Summary: Mobile Learning is not a new form, but a new medium that allows easier access and more face-time with learning content at times when students are ready and able to learn. As such, institutions can maximize learning (and therefore teaching effectiveness) by developing and supporting this medium. This means we need to integrate and standardize information so students don’t have to waste time finding and organizing their own learning environments (e.g. departmental forms where students need to find, learn, and navigate practices specific to that department).
The EDUCAUSE ELI Spring focus on Mobile Learning was last week, and I’ve been compiling my thoughts and reactions to what I heard there. Much of it is not new, and I’ve been dreaming and blogging about many of the ideas since 2005. It was wonderful to see that mobile is catching on an institutional level across the nation.
One of the concerns that was addressed was that institutions sometimes see their “administrative side” as somewhat removed from their “teaching side” — that is, they see the development of student services, though (perhaps) crucial, as not being “real learning” but more like frills or bonus content. This idea was pushed back strongly by those in the backchannel (Twitter feed #elifocus) who typically saw learning as a lifelong 24/7 activity that has traditionally been weak in engaging and holding attention in the 23 hours outside of class. If course content and processes are available via the medium of mobile, students have the ability to have more of “impressions” — and advertisers (very motivated educators) have long known that more ad impressions = more sales. There’s learning research to back this up as well (source coming).
I have much more to say about this, but in this post, let me just end by sharing the proceedings, and adding red stars (**)to my favorites:
(http://net.educause.edu/Program/1024363) under each speaker’s session.
DAY ONE PROCEEDINGS
Opening Session
* Judy Brown, A Revolution in Learning is Taking Place in Our Hands
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Plenary Session
** Aaron Wasserman, Your Campus on a Smartphone and the Future of Mobile Education
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Community Project Parlor
Alan Livingston, Beyond Emergency Notification
Shan Evans, MOCA: It’s Not Just Chocolate Anymore
Douglas Johnson, Student iPhone App. Development and Institutional IT: The Story So Far
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Plenary Session
** Jack Shannon, Enabling Personalized Learning
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Content Project Parlor
Samantha Earp, It’s Flipping Easy! How Easy-to-Use Portable Digital Camcorders Bring the Larger World and New Pedagogies into the Classroom
Chad Haefele, Low-Effort, High-Impact Mobile Development: Designing a Mobile Website with iUI
Daniel Bracken and Michael Reuter, Lowering the Barriers to Mobile Device Adoption
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Mobile Scavenger Hunt Wrap-Up and Daily Themes
Malcolm Brown and Veronica Diaz
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Google Form Scavenger Hunt Results: Day 1
DAY TWO PROCEEDINGS
Opening Keynote
Gary Marrer, Strategic Analysis: A Typical Community College Wondering How to Take Advantage of mLearning
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Plenary Session
** William Rankin and Kyle Dickson, Mobile Collaboration: Redefining the Classroom
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Collaboration Project Parlor
Gary Marrer, Assessment of Mobile Learning
Peyton Jobe, Student Engagement in the Age of Mobile Devices
Berlin Fang, Transforming Digital Toys into Study Buddies: Using Mobile Devices to Engage Students
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Closing Keynote
* Nabeel Ahmad, Mobile Devices in Higher Ed … for Learning? You Bet
Mobile Learning Scenarios
A report out from the scenario activity.
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