mLearnCon Mobile Learning Content

This has already been a full week at mLearnCon in San Diego and we still have one more day to go.

The keynotes (by Tomi Ahonen and Mimi Ito) were great and I learned something from each session concurrent I attended. For a first year conference, it was awesome and the eLearningGuild has started a hard act for themselves to follow.

On Monday Dr. Rovy Brannon, Jason Haag, Chris Raasch and I conducted a full-day workshop “Creating a Successful mLearning Strategy: From Planning to Implementation”. We had a great group with lots of good questions.

In preparation for the workshop, Jason and I had been working on a mobile application with content all about mobile learning. We had gathered resources that we had been using in workshops and presentations for ADL and decided to make it available on various mobile devices. The content is still being developed and decisions are being made. We see this as a work in process and plan to make the final content available using various authoring tools for mobile.

We had planned to work on and discuss the possibilities with the content during the workshop, but did not have the available time. We did give the participants URLs for their feedback. They were tweeted, so word spread quite quickly. Some thought this was intended to be a course--which it is not--but could definitely serve as resources or check lists for a course on mobile learning.

To begin, we have two versions. The first was built using plain HTML and appears to run on all mobile devices with browsers. You can access it at http://emerginged.com/adlmobile. The second was built using iWebkit and CSS and appears to run well on the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, several Nokia devices and Windows Mobile. It is available at http://mlearnopedia.com/adl/mobile. Both have the same content. Going forward we plan to provide enhanced version using commercial mobile authoring tools.

In any case, we are now looking for your feedback. What would you like to see included? What doesn’t work for mobile? Please let us hear from you at adl@mlearnopedia.com. Once it has reached a more finished state, we plan to make these and all other versions available on the ADL website.

iPods in the Classroom

Just discovered a publication with lots of good information and suggestions for using iPods in the classroom. Enjoy!

Open publication - Free publishing - More technology

A Visit to Abilene Christian University

Today I was excited to visit the folks at Abilene Christian University (ACU) in Abilene, TX, to talk about mobile learning. Their ConnectEd initiative has been well covered in just about every publication that covers education and technology, plus they have shared a lot of information through their website and blogs. I have followed ACU since I first saw their video last year and all was pretty well as I had expected. Lots of students with iPhones or iPods and lots of activity.

I was unable to attend their sold-out conference at the end of February due to another commitment, but all their materials are (or very soon will be) on their ConnectEd Summit 2009 site.

As a bit of history I learned that, like other institutions, ACU had been looking at laptops and tablets for students. At a group meeting to discuss ubiquitous computing, someone asked how are we going to restrict these cell phones? 98% of the student population used these devices. Luckily rather than to outlaw or otherwise restrict them, they embraced them and supported the constant connectivity.

The excitement of the faculty and staff to think outside the box and better prepare students for the new connected world was impressive, plus the members of the team were very open and willing to consider new ideas. When I arrived they were discussing the new integrated curriculum they are planning. They continue to think of how they can improve the student experience and are anxiously awaiting the news tomorrow of version 3.0 details for the iPhone.

What I didn't expect to be impressed by was their library. They have created a very active center where students can talk aloud, collaborate and receive assistance. They can also grab a cup of coffee or drink from the Starbucks right in the library. There are areas for students to receive help with their writing, presentations, research, and technical issues. There is even a copy center. What they are planning on the floor above is to expand this center for assistance with creating videos, audio or other types of multimedia and to integrate these materials into their presentations and other work.

If you get a chance to visit them or attend one of their next conferences, I would definitely recommend it. In any case, keep your eyes on ACU as we can all learn from them.

Mobile Learning Tools

At presentations and workshops, I am often asked to recommend tools for authoring mobile learning. I do not recommend any tools, but do encourage them to check with their current authoring tool vendor to see what their plans are for mobile, as many vendors are moving in this direction.

Recently I have gathered information on the current tools and have compiled the following list. I know that I have missed some and am hoping that you will comment and add your favorite to the list:

Authoring Tools

• Adobe(R) eLearning Suite


• Chalk Mobile Chalkboard


• Emantras MobLS Authorer


• Giunti Labs eXact Mobile


• Hot Lava Learning Mobile Author


• Knowledge Direct MOBILE (Performance Support)


• MentorMate iQpakk


• Mobile Learning Environment (MLE)


• RedHalo


• SumTotal ToolBook


• Tribal CTAD MyLearning Author (Pocket PC)


• Trivantis Lectora


• Vcom3D Vcommunicator Authoring Suite


• Veodia

Polls and Quizzes

• Poll Everywhere


• Turning Technologies ResponseWare


• Cram (BlackBerry & iPhone)


• iQuiz Maker (iPod)


• Pocket Exam Builder


• PodQuiz-hyperMix Maker


• QuestionMark


• Quizzler Maker


• StudyCell


• Tribal CTAD SMS quiz author

Other Mobile Tools and Services

• GPS Tours


• Instancy Web-based Authoring


• Intuition


• KnowledgeShift


• Modlity


• OnPoint Digital


• Rave Campus

What did I miss? I will publish a complete listing and will attempt to keep it updated.

CES 2009

Last week I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas seeking mobile learning related tools and announcements.

The biggest mobile news in my opinion was that of the Palm Pre. The demo was very impressive and it should again move the industry, but until we get a chance to put it through its paces we will have to wait. The one thing that we know is that despite the down economy there will be new mobile devices hitting the market, each touting new improvements. We do need to make certain that our learning and performance support content will still operate on them.

If you are interested in the Palm Pre, check out the Palm site for information and the announcement video. For a good overview see Engadget’s review.

Bar codes were front and center with Nokia. Visitors were encouraged to send an SMS message with Nokia as the content to receive a link to download a 2D barcode and then bring their phone to the booth for a chance for a prize. The booth was busy. I had checked it out both with a BlackBerry Bold and the iPhone. The code was quite small, but the Nokia reader read it just fine. They certainly have improved it since last year.

BlackBerry’s booth was crowded with 3rd party apps. The arrangement of it made it very difficult to go through it systematically and make sure that you saw all the vendors.

LG showed their “Wearable Mobile Communicator” digital watch behind a glass case and did not release pricing or availability. It could be useful for SMS alerts.

MobileTV was being shown in several booths. I had planned to try it this week, but don’t have the bandwidth available.

While I was in Las Vegas I was able to use Qik on the Bold to video a few demos an interviews and was impressed with the ease of use and quality. There are so many used for this tool in education and training.

Although CES touted mobile as one of the next big things, most of their references were to automobiles and navigation or syncing. This was mainly in the North Hall where the bass speakers were blasting so loud that it was impossible to carry on a conversation.

Since mid-November we have driven over 5,500 miles escaping the snow and frigid weather. I certainly do not miss it, but have to admit to missing sitting in front of the fireplace. We are really enjoying the mobile lifestyle, but are experiencing varying levels of connectivity.