Dial M for Learning: mLearning ideas

The HDUL project funded by Harvard’s Provost and under the guidance of Professor Chris Dede, sought to determine how wireless handheld devices (WHDs) – which include, but are not limited to, cellphones, personal digital assistants, and mobile gaming devices – could enhance learning and teaching in university settings. During the 2003–2004 and 2004–2005 academic years, HDUL successfully integrated WHDs into eight diverse courses at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and the Harvard Extension School (HES).

Their website documents the support materials and publications developed from the project.

You might also enjoy a streamed presentation by Chris Dede. (Be patient & sit through the first few minutes of introduction – or grab a cuppa.)

Global Summit 2006 Online will take place before, during and after the Global Summit.

This online event began on 31 July and is set up for anyone interested in contributing to ideas about technology connected futures and the future of education and training.

Global Summit 2006 Online will be open to everyone for 5 weeks.

After 4 September 2006 only registered Delegates and ‘ Thought Leaders’ will be able to access the online event.

Initial discussion has begun around Professor James Bosco’s paper Tools, culture, and education: past – present – future.

Professor Bosco says – in part:
…Our challenge in education is to seize the opportunity….not just to do nifty things with ICT but to disenthrall ourselves from the past, to think in the new ways about education which our times call for, and to be willing to fight the good fight to make it happen. Join the discussion.

I attended the education.au seminar So what’s changed? in Sydney yesterday. As expected, there were some thought-provoking points of view from Phillip Adams and James Farmer. And it was interesting to hear about some of the projects being undertaken by Futurelab in the UK.

You can join the discussion or listen to the podcast of each speaker. If my time was limited I’d listen to James Farmer to glean ideas for immediate use followed by Phillip Adams for some thought provoking general ideas. I’d suggest a visit to Futurelab to check out their projects rather than the podcast. Those discussed by Annika were:

Savannah – a strategy-based adventure game where a virtual space is mapped directly onto a real space. Children ‘play’ at being lions in a savannah, navigating the augmented environments with a mobile handheld device.

Space Mission: Ice Moon – puts pupils in the roles of experts in an Emergency Response Team after a disaster in space. Working in teams in the classroom, up to 30 pupils use video-conferencing facilities, web chat and interactive materials to help resolve the disaster.

Racing Academy – a massively multiplayer car racing and vehicle engineering simulation which allows students to engineer and race realistic virtual models of cars. Online facilities allow teams and communities to collaborate and compete on the web.

Speaker profiles:
Phillip Adams – a controversial broadcaster, writer and film-maker. As presenter of Late Night Live, he has interviewed thousands and can boast to be ABC Radio National’s largest driver of demand for podcast downloads (50,000 downloads for May 2006).

James Farmer – a Melbourne based online communications designer. James is the founder of edublogs.org, the largest educational blogging community on the web. James has worked as a lecturer in research and education design at Deakin University and is currently the Online Community Editor at The Age.

Annika Small – CEO of Futurelab UK, responsible for developing the strategic direction, establishing partnerships and exploring new opportunities for Futurelab. Annika has focused on developing compelling interactive learning resources for those excluded from traditional education.

You’ve no doubt heard of the $100 laptops first outlined by Nicholas Negroponte earlier this year. They’re designed for, and only available to, children in the developing world and available in fetching orange and yellow, or shades of blue and green.

The Register reports that India has decided not to buy into the project. The Indian Ministry of Education dismissed the laptop as “pedagogically suspect”.

However, according to the Vanguard, Nigeria has ordered 1 million!

Global Summit 2006 Online will take place before, during and after the Global Summit. This online event will begin on 31 July.

The online event is set up for anyone interested in contributing to ideas about technology connected futures and the future of education and training.

Global Summit 2006 Online will be open to everyone for 5 weeks.

After 4 September 2006 only registered Delegates and ‘Thought Leaders’ will be able to access the online event.

Read about & access this online event

Also check the Global Summit speakers (Seymour Papert, George Siemens, Robert Cailliau and more…) and the program.

Why wouldn’t you be there!!

A couple of interesting uses of podcasting in the medical arena from Sonosite. If you have the stomach for it, take a peek at their FAST Exam and Aorta Exam. In their words:

These dynamic and comprehensive Video Refresher Modules are intended to provide a quick review to any practitioner who has attended formal training workshops, but are still in the initial learning curve and in need of a refresher when performing the focused procedure/evaluation. These modules are not intended to replace hands-on and or didactic training programs, but enhance them.

You have to sign a disclaimer before you get to see them. You can watch online through Quicktime or Media Player if you don’t want to download to your iPod. Click here to access.

Here’s a great article with a long list of Blog search engines. Blog search engines have become more and more sophisticated, and nowadays you can do a blog search on a variety of topics. These should keep you busy for a few days – enjoy.

How do we become active participants in the information age with an ability to read, write, produce, direct, podcast, v-cast, blog… AND do it critically.

The next education.au seminar, August 4 Sydney, will be exploring what options education and training need to consider to make this possible.

Speakers at the seminar include:

• Phillip Adams – controversial broadcaster, writer and film maker. Key Issue: How can a media and communications rich world make a difference in building a better education system?
• James Farmer – Online Community Editor at The Age and online communications designer. Key Issue: Engaging and empowering teachers and learners. What does this mean for pedagogy?
• Annika Small – CEO of Futurelab UK. Key Issue: How can technology transform the way people learn?

Further information registration

This publication from JISC is a good practice guide to embedding mobile and wireless technologies into everyday practice. It’s aimed at practitioners and managers in further and higher education and adult and community learning.

‘Innovative Practice with e-Learning’ identifies challenges and benefits relating to the use of six commonly found mobile devices and reflects the findings of reports commissioned through the e-Learning and Innovation strand. Ten new case studies are also included to illustrate the use and the impact of these new technologies from three perspectives: those of the learner, the practitioner and the institution.

You can download the publication free of charge.

I’ve taken this piece directly from Cambridge News Online UK:

Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge is launching a BSc honours degree in new media production technology, or services and content for the “iPod generation”.

First students will start the new course in September, mixing creativity with practical technology.

Course leader, Dr Tim Rowsell, said: “The rapid decline in the cost of digital cameras and audio equipment, along with the rise in broadband use in the UK has led to a marked rise in new media production and consumption.

“Many new companies are expanding to exploit these opportunities, however, in order to pursue a career in these creative industries there is need for both technical and creative skills, which this degree is designed to provide.”

The degree course will include live streaming, studio recording, video post-production and effects, DVD production, workshops on commercial software, and satellite and mobile technology.