Mobile Live Video Streaming

I have been looking at live video streaming tools for mobile and have tested several in preparation to writing a blog, but yesterday found that Robin Good had published an excellent guide of 11 such tools along with side-by-side their key features and options.

His is an excellent overview with a comparison chart plus individual product descriptions.

Be sure to check out the comments and related articles at the bottom for additional information.

Yet Another Global K-12 Success Story

Elliot Soloway and Cathie Norris recently blogged Hong Kong School Leads the World in Cellphone Computer Use after visiting Pui Ching Middle School in Hong Kong. Students are currently using cellphones to help learn English and current events, but are also moving to use them for math and Chinese.

Pictures are available here. It is easy to see how engaged and happy the students appear to be.

The good news is that now when I talk with organizations about mobile learning, the questions have moved from "why?" to "how?" It seems to be a given that we are all moving in this direction, but the questions are what can we learn from others who are already "there?" This may well be a great example for K-12 to follow.

May Hot List: Mobile Learning Content Community

Here is the monthly top ten list for cc.mlearnopedia.com from May. Enjoy...

Top Posts

The following are the top posts from featured sources based on social signals

1. Facebook Classroom Management & Projects with Student Cell Phones- Cell Phones in Learning, May 12, 2009
2. Barcodes Offer Interesting Opportunities for Mobile Learning- mLearning is Good, May 20, 2009
3. Challenge Based Learning w’ Marco Torres- uLearning Blog, May 18, 2009
4. Current Events: Anytime, Anywhere Via Cell (No Mobile Internet Required)- Cell Phones in Learning, May 4, 2009
5. iPods in the Classroom- mLearnopedia on Blogspot, May 29, 2009
6. Images that Speak Volumes- The Mobile Learner, May 30, 2009
7. #ela2009 workshop George Siemens: social networking technologies for teaching and learning transformation- Ignatia Webs, May 29, 2009
8. #ela2009: Proof of concept for mLearning for formal education for mathematics in South-Africa- Ignatia Webs, May 28, 2009
9. Sky Map Mobile Planetarium for Android- mLearning Blog, May 24, 2009
10. What If?- The Mobile Learner, May 24, 2009
11. Task.fm: Text and voice reminders for students and teachers---EASY! EASY! EASY!- Cell Phones in Learning, May 15, 2009
12. 6 Queensland Educators talk about the iPod Touch- uLearning Blog, May 19, 2009
13. Mobile ESL- mLearnopedia on Blogspot, May 17, 2009
14. Hashtags in Twitter and walls, fountains, ways to keep everyone's remarks in the picture- Ignatia Webs, May 15, 2009
15. Learning Objects for Mobile (MLOs)- mLearning is Good, May 9, 2009

Top Other Items

The following are the top other items based on social signals.

1. Erik Duval’s Weblog, May 4, 2009
2. The Mobile Learning Engine (MLE) for Moodle, May 18, 2009
3. Another Mobile Round Up of Sorts « Ubiquitous Thoughts, May 28, 2009
4. Mobile Libraries: Mobile Apps For Virtual Learning Environments, May 4, 2009
5. Create mobile learning materials « Innovation in Teaching, May 30, 2009
6. MOBILE LEARNING - eLearning Tour Part 1 - Hosted by Corporate Learning Trends and Innovation, May 21, 2009
7. "The students don't think of it as learning" | Education IT | ZDNet.com, May 20, 2009
8. TheEngTeacher: MOBILE ESL LEARNING, May 17, 2009
9. A “Starbucks Locator” for the Rest of Us, May 15, 2009
10. EduPOV, May 7, 2009
11. Mobile learning saves lives, May 30, 2009
12. The Mobile Generation « NWP Walkabout, May 18, 2009
13. Text messaging for collaborative learning in South Africa | Tony Bates, May 13, 2009
14. My Learning Blog: Elementary Mobile Learning, May 13, 2009
15. The Future of Mobile Media and Communication, May 7, 2009

Top Posts

• Mobile Learning (40)
• Education (33)
• Course (25)
• Video (25)
• Devices (24)
• Technology (23)
• Tools (23)
• Blog (23)
• iPhone (21)
• iPod (20)
• Resources (20)
• Social (19)
• Research (19)
• School (18)
• Phone (18)
• Development (17)
• Google (16)
• Mobile Devices (16)
• Presentation (16)
• Classroom (15)

Mobile Learning Reading

It is great to see some new books on mobile learning. Recently there was a lot of buzz about Mobile Learning: Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training edited by Mohamed Ally (March 2009). I had read a couple chapters and got back to it this last week on my Kindle while travelling.

While useful, I was disappointed that most of the examples were from the early and mid-2000’s.

Having followed and participated in mobile learning since 1996, I see very clear stages and believe that we should now be looking forward at the potential of this very powerful opportunity.

We began with standalone devices (PDA) that could be connected to a single computer for a single person. Once these devices were combined with a cell phone, communication opened up. With today’s capabilities to seamlessly move from cellular to Wi-Fi, collaboration opens many more doors. Location-based context and tagging, sensors and feedback, recognition and specialized apps now open up our imaginations and provide powerful learning opportunities not even available on a desktop.

There are three new books just published that appear to be current and looking ahead. I have just started reviewing them, but wanted to share in case you are looking to add to your reading lists on mobile learning:

• New technologies, new pedagogies: Mobile learning in higher education from the University of Wollongong includes faculty development, specific discipline examples and design principles. This is available as a free PDF download.
• Mobile Learning Communities: Creating New Educational Futures by Patrick Danaher, Beverley Moriarty, Geoff Danaher, a Routledge publication covering communities, along with other topics such as globalization, lifelong learning, multiliteracies, and sustainability; concluding with creating new educational futures.
• Researching Mobile Learning: Frameworks, Tools and Research Designs from Peter Lang Publishing Group, which sets out the issues and requirements for mobile learning research and presents efforts to specify appropriate theoretical frameworks, research methods and tools.

What have you found? What are you reading about mobile learning? Please share in the comments.