Future Mobile Learning

Last week in a workshop on mobile learning I was looking for something interesting in that difficult time right after lunch. So I decided to talk about where mobile is going and thus additional opportunities for mobile learning. There was quite a bit of interest, so I uploaded it to SlideShare and in less than a week have had over 2,000 views and some great comments, but no additional suggestions.

What did I miss? Please add other projects in the comments.

Future Mobile Learning (29 August 2011)

You may also be interested in a presentation on changing technology in education which I gave in July 1996 in which I also talked about mobile.

Changing Technology from 1996

View more presentations from Judy Brown

Spacing Effect for Mobile Learning

For some time I have been reviewing research on the spacing effect of learning for maximum recollection. This research has been documented for over 100 years. In the past with teaching at specific times and places, this has been difficult and expensive to implement, but today with ubiquitous communication devices in our pockets and purses, it is easy to accomplish.

Dr. Will Thalheimer has been reviewing the literature and writing about the spacing effect for some time. See Spacing Learning Over Time: A Research Based Secret from the June 2007 ASTD Annual Conference.

Several mobile learning products have integrated the capability to send reminders and spaced knowledge checks, but they have not been implemented to any degree yet.

SpacedEd has a Beta site called Addictive Learning That Sticks using the research on the spacing effect. You can also view their list of frequently asked questions or check out the peer-reviewed research behind spaced education in their Research section.

This is how SpacedEd has structures their materials:

• Each learner receives 2 questions every day via email.
• If a question is answered incorrectly, it will be repeated 1 week later.
• If a question is answered correctly, it will be repeated 3 weeks later.
• If a question is answered correctly two times in a row, the item is retired from the course and is no longer repeated.
• The learner completes the course when all of the questions are retired (answered correctly twice in a row).

Today MIT's Technology Review ran a story An App so You'll Never Forget: Adaptive-learning algorithms calculate how often people need to see information to remember it about a new iPhone app based in Tokyo called Smart.fm.

Spaced learning is one application of mobile learning that will grow in importance as we open our eyes to the additional capabilities afforded by using mobile devices.

Busy Week for Mobile Learning

Where do I start?

This week I went to Washington DC for a couple days, so have been trying to get through all the updates that weren't otherwise posted on mLearnopedia.com. I haven't read through all of the following, but wanted to share these great resources.

• Stanford University started an iPhone Application Programming course this week and has made the slides and video available through iTunes U here. You can subscribe to the new lectures which are posted each Wednesday and Friday for this ten week course.
• A new 320-page book entitled “Mobile Learning: Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training” edited by Mohamed Ally and published by Athabasca University is available for sale or as a free PDF download. (Click on eBook for the PDF download.)
• The International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) has released issue Vol. 3, No. 2 (2009) with some very interesting papers. The objective of the journal is to publish and discuss fundamentals, applications and experiences in the field of interactive mobile technologies in learning and teaching as well as in industrial and other applications. There is no fee, but you will need to register.
• The abstracts from the 3rd WLE Mobile Learning Symposium: Mobile Learning Cultures across Education, Work and Leisure in London, UK, on 27 March 2009 have been posted.
• Weeding through all the joke posts on April 1^st, I am glad that I didn't miss Tom Kuhlmann's blog titled “Here's What You Need to Know About Mobile Learning.” It definitely is a lot of fun!
• For an overview of all the major mobile stats, check out Tomi T Ahonen's post “The Size of the Mobile Industry in 2009,” a short overview of major stats.
• AT&T announced its second annual Big Mobile On Campus Challenge, a national higher education contest for mobile application development with a $10,000 Scholarship award available. “The contest recognizes innovative and creative mobile applications that enhance academic performance, build campus community and help to improve campus operations.” There are three categories: mobile learning, mobile identity and student system integration.

Lot's of reading for the weekend and beyond...

Mobile Phones to Monitor Teenagers Mental Health

Thanks to Holly Hart for forwarding a very interesting article about monitoring and behavioral change using mobile phones. Not mobile learning, but an important pilot to help in the treatment of 14-24 year-olds with depression issues.

The program was created by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI) and funded by the Telstra Foundation for two years. The program monitors "each young person's mood, stress levels, coping strategies, alcohol and cannabis use, exercise, eating patterns and general lifestyle factors." By using the communications capabilities of mobile phones and SMS messages, MCRI hopes to better capture information and provide earlier treatment.

There are other pilot behavioral change projects taking place in such areas as executive coaching. It will be interesting to follow these projects and see how what they find can be applied to learning.

New Zealand Mobile Learning

In searching for some reports from the recent Mobile World Conference in Barcelona I ran across the Unitec New Zealand wiki and a wealth of information on mobile learning initiatives in New Zealand over the past three years or so. There are presentations, videos, slideshows, discussions and numerous references.

Let's see now, where does a person even start? I know that it will take me some time to peruse, but wanted to share these wonderful resources now.

The initial site updated last week is MobilePedagogy2 - http://ctliwiki.unitec.ac.nz/index.php/MobilePedagogy2

Other New Zealand mobile learning materials can be found here:
Mlearning Workshops - http://ctliwiki.unitec.ac.nz/index.php/MlearningWorkshops
MlearnBlogging - http://ctliwiki.unitec.ac.nz/index.php/MlearnBlogging
MlearnMovingmobile - http://ctliwiki.unitec.ac.nz/index.php/MlearnMovingmobile
MlearningOverview - http://ctliwiki.unitec.ac.nz/index.php/MlearningOverview
Mlearning Trials - http://ctliwiki.unitec.ac.nz/index.php/MlearningTrials