ULearn2010: MLearning

Nathan Kerr
Robert Douglas
Dr Noeline Wright

Paper notes handout of slides, etc.  Refer to these.

Vodafone
Strong association with schools
Podcasting to mobiles

What is MLearning?
Any device that allows student to learn any where, any time.
Mobiles
iPods
Netbooks
Laptops
PSP
etc

Encourages sharing of content and product
videos, etc

From notes: Students wanted their mobile devices to be "communications Swiss army knives"
Access
Create
Manipulate
Critique
Publish
Collaborate

Content
Students want both teacher created and student created content, because they want to see the "standard" and variations of that standard.

MLearning encourages collaboration the most.

NZQA
They don't encourage text language (?)
Schools have their own ability to write up their own assessment activities
"If it meets the assessment criteria, why not?"

Further research needed

WordWall
In class response system
Not MLearning, but using a cellphone interface to respond to learning in class.
Can be short or long text, vote, etc.  All entries appear on screen as responding. 
Could this be done with mobiles?  texting in to a forum or collaborative environment?
Deliberate planning and interaction by the teacher is vital.

(Why do the presenters, in order to prove the worth of the experience they are presenting, always choose positive responses from the "bad" kids?  Does that make the response more relevant?)

Mobile devices as computers?
Issues:

Access

Networks

Internet

Budgets

Pedagogically applied technology improves student outcomes.
Capability improving
Usability improving
Cost plummiting

Cloud computing - how does this change the dynamic?

3G data or school wifi?  wifi = 0 cost to the student
But schools need to control and monitor use.

Internal IT support should be pedagogically aware for most effective support and provision

What schools need:
Robust policies for use
Clear communication of policies, possibilities and value to all parties
Include expectations for theft, misuse, abuse

You can't leave them to their own devices
(finally, someone not using PowerPoint)

Planned
Guided
Supported
Linked
Valued

Any where, any time
Easy to access any time, especially outside of specific learning environment/classroom, therefore reinforcing and embedding learning by revisiting and reviewing

Value in videoing teachers creating diagrams/equations/practical processes/sentence structures/etc.
Therefore, should we create podcasts and vodcasts of those learning moments?  Yes.  
In a lesson where you know that skill might need to be taught and retaught several times, get a student to video it and up load it straight away.  Video can then be used where ever, whenever.  

Staff
Pedagogical experience
Technological risk
Learning with studnets
Is digital pedagogy different, really? Then what is pedagogy?  Is learning dependent on environment of learning, or can learning happen anyway?

Does learning need to be fun?  Does fun meaning entertaining?
No
Fun is ... challenging, engaging, critical, new, collaborative.  Not just entertaining

Students still need to be taught how to learn via the technology. Learning to learn via technology.