A Framework for Sharing Handwritten Notes

NotePals is an ink-based, collaborative note taking application that runs on personal digital assistants (PDAs). Meeting participants write notes in their own handwriting on a PDA. These notes are shared with other participants by synchronizing later with a shared note repository that can be viewed using a desktop-based web browser. NotePals is distinguished by its lightweight process, interface, and hardware. This demonstration illustrates the design of two different NotePals clients and our web-based note browser. Keywords PDA, pen-based user interface, CSCW, informal user interfaces, gestures, digital ink, mobile computin

Reading with new tools: An evaluation of Personal Digital Assistants as tools for reading course materials

Lightweight, palmtop devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) can now be used for reading electronic text, opening up their potential as learning tools. This paper reports a study that evaluated the use of PDAs for reading course materials by students on an Open University master's course. The research is grounded in activity theory, which provides a useful framework for examining how the introduction of a new tool changes an existing activity. Student perceptions of the possibilities and constraints of the PDA, as determined by questionnaires and interviews, reveal the impact the new tool had upon reading. The PDA constrained reading with limitations such as the small screen size, new requirements for navigating through the text and awkward methods for taking notes. These conditions made it difficult for students to skim‐read the text, to move back and forth within the document and to interact with the text as easily as they could with paper. Nevertheless, students welcomed the opportunity to have the course materials on a portable, lightweight device that could be used at any time and in any place. This made it easier to fit the reading activity around the various other activities in which students were involved In addition, the PDA was used in conjunction with existing tools, such as the printed version of the course materials and the desktop computer. Therefore, it was not seen to replace paper but rather to extend and complement it. The findings are discussed using concepts from activity theory to interpret how the new tool modified the reading activity

Innovation in Mobile Learning: A European Perspective

In the evolving landscape of mobile learning, European researchers have conducted significant mobile learning projects, representing a distinct perspective on mobile learning research and development. Our paper aims to explore how these projects have arisen, showing the driving forces of European innovation in mobile learning. We propose context as a central construct in mobile learning and examine theories of learning for the mobile world, based on physical, technological, conceptual, social and temporal mobility. We also examine the impacts of mobile learning research on educational practices and the implications for policy. Throughout, we identify lessons learnt from European experiences to date

Motivation and mobile devices: exploring the role of appropriation and coping strategies

There has been interest recently in how mobile devices may be motivating forces in the right contexts: for example, one of the themes for the IADIS International Conference on Mobile Learning in 2007 was ‘Affective Factors in Learning with Mobile Devices’ (http://www.mlearningconf. org). The authors have previously proposed six aspects of learning with mobile devices in informal contexts that might be motivating: control over learners’ goals, ownership, fun, communication, learning-in-context and continuity between contexts. How do these motivational features relate to theoretical accounts of what motivates people to use mobile devices and learn in technology- rich contexts? In this exploratory paper we consider two different candidates for such theoretical approaches. One is technology appropriation—the process by which technology or particular technological artefacts are adopted and shaped in use. Two different approaches to technology appropriation are discussed in order to explore the relationship between the different aspects of appropriation and motivation; that of Carroll et al. and that of Waycott. Both appropriation frameworks have been developed in the context of using mobile devices, but neither has a specific focus on learning. By contrast, the second theoretical approach is Järvelä et al.’s model of coping strategies, which is specifically concerned with learning with technologies, although not with mobile technologies in particular. The paper draws on case-study data in order to illustrate and discuss the extent to which these two approaches are helpful in informing our understanding of the motivating features of using mobile devices for informal learning

Collaborating Note Taking

Collaborative note taking enables students in a class to take notes on their PDAs and share them with their “study group” in real-time. Students receive instructor’s slides on their PDAs as they are displayed by the instructor. As the individual members of the group take notes pertaining to the slide being presented, their notes are automatically sent to all members of the group. In addition, to reduce their typing, students can use text they receive from other students and from the instructors slides to construct their notes. This system has been used in actual practice for a graduate level course on wireless mobile computing. In developing this system, special attention has been paid to the task of inputting text on PDAs, efficient use of the screen real estate, dynamics among students, privacy and ease of use issues

Going with the grain: mobile devices in practice

Fifty-seven alumni of a global Masters program participated in research into their use of mobile devices. Drawing on questionnaire and interview data,the paper examines how far the devices were embedded in the personal and professional lives of these alumni, most of whom were aged 35-54. All had experience of online and distance education, and most worked in education or training. The study revealed some innovative uses of mobile devices, a selection of which is reported in this paper. The paper links the findings to wider debates about the changing relationship between learners and educational institutions, and the role of mobile devices in enabling individuals to engage in learning conversations. Data are provided on which devices were used by the alumni and for what purposes, and the paper explores the implications of these findings for educators

Learning from the learners' experience: e-Learning@greenwich post-conference reflections

This publication comprises papers from presenters who, having made a conference presentation, were invited to author an academic paper about their work