EDUCAUSE | Mobile Learning

CNI Podcast: Moving To Mobile - Exploratory Services and Applications in Libraries - An Interview with Lisa Hinchliffe

gbayne — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:17:18 -0500

This 14 minute podcast features an interview with Lisa Hinchliffe, Head of the Undergraduate Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was recorded at the CNI 2008 Spring Task Force Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hinchliffe was co-presenter for a session entitled, "Moving to Mobile: Exploratory Services and Applications in Libraries".

Cell phones and other mobile devices are ubiquitous and offer increasingly robust operating systems, user interfaces, and hardware sophistication. The potential of these devices for accessing the richness of library and information content, services, and applications provided is largely unrealized. This is particularly unfortunate in considering library outreach to undergraduate students. Several projects are in development at the Undergraduate Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to explore possibilities for communication, content delivery, and instruction through mobile devices.

This interview is provided courtesy of CNI and was recorded at their 2008 Spring Task Force Meeting. The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is an organization dedicated to supporting the transformative promise of networked information technology for the advancement of scholarly communication and the enrichment of intellectual productivity. You can learn more about CNI at their web site, http://www.cni.org

Burgers Paid for by Mobile Phone - Mobility Matters!

jeffvand — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:37:19 -0600

There was an article in the BBC News Today entitled "Burgers Paid for by Mobile Phone." It basically outlines a system that is going into place in Japan that allows people to pay for their orders at McDonalds with a cell phone. This doesn't have much to do with instructional technology, I just think it is cool!

The article points out the benefits of a program like that for marketing and tracking consumer's. While I don't believe McDonald's isn't already tracking what is most popular, I do think that there is a lot of potential there.

I attended a Educause Webinar last week given by Ellen Wagner entitled "Mobility Matters: Why Learning Professionals Should Care." The seminar itself was great, packed with all sorts of great data and information. But what stood out to me was two points she made during the seminar.

1. Productivity and Immediacy

The point was made that a lot of times mobile learning is about immediacy. We want to get to the information anytime, anywhere. This in turn has the potential to turn many of those less productive times immediately into learning opportunities.

As I think about our burger scenario I see all sorts of potential for productivity. If customers can use their cell phones to pay for dinner, why not order it in the car on the way there, pay for it and pick it up all through an easy to use/easy to navigate web portal. The technology is certainly there. It would save the company money on production and certainly make us happier... I get my food faster! Win/Win! I imagine this won't be too far off.

2. Killer Applications

At one point in the presentation Ellen said something to the effect of "What is it that we can't do now that mobile [devices] will allow us to do better." She goes on to say that killer applications are the ones that are derived out of practice. The ones that chance our entire pedagogical approach because it just works better.

I think that we spend too much time making applications to do something we can already do in real life. I have reached a cross-roads of sorts in my digital life in which I realize a lot of what I am doing with technology is counterproductive because it takes longer. The point is to save time and increase learning, not spend hours making something that takes even more time for students to understand.

There are those applications out there that are going to revolutionize both education and the world, but we have to sort through dozens and dozens of apps that are just mimicking what we are already doing in real life.

(Original Article: http://www.edutechie.com/2007/02/burgers-paid-for-by-mobile-phone-mobility-matters/)

New Australian 3G Service offers boost for mobile learning

catherine — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:01:18 -0600

Today’s Australian reports that Optus, Australia’s second-largest telcoms player, plans to spend $AU 800 million building a new 3G mobile network. Optus says the new communications network would reach 96 per cent of the Australian population, with services commencing in 2008. This would vastly extending the coverage of Optus’s existing 2100MHz 3G network, co-owned with Vodafone, which is restricted to metropolitan areas.

The telecoms market in Australia is notoriously uncompetitive, and the benefits to consumers of a new, or at least broader access, 3G service could be considerable. This is particularly true for the inhabitants of rural communities, who are currently tied into services from the formerly government-owned Telstra. Opening up the 3G market could ultimately have real benefits for rural schools, for whom improved access to 3G services could mean an opportunity to scale up their use of mobile learning.

Predictably, Telstra, the current dominant player, did not exactly welcome the news. A Telstra spokesman poured cold water on the announcement, saying its own 3G network was faster, with wider reach and better content. "To compare this network to Telstra's is like comparing a single-engine propeller plane to a 747 jet," he quipped. Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he... Australia's telecommunications watchdog, the ACCC, will doubtless be keeping a close eye on developments.

Bryan Alexander on Ubiquitous Computing

jcummings — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 18:05:30 -0600

In my final preconference interview before the ELI 2007 Annual Meeting, I talk with Bryan Alexander, Director of Research for the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE). Alexander is presenting the 3:00-4:00 PM featured session on Monday, January 22; his topic is "First-Generation Ubiquitous Computing: Social, Mobile, and Gamelike."

Our conversation starts with Alexander explaining what NITLE is and what it does, and how his role as research director allows him to explore emerging trends in teaching, learning, and technology. He then discusses some examples of how gaming, social software, and mobile technologies are converging to create the ubiquitous computing environment of which he speaks. Alexander also highlights the implications this developing environment holds for higher education, as well as the importance of gaining and maintaining historical perspective on these changes.

For more information about NITLE, please see http://www.nitle.org.

Mobile Gossip Is Good for Us

catherine — Fri, 12 May 2006 05:56:01 -0500

It's official. Talking on your cell phone about nothing is good for you.

Kate Fox, researcher at the Social Issues Research Centre, University of Oxford, argues the case for mobile gossip in "Evolution, Alienation and Gossip: The role of mobile telecommunications in the 21st century".

"Gossip is not a trivial pastime: it is essential to human social, psychological and even physical well-being. The mobile phone, by facilitating therapeutic gossip in an alienating and fragmented modern world, has become a vital 'social lifeline', helping us to re-create the more natural communication patterns of pre-industrial times."

Key research findings include:

Mobile gossip is good for us
Mobile phones are the new garden fence

Expect to see this report cited a lot in PR fluff from mobile telecoms firms...

Mobile Learning at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

jcummings — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 09:30:00 -0600

This is another podcast related to ELI’s upcoming Spring Focus Session on mobility and mobile learning. Hosted in conjunction with the University of Maryland–College Park, the event will take place on March 29-30, 2006, at the Inn and Conference Center–University of Maryland University College.

The interviews we are podcasting in relation to the session are intended to shed more light on some of the issues that will be discussed during the event. In this conversation, I am joined by Julie Little and Matt Gray in discussing the development of mobile learning at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. We also talk about how the integration of mobile technologies into Matt’s course provides a specific example of the university’s success in this area.

Matt Gray is an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Julie Little is the executive director of the university’s Educational Technology and Innovative Technology Center, which oversees the planning and development of mobile learning initiatives at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Julie also currently serves the university as interim assistant CIO.

In addition to interviews like this one, ELI also plans to capture and post presentation audio from the focus session. Both the interviews and session audio will be posted under the following tags:

ELI 06 Spring Focus Session

ELI 2006 Spring Focus Session: Mobility and Mobile Learning

The Duke iPod Project / Digital Initiative

jcummings — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 17:20:00 -0600

This interview continues the series of discussions the ELI is podcasting in relation to its 2006 Spring Focus Session, Mobility and Mobile Learning: The Next Phase of Anytime, Anywhere Learning, scheduled for March 29-30 at the Inn and Conference Center–University of Maryland University College.

In this conversation, Marilyn Lombardi discusses the Duke University Digital Initiative, which was originally known as the Duke iPod Project. Over the course of the interview, Marilyn provides an overview of the program, its successes and challenges, and the lessons learned that led to its transition from the iPod Project to the Digital Initiative. She also addresses issues institutions should consider in pursuing mobile learning projects.

Marilyn Lombardi is a senior research scholar in Duke’s Information Science and Information Studies (ISIS) program as well as a senior strategist in the university’s Office of Information Technology. She also serves as a Scholar-in-Residence with the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative.

Gardner Campbell on the Growth of Mobility

jcummings — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 11:20:00 -0600

On March 29-30, ELI will host its 2006 Spring Focus Session, Mobility and Mobile Learning: The Next Phase of Anytime, Anywhere Learning, at the Inn and Conference Center - University of Maryland University College in Adelphi, MD (adjacent to College Park). In conjunction with the event, we are conducting a series of podcast interviews to get a better understanding of mobility and mobile learning issues.

In this interview, Gardner Campbell joins me to discuss the rapid growth of mobility in American society and the related expansion in higher education's interest in mobile learning. Gardner is the Assistant Vice President for Teaching and Learning Technologies at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA.

In addition to interviews like this one, ELI also plans to capture and post presentation audio from the session. Both the interviews and session audio will be posted under the following tags:

ELI 06 Spring Focus Session
ELI 2006 Spring Focus Session: Mobility and Mobile Learning

European Library and Google Library Project: Implications for Mobile Learning and Space Design

dgilbert — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 16:40:28 -0600

Just read on cnet about the European Commision - a gov't organization - is taking on a task similar to Google's library project; essentially digitizing the entire collections of some of the major libraries of the continent. Overall I find these projects exciting for the opportunities that open up for just-in-time learning and just-about-everywhere learning.

A critical step for space designers will be to create spaces wehre learners will want to congreagate to discuss the artifacts that they access on their mobile devices. How can designers encourage learners to sit in the same physical spaces while they each do their own work (or work on some collaborative project?). Just becasuse everything is available online through the window of a personal device, doesn't mean that leaners should strive to be solitary while learning.

cnet Article: Europe's Digital Library Taking Shape

Google Library Project: Google Book Search Library Project

Everyone Has a Cell Phone; Everyone Is a Learner

dgilbert — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 17:57:51 -0600

Today's SF Chronicle has a summary of some studies about impace of everyone having a mobile phone. Not much about learning in this article, but opens some windows for thinking about how a device for one thing can be used for another. My own thought is that people will use their phones for a learning acitivity if it is short, in the right context, and can be connected with some other part of their learning career. SF Gate Article:The World's a Cell Phone Stage