Informal learning evidence in online communities of mobile device enthusiasts

This chapter describes a study that investigated the informal learning practices of enthusiastic mobile device owners. Informal learning is far more widespread than is often realized. Livingston (2000) pointed out that Canadian adults spend an average of fifteen hours per week on informal learning activities, more than they spend on formal learning activities. The motivation for these learning efforts generally comes from the individual, not from some outside force such as a school, university, or workplace. Therefore, in the absence of an externally imposed learning framework, informal learners will use whatever techniques,resources, and tools best suit their learning needs and personal preferences. As ownership of mobile technologies becomes increasingly widespread in the western world, it is likely that learners who have access to this technology will use it to support their informal learning efforts. This chapter presents the findings of a study into the various and innovative ways in which PDA and Smartphone users exploit mobile device functionality in their informal learning activities. The findings suggested that mobile device users deploy the mobile, connective, and collaborative capabilities of their devices in a variety of informal learning contexts, and in quite innovative ways. Trends emerged, such as the increasing importance of podcasting and audio and the use of built-in GPS, which may have implications for future studies. Informal learners identified learning activities that could be enhanced by the involvement of mobile technology, and developed methods and techniques that helped them achieve their learning goals

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

M-health review: joining up healthcare in a wireless world

In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to deliver health and social care. This trend is bound to continue as providers (whether public or private) strive to deliver better care to more people under conditions of severe budgetary constraint

Harnessing Technology in Schools Survey 2007: technical report

This technical report provides a detailed review of the methods used and the data gathered for this survey. The report also provides copies of the research instruments used in this survey

Evaluating the development of wearable devices, personal data assistants and the use of other mobile devices in further and higher education institutions

This report presents technical evaluation and case studies of the use of wearable and mobile computing mobile devices in further and higher education. The first section provides technical evaluation of the current state of the art in wearable and mobile technologies and reviews several innovative wearable products that have been developed in recent years. The second section examines three scenarios for further and higher education where wearable and mobile devices are currently being used. The three scenarios include: (i) the delivery of lectures over mobile devices, (ii) the augmentation of the physical campus with a virtual and mobile component, and (iii) the use of PDAs and mobile devices in field studies. The first scenario explores the use of web lectures including an evaluation of IBM's Web Lecture Services and 3Com's learning assistant. The second scenario explores models for a campus without walls evaluating the Handsprings to Learning projects at East Carolina University and ActiveCampus at the University of California San Diego . The third scenario explores the use of wearable and mobile devices for field trips examining San Francisco Exploratorium's tool for capturing museum visits and the Cybertracker field computer. The third section of the report explores the uses and purposes for wearable and mobile devices in tertiary education, identifying key trends and issues to be considered when piloting the use of these devices in educational contexts

Emerging technologies for learning (volume 1)

Collection of 5 articles on emerging technologies and trend

Informal Learning Evidence in Online Communities of Mobile Device Enthusiasts

This paper describes a study that investigated the informal learning practices of enthusiastic mobile device owners. Informal learning is far more widespread than is often realised. Livingston (2000) pointed out that Canadian adults spend an average of 15 hours per week on informal learning activities, more than they spend on formal learning activities. The motivation for these learning efforts generally comes from the individual, not from some outside force such as a school, university or workplace. Therefore, in the absence of an externally imposed learning framework, informal learners will use whatever techniques, resources and tools best suit their learning needs and personal preferences. As ownership of mobile technologies becomes increasingly widespread in the western world, it is likely that learners who have access to this technology will use it to support their informal learning efforts. This paper presents the findings of a study into the various and innovative ways in which PDA and Smartphone users exploit mobile device functionality in their informal learning activities. Vavoula (2004) highlighted some of the difficulties inherent in researching informal learning; it can be intentional or unintentional and people may even be unaware that any learning has taken place. There is also the practical problem of locating a pool of mobile device users who not only engage in mobile informal learning, but who are also willing to provide information about their activities. PDA and Smartphone enthusiasts were targetted as the community most likely to be using their devices in informal learning and participants were recruited from the active community of web forum users. Web forums are internet-based, asynchronous discussion groups that are aimed at people who share a specific interest; in this case, mobile devices. Messages were posted in the forums inviting members to participate in a web survey on informal learning with mobile devices. This approach was successful, generating over 200 responses of which over 100 described informal learning with mobile devices. The findings suggested that mobile device users deploy the mobile, connective and collaborative capabilities of their devices in a variety of informal learning contexts, in quite innovative ways. Trends emerged, such as the increasing importance of podcasting and audio, which may have implications for future studies. Informal learners identified learning activities that could be enhanced by the involvement of mobile technology, and developed methods and techniques that helped them achieve their learning goals. This paper describes the methods used in the study and discusses the results, locating them in the context of the wider literature on informal learning. It explores key issues, such as participation in collaborative informal learning, that emerged from the findings and outlines research directions arising from the study. with mobile devices. This approach was successful, generating over 200 responses of which over 100 described informal learning with mobile devices.Open University, United Kingdo