Handheld Learning - learning with mobile and ubiquitous technologies

As we approach BETT it is fascinating to note the rapid convergence of interest between Learning Platforms and handhelds.  The reason is that thousands of schools are just now implementing their first VLEs, and they looking for content. This must then support the wide range of devices that students have, including web capable games machines, webbooks, phones etc. 

SUMS has had to develop quickly "disaggregated SCORM 2004" versions of all of our 90+ games. That is, the content is still designed for the small screen but delivered via the VLE. There are eight free samples at www.sums.co.uk/scorm.htm for those with a VLE to play on. For those unfamiliar with SCORM and Learning Platforms, disaggregated means that each activity is in its own pack. That allows it to be easily integrated by the teacher into whatever lesson content they have already available to them. We have schools using StudyWiz, Fronter, Moodle, Kaleidos and many others.

Please do come and see us on stand SW88 at BETT (software village). We will have the usual demos of Sony PSPs, ASUS eeePCs, and Windows Mobile Devices, as well as lots of free evaluation software.

Best wishes,

David

SUMS Online Ltd
david@sums.co.uk
www.sums.co.uk

Now London has dropped to -11C and the water pipes of chez Brown-Martin have frozen I was hoping that Apple would have announced a version of the iPhone that allowed interaction with the touchscreen using gloves...

Brrrrr...

 

I did find these however:



http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/tnf-catalog-master/etip-glove.html?parent_category_rn=

Jon,

May I ask about your CMAP install?

What I downloaded from IHMC was a zipped .bin file that I think was generated by InstallAnywhere.  Presumably, all I have to do is double click this bin file on my EEEPC (where?) and I will have an installation of CMAP. But since this is nonstandard installation method for EEEPC, I'm a little concerned about where the installer has put the files, and how will I *undo* this if I need to. (I am using my EEEPC in its initial simple mode with a few big icons etc.)

(Or has IHMC repackaged CMAP as a .deb or a xandros package?)

Thank you for your suggestions.

Regards,

Owen

Has anyone used Bluetooth-based proximity advertising for wireless delivery of electronic content to Bluetooth enabled devices? I’ve been researching this area to put together a Curriculum Innovation Fund bid.

Bluetooth is a frequency that sends data from one device to another over short distances in a wireless format. Over 70% of mobile phones and devices have Bluetooth. Over 85% of mobile phones used by the under 30s have Bluetooth. I’m considering exploiting the widespread ownership of such devices to distribute electronic content such as text, images, audio and videos within the Further Education College where I work.

A Bluetooth transmitter is inserted into the USB port of a PC and the software installed. The electronic campaign (content) is designed and loaded into the software, then transmitted to all Bluetooth enabled devices (in ‘Visible’ mode) within the broadcast range of up to 250 metres.

Any message transmitted has to be accepted by the user before they receive the message. Multiple campaigns can be setup and sent. Each campaign can be sent either continuously or at a predefined time and date. The same campaign will never be sent twice to the same user. Devices can be ‘blacklisted’, so they will never be sent a campaign if they opt out. The software is able to show the number of people that have accepted, and rejected a campaign over a given period. Apparently, there are no ongoing charges once the equipment is purchased. There are dozens of companies promoting Bluetooth-based proximity advertising, such as e-foreknowledge (www.echo-blue.com).

Potential uses I’ve considered include:
• Careers fairs/outdoor events – provide location and invitation to visit the College stand.
• Open evenings – welcome message with title/time of events.
• Student restaurant – reinforce targeted campaigns, such as keep it tidy week.
• Reminders of assignment and UCAS submission deadlines.
• Summary of lesson content.
• Special offers – electronic vouchers for student restaurant and College Shop.

Once downloaded the content can then be transferred from the device to another Bluetooth enabled device.

The technology could be used to compliment my College’s existing SMS transmission technology.

Any further advice would be gratefully received

Many thanks

Jonathan

It appears that 2008 marked a significant shift in the smartphone sector where Apple has dominated the emerging consumer market and BlackBerry has continued its dominance of the business world squeezing Microsoft whilst leaving Symbian being the OS of choice for most regular mobile phones, i.e. the most popular.

An interesting article on ChangeWave cites research that concludes:



Full article here

Hi, email sent via 3Sheep.
Chris

Hi all Just a brief reminder that there is a Danish delegate looking to visit a school using mobile learning this January. There are in the London area. I've had a couple offers from other parts of the country - is this reflecting warm Northern hospitality? but I think this might be too far given their time schedule, which is a pity as they sound great places.  Anyone else able to help?

Cheers

Stu

It has to be said the geek in me  loves the idea. Perhaps in particular I like that users are increasingly having choice about the OS they employ on their hardware platform.

Whilst much of the UK educational tech people look towards the BETT show this month  the rest of the world's consumer electronics industry look towards the CES show in Las Vegas.

This year Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's boss, takes over the keynote slot from Bill Gates with inevitable speculation about what Microsoft will be announcing regarding their mobile strategy which has come under heavy assault from Google, Research in Motion, Apple and, of course, Symbian.

An interesting point made in the following article is that a trend emerged during 2008 of the smart phone moving from the office to the home catching MIcrosoft by surprise.

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/158347.asp?source=mypi

This could have an impact on the educational world as younger people are now expecting smart phone like capaibilities in everything from their iPhones to their Nintendo DSi's and Sony PSP's.


Stave Ballmer's keynote on Jan 7th, 6:30 PM PST:

https://www.microsoft.com/ces/

This is an interesting development from the boys over at VentureBeat / Mobile-facts who spent their holidays compiling Android to run on an Asus EEE PC (don't you just love geeks?).

In the process of doing so they discovered all sorts of code documentation and what not that showed that whilst Google's Android operating system has been made available for mobile handsets it has also always been intended to operate on a wider range of hardware systems including NetBooks.

The potential here is for an open source operating system with applications, supported by advertising, that could work seamlessly across mobile, NetBook and other systems. Given that it's relatively easy to install alternative operating systems on everything from iPods to PS3 you can expect to see Android popping up all over.

Full story here:
http://venturebeat.com/2009/01/01/android-netbooks-on-their-way-likely-by-2010/