Mobile learning: the next generation of learning

What do we need and why?

The main focus would be on the students’ and teachers’ needs. These are summed up as:

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  a readable screen,
  
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  the ability to read courses online as well as offline and
  
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  be able to communicate with other students and
  
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  teachers from wherever they are.
  

A Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with communication possibilities can serve these needs. Students and teachers will have easier access to online services and give the teacher the possibility to answer questions while away from his/her personal computer. We wish to allow our students to be able to study on their own when and where they want to.

Recommended requirements for the device:

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  Always online connectivity to facilitate synchronous communication and possibly generate quicker response from teachers on e-mail
  
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  Bluetooth for connection with other devices
  
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  Near to full size keyboard to write papers and answer assignments
  
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  Long lasting battery
  
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  Memory: 64MB RAM + some (32MB?) ROM for non-volatile memory to have enough space for multimedia content and backup of important documents
  
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  Messaging client for peer-to-peer communication (GPRS would enhance this functionality by being always-online compared to logging on by WLAN or dial-up)
  
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  Read Adobe Acrobat documents
  
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  Read/write Microsoft office Word, Excel, PowerPoint
  
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  Readable screen of good quality
  
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  Small and compact device that fits into one’s pocket
  
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  Support multimedia content as well as Flash, Java and java script etc.
  
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  Synchronize and check email with Microsoft mail clients.
  
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  WI-FI connectivity
  

The Devices Chosen for Proof-of-Concept (PDAs)

Based on the list of what is considered to be needed for a good test of the always-online environment, one can choose to tryout the HP Ipaq with WLAN capability. For testing we will apply both new PDAs with integrated WLAN. The older versions of PDAs are equipped with a jacket that enables the use of a WLAN CF-Card which simulates the always-online environment in the homes of the students who will test the courses and features of the PDA.
Definition of devices to be used (smartphones and mobile phones)
The intention of mobile learning is to utilise the capabilities of existing GSM, GPRS and UMTS mobile telephone handsets and PDAs to increase access to training courses.
It is proposed to develop and trial mobile learning courses for current mobile telephone handsets. Newer 3G (UMTS) devices on the market at phase 2 of the project will be trialled when readily available.
Specifically, the devices chosen are the SonyEricsson P900 and the SonyEricsson T610.
P900 Specifications
The Sony Ericsson P900 is a triple band mobile phone, an MP3 audio and MPEG4 video player, an advanced handheld device and a mobile video and digital camera. The phone has e-mail access to a network of contacts. The calendar can be updated. The P900 supports a range of messaging types which will be used to monitor progress and test students. Pictures can be taken with the P900 built-in camera which allows pictures to be received and sent. Text input is facilitated by an on-screen keyboard and a large touchscreen.
Some of the more relevant P900 features are listed below.

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  208x320 pixel display
  

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  Colour LCD 65,536
  

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  MMS (Multimedia Messaging)
  

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  MMS Video
  

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  Video player
  

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  Video streaming
  

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  MP3 Audio
  

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  MPEG4 Video
  

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  Email
  

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  Java
  

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  SMS long (Text Messaging)
  

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  WAP 2.0
  

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  WTLS
  

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  CHTML
  

Sony-Ericsson T610
The T610 is a sophisticated camera phone. It has a quality 65536 color

display. It does not, however have as large a screen size as the P900.

Extensive picture sharing options and the latest messaging functionality

is available. The T610 supports Java™ download of mobile applications.

Some of the more relevant T610 features are listed below.

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  Color Display (65536 colors)
  

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  128x160 pixels display
  

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  e-mail
  

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  GPRS
  

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  Java applications
  

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  Multimedia messaging (MMS)
  

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  WAP 2.0
  

Further uses
The target groups are IT users and regular students. The first group is able to purchase the latest devices whether PDA-s or smart-phones which regular students may not always afford. For this latter group mobile phones are more familiar devices than handhelds. The assumption is that the common devices suitable for both groups are smartphones. These are not widespread today, however, the dynamic development of the market allows us to forecast their spread in the near future. Considering the advance of technology, we chose one of the multi-purpose devices with the most advanced features available today, the Sony Ericsson P900. The functionality of this device is near to the PDAs, the screen size is almost the same and it has Internet-connectivity in contrast to a regular PDA.
Didactic and evaluation use
Thus development of mobile learning will focus on the Sony Ericsson P900 (smartphone) and the Sony Ericsson T610 (mobile phone).
These devices will be used for two purposes:

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  Didactic analysis
  

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  Project evaluation.
  

For didactic analysis the devices will be used to access and analyse all course materials developed in the project. The analysis will focus on the student userfriendliness of the learning materials developed and feedback will be provided to the course developers on:

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  Pedagogical issues
  

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  Screen layouts
  

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  Sequencing of content
  

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  Questioning techniques: SAQs, TMAs, CMAs
  

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  Feedback to the student
  

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  Student to student communication
  

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  Student to tutor communication.
  

Further analysis will focus on the status of the course materials developed. This is regarded as vital if mobile learning is ever to take off as a viable sector of training provision.

The devices will be used to evaluate the products of the project from four perspectives:

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  Student userfriendliness
  

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  Didactic efficiency
  

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  Technical feasibility
  

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  Cost effectiveness.
  

When assessing these criteria for success the evaluation will take into account the needs of mobile learning as a sector of education and training provision.

2. Definition of technologies to be used