalized E-learning using learning styles