Mobile and E-learning: Future
and Challenges
Dr. Abdel-Rahman Al-Qawasmi
Philadelphia University
Director of Computer Center
Introduction
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Mobile technologies are a familiar part of the lives of most
teachers and students in the world today.
Newer developments in mobile phone technology are
beginning to offer the potential for rich multimedia experiences
and for location-specific resources.
The challenge for educators and designers, however, is one of
understanding and exploring how best we might use these
resources to support learning
In recent years the quick growth of mobile technologies is
promising a new revolution that might be comparable with the
Web
Introduction
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The existing wide range of mobile devices and wireless
technologies gives an opportunity to realise different systems
for mobile education. For example some of these systems can
be used only in the area of a university or company, as at the
same time other systems ensure a broader usage outside the
educational institutions.
Some of the systems support user access only to the
administrative information, while other systems support an
access to educational materials.
There is considerable interest from educators and technical
developers in exploiting the unique capabilities and
characteristics of mobile technologies to enable new forms of
learning
Definition of Mobile Learning
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In general by mobile device we mean personal
digital assistants PDAs , digital cell phone, smart
phones, notebooks or Tablet that can be used for
some form of formal or informal learning anywhere
at anytime .These devices must support wireless
technology and have a possibility to present
teaching
Mobile learning is a field which combines
mobile computing and e-learning
Mobile Devices for Learning
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Citizens are used to carrying everywhere with them,
Which they regard as friendly and personal devices,
Which are cheap and easy to use,
Which they use constantly in all walks of life and in a variety of
different settings.
Desktops and Laptops are not Mobile
learning Devices
Benefits of m-learning
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learning available anywhere and anytime: allowing learners to
participate in educational activities without the restrictions of
time and place.
Mobile technologies have the power to make learning even
more widely available and accessible than we are used to in
existing e-learning environments.
Wireless and mobile technologies also make it possible to
provide learning opportunities to learners that are either
without infrastructure for access
M-learning thrives within the contemporary social
constructivist paradigm because of its richness in terms of
communication and interaction, both synchronous and
asynchronous
Benefits of m-learning
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Mobile technologies enrich learning possibilities even more
and take it further because it is a natural extension of eLearning
M-learning provides more mobility, flexibility and convenience
than online learning
m-learning uses mobile devices that have certain capabilities
that can be delivered with greater ease than other electronic
devices: Audio applications and Multimedia support.
e-learning and m-learning can and should contribute to the
quality of education because of the rich communication
and interaction environment it provides.
Mobile Learning Projects
There are four major projects in mobile learning
funded by the European Commission in
Brussels:
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Leonardo da Vinci Ericsson Education Dublin From e-learning
to m-learning
Leonardo da Vinci Ericsson Education Dublin Mobile learning:
The next generation of learning
IST FP5 LSDA UK The m-learning project
IST FP5 Giunti Ricerca Italy The MOBILearn project
Leonardo da Vinci Ericsson Education
Dublin From e-learning to m-learning
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The From e-learning to m-learning project addressed the
development of courseware for mobile phones, smartphones and
PDAs. What was important about this project was that the main
pedagogical problems of developing mobile learning for PDAs were
solved in the project From e-learning to m-learning, in which a
comfortable didactic environment was created by using Microsoft
Reader Works, providing each student with Microsoft Reader
software to display the content and which was adjudged highly
satisfactory by surveys of students who had studied a full course by
mobile learning on a PDA
Leonardo da Vinci Ericsson Education
Dublin Mobile learning: The next generation
of learning
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the next generation of learning project are installing a webauthoring tool like Macromedia Dreamweaver MX Version 1.0,
installing a desk-top browser e.g. Opera 6.31 that has page
rendering characteristics similar to a mobile phone, using
XHTML 1.0 Transitional to code the web pages, using
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to separate presentation style
from document content, arranging each course page as a
vertical column of content of at most 208 pixels, designing the
user interface so that the limited screen space available is
utilised as efficiently as possible,designing concise neat
diagrams to fit the small screen, using Adobe Photoshop to
produce light weight GIFs for mobile devices.
IST FP5 LSDA UK The m-learning project
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This project had an important social dimension. It recognised
that there were in the United Kingdom many 16 to 20 year old
youths who were unemployed and had urgent needs for
additional training, but who refused to attend a training centre
or college. They were unemployable and refused to attend
training. They all had, however, a mobile phone which they
used constantly. The project, therefore, set out to develop
courses for them on their mobile phones in the fields of
literacy, numeracy and social skills. The focus of the project
was on mobile phones, as this type of student did not possess
either smartphones or PDAs.
M-learning model:
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Downloading of content and access to study materials
e-mail/bulletin board/chat room (communication and
interaction)
working through multimedia and /or simulations on CDRom
communication and interaction from and with educational
institution
communication and interaction with peer learners and study
groups
browsing e-learning course material
downloading study guides/manuals
receive tutorial letters
M-Learning Model for Africa 2005
Dr Tom H Brown
Deputy Director
Telematic Learning and Education Innovation
University of Pretoria
South Africa
M-learning model:
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complete multiple choice assessment with immediate
feedback
send template based multimedia messages to institution
(templates designed and provided by institution)
generic feedback on assignments and examinations
motivational messages tutor services: Administrative support
via SMS, MMS, WAP and EPSS, integrated with the Internet
downloading of material (sections of learning materials,
assignments, letters, etc.)
M-Learning Model for Africa 2005
Dr Tom H Brown
Deputy Director
Telematic Learning and Education Innovation
University of Pretoria
South Africa
M-learning model:
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receive course schedule and calendar
administrative information (reminders, notifications, urgent
information, etc)
access to institutions M-portal on the web
access to examination and test marks via mobile service
number or M-portal
access to financial statements and registration data via mobile
service number
daily tips
M-Learning Model for Africa 2005
Dr Tom H Brown
Deputy Director
Telematic Learning and Education Innovation
University of Pretoria
South Africa