Mobile+Learning

**Description:**
Mobile learning can perhaps be defined as ‘any educational provision where the sole or dominant technologies are handheld or palmtop devices’. This definition may mean that mobile learning could include mobile ‘phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and their peripherals, perhaps tablet PCs and perhaps laptop PCs, but not desktops in carts and other similar solutions. Perhaps the definition should address also the growing number of experiments with dedicated mobile devices such as games consoles and iPods, and it should encompass both mainstream industrial technologies and one-off experimental technologies.

Mobile learning is learning across multiple contexts, though social and content interactions, using personal electronic devices. Simply put, using mobile devices, learners can learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Mobile learning can be defined more specifically in different digital communities.

eLearning is the use of electronic media and other technologies in education. eLearning on the go is mobile learning, or mLearning. eLearning content, online courses and resources, and virtual classrooms can be accessed via mobile devices affording the learner the opportunity to learn when and where they choose. eLearning and mLearning are closely connected and will only become more so in the future.

Educational technology, or the integration of technology in the instruction being used in the classroom, both today and in the future, will utilize mobile learning to break down the walls of the traditional classroom and school buildings we are traditionally familiar with. Educational technology facilitates eLearning and mobile devices are the ultimate delivery vehicle for eLearning content.

Distance learning is the delivery of instruction, often eLearning, over long distances, and often worldwide, to students outside the confines of the traditional classroom. In order to break down the physical and logistical barriers of the classroom, learners need to be able to access learning regardless of location. Using mobile devices to access mobile learning is an integral facet of this community.

Augmented reality places a layer of accessible learning quite literally on top of the world around us. Utilizing this type of learning is ideally suited to mobile devices.

Strengths
Mobile learning is no longer just a buzzword or science fiction. It is gradually working its way into more and more classrooms everyday. There are practical, affordable and exciting devices available to enable learning on mobile devices. Mobile devices are getting faster and better, making it possible for complex application to reside on the device. It is one of the most relevant tools (currently) for performance support. Internet connectivity on phones are not restricted to WIFI alone making them easy to use anywhere.

Examples:
 * eBooks
 * Clickers

Weaknesses:
There are many challenges associated with mobile learning.
 * 1) Hardware challenges are a concern when using any type of technology and mobile devices are no exception.
 * 2) Connectivity is essential when accessing online content and isn't always readily available.
 * 3) Mobile devices are often limited by battery life, screen size, and memory.
 * 4) Bandwidth is a concern and can vary with location and type of wireless connectivity.
 * 5) Security is always a concern, particularly when dealing with wireless connections in public forums.
 * 6) Accessibility and cost, while a benefit to most folks, can be a challenge for some.
 * 7) There is concern out there that a move towards more mobile learning could deepen the digital divide.
 * 8) Assessment of learning that takes place on the go can also be a challenge, especially when you consider the wide variety of resources available.
 * 9) Learning on mobile devices with access to digital resources like the world wide web can also be a distraction and disruptive to the learning process.

Professional Development:
Mobile devices excel at promoting communication. At its core, professional development is all about communicating. In the school environment it is about communication between administration and teachers with ongoing learning, core standards, and conversations about new best practices. In the business environment it is about management communicating with staff about projects, new initiatives, and marketing. It is about minute to minute updates and information. In a school setting mobile devices are the new creative tool to spark faculty interest and involvement in new technologies that can then be used in the classroom. The following are some ideas about how to initiate faculty involvement:
 * Wifi-enabled mobile devices such as the i-Pod Touch would enable administration to update faculty through iMessaging. It is free, secure, and available through the school's wifi network without a phone plan. Other tools such as Twitter would further enable communication. A message with a link could be sent before a faculty meeting for everyone to visit a particular web site, read the information, and message feedback that can then be discussed at the faculty meeting, making the most of the short time to be had during these meetings. The most common complaint about inservice time is that it is not relevant and a waste of time. A short amount of time spent messaging and checking out information before getting together to discuss how it could be used in the classroom would cut down on the amount of time spent teaching about the topic, allowing for more in-depth discussions.
 * Using an i-Pod Touch or an iPad would enable the myriad of apps for education to be part of the discussion. At department meetings, a new app could be discussed as part of a department initiative to say, get more graphing into the mathematics classroom by using the app Quick Graph. Quick Graph is free, graphs up to six equations at a time in different colors and is fun to use. Using apps for inservice would engage the teachers, use the inservice time for collaboration about how to use the app, and spur the use of the tool in the classroom since the teachers would already know how to use it. Contrast this scenario with the all-to-common approach of showing the web site or tool to the entire faculty with a projector at the front of the room. It is the difference between using passive learning in an inservice and engaging adults with active learning strategies. It is also about using inservice time to model the use of engaging learning tools.
 * ===[[image:coolgraph.jpg]] Examples of Quick Graph in action ===

Hardware:
There are various devices that may be utilized by learners to access mobile learning. The two most obvious ones are smartphones and tablets. Smartphones have the advantage of being small and able to connect over a G network or wifi. The disadvantage is the small size of the screen and difficulty of typing in responses. Tablets are probably going to be the most used device because of their ease of use and larger size making them easier to read and respond on. The laptop computer is often considered a mobile device, especially now that they are smaller and lighter. More and more people takes laptops with them the way people take tablets. Laptops have the advantage of having more processing power and the ability to load and download software. A fourth device being utilized is the a hybrid between a laptop and tablet. Theses are basically laptops with features that allow them to act as tablets. Some have screens that fold over and act as a touchscreen or have start up times of seconds rather than minutes. These devices have the power of a laptop but the ease and immediacy of a tablet.

Software/Apps:
When considering applications for Mobile Learning Devices, one of the obvious considerations you must have is the cost of the application. Many applications are given out for free, is there a similar application that you can get for free then paying for one? Also some applications offer BOTH a free version and a paid version. The paid one usually has no ads and more content. Another consideration is the usage. If you are using it for a classroom environment, will the students become too distracted using this application? If everyone is on their phones, how can you regulate that they will be using this application instead of doing something else? Also, does the application really benefit your instruction, or is going to be a distraction?

Mobile Learning Creation:
When creating content for mobile learning the first question that should be asked is whether or not it needs to be mobile in the first place. Once the need to make learning mobile is justified, making sure that an app doesn’t already exist would be your next step. Why recreate the wheel if the learning content you need to deliver is already available? Once the creation process has begun, you will need to make sure it supports formal and informal learning, goes beyond eLearning by taking advantage of the many benefits of being mobile, takes advantage of the tactile nature of the many touch devices out there, and that it will be worthwhile to the learner. In addition, the content needs to work on multiple types of mobile devices and should utilize media resources to increase the engagement of the learner. Large scale mobile learning endeavors should make use of templates and begin by addressing the most pressing need for mobile learning.

Mobile Learning Implementation:
Maobile learning can be implemented in many different ways. Here are some examples.
 * 1) Scan and learn – HR codes and AR
 * 2) Review news and info – RSS feeds and aggregators
 * 3) Guides - museums
 * 4) Performance aids
 * 5) GPS/location specific
 * 6) Push reminders
 * 7) Mobile tech
 * 8) Mobile LMS
 * 9) Interactive “talking”
 * 10) Assessment / evaluation – surveys, quizzes, tests, etc…

Language Arts:
Language Arts is a huge chunk of the learning day. Because of this there are a wide variety of apps available for use in the mobile Language Arts learning environment. These apps can range anywhere from handwriting, letter recognition, the whole way up to virtual textbooks with pictures that come to life like a video, or story creators.

Tablets, cell phones, and laptops can turn into any textbook you need them to with the use of Apple's iBooks, EduBooks, or [|Google Books]. This gives students and teachers the access to any textbook they could need as well as research information not available on the web. These apps also allow teachers to "hand out" copies of any novel that they want to read with their class. Okay, well they don't hand them out, but rather download them to any mobile device with access to an App Store of Market. These virtual books and textbooks do have some advantages over the typical textbooks, as they can have embedded sounds and videos within the text to make concepts spring to life and engage students on a different level.

There are also apps for story creation or composition, such as [|Demibooks]. Like the textbooks that were mentioned above, this app allows its user to create a story and accompany the story with animations, effects, and sounds (music or sound effects).

Math:
Today's students always have their cell phone with them, and with this they have the most powerful tool for the math classroom; the calculator. Most phones come equipped with a calculator built in, and if not, then a simple free app download can make the world of difference. Most cellphone calculators are equivalent to a TI-30, providing all the same basic operations. QuickGraph is another free app that allows students to graph 2-D and 3-D equations, just like if they had a graphing calculator. QuickGraph even allows users to manipulate a graph, and see how the equation changes with each manipulation, which makes this another great tool to use in the math classroom. See above for links and images of how this app works.

Science:
Mobile learning devices can be used in the science classroom in a variety of ways. One way is to download an app that gives students current events or up to date science information such as popsci. In chemistry, students can use a molecular modeling app called molecules to study three dimensional models of molecules. Chemistry students can also use naming and formula practice apps to help with nomenclature. Environment, ecology, and earth and space science can get weather data.

Special Education:
Devise that are as portable are a great advantage to students with disabilities. Whether it is a student with a minor disability or a student who has severe and multiple disabilities. The most meaningful piece of technology is a technology which will allow the person to do as many functions as possible in as many environments as possible. An item such as an Apple iPad/iPhone/iTouch is easily negotiated and has a lot of features a student can benefit from. Such apps on the Apple store include Proloquo2go which is a interactive picture chart allowing students with autism and students with communication difficulty a media to express themselves. These items also play "books on tape" through a program called bookshare.org which allows students to read and listen along with a story for class or for interest.

Learning Strategy:
Mobile Apps and where they fall in the learning strategy diagram.


 * Create**
 * Explain Everything - students create instructional videos in a screencast format


 * Analyze**
 * ThinkLink - Analyze connections between text, images, audio, and video


 * Apply**
 * Google Slides - Build collaborative presentations


 * Comprehend**
 * Lexia Reading Core 5 - Listening and reading comprehension with complex text.


 * Recognize**
 * Quizlet - Digital flashcards teacher and student created, study on the go, can include images and audio

Tools
As an educator every teacher is looking for a technology that can connect the classroom outside the brick walls. It is important that the teacher and all the students in the class, use the same technology that they commonly use so collaboration is easy. The mobile technology has to help the students create their own content that they can use the features of the device. They should be able to take pictures, take a video and work on creating content. Of course google and office 365 and Apple Icloud make it easy to share their content. But the two apps is going to be an additional resource. The teachers and students can download these apps free in their apple or google device to create and share their content. One is an app for [|wordpress.com.] This is one is an open source technology. That lets the user post their views, pictures, and videos on the blog. The teacher has to create the blog free in WordPress, He needs to assign the students, their role so they can access the panel to post their content. WordPress lets the user share their content in the social media as well. The Same thing goes for blogger. It is also available for both platforms The teacher can assign students and their roles as an author and give them permission. These two are tools that helps for collaborative classroom. The book creator is an app that lets the user create epubs with simple texts, audio video and images. Then the students can deliver the content through mobile.This can be used for individual assignments. Using Mobile tools will create engaging, interactive classroom.

Apps in Education
When we think about mobile technology for learning. It is a mini website with interaction. Some apps include games. Apps come in many forms. Some apps help students with their productivity and collaboration. Some help the teachers interact with the students in the classroom.Some apps help students create collaborative projects. Though apps are like websites, most of the apps may not be universal/ The app developers have to develop separate apps for each platform in the market. This site has detailed information on apps for every subjects. Google goes further and invites the educator to join in their community to use their services