Mobile Technology in Education – A Multimedia Application

Mr. Paul Hayes, Dr. Pramod Pathak, Ms. Lejla Rovcanin National College of Ireland.

Mr. David Joyce, PocketManager Ireland

Abstract

This paper is the result of collaboration between a company involved in mobile media and an academic institution. It outlines some of the driving forces behind learning using mobile technologies, or mobile learning (m-learning) as it is known. The progression of mobile media from current entertainment services to future learning services is outlined. The process of developing an m-learning application for what is currently the most advanced 3G mobile phone is presented. The application has been short-listed in a worldwide competition for advanced 3G mobile applications by a major network provider. Some conclusions are also discussed.

Introduction

M-Learning refers to the use of mobile devices (PDAs and mobile phones) in teaching and learning. As computers and the Internet become more essential educational tools, the technologies become more portable, affordable, effective and easy to use [1]. A paradigm shift is occurring in the access people have to educational materials due to the ubiquitous availability of these materials brought about by the mobility and pervasiveness factors which are inherent to mobile technologies, thus allowing learning at any time and in any place.

The potential for mobile technologies in education is enormous and research is being conducted into an effective pedagogical model for m-learning [2]. Some of the key benefits identified by BECTA Research in the UK were the general student learning gains derived from increased enthusiasm, motivation, confidence and a sense of ownership. M-learning supports shared assignments and collaborative working. Other benefits of m-learning were the increased independence and self-initiated learning in students, and the extension of learning beyond the classroom. M-learning is ubiquitous asymmetric learning. M-learning is also an assistive technology for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

It has been established now that mobile on-line lectures are a viable alternative to paper-based lecture notes [3]. The Leonardo Da Vinci project has shown that m-learning gives students more flexibility and choice in where and when they learn outside of the classroom. Students would be using technology in their college study that would enhance their readiness for tomorrow’s workplace where employers want graduates who know how to use technology for learning and working. Given the trend to lifelong learning, many “students” are working adults with full-or-part-time jobs. Mobility offers them an opportunity to maximise learning while commuting or during what might otherwise have been “down time.”

From Entertainment Media to Educational Media

The main driving force behind m-learning is the pervasiveness of mobile devices. The mobile market has grown considerably in recent times. Over 50 percent of all employees spend up to half of their time outside the office. The average employee had less than three days of training in 2003.  More than 525 million web-enabled phones will be shipped by 2003. Worldwide mobile commerce market will reach $200 billion by 2004. There will be more than 1 billion wireless internet subscribers worldwide by 2005.

It is important to look at the evolution of mobile entertainment media and consider the impact this may have on mobile educational media. Currently, mobile devices are being used extensively for multimedia. Students may purchase advanced media phones for reasons which have nothing to do with education, but may then use them for educational purposes. So mobile entertainment media may be considered an enabling factor in terms of mobile learning take-up.

Mobile learning is being experimented with in different universities and flexible teaching solutions are being created [4]. Research has been conducted as to how SMS technologies would be used to support the students in Universities [5]. Papers have also been written on the details of the experiences and technical issues encountered in supporting the use of handheld mobile devices by educators and administrators [6].

M-Learning Application

The creation of the m-learning application involved the conversion and adaptation of an e-commerce pocket book. This book is commonly used as training material by companies and educational institutions both as a printed book and as an electronic PDF file. The application was designed for the new 3G Motorola A925 mobile phone supplied to the authors by 3UK.

The e-commerce pocket book was converted to an interactive Flash animation format, capable of being run on the phone. Special consideration had to be paid to the design constraints imposed by the mobile environment. Compared to development for a PC environment the application had certain specific design constraints, namely:

1. File size had to be kept to a minimum to minimise memory storage space on the phone, download time and cost of download (mobile users typically pay per kilobyte downloaded)
2. Minimal use of colour and sound were necessary due to processing power and battery life.
3. It had to conform to the size of the display area on the new A920 phone (208 x 227pixels) and be readable.
4. The finished application had to be totally compatible with a standard Flash 5 emulator.

Conclusions

A major factor that needs to be considered when choosing a media technology is whether the media type can be easily created and used by the mass market. Currently, few of the media technologies work on what might be termed a mass-market mobile phone. Most will however work on higher end devices. Java is currently the only common denominator amongst today’s phones, and this makes it very attractive in terms of application development.

Other factors include the size of the downloaded media files and associated cost and also the delivery mechanism for delivering the media content to the phone. Also, interactive content conversion to a format suitable for mobile can be very costly and time-consuming.

The method of content delivery is of the utmost importance for m-learning. Lessons should be learnt from the evolution of mobile entertainment media.

The market for mobile devices is dominated by small-screen mobile phones. To ensure maximum take-up, m-learning should be orientated towards these devices. Consideration should also be given to the inevitability that mass-market devices will in the future incorporate capabilities only now available in advanced devices such as PDAs and advanced larger-screen mobile phones.

References

[1] Wood K. (2003) Introduction to Mobile Learning (M Learning), FERL – Technology for E-Learning, BECTA ICT Research, March 2003

[2] McManus, T. (2002). Mobile what? The educational potential of mobile technologies.. World Conference on E-Learning in Corp., Govt., Health., & Higher Ed. 2002(1), 1895-1898.

[3] McCreath, E., Benest, I., & Gray, P. (2003). Mobile On-Line Lectures. World Conference on E-Learning in Corp., Govt., Health., & Higher Ed. 2003(1), 2321-2328.

[4] Alamaki, H., & Seppala, P. (2002). Experimenting with Mobile Learning in a University Environment. World Conference on E-Learning in Corp., Govt., Health., & Higher Ed. 2002(1), 67-74.

[5] James, D. (2002). mSupport -- supporting the mobile student. World Conference on E-Learning in Corp., Govt., Health., & Higher Ed. 2002(1), 1658-1660.

[6] Gerth, B. (2003). Mobile Computing: Experiences and Issues. World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2003(1), 2580-2583.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge with gratitude the work done by Johnny Farrell and Lorraine White, both students of the National College Of Ireland, whose mLearning application has been selected as one of the top 20 applications in 3UK's recent worldwide 3G Motorola A920 developer competition.

移动技术在教育方面的应用-多媒体应用

摘要：本文是移动媒体公司和学术机构合作研究的结果。它概述了一些使用移动通信技术来学习（即移动学习）背后的驱动力。该文列出了移动媒体从现在的娱乐功能到未来的学习功能的发展趋势。移动媒体未来的学习服务，从目前的娱乐服务进展概述。发展一个什么样的应用M-学习的过程，是目前最先进的3G手机。该申请已被全球范围内竞争的网络供应商竞争先进的3G移动应用，也得出了一些结论。

引言

移动学习是指在教学和学习过程中使用的移动设备。随着电脑和互联网成为更必需的教育工具。技术变得更轻便，价格实惠，有效和易于使用。一种新的使用模式正在发生。人们有教育材料，由于教育材料的流动性和普遍性的因素，且固附在移动通信技术，因此带来教育材料的无处不在的可用性，从而能随时随地地学习。

移动学习的优点

    移动通信技术在教育方面的潜力是巨大的，正在成为一个有效的教学模式对移动学习进行研究。 BECTA在英国的研究得出了移动学习的优点是提高了一般学生的学习热情、动机、信心和主人翁意识。移动学习支持分配共享和协作学习。移动学习的其他优点是提高了学习者的学习自觉性和提供学习课堂以外的一些延伸和辅助。移动学习是无处不在的不对称学习。移动学习也是学习困难者的学习辅助技术。

现在已经建立一种可行的替代纸张讲义的移动在线讲座。达芬奇项目已经表明，移动学习给学生更多的灵活性来选择学习的时间和地点。学生将在他们的大学学习使用技术，将提高他们所知未来工作环境中雇主希望毕业生拥有的技能。鉴于终身学习的趋势，许多“学生”是正在全职或兼职的成年人。移动学习的流动性，为他们提供了一个最大限度地学习的机会，否则那些碎片时间可能已经成为“停机时间。”

从娱乐媒体到教育媒体

    移动学习背后的主要驱动力是移动设备的普及程度。在最近的时代，手机市场有了很大的发展。一半以上员工花费高达一半的时间他们在办公室以外。在2003年的平均雇员少于3天的培训。2003年将超过525万的网络功能的手机出货。 2004年全球移动商务市场规模将达到2000亿美元。2005年全球无线互联网用户将超过一亿。

    关注移动娱乐媒体的演变时很重要的，考虑的影响，这可能对移动教育媒体。目前，移动设备正在广泛使用多媒体。学生购买先进的媒体电话的原因可能与教育无关，但可能由于教育目的而使用它。因此，考虑移动娱乐媒体对移动学习是有利因素。

    移动学习正在尝试在不同的大学实验，而且灵活的教学方案正在形成。正在研究如何将SMS技术用来支持高校学生。论文也有关于教育工作者和管理员使用手持移动设备过程中遇到的技术问题。

移动学习中的应用

    移动学习中的应用创造参与电子商务口袋书的转换和适应。这本书作为印刷书籍和PDF电子文件常用作为公司和教育机构的培训材料。是专为新的3G摩托罗拉A925手机提供的手机应用程序。

手机上正在运行的电子商务口袋书被转换为一个交互式的Flash动画格式。特别考虑了应配合移动环境设计的制约。相比PC环境下发展的的应用程序会有某些特定的设计约束，即：

1、文件大小必须保持到最小限度对手机内存存储空间的占用、 下载的时间和成本（通常移动用户支付每千字节下载）

2、最小使用色彩和声音是必要的，因为要提高处理能力和延长电池寿命。

3、它必须符合新的A920手机（208×227pixels）显示区域的大小而且是而可读的。

4、完成的应用程序完全兼容标准的Flash 5模拟器。

结论

    选择媒体技术时需要考虑的一个主要因素是媒体类型是否可以很容易地创建和在大众市场使用。目前，很少媒体技术的工作作用于大众市场。尽管如此，大多数技术倾向于更高的终端设备恶化服务。目前，Java是今天的手机之间唯一的共同点，这使得它在应用开发方面非常有吸引力。

其他因素还包括下载的媒体文件的大小、相关的成本和为手机提供媒体内容的传递机制。此外，互动内容转换成适合的移动格式可以是非常昂贵和费时。

内容交付方法是移动学习的极端重要性。应该汲取的移动娱乐媒体的演变的教训。

    小屏幕手机的移动设备占市场主导地位。为了确保最大覆盖，移动学习，应该迎合这些设备。也应给予考虑到大众市场设备将在未来的整合能力只有现在在先进设备，如PDA和先进的大屏幕手机的必然性。