Mobile Learning
1 What is it
Mobile learning (also known as m-learning) is simply the ability to use computers in
any location as part of the students' or pupils' learning. However, there are two
distinct meanings that are associated with mobile learning, which are learning on the
move and learning in any location.
1.1 Studying on the move
Here, the theory is that people can use odd bits of time when, for instance, they are
commuting to work, school or college to study, and is usually built on the premise
that learning can be done on one's own and in "bite sized chunks". If one is on the
bus or train then it becomes possible to use this time to do a small piece of learning.
Personally, I am not convinced of this as important in education as the limited time,
level of distraction and restrictions on interaction with others limit its pedagogic value.
I believe that the model comes from training where the learner is working on their
own and is receiving knowledge, which can be broken down into a series of micro
tasks. However, others believe that there is a use here for e-books (many people
certainly do some of their reading while on trains or buses); so if one has computing
anywhere then there are some advantages but they are probably only marginal.
1.2 Studying at variable locations
More important is the ability to study in any location (as opposed to on the move).
The advantage of this is that it allows the computing to come to the education instead
of the education going to the computer. This has two aspects:

the teaching and learning take place in the right context - geography is taught
in rooms that are designed for this with geography artefacts around the room,
the layout suited to the working style of the teacher and so forth.

computing does not dominate - it is much easier to get small devices put out of
the way; the lids closed on laptops for instance so that when computing is not
being used for part of a session then it is not a dominant feature.
Here we do not need to concern ourselves with studying on the move, and will
concentrate on mobile learning as the ability to learn in any location.
To start we will look at what technologies are available for mobile learning, followed
by a brief discussion of whether it is necessary for all students to have their own
mobile device and then look at how mobility can affect teaching and learning.
We finish with a number of questions for discussion over the following two weeks.
2 Technologies for mobility
While the major focus of this unit is the way in which mobile computing can be used
to enhance learning and teaching we do need to consider the wide range of mobile
technologies available, from mobile phones to laptops and I will briefly define each of
these.

Mobile phone - a portable phone using one or more standards for
communication, with GSM (Global Systems for Mobile Communications) for
voice and GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) for data.
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
Smart phone - a mobile phone that includes some (or all of the functionality of
a PDA - see below)

PDA - Personal Digital Assistant - a small (handheld) device such as a Palm or
Sony Clie. Offers a variety of functions including calendar, address book, note
pad and increasingly other functions such as word processor, spreadsheet,
email, web browser etc. Normally used in association with a desktop computer.
These often come with some form of handwriting recognition and may also
have keyboards.

laptop - portable computer

tablet PC - a laptop with the addition of handwriting recognition built into the
screen. See
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc/evaluation/overviews/indepth.asp
for Microsoft's description
Each of these systems have a variety of advantages and disadvantages. At this
point it is worth looking briefly at some of these.
The issues that we need to consider here are:

power of the device - computing power, storage capacity

cost

portability (mobility)

communications
Mobile devices range from simple mobile phones capable of voice telephony and
SMS (Short Message Service) more commonly known as text messaging; through
smart phones to PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) to laptops and tablet PCs.
Within each of these categories there is an enormous range of capabilities and costs.
If we ignore telephony as an educational tool then at the bottom end of the computing
power range we are left with SMS; but once we start to look at smart phones they
range from phones with little more than a text pad, diary and address book to a
complete merger of phone and PDA (As examples see http://www.kyocerawireless.com/kysmart/kysmart_series.htm and http://www.samsungusa.com/cgibin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?prod_id=SCH-I600). Beyond them we are
into the world of laptops and these range from £100 for used laptops to as much as
one is willing to pay.
Before considering what these various devices can do it is worth thinking about their
portability, and there are three dimensions to this.

First, and most obviously, there is size and weight. Modern mobile phones and
PDAs are small, light and easy to carry, whereas laptops vary enormously in
size and weight from the luggable to small devices weighing in at less than 2kg.

Second, there is battery life. There is a balance that has to be struck between
battery life and weight and we find that mobile phones and PDAs have a
battery life of 2-3 days if they are being used at all heavily, while it is rare to find
a laptop with a battery life of much over 4 hours. It is likely that fuel cell
technology will significantly extend the life of these devices but we are unlikely
to see it for 3-4 years at the least and at first it will only be in top-end devices.
The limited battery life either means that device usage has to be limited or that
they have to be plugged in during use.

Third there is communications. There are four ways that portable devices can
communicate: infrared, bluetooth, wireless networking (IEEE 802.11) and
wired. Each have benefits and problems associated with them. Many phones
and most PDAs and laptops come with infrared, however this is the least
flexible of the methods available; the devices have to be visible to each other
and pointing at each other, the distance that they will work over is limited and
infrared does not work in bright sunlight. Bluetooth is becoming more common
with many mobile phones and more expensive PDAs supporting it. However it
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is not clear that it will work effectively in the classroom as there is a limit of
eight devices in any cell, so that there are likely to be problems of interference
between users. A wired network can be expensive to install and means that
you can only work where it has been installed and in the way it has been
installed. It is also likely to mean that the desks have to be screwed down so
that the wires do not get pulled as furniture is moved. A wireless network is
ideal for portable devices, however few phones or PDAs yet support 802.11.
Mobile Phone
Smart Phone
PDA
Laptop
Mobility
Power
We need to look at the capabilities of these various devices. Smith (Smith 2003)
produced a draft paper which describes the functionality of each of these devices as
they were a year ago; and apart from smart phones gaining more of the functionality
of PDAs over the last year it is still reasonably up to date. Note in particular the
discussion of tablet PCs as these may become important when the handwriting
recognition capability is enhanced.
2.1 Design for m-learning
Sharples (Sharples 2000) has suggested that there is a need for specially designed
m-learning tools and has developed a prototype called HandLeR. He argues that
there is a need to develop systems that afford different learning activities and that it is
necessary to use systems that are designed for learning rather than adapting those
developed for the mobile office. While this may be of particular interest in the case of
younger children as we progress through older children to adults there is likely to be
a desire to use the tools that they are using for other purposes as well, and in the
case of lifelong learning the ability to integrate learning and work (or other activities)
will be increasingly important.
3 Mobility and ubiquity
I believe that an important issue in mobility is ubiquity. By this I mean that "all staff and
students having networked computers at all times that they are studying, allowing them access to
communication, office productivity and (re)search tools." Franklin 2003. This paper goes on to give
seven key reasons for developing ubiquitous computing:
1. Preparing students for work – virtually all students will be using computers in
their work once they graduate as an essential tool, not as an add on extra. To
prepare students for work they need to understand the power that computers
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
have to transform the way they work. This can best be achieved at college by
using the tools that students will be using at work, not as an add-on extra but fully
integrated into the learning processes.
Work has changed – Many of the skills needed in work relate to discriminating
among seas of often-contradictory information available on the internet. "Keeping
up" becomes a major lifetime skill, and it is a task manageable only if one is aided
by computer-based tools.
The inherent nature of learning – in order to teach students how to handle
abstractions, there must be a balance between a mass of trivial tasks and the
core concepts. The mere scale of information today requires special tools to
organise it.
The most powerful communication tool known – education is about passing
accumulated wisdom to fresh thinkers who will, in turn, deepen and extend
knowledge. The core task is communication. The computer, perhaps 1000 times
more powerful than even the telephone, is most appropriately a very effective
means of communication. It accommodates text, voice, picture, motion, archiving,
searchability, and group interaction. Education is about communication, and
computers are master facilitators of communication. Computers, like textbooks
and schools, change the whole culture further they enable individuals to become
more active members of more communities.
The need for a level playing field – some students will bring have their own
mobile computers, and some of these will bring them to college with them. Staff
are reluctant to disadvantage non-computer owners, and this is best done by
ensuring that all students have equal access to their own computer.
The competitive threat – with the migration of scholarly data to electronic
formats, the likely entry of foreign providers into continuing education markets,
and the immense appeal of computer enhanced learning to prospective students,
the threat to those institutions that do not join the "ubiquitous computer
bandwagon" is immense.
The new format for scholarship – electronic databases have attributes that
printed materials lack, and that will quickly become essential tools for scholars.
Even traditionalist seeking access to "first editions" as well as "current journals"
will be utilising the searchable, updateable, replicable, linkable, and distributable
attributes of the new format for information.
4 Mobile computing in education
The essential issue is the use of mobile devices in teaching in learning; and how they
can enhance the learning process. Becta have published a booklet on the use of
PDAs in schools (Perry 2003). and section 9 of Wireless Local Area Networks in
Education (Franklin 2003a) summarises some of the ways in which portable devices
can be used, and is included below
4.1 Pedagogy
This is one of the areas in which wireless can have greatest impact is in conjunction
with universal provision of PDAs or laptop computers to all staff and students
(ubiquitous computing), and this is discussed at the end of the section. First, we look
at what wireless LANs have to offer without ubiquitous computing.
4.1.1 Wireless enabled teaching
Wireless LANs provide great flexibility, especially in conjunction with laptops because
between them they allow computers to be used anywhere. The computers go to the
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teaching rather than the teaching to the computers so that anywhere - including
laboratories, classrooms and even outdoors - can be used to teach with computers.
This has several advantages. Firstly, as already suggested the computer can be
used where the teacher wants. Secondly, laptops used where they are needed not
where they happen to have been installed or can be plugged in are much less
intrusive into the rest of the teaching. Thirdly, it allows more efficient use of
resources because computers can be used in the number needed - not the number
that have been installed in a room, and special rooms do not need to be set aside for
when computers are needed in teaching.
Computer carts
A computer cart is secure cart or trolley that can hold enough computers for a class
as well as an access point. When not in use the cart is plugged in and the computers
are charged. To use the computers the cart is unplugged, wheeled to the classroom
where it is needed and the computers handed out. If the classroom is not within a
wireless cell then the access point will need to be plugged in (but note that for this
only one wired port is needed, and it can be wherever is most convenient.
Computer carts of this type have been being used in schools and colleges in the US
for a couple of years, and the teachers find that it greatly increases productivity.
"Probably the most intriguing use of wireless is not in whole building implementations
but in 'wireless à la cart.' In such uses, a rolling cabinet with twenty or so portable
computers and a wireless bridge [access point] are rolled into a seminar or
classroom, and the bridge is plugged in to the lone Internet connection in the room.
The portables are detached from the built-in chargers and are used throughout the
room by students in teams of two or three." The report goes on to say that
"productivity just went sky-high!".
Cart use allows computers to go to the students, rather than students to the
computer. This allows more efficient use of both computers and space. It also gives
the teacher complete flexibility about how the computer is used. They can be used in
any room which can be laid out how the teacher likes with the minimum of fuss.
Students' computers
More students now bring their own laptops with them to college and university. This
started in business courses, but is already being seen much more widely than this.
These students want to be able to make full use of their computers in college.
Clearly, students can always use the computers as stand alone systems, but that
denies them much of the power and utility that computers afford. Some colleges and
universities allow students to plug their computers into the wired network but this
causes many problems. Students have to be where there are points to plug them in
and these are often not where the students want to be, there may not be enough of
them and they are expensive to install and are easily damaged. Wireless LANs allow
students easy access to the campus network where they want.
Colleges and universities which have installed wireless LANs for student use say that
they see students working together much more than before and that it fosters
collaborative working. However, it is, as yet, hard to find anything beyond anecdotal
evidence.
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4.1.2 In conjunction with universal PDA / laptops
Once all students have their own computer or PDA a range of exciting possibilities
exists for their use in teaching, and many of these are only possible with wireless
LANs or can be greatly enhanced by its use. A good analogy is reading. If all the
students can read then written material (books, hand-outs etc.) can be used in
teaching and learning. If even 10% cannot read then it becomes necessary to read
to the students. The same applies with laptop provision. If all the students have
them then they can be fully integrated into the course. If only one student does not
then they cannot.
In the US there are already many "laptop universities" and "laptop colleges" where all
students are required to have a laptop, usually provided by the institution but charges
to the student (and are eligible for financial aid). There are several models for
achieving this and different suppliers offer different models. Approaches range from
the supplier doing everything (which tends to suit small colleges) to training college
staff in everything including warranty repairs. Suppliers also promote a range of
financial models from lease through lease-purchase to purchase. IBM alone claims
over 130 universities signed up to its Thinkpad University scheme with around 30
having gone wireless, and Dell claims over 100 with several other suppliers active as
well. Many of the colleges that have laptop programmes have already installed
wireless LANs covering part or all of their campuses, with others moving rapidly
towards wireless LANs as the best method of supplying network access to all their
students.
In Britain we are already beginning to see courses which require students to have
access to a PC or a laptop as a condition for doing the course. Examples include
some business schools (eg. London Business School) which require their MBA
students to have a laptop. The Open University now has a requirement for access to
a PC for several of its courses, and the number of such courses is growing. Whether
the computer is the student's own or one which they lease or borrow from their
college is a separate issue and not part of this paper. It cannot be long now until we
see some universities and colleges requiring students to bring laptops with them on
at least some courses (likely courses include computing, business and medicine).
Colleges will need to have the infrastructure and policies in place to support their use
before they can reasonably enforce such a requirement. By using wireless LAN
technology the college creates flexibility in use - they can be used anywhere on the
site and it is also significantly cheaper than the wired alternative.
Wireless LANs area relatively new development and much of the work on how they
can enhance teaching and learning is anecdotal or experimental with very little hard
data to show what the impact has been. This does not mean that wireless LAN
technology does not enhance learning, only that it is currently new and that evidence
is still hard to find.
We now look at some of the ways in which the combination of ubiquitous computing
and wireless LANs are being used, as well as some of the evidence that it leads to
improvements in the educational experience of students.
Mobile access to information
At Wake Forest University Medical School medical students need access to vast
amounts of information to make diagnoses, determine drug doses and see patient
notes. The medical students are being given PDAs, and they are then able to access
this information when they need it - on the wards, giving students control over
information they need, when they need it. Not only does this mean that students do
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not need to memorise so much information, they are also developing skills which
they can use in their work after graduation.
Clearly, there is scope for similar use in any field where large amounts of information
are needed while working, or where information is continually being updated. Before
the advent of wireless LANs this information would either have to be memorised, or
would only be available where computers can be plugged in - which can be
extremely limiting. This method of providing unpredictable information where and
when it is needed can greatly enhance the learning experience and be a valuable
skill for the workplace.
Feedback in class
One application which seems to be gaining ground is to use the wireless enabled
laptops as a method of improving interaction with students during class, especially
with large classes. When teaching large classes it can be a major problem to gauge
how well the students are understanding the material under discussion. Teachers
have used a variety of different methods to try to discover how well the students
understand, but many of these involve very limited sampling. Some lecturers are
using the availability of wireless laptops to get feedback.
The use of the computers for this can be initiated by both the teacher and the
student. During class sessions students can use their computer to indicate whether
they understand what is going on or to ask questions without the embarrassment of
revealing to their colleagues that they do not understand (when apparently everyone
else does).
Equally, teachers can ask a few short questions to quickly poll students
understanding - these can be either to test their understanding or of the type ‘do you
want me to go over that again?’. The advantages of using the laptops over oral
questions to the class is that there is no embarrassment in saying that you do not
understand, with the result that students are more likely to be honest. It is also
easier to get more complex responses (either a range or a list of options).
Experience with these techniques so far is mixed, with some lecturers finding it
helpful and others not liking it at all, finding it an intrusion on the way they teach.
In class tests
Several colleges are using the presence of ubiquitous wireless computers to conduct
tests or "quizzes" in class. These can be of the feedback-in-class type discussed
above or they can be much fuller tests. Either way, one of the key advantages is that
the results can be collated immediately and fed back to the teacher.
At Wake Forest University they have taken this one stage further, and a number of
the lecturers are experimenting with the use of their wireless PDAs as web servers
for in class tests. At the appropriate time the quiz is enabled on the web server and
the entire class can take the test without disrupting the teaching. The teacher can
then collect in all the results immediately and thus get instant feedback on the
students' understanding.
Data capture
Much scientific equipment these days produces electronic input and output which can
be fed straight into computers. The use of wireless LANs can facilitate this in both
the laboratory and the field. It also means that where an experiment is being
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demonstrated the students can capture the live data for analysis. One of the great
advantages it offers is the ability to network mobile equipment - including such things
as pH meters, digital cameras and digital thermometers. Having the data transferred
directly to the computer means that it can be viewed immediately and using wireless
LANs means that there are no trailing cables getting in the way.
Course updates
Course updates, of any kind, can be broadcast to students, and they will receive
them as soon as they come within range of an access point. This could be a new
piece of work, feedback on existing work, changes to the course schedule etc.
Many of the colleges which have installed wireless LANs in conjunction with
ubiquitous computing comment on the power of being able to do this, and student
comment seems to be universally favourable. It is really an indication of usability.
When students have to go to a computer that is networked and log on then they often
do not bother to do it for several days until they have some pressing need to do so.
With a computer in their hand and wireless LANs they are much more likely to check
in more often and therefore get updates in a more timely manner.
Collaborative working
Encouraging students to collaborate on work is often difficult. Places where they can
do the work together may be difficult to find - especially when it involves using
computers. With wireless LANs the students can work online together wherever, and
whenever suits them.
Several universities have reported significantly increased collaboration in terms of
both the quantity and the quality of collaboration that is achieved, and comments like
" you see students working together much more often now that there is a wireless
network".
Conclusion
Wake Forest University, which has done more work in this area than most claims the
following for their use of ubiquitous computing with wireless LANs:






Enhanced collaboration among learners
More frequent student / staff dialogue
Prompter feedback
Better application of theory
More student initiative
More personal and individual teaching
Leading to



Better SAT (standard attainment test) scores and class ranks
Enhanced retention and graduation rates
More satisfaction and learning
Which is an impressive list of advantages.
5 Discussion issues
There are a large number of interesting issues that can be considered around the
issue of mobile computing in education; but we will have to limit the number given the
amount of time available for this unit. In particular I want the discussion to focus on
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the pedagogic implications of mobile learning rather than on the technology. The key
questions that I would like you to consider are:

How could you incorporate mobility within your own teaching?
o What are the differences that mobility could make in your teaching;
reflecting, of course the type(s) of devices that your students have?
o Are there any activities that you could include in your teaching which
you are unable to include at the moment?

What difference would mobility make to your students learning?
o Where do you want your students to undertake their learning
o Some argue that the use of computers in education reduces students
learning (Oppenheimer 2003). If this is true then is the problem even
greater with mobile computing?

How far is ubiquity necessary before mobility can be incorporated into
teaching?

What are the advantages and disadvantages for teaching of the various types
of device? and how could the different types of device be used?
I suggest that each of you strart with some reflections on how you would make use of
mobile learning within your own practice.
If a small group of you are interested in using SMS (text messaging) on your mobile
to undertake some of the discussion then it would be worth experimenting with this.
To keep the costs down it would be sensible to limit the group size to five or six
people. Probably the easiest way to conduct it would be for one persone to start by
posing a question that they are having a problem with and each then respond as
appropriate. Note that you should consider whether it is appropriate to use the
abbreviated language of the mobile phone (abbrv lang of mob), or the full English
text.
If any of you are intending to hold a discussion using SMS please tell the list before
the start of the discussion week that you will be doing this.
6 References
Franklin 2003
Franklin T, Ubiquitous Computing Briefing Paper, TechLearn,
http://www.techlearn.ac.uk/NewDocs/UbiquitousComputingbrief
ing.doc
Franklin 2003a
Franklin T, Wireless Local Area Networks in Education,
http://www.techlearn.ac.uk/NewDocs/Wireless%20LAN%20Tec
h%20Rep.pdf
Oppenheimer 2003 Oppenhemer T, The Flickering Mind: The False Promise of
Technology in the Classroom and How Learning can be Saved,
Random House
Perry 2003
Perry D, Handheld Computers (PDAs) in Schools, Becta 2003
March 2003,
http://www.becta.org.uk/page_documents/leas/technology/han
dhelds.pdf
Sharples 2000
Sharples, M. The design of Personal Mobile Technologies for
Lifelong Learning. In Computers & Education, 34, 177193.http://www.eee.bham.ac.uk/sharplem/Papers/handler
comped.pdf
Smith 2003
Smith T, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) in Education,
TechLearn,
http://www.techlearn.ac.uk/NewDocs/pdasineducation.doc
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6.1 Example mobile computing projects
m-learning: m-learning is a pan-European research and development programme.
http://www.m-learning.org/
MLEARN 2003: learning with mobile devices: book of abstracts has two sides an a
variety of projects relating to m-learning. http://www.lsda.org.uk/files/pdf/1421.pdf
The Royal Institution, Bringing scientific discoveries to life: A project funded by
NESTA. http://www.nesta.org.uk/ourawardees/profiles/4074/02_profile.html
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