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MOBILE LEARNING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE
This publication was produced with the assistance of the Leonardo da Vinci programme of the European Commission 2
Courses on the PDA at NKI by Truls Fagerberg and Aleksander Dye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
147
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
4
Introduction Desmond Keegan Mobile learning: a practical guide is a hands-on, how-todo-it guide for education and training institutions who wish to introduce mobile learning.
Definition Mobile learning (mLearning) is defined as the provision of education and training on mobile devices: Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), smartphones and mobile phones. In defining mobile learning one confronts tensions between functionality and mobility. There is a continuum from the point of view of functionality in the devices used for eLearning and mLearning. This
continuum goes from desktop computers to laptop computers to PDAs or handhelds or palmtops to smartphones to mobile phones. There are many, especially in the United States of America who include laptop computers in their definition of mobile learning. I disagree. I feel that in the definition of mobile learning the focus should be on mobility. Mobile learning should be restricted to learning on devices which a lady can carry in her handbag or a gentleman can carry in his pocket. I, therefore, define mobile learning as ‘the provision of education and training on PDAs/palmtops/handhelds, smartphones and mobile phones.’
MOBILITY
FUNCTIONALITY
Computers
Laptop Computers
E-LEARNING
PDA’S Handheld Palmtops
Smartphones
Mobile Phones
M-LEARNING
Figure 1. Functionality and mobility in a definition of mobile learning One of the characteristics of mobile learning is that it uses devices which citizens are used to carrying everywhere with them, which they regard as friendly and personal devices, which are cheap and easy to use, which they use constantly in all walks of life and in a variety of different settings, except education.
Language), but they were not successful because not enough people owned one.
Statistics
In July 2005 Ericsson announced that the number of mobile devices in the world had topped 2 billion for the first time. They forecast ownership of 3 billion mobile phones as early as 2010 – and this for a world population of somewhat over 6.5 billion.
The justification of mobile learning comes from the ‘law’ of distance education research which states that ‘It is not technologies with inherent pedagogical qualities that are successful in distance education, but technologies that are generally available to citizens’. A typical example is the 12” laser discs of the early 1990s. These laser discs had excellent pedagogical possibilities and excellent courses were developed for them especially in the field of ESL (English as a Second
Never in the history of the use of technology in education has there been a technology that was as available to citizens as mobile telephony. The statistics are stunning:
It is calculated that in the United Kingdom alone the number of SMS messages sent annually is 37.000.000.000. These figures are repeated in most countries of the world. 5
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
Recent research on audience characteristics published by the BBC in Britain shows the ubiquity of mobile devices especially in the 16-24 age group, the university age group. The BBC research in this group shows that it characterises a mobile phone as a ‘necessity’ and not a ‘luxury’ (BBC 2004). Country Austria Belgium Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy
Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Slovak Rep Slovenia Spain Sweden UK
Fig 2. Data sources: WCIS (World Cellular Information Service) (2006) and Ovum. Thus it can be taken as a given that all students in all European further and higher education institutions in all countries in Europe possess one.
Projects The European Commission has played an important role in bringing about the arrival of mobile learning. It has funded three Leonardo da Vinci projects and two IST research projects in the field. Here is a brief look at the work of these projects.
Programme
Project leader
Title
Leonardo da Vinci
Ericsson Education Ireland
From e-learning to m-learning
Leonardo da Vinci
Ericsson Education Ireland
Mobile learning: The next generation of learning
IST FP5
LSDA UK
The m-learning project
IST FP5
Giunti Ricerca Italy
The MOBILearn project
Leonardo da Vinci
Ericsson Education Ireland
The incorporation of mobile Learning into mainstream Education and training
Fig 3. Mobile learning projects funded by the European Commission
6
Introduction
1. The Leonardo da Vinci From e-learning to m-learning project, led by Ericsson Education Ireland, addressed the development of courseware for mobile phones, smartphones and PDAs. What was important about this project was that the main pedagogical problems of developing mobile learning for PDAs were solved in the project in which a comfortable didactic environment was created by using Microsoft Reader Works, providing each student with Microsoft Reader software to display the content and which was adjudged highly satisfactory by surveys of students who had studied a full course by mobile learning on a PDA. As the major objection raised against mobile learning is screen size, it was important that this problem was solved and by-passed at the outset. 2. The Leonardo da Vinci project Mobile learning: the next generation of learning led by Ericsson Education Ireland. The main activities of this project were to achieve the production of acceptable courseware for smartphones in XHTML. Also in this project the next generation of mobile learning course development was based on FlashLite. FlashLite is a toned down version of Flash designed for mobile devices. This development is motivated by the fact that there are thousands of developers who have used Flash to develop eLearning content and that there is a lot of eLearning content available in Flash, so that – for the first time in the history of mLearning – you can reuse the pedagogical and technical skills of the developers and the content can be reused too. 3. The IST project M-Learning was led by the United Kingdom government Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA). This project had an important social dimension. It recognised that there were in the United Kingdom many 16 to 20 year old youths who were unemployed and had urgent needs for additional training, but who refused to attend a training centre or college. They were unemployable and refused to attend training. They all had, however, a mobile phone which they used constantly. The project, therefore, set out to develop courses for them on their mobile phones in the fields of literacy, numeracy and social skills.
4. The IST project MOBILearn led by Giunti Ricerca of Genoa, Italy. This was a very large project led from Italy and counted a wide range of at least 20 European universities among its members. The objectives of this project were: the definition of theoretically-supported and empirically-validated models for effective learning/teaching/tutoring in a mobile environment. The project also produced course materials in the fields of Health Education, Museum Education and MBAs. 5. The fifth project is called The incorporation of mobile learning into mainstream education and training. The thesis of this project is quite different from that of the previous projects. The thesis is that it is now time for mobile learning to emerge from its project status and enter into mainstream education and training – as the related fields of distance education and e-learning have done before it. For the first time a mobile learning project is focusing on the field as a whole and not on the development of mobile learning for an institution or a group of institutions. The trouble with projects is that they tend to collapse and disappear when the project funding is discontinued. What usually happens is that the project group is dispersed, staff contracted in for the project are let go, other staff discontinue their work and move to other tasks, the expertise built up by the project group is dissipated and not maintained. A major goal of this book, Mobile learning: a practical guide, is to contribute to the process of mobile learning emerging from its project status and being incorporated into mainstream education and training.
Approach of this book The book proposes a three-tiered approach to mobile learning: •
The use of mobile devices in educational administration
•
Development of a series of 5-6 screen mobile learning academic supports for students
•
Development of a number of mobile learning course modules.
The need for using mobile devices in educational administration seems obvious.
7
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
If a lecture, or similar activity, has to be cancelled at short notice the university or college can communicate with the student body concerned by the postal services or by email. This is not an effective means of communication. The use of SMS (Short Messaging Service) provides immediate communication with the students.
which have many advantages over the postal system or email.
SMS messages can be sent in this way either to the whole student body, or to students of a faculty, or a department or a class grouping. Hundreds of thousands of these administrative SMS messages have been sent out to students’ mobile phones by universities throughout the world.
Part Three deals with the use of a wide range of wireless technologies, besides SMS messaging, in teaching and learning. The focus is to demonstrate how these technologies can be used for educational purposes.
The development of a series of 5-6 screen mobile learning academic supports for students is the second tier of the strategy proposed in this book. This is the sending out of 5-6 screens of academic material to students’ PDAs, smartphones or mobile phones. These academic supports can be course summaries; help with particularly difficult parts of a course that have caused difficulty to students in the past; assignment guidance; examination preparation and so on. Tens of thousands of these supports have been sent to students’ phones by universities around the world. The final tier of the approach in this book is the development of course materials for mobile learning. This is crucial for mobile learning to be incorporated into mainstream education and training.
Structure of this book Part One of this book deals with the use of mobile devices in educational administration. Mobile devices are presented as important communications devices
8
Part Two deals with the use of SMS messaging in teaching and learning. Billions of SMS messages are sent annually in all countries of the world and the challenge is to harness this technology for educational purposes.
Part Four deals with the goals of mobile learning which will enable it to be incorporated into mainstream education and training. Part Five gives examples of mobile learning successes, which demonstrate that mobile learning is already moving into the mainstream. Just as the related fields of distance education and elearning have become accepted fields of mainstream provision, the role ahead of the field of mobile learning is to become incorporated into mainline education and training.
References BBC (2004) Research on audience characteristics http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/marketresearch/ audiencegroup2.shtml World Cellular Information Services (2006). Mobile phone penetration in European counties. www.gii.co.jp/english/ep4209_mn_world_gsm.html
List of authors Hannah Barton is currently a lecturer in Psychology in the School of Learning Sciences at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. Her areas of interest are group psychology, collaborative learning on line and educational psychology. Miklós Biró is an associate professor at the Department of Information Systems of Corvinus University of Budapest with 29 years of software engineering, university teaching (including professorship in the USA), and management experience. Ray Boland graduated with honours from University College Galway in Information Technology and Business Studies. He went on to complete an MSc in Ubiquitous and Multimedia Systems, working in areas such as Adaptive Personalization, Multi-Agent Systems and Computer Graphics. At the moment he is working with Ericsson Education Ireland as a Technical Training Consultant in the areas of Video Telephony, Location Based Services and Instant Messaging and Presence Services. Fintan Costello works as an eLearning specialist for Ericsson Education. He is responsible for developing and supporting eLearning and Mobile Learning content and services. He also has been involved in Virtual Classroom Training and Learning Management Services. Aleksander Dye is a researcher at NKI Distance Education. He received a Bachelor of Information Systems from the Norwegian School of Information Technology in 2003. From 2001-2006 he was employed as a system developer at NKI Distance Education with a focus on developing SESAM, the NKI LMS (Learning Management System) He has been involved in nationally and internationally funded development projects at NKI since 2001 in the areas of e- and mLearning. He has made presentations about mobile learning and eLearning as well as development of services for online education. Truls Fagerberg works as a system developer and research assistant at NKI Distance Education in the Department of Research and Development. He has a masters degree in ICT and Pedagogical Development from The Danish University of Education in
Copenhagen and NKI Distance Education from 2005, and a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and a diploma in IT-management from The Polytechnical College, Oslo, in 2000. He works in the technical development of NKI’s Learning Management System (LMS), SESAM, which serves nearly 7000 active online students. He has also worked as an online teacher at NKI. He has participated in several EU projects, amongst them From e-learning to m-learning (2000-2002), M-learning - the next generation of learning (2003-2005), and the ongoing project The incorporation of mobile learning into mainstream education and training (2005-2007). Renaud Ferly works as a senior consultant in Groupe SQLi a leading technology integrator in France. For 15 years he has been involved in development, project management, and business development. He is now part of the consulting department of SQLI with interest in both mobile technology and learning solutions. Andras Gabor is head of the Department of Information Systems of Corvinus University of Budapest. His main fields of expertise are system analysis, information management and intelligent systems. Karl Grabe has been a lecturer in the Cork Institute of Technology Computing Department since 1999, teaching subjects that include Java GUI, Advanced OOP, Mobile Applications, and Distributed Systems. His research interests include mLearning and locationaware wireless devices and he also supervises masters students. Prior to Cork Institute of Technology he worked as an R&D Software developer in Apple USA and Cork on projects such as the ROM diagnostics for the Apple IIGS and Automated Flexible Manufacturing systems. He also has experience as Software R&D manager in Apple Computers and Motorola. Katy Graham graduated from University College Dublin with a BSc in Psychology and a Higher Diploma in Computer Science. She has worked in Ericsson Education since 2000 in the roles of course instructor, course developer, learning architect and competence consultant. She has been involved in Ericsson EU sponsored mobile learning projects within Ericsson Educcation since 2001. Her current technical 9
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
involvements are in the Service Layer of telecom networks. She is currently investigating how new telecom technologies, such as IP MultiMedia Subsystem (IMS), may be employed to deliver or manage mobile learning solutions. Bryan Jones holds a B Sc in Applied Computing. He is currently working as a Technical Training Consultant for Ericsson Education and specialising in enabling technologies which provision data services and content for mobile networks. John Kavanagh has a B.Sc in Computing in Multimedia Systems from the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. His background is in Assistive Technologies and Web Accessibility Guidelines. His specialisation is in m-Learning solutions, dynamic content generation and standardisation. He is a Member of Engineers Ireland. Desmond Keegan is a former Director General of the Italian Open University system, Consorzio per l’Università a Distanza. He has contributed widely to the literature of distance education, e-learning and mobile learning. He is a consultant in distance training with Ericsson Education Ireland. Gabor Kismihok is a PhD student at the Department of Information Systems of Corvinus University of Budapest writing his thesis about adaptive assessment technologies in eLearning environments. He is also busy with various European mLearning and eLearning research projects. Judy Nix is EU Projects Manager with Ericsson. She has a special interest in mobile learning and has managed two successful projects in this area: Mobile Learning: the next generation of learning and The incorporation of mobile learning into mainstream education. She has worked in Ericsson Education in a number of roles including Guest Services Manager, Marketing Manager and Service Delivery Manager. Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin has been working in the DEIS Department for Education Development in the Cork Institute of Technology Ireland since 1998 where his main activities include the co-ordination of several EU-
10
sponsored projects relating to e-learning as well as some mainstream e-learning support and development work within the institute. He is also a lecturer in e-learning and media studies. He has published a number of papers and designed a range of research projects on a range of themes in e-learning and related fields. Peter Penny holds a B.Sc. in Psychology Applied to Information Technology. He is currently a researcher on the Leonardo da Vinci GATEWAY project - promoted by Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology (IADT). Joaachim Pietsch is a lecturer at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) in Dun Laoaghaire, Ireland, with research interests in Cognitive Theory of Multimedia and e-learning Torstein Rekkedal is professor of distance education and Director of R & D at NKI Distance Education, Norway. He has worked in distance education research since 1970. He has produced a stream of research publications in the field of distance education and online learning. He has chaired the research committees of the European Association for Distance Learning (EADL) and the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE). In 2003 he was conferred with an honorary doctorate of the British Open University for his research work in the field. He is presently chair of the standing committee for quality of the Norwegian Association for Distance and Flexible Education. Mark Riordan is is the Head of the Technology Department at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT). He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin and is a Chartered Engineer. Prior to joining IADT in 1999 he held a number of Research and Technology Development positions in Industry and Academia. John Russell works as the Internet systems manager for NKI distance education. His main focus is running the development team that builds and runs the NKI distance education web sites, including SESAM, the LMS of NKI.
PART 1 USE OF MOBILE DEVICES IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
11
Chapter 1 Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) academic administration kit Judy Nix, John Russell and Desmond Keegan The context for the use of mobile devices in academic administration is presented. Uses in administration, combating drop-out, distance education and learning support are described. Implementation strategies both in-house development and the purchase of a system from an SMS gateway provider are explained.
The context Never in the history of the use of technology in education has there been a technology so widely available to citizens as mobile technology. One can safely assume that every student in every higher and further education institution in every European country possesses a mobile device.
The need Academic administration All students enrolled in all higher and further education institutions today have a frequent need for information from their institutions about timetable changes, assessment deadlines, feedback from tutors and other urgent administrative details. Although nearly all of these students carry a sophisticated communications device which they use constantly in all walks of life, isn’t it strange that they do not use it in their education or training programme? Equally, all higher and further education institutions today have a frequent need to provide information to their students about timetable changes, assessment deadlines, feedback from tutors and other urgent administrative details. Although nearly all of their students carry a sophisticated communications device which they use constantly in all walks of life, isn’t it strange the institutions do not use them to communicate? If a lecture, or similar activity, has to be cancelled at short notice the university or college can communicate with the student body concerned by the postal services
or email. These are not always effective means of communication so many of the students will turn up for the cancelled lecture and be inconvenienced. The institution’s administration may come in for criticism. However, if a lecture, or similar activity, has to be cancelled at short notice, the university or college communicates with the student body concerned by SMS (Short Messaging System), all of the students will receive and read the message, no-one will turn up, no-one will be inconvenienced and the institution’s administration will have been successful. SMS messages can be sent in this way either to the whole student body, or a faculty, or a department or a class grouping. Drop-out Government decisions in a number of European countries have heightened the importance of the reduction of the drop out rate in universities and colleges. In some instances subsidies can be reduced if the drop-out rate is not reduced. The prevention of avoidable drop-outs has been an intractable problem in higher education for years and often costly methods, like increased counselling and mentoring, have been introduced to combat the phenomenon. The University of Ulster in Northern Ireland has had great success in the use of SMS messaging for the reduction of student drop-out. It found that sending SMS messages to students who have been identified as being at risk, has been a very successful approach for keeping students in the system and for maintaining the government per capita grant.
13
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
The University of Ulster sent out messages to students of the type ‘Sorry, we missed you today’. The university initially feared that this might be intrusive. On the contrary the students did not find it intrusive at all. The students appreciated it and wanted the university to expand the service to other areas – like assignment deadlines. The University considers that speed is essential in dealing with drop-outs: ‘Two weeks and they are gone’. Other methods of dealing with drop-outs have a lead time of several weeks. The University regards drop-outs reduction as a duty of care. They feel that a frequent cause of drop-outs is that ‘Nobody cares’. Groups of 4.500 students can be alienating. The personal touch of a message on a mobile phone can be an answer (Keegan 2006). Distance Education In its faculty of education in 2002, the University of Pretoria, South Africa, had hundreds of students enrolled in the equivalent of a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education by distance education. None of these students had email or could avail of eLearning but all had a mobile phone. They were all full-time teachers employed in rural schools. The university used mobile phones very successfully in their paper-based distance education programmes for university administration, achieving almost immediate communication by SMS messaging in an area where email was unavailable and post took 5 to 15 days. The profile of these students in 2002 was as follows: •
The majority live in rural areas
•
100% are full-time employees (teaching)
•
0.4% had access to e-mail
•
99.4% had a mobile phone
Mobile phone support to these rural distance learning students entailed sending bulk, pre-planned SMSs to: •
all students;
•
students of a specific programme for general administrative support as well as motivational support;
•
specific groups of students extracted from the database for specific administrative support (customised group SMS); and
14
•
small group or individual SMSs to specific students extracted from the data-base on an individual basis for specific administrative support (Brown 2005).
The advantages and successes were significant: •
In response to a reminder for registration for contact sessions, 58% of the learners registered before the closing date compared to the normal expected percentage of below 40%.
•
In response to a reminder of the contact session dates, 95% of the learners that registered for the contact sessions attended.
•
Learners responded en masse and almost immediately to information provided in SMSmessages.
If it can be done successfully in rural Africa it can certainly be done successfully in Europe. Learning Support and ‘at-risk’ students There have been efforts at EU and government level to encourage a wider participation in the third level education system by encouraging students from more diverse backgrounds to attend colleges. One of the major concerns in the third level education system in Ireland is the retention of students, an issue that is extremely important to the Institutes of Technology nationwide. Over the past number of years, factors such as the falling number of applicants, a reduction in entry point requirements, increasing numbers of non-national students and students with disabilities have combined to change significantly the profile of students entering the IT sector. The reduction in the number of students opting for careers in the Science and Engineering fields has meant that the issue of student retention has become paramount for the existence of these courses. The Department of Engineering in IT Tallaght, in Dublin, began to address these issues by implementing an Engineering Learning Support Unit (ELSU) in 2003. The main aim of this unit was to provide incoming students on Year 1 full-time Engineering courses with an extensive range of support services in order to make the introduction to third level education a smooth process, thereby improving student participation and retention. ELSU has been developed to provide a flexible student driven support network, covering both academic and non-academic issues, in order to facilitate an improved learning environment.
Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) Academic administration kit The main responsibilities of ELSU include: •
Providing the necessary resources and infrastructural supports to support first year students
•
Early identification of ‘at-risk’ students
The use of SMS as a means of providing students with important information was introduced as part of LSU at the beginning of the academic year 2005/2006. The main reason for implementing this tool was to allow students to be continually and quickly informed of any changes within their courses. Up to this point, email was predominantly used. However, it was found that email was not an ideal solution as not all students would check their college mail accounts on a regular basis and, therefore, would often not receive information they needed until it was too late. Furthermore, email was not appropriate for conveying important information at short notice. Student details were obtained from a Microsoft Excel database and the SMS tool was implemented within Microsoft Outlook. Any member of the teaching/support staff could use the tool to send messages to an individual student, a group of students or the entire list of registered students in Year 1 Engineering. Some examples of where the SMS tool has been used in IT Tallaght include: •
Notifying students about changes in their schedule/timetable
•
Changes regarding room allocations for lectures
•
Reminding students of mid-semester exam times, dates and venues
•
Reminding students of deadlines for submission of course work
•
Notifying students when their test/lab results have been made available on the department notice boards
•
Making students aware of time/date/venue of ELSU support sessions
•
Informing students of lecturer absence and/or cancelled classes
•
Telling students about important events in the college
The SMS tool as part of Outlook was initially developed and implemented by a member of the lecturing staff but the Department of Engineering has decided to invest in
a more sophisticated system for providing information to students via SMS, as they view it to be an important part of all courses within the department. In IT Tallaght the use of SMS messaging has been viewed as a valuable addition to the academic environment for its simplicity and effectiveness in conveying information between staff and students (O’Shea 2005).
Implementation strategies The recommended strategies for universities and colleges who want to introduce SMS messaging to their administration are either to develop an in-house solution or approach an SMS service provider. 1. In-house development SMS is a mobile phone technology that allows short text messages to be sent and received on a mobile phone. Typically messages are 160 characters in length, but this can be extended by combining a number of messages together. For example if three messages are combined it would be possible to send a message slightly shorter than 480 characters long. However this normally means you would be charged for each message (3 messages in the example). Support for combining SMS messages varies from service provider to service provider and this should be checked if long messages are required. Mobile operators have a node in their network called an SMS Service – Centre (SMS-C) that handles SMS message traffic. Typically each mobile operator will allow Third Party SMS aggregators/service providers to connect to their SMS-C’s. Such aggregators are likely to have connections to many different operators or to other aggregators. Direct connections to an operator SMS-C are expensive. Aggregators with direct SMS-C connections will recoup that cost by providing their own Application Interface by which other content providers can send SMS messages. Normally the cost for such a connection to an aggregator is much less. The bottom line is that it is much more cost effective to connect to an SMS aggregator than to a mobile operator SMS-C. Indeed connecting to an aggregator may give the application access to a much wider audience. For example, universities are likely to have international students that have mobile phones from their home country. It is likely that a connection to a local Mobile Operators SMS-C would not allow delivery of SMS messages to such students. 15
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
Writing an application that connects to an operator SMS-C requires specialist knowledge of the SMS protocols involved. SMS-C protocols such as SMPP (Short Message Peer to Peer) 3.4 are difficult and complicated to work with, are difficult to test, require expensive specialised equipment, expert knowledge and normally expensive SDK’s (Service Development Kits). Alternatively SMS Content aggregators will usually have a SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) or HTTP interface that can be used to develop applications. Such technologies are normally free to obtain and expert knowledge is readily available through developer forums on the internet. In addition content aggregators are usually very helpful and definitely more accessible than mobile operators for support questions. In Summary – Advantages of SMS aggregators over direct operator SMS-C: •
Legal requirements – SMS SPAM In the last year or so some very strict rules governing the sending of unsolicited text messages have been introduced. Fines of up to €5,000 per message are being applied. It is critical that the mobile phone owner’s permission is obtained before any SMS messages are sent to their phone. This can either be in writing where the user signs an authorization when they register at the college or by the user sending a registration text message to the application. Applications should adhere to the relevant data protection legislation and register with the local data protection compliance agency. Mobile phone users should be able to remove themselves from the list at any time and access to this removal process should be immediate and easy to use.
Greatly reduced connection fee and ongoing monthly rate
Case study
•
More likely to be able to deliver SMS messages to international mobile phones
NKI, Bekkestua, Norway, has introduced an in-house SMS service.
•
Aggregators normally use standard internet technologies such as SOAP or HTTP. Mobile operators normally require telecom specific protocols such as SMPP 3.4 which are complicated and expensive to implement.
The setup A GSM modem terminal in its simplest form is just a mobile phone that can be connected to a computer. There are, in fact, a lot of mobile phones on the market that can do this. However, NKI purchased a specialised GSM terminal, the Siemens T35i. This sort of terminal is cheaper than a mobile phone as it does not have a screen or keyboard. It also has an antenna that can be placed a good distance (about 5 metres) away from the terminal. This was a necessity as the terminal was to be located in an underground server room and the signal from the GSM network was very weak. Being able to locate the antenna high up and close to the outer walls gave a much better signal.
For the purely financial and technical reasons outlined above it makes a lot of sense to connect directly to an SMS aggregator’s SMS gateway. The following is a typical call flow when sending an SMS message from a university application to a student. •
A university administrator uses the application GUI to enter an SMS message. The administrator then selects the distribution list for a particular student class or can enter a once off mobile number
•
When the administrator clicks on ‘send message’, the application will build a connection towards the SMS aggregators SMS gateway.
•
The SMS gateway will accept the message and forward it to the mobile operator that the recipient is with for delivery to their phone.
•
Some SMS gateways will provide delivery reports back to the university application when the message is delivered to the recipient.
16
Connection to the terminal is done via the serial port on the server. There is a fairly standard set of commands that are used by GSM terminals. These are a super set of the original Hayes AT commands for modems. Each manufacturer can also add custom commands so for advanced programming the documentation for the modem may be necessary. A decision was made to run the server on the LINUX operating system, but software etc is available for all major operating systems. LINUX was used as the rest of the web application stack is on it.
Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) Academic administration Once the modem is connected up, its time to find out if it works! The easiest way to do this is by using a terminal program such as hyper terminal or Kermit.
With these programs it is possible to send “raw” code to the modem and check that every thing is working. A typical run in Kermit would look something like this.
at+cops?
-- check connection should return service provider If no service provder check sim code with at+cpin? or use at+cpin= at+cmgf=1 -- set the modem in text mode at+cnmi=2,1,0,0,1 --set the modem to listen at+cmgs=+47xxxxxxx -- xxx is destination number at the “>” type your message end with Ctrl and Z to send Figure 1: Typical SMS run in Kermit If all goes well the first message has been sent by the modem. However, it is not possible to write this sort of code for each and every message that is sent. Gateway software is required. There is plenty to choose from. NKI chose an open source gateway called SMS Server Tools. SMS Server Tools happens to be available for windows and flavours of UNIX/LINUX. It requires some set up work but nothing than an IT professional will struggle with, in fact it’s a well-documented setup. Once the gateway is up and running, SMS messages can be sent by sending simple text files to the gateway. The text files contain the text to be sent, along with whom to send the message to. The gateway also accepts incoming SMS messages dumping the messages into the file system as a series of text files. The text files format is extremely easy to read and to create with a computer program. NKI used java, as that’s what is used in the rest of the web development. Conclusion The whole process of setting up an SMS service is in fact pretty painless for an IT professional but not something to be attempted by normal users, then again creating applications to talk to Clickatel or other online SMS gateways is not something an average user should attempt either. Price wise there is very little difference between the online SMS providers and running your own gateway. This is especially true if you are sending a lot of SMS messages, typically over 100K per year, then it can be cheaper to get a deal with a local mobile operator. Another difference is the cost of handling an SMS that is sent back to the gateway. Online gateways charge for
receiving an SMS; running your own gateway means there is no charge for receiving an SMS. The basic function set of an internal SMS gateway is similar to that of an online gateway but when using your own gateway it is easier to send things like logos and ring tones. Having your own gateway will also allow you to send other advanced content types, basically anything a phone can send and receive. At the moment most of the online gateways are offering the ability to send and receive SMS. Evaluation So is having your own modem worth it? The answer as so often with technology is “it depends”. If you want a quick set up with minimum work and maintenance and you are mainly interested in sending SMS, the online gateways are your best bet. If you need to receive a lot of SMS messages or send other forms of content and you have the staff and infrastructure, then a modem and internal gateway will offer advantages. In NKI’s case we wish to exploit and experiment with mobile communications and have the infrastructure and staff that allow us the luxury of having our own internal gateway 2. Using an SMS service provider There are numerous SMS service providers in the market. Well-known providers would include: •
Saadian (www.saadian.com)
•
KAPOW! (www.kapow.co.uk/)
•
Clickatell (www.clickatell.com)
The use of an SMS service provider will incorporate these activities: •
Create a database, categorising the audience in as many ways as appropriate 17
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
•
Write an application
•
Create a text message - no more than 160 characters long
•
Interrogate the database using a key word
•
SMPP (Short Message Point to Point Protocol)
•
Buy a link from a network operator based on the amount of messages to be sent, the time span for sending and the cost per message.
SMS gateway providers offer a range of mobile message distribution and management services. They offer a suite of messaging services and applications to help universities and businesses get connected and leverage the cost savings and efficiencies available through improved communication. Services include: Sending of desktop messages This is accessible from any internet connected PC, the service provides a secure web-based account that can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
Sending of group messages Group messaging enables one to save time by predefining groups of people that one wants to send messages to. This allows alerts and messages to be quickly distributed to any combination of mobiles, pagers and e-mail. The system provides the ability to manage recipient lists through a secure web-account with any changes being implemented in real-time. The web-account also provides a message history log including delivery confirmations. SMS gateway providers offer a simple, yet powerful and secure method of generating and distributing messages to mobile phones. Most SMS gateway providers use a simple interface for staff to compose messages similar to the following: Compose message To:
A practical interface ensures anyone in the university or business can have ready access to messaging from the desktop without specialist knowledge or training.
(insert number/s)
Text: (insert text of message)
User features include: •
Sending to any GSM networks (home and abroad) and sending to any paging network
List
Reset
Send
•
Sending to e-mail addresses
•
Receiving immediate confirmation the message has been accepted
This provides:
•
Sent message log
•
•
Pre-defined message facility for common messages or templates
Secure messaging from the desktop with no new software or hardware required.
•
A feature-rich messaging capability from your desktop PC.
Figure 2. Template for SMS messaging
•
Address book facility to select recipients by name
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Search facility to compose messages to individuals meeting a specific criteria
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Sending of messages to any combination mobile phones and email addresses.
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Delivery status reporting for SMS messages
•
•
Creating and managing group broadcast lists to combinations of mobile, pager, e-mail
Simple send screen including address book, predefined messages and message character count.
•
Address book with import and search
•
Receiving 2-way SMS responses direct to the desktop
18
Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) Academic administration Sending of two-way SMS Sending two-way SMS enables contacts to respond to text messages via two- way SMS technology. By providing a simple, effective and low-cost two-way SMS reply mechanism one can reduce the need for students or other users to make return telephone calls, which incur cost and tie-up resources. Simple – the recipient simply replies to the message Accessible – replies are delivered back to the desktop account from which it was sent Flexible – systems usually provide options to re-direct the replies to e-mail, mobile, pagers or a secure webbased account.
Logistics Two funding options There are two ways in which the use of an SMS service provider can be accomplished: 1. Major bulk SMS with direct billing per SMS A very straight forward desktop application is used to send the SMSs from. One needs to develop an integration with the main frame to ensure access to the student database (for mobile phone numbers of students according to modules and programmes). 2. Sponsored bulk SMS via SMS portal It is possible to enter into an agreement with a private provider for sponsorship of SMSs. Within this contract the institution is entitled to 2,000,000 "free" (sponsored) SMSs each year. These sponsored SMSs allow the institution to use 80 of the available 160 characters, while the remaining 80 are used by sponsors for information purposes, for example (Brown 2005).
A web-based portal with user-friendly front-end is made available to all academic staff members and selected administrative departments. The system is also integrated with the main frame. SMS can be sent in either of the sponsored or not sponsored categories. Collecting mobile phone numbers from students If an institution wishes to use SMS messaging with its students it will need to collect the students’ mobile telephone numbers at the time of registration or reenrolment. These numbers will need to be held in the institution’s database so that mobile messages can be sent to the whole student body, or to all members of a faculty, or of a department, or to a class grouping or to individual students. Permission in some countries In certain countries it may be necessary to get the student’s permission to send the message. This permission is best collected when the students’ mobile phone numbers are being listed.
References Brown, T (2005) mLearning: Doing the unthinkable and reaching the unreachable! Ericsson mobile learning conference. Dun Laoghaire, 9.9.2005 http://learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/ the_future_of_mobile.shtml Keegan, D (2006) The arrival of mobile learning. ILTA annual conference. Sligo, 25.5.2006 O’Shea, N (2005) Use of SMS messaging at Institute of Technology, Tallaght. Institute of Technology Tallaght, Dublin.
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PART 2 THE USE OF SMS MESSAGES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
21
Chapter 2 SMS Quizzes Mark Riordan and Joachim Pietsch This chapter aims to address the topic of quizzes in support of the pedagogical aims of educational courses and in particular those which are implemented by means of SMS technology. While there may be applications elsewhere in education the main focus is on university or third-level education. The chapter initially outlines the background to the use of quizzes in education, it then goes on to look at some examples of quizzes implemented on various courses. Having set the scene for the use of quizzes, SMS technology is then examined as a technology for implementation and some examples of SMS based Quizzes are examined.
themselves. Increasingly, colleges look to aid students, particularly, in first year, by providing supports and intervening if students performance is slipping. Sometimes measures such as attendance are used to trigger interventions but quizzes provide an outputs-focused approach whereby intervention is related to what the student knows, as opposed to the crude measure of attendance. In addition, because they can be frequent and can be used even in the early weeks of the module, quizzes allow students with difficulty to be spotted more quickly than with less frequent larger assessments (Koman 2005, Lian 2003).
The Use of Quizzes in Third Level Education Quiz based approaches have become popular in education (particularly university level education) in recent years. This has been part of a general increase in the use of technology in education but has been motivated for a number of very sound reasons: •
increasing student engagement – traditional “talk and chalk” approaches to university teaching often illustrated with the example of the lecturer talking “down to” students and the students obediently absorbing the master’s words are far from the best practice advocated for university teaching. Instead a greater level of student engagement in their learning is to the fore. This has led to many techniques such as quizzes being used so as to engage students more in their learning (Catley 2005, Koman 2005, Lian 2003).
•
tackling plagiarism - time and money pressures on students along with developments such as the internet have led to an increasing incidence of plagiarism being detected at third-level. Hence lecturers have been keen to validate students work in plagiarism-prone activities (such as Computer Programming) against other activities where plagiarism is less easy e.g. interviews on the content of an assessment and invigilated continuous assessments. Quizzes can also have a part to play in combating plagiarism (Woit and Mason 2000).
•
monitoring student progress – universities now take more seriously their broader responsibility for student welfare. In the past university life was often considered “laissez-faire” with a student’s decision to attend lectures or not entirely a matter for
•
maintaining student contact – particularly with first year groups, students may have difficulty in making the transition from the structured world of secondlevel education into the university environment where more freedom is allowed. This can result in the “drop-out” phenomena. While this has been a feature of university education for many years, it has become a greater focus for policy makers in recent years. This has come about for various reasons from concern over the emotional damage to students, who may feel a sense of failure even though they left a course for which they were ill-suited, to concerns over the fact that universities receive funding to educate large numbers of students who in reality do not proceed with the course. Students often respond well to contact from the university, for instance a call from a year tutor is often very well received by students who like the idea that they have contact with the institution. The requirement to respond to a quiz may also help in this regard (Traxler and Riordan 2003). 23
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
•
•
gauging the appropriate pace of presentation – class cohorts differ from year to year and what is the right pace for one group may be too slow or too fast for another. Teachers need skills and techniques to gauge to appropriate pace of material. Several have used quizzes (Koman 2005, Lian 2003) in order to get a sense of whether a topic has been grasped appropriately by a majority of a class. In particular, given that real-time access to such results is now possible this can be a highly effective use of quizzes in education. coping with massification and reduced resources - the participation rates of students at third-level have risen in many countries in recent decades. This has led to increased class sizes, in many cases at the same time as resources have often fallen quite markedly. This leads to difficulties for tutors in dealing with a large volume of assessments in a timely fashion. This is particularly crucial as feedback on their work is a vital learning tool for students. This has led some educators to deploy techniques such as peer assessment which uses fellow students to mark each others assessments. This relies on the principle that late but high quality assessment is of less formative value than prompt if imperfect feedback. Others have tried quizzes in order to achieve the same goal with promising results (Catley 2005, Koman 2005).
without the stress often associated with “cramming” before traditional exams. In addition, he values the possibilities provided by instant feedback. Using WebCT functionality, Chapman implemented a quiz as part of a course on Construction Management in less than three weeks as a complete beginner. He has, since this first attempt, implemented quizzes on all the modules he teaches. Chapman’s approach is to require students to take four quizzes per module. These can be taken up to three times each in order to improve one’s score. Students have full access to learning materials while completing the quizzes. He uses a facility whereby the questions can be varied a little across the three attempts, so that students learn method rather than learn off a particular example. Catley (2005) provides results of implementing quizzes in a course on Legal Methods. This was a course where a large majority (90%) of students passed the subject either on first or second sitting but the number taking two sittings to achieve a pass was quite high. He felt this indicated the fact that the students could (ultimately) cope with and learn the material but that their engagement the first time around was not what it could be.
In addition to the value of quizzes being acknowledged there are now much greater supports for creating and assessing quiz results. Virtual Learning Environments such as WebCT now have sophisticated support for designing, implementing and assessing quizzes. In some cases such tools have sophisticated support for analyzing the results of quizzes also. These systems support the well-known multiple choice (MCQ) type quizzes but also other formats such as Multiple Response (MR) and Matching Type (MT). Chapman (2004) prefers the latter two forms to MCQs. In particular he cites the considerable effort associated with developing distractor answers and the wrong responses for MCQs. More fundamentally he also feels that it is better that the students spend their time engaged with the (correct) course materials rather than dwelling on (incorrect) distractors.
Catley’s approach was to use quizzes so that student’s could assess how well they were keeping up with the course as it progressed. These quizzes were designed so that students got feedback in addition to an indication as to whether their answer was correct or not. This helped students to stay engaged with the course and avoided the situation where inexperienced students may feel they are further behind than is actually the case and then lose heart and possibly stop working. Catley reported good results in reducing the number of failures at the first sitting and also improving results overall. In addition, he notes that in his studies which included quiz-takers and non quiz-takers (the quizzes were not compulsory), the quiz-takers were better attenders. He also points out that this approach is particularly beneficial in subjects where the knowledge builds incrementally. This is probably because such subjects are particularly prone to a student’s results being damaged by poor attendance and lack of engagement.
Chapman gives an example of implementing quizzes in WebCT. He claims that the main benefit of quizzes is to motivate student’s engagement with learning resources
Another example is that of Mazur in 1995 as reported by Koman (2005). Mazur, a professor of Physics, used automated in-class quizzes every 15 minutes as he
Examples of Quizzes in Education
24
SMS Quizes
presented the class material to his students. His students had a minute to enter an answer along with a confidence level via a handheld computer. They then had another minute to convince their neighbours that they had the correct answer. After this period they got to make a revised answer. This process often resulted in up to 40% more correct answers over the first attempt. Mazur then displayed the correct answer along with the percentage who answered correctly. Mazur could then decide to move on to new material or to spend longer on a topic which hadn’t been fully grasped. In addition to being able to gauge student learning the process has important formative aspects. A similar communication channel has also been implemented by Scheele et al.(2003) as a support to lecturing to large classes. The students use handheld PCs to send responses and answer quizzes during lectures. The students were enabled to provide anonymous feedback about the progress and difficulty of the lecture material which was instantly displayed for the lecturer. The students had the opportunity to “call-in” a question to the lecturer which would appear on the lecturing PC. Finally, the lecturer could use pre-prepared quizzes during the lecture to test the knowledge of students about the subject matter. These examples illustrate the rich possibilities of quizzes in education and also the fact that one’s initial impression that they are a superficial approach to learning can miss some very powerful possibilities. Nonetheless there is the possibility for more trivial implementations also to take hold and therefore some caution is warranted. With regard to the implementation technology and considering that ownership of handheld PCs is not as common as that of mobile phones in the student population, the use of SMS technology to provide a similar feedback loop is a very feasible proposition. The next section examines this issue.
Examples of SMS Quizzes in Education SMS technology has been a huge success over the last 10 years, for instance in January 2006, 3.1 billion text messages were sent in the UK alone (Text-It 2006). Further, SMS is particularly well accepted by the age cohort who make up the bulk of current undergraduate college classes. This is in part driven by its relative low cost, its ubiquity and its privacy characteristics e.g. it allows teenagers in particular to communicate without parental consent (Davis 2003, Safie 2004). These factors mean that SMS is the technology which is most widely
accepted by college students and also the communications technology most readily available to most college students. Given the desirability of colleges maintaining contact with students and the desirability of students maintaining engagement with their studies, the mobile phone is often seen as a key technology which can unlock these issues and ensure that students are well engaged with their studies. This has led to a number of implementations, for instance BuzzTXT (2006) provides exam support in the form of revision and quizzes for the pupils in Knowsley Education Authority area of the UK. Pupils subscribe to the revision tips by sending a code to a number. They can also communicate with tutors and ask questions about difficult subject areas. The BBC’s Bytesize (2006) offers SMS quizzes for GCSE revision in Maths, English and Science subjects. Additional functionality includes WAP-based quizzes and question banks that are downloaded to the student’s phone. Downloadable question banks may be preferable for learners that want to stay in control of costs as only a one-time download fee is charged. Such cost considerations are less of an issue with SMS although the data transmission possibilities are much reduced. The Stanford Learning Lab has created a prototype SMS quiz to aid learning of new vocabulary. The aim of this project was to provide highly flexible, mobile learning material that users could access in very short time-spans ranging from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. The constraints of the 160 character limit of SMS messages turned out to be an advantage as it forced the construction of suitably concise chunks for such short-term learning opportunities (Stanford University 2005). The Open University of Malaysia conducted a pilot of SMS quizzes that had been created by subject matter experts for three different courses. Post-questionnaire responses revealed that acceptance and usability of SMS quizzes was high among the students. 88% of respondents found that their understanding of the subject matter had benefited from SMS quizzes, 94% were able to follow the instructions how to reply to the SMS correctly and only 24 % of respondents reported problems with legibility of questions and the small screen size (Safie 2004). Lian (2003) reports one example of the use of SMS quizzes to support large class sizes and to allow for 25
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
adaptive feedback of material to class sizes. Lian points out that while quizzes may be implemented using a number of technologies e.g. dedicated voting equipment, wireless networks etc., SMS has the clear advantages of ease of deployment (it is already there in your classroom by virtue of its ubiquity), stability of service (it is provided by the established network providers), user acceptance (in fact users more than accept this technology, it seems to delight them according to Lian) and finally there is little capital or maintenance cost. Lian’s paper also illustrates that complex problems can be presented in-class so as to get over the limited screen realestate issues of SMS. SMS is mainly then used as a “back channel” to collect the students answers. Should the choice be made to use SMS for both forward and back channels, there are a number of technologies and providers who can aid the server side of the process so that the administrative overhead of sending bulk SMS mailings can be handled easily. The CRITE centre at Trinity College, Dublin (Markett et al 2004) used SMS messages to allow another way of interacting between student-student and studentlecturer. This pilot did not use a quiz based approach but invited the students to contribute questions via SMS during a lecture. These were received in real-time and provided a feedback-loop for the lecturers. The lecturer could then elaborate on areas where students struggled. Students felt more at ease posing these questions anonymously. Other SMS messages were sent out concerning class-room management such as requests for the lecturer “to speak up”. Post-questionnaires revealed that students felt more actively engaged in the learning process. 50% of respondents felt that the use of SMS messaging had been affected by the technology in that they had asked more questions. The sending of questions via SMS was also used to interrogate peers during their presentations, as it was seen as less disruptive (and anonymous) than speaking up. Therefore, it provided more opportunities for the students to engage amongst themselves. In an extension to the pilot the SMS messaging was integrated with a web-based application that stored SMS messages and allowed students to discuss each other’s responses during and after the class. This type of application has great potential for peer-assisted learning. On the negative side, the use of open-ended conversational questions in SMS messaging imposes a high cognitive load on the user and diverts attention 26
from the lecture that the student is attending. Secondly the often mentioned “disruptive” aspect of mobile phones also arises. While mobile phone technology can be used effectively to achieve learning, by its very nature it also allows students to use it for diversion and personal communication. From an educational perspective such outside interference is difficult to control, yet it diverts the student’s attention from the act of learning.
Technology of SMS quizzes. The distribution of SMS quizzes to students requires the use of an SMS gateway. These allow the one-to-many broadcast of bulk SMS messages to mobile phone users. Such messages can originate from a number of sources including E-mail and Web-based interfaces. 2-way messaging is needed when responses are to be collected as would be the case in most quizzes, unless the questions are for self-testing or revision. In this interaction SMS messages are collected for the customer and retrieved via a web interface, email or harvested for database integration. Popular services based in the UK are Xpressms.com (2006) and intellisoftware.co.uk (2006). These providers make accessible their API which allows an eLearning developer to integrate the quiz into the in-house Learning Management System (LMS). Stand-alone commercial software solutions, such as SMS studio (Code Segment 2006) enables users to easily generate, administer and distribute quizzes via SMS. The mLearning project as reported by Attewell (2005) has developed a teacher’s toolkit for the implementation of SMS based quizzes.
Conclusions While quizzes have limitations, their value is often underappreciated, for instance they are often associated with a rather glib form of assessment based on ill thought-out multiple choice quizzes. In fact, they can be quite sophisticated, for instance, with the student being required to carry out complex calculations offline or to follow through a complex methodology before entering an answer in a text box. Of course, in most cases they should be complemented by other forms of assessment but they do seem to have a place in the “toolkit” of the college lecturer. There are many examples of quizzes implemented using a variety of technologies available. Use of SMS in particular seems to be less frequent. This is probably due to the fact that most developments to date have been in the context of desktop based eLearning. Given the
SMS Quizes
positive characteristics of SMS with respect to ubiquity, cost, reliability and user acceptance this is likely to change. There are of course some drawbacks, of these, the most obvious is the limitation of screen “real-estate” which may mean that many educational tasks which can work in an eLearning context will not port straightforwardly to an mLearning situation. Quizzes have the potential to avoid this difficulty, in the main, because the dialogue with the user is often “chunked” into relatively short sentences which can be easily read on a mobile device and also the answers tend to be terse e.g. selecting a preferred option or entering minimal text. These factors should result in increased deployment of SMS-based quizzes in the coming period.
References Woit, D. and Mason, D. (2000) Enhancing Students learning through On-line Quizzes. Proceedings of SIGCSE 2000. Chapman N. (2004) Various Ways of Using Online Testing in a Virtual Learning Environment. The Brookes eJournal of Learning and Teaching, 1(1), June 2004. Catley, P. (2005) One Lecturer’s Experience of Blending ELearning with Traditional Teaching. The Brookes eJournal of Learning and Teaching, 1(2), Jan 2005. Koman, K. (2005) Newton, One-on-One. Harvard Journal, Summer 1995. Lian, Y. (2003) Adaptive Teaching for Large Classes. Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Education, Valencia, July 2003. Traxler, J. and Riordan, B. (2003) Evaluating the Effectiveness of Retention Strategies using SMS, WAP and WWW Student Support. 4th annual LTSN-ICS Conference, Galway 2003. XpresSMS (2006) http://www.xpressms.com/
Text-It (2006) http://www.text.it/mediacentre/sms_figures.cfm BuzzTXT (2006) http://www.interactivesolutions.co.uk/portfolio/ buzztxt.htm Stanford University (2005) http://sll.stanford.edu/projects/tomprof/ newtomprof/postings/289.html BBC Bitesize (2006) http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ Scheele, N. et al (2003) The Interactive Lecture – A new Teaching Paradigm based on Ubiquituous Computing. Praktische Informatik IV, University of Mannheim Davis, S. (2003) Observations in classrooms using a network of handheld devices. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 19. Safie, N. (2004) The use of Short Messaging System (SMS) as a supplementary learning tool in Open University Malaysia (OUM). Proceedings of the 18th Annual Conference Association of Asian Open Universities (AAOU) Shanghai, China November 2004 Markett, C. et al (2004) Pls Turn ur Mobile on: Short Message Service (SMS) Supporting Interactivity in the Classroom. Proceedings of IADIS Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age. IADIS:Lisbon. Harper, R. (2003) People Versus Information: the evolution of mobile technology. MobileHCI 2003, Udine, Italy. CodeSegment(2006) http://www.codesegment.com/ Attewell, J. (2005) From Research and Development to Mobile Learning: Tools for Education and Training Providers and their Learners. Proceedings of mLearn 2005, Cape Town South Africa, http://www.mlearn.org.za/CD/papers/Attewell.pdf.
Chapter 3 Voice message to students who dial a certain number Renaud Ferly Mobile users carry their device continually and it is now obvious to everyone that this tool can provide immediate access to other people. Progressively, the mobile user is broadening his or her use of the device to access information or services with the same benefits: no delay, immediate answer. Mainstream education institutions can now provide information services accessible by mobile users and thus meet the expectations of their students of immediate access to information or services. This chapter focuses on ‘voice only applications’ and helps in the setting up such solutions by giving an overview of the key concepts underlying modern voice services.
Setting up a simple voice enabled solution Interactive Voice Response (IVR) IVR designates the first generation of systems that allow telephone input (either touch tones or voice input) and automatic delivery of pre-recorded voice message.
DTMF Dual Tone Multifrequency (Touch tones) provides an input protocol based on tones generated by the telephone key pad. It is generally used on older IVR systems (e.g. “if you want to…press 1”).
Figure 1. Interactive Voice Response
Setting up an advanced voice solution Advanced Voice solutions are based on speech recognition technologies. They benefit from both emerging standards and the growing quality of voice solutions.
28
Voice Portal The Voice portal (or voice gateway) is the user interface of the Interactive Voice Response system. It is responsible for handling the input and delivering the output to the caller. It works in interaction with a back end application that can process operations, connect to
Voice message to students who dial a certain number databases, and deliver information to the caller. The two components “Voice portal” and “backend application” form a new generation of voice enabled systems. Backend application The backend application is responsible for executing the processing; it generally retrieves and stores information in a database. Backend applications are often legacy web based ones that are enhanced with a voice interface. Speech Recognition Speech Recognition software can analyze an audio signal given to it (the caller speech), compare it to a speech
items database and translate into text items that can be processed by an application. Voice XML Voice XML an extension of XML, standardized by the W3C. It is an XML based scripting language allowing interaction between a voice portal and the backend application. Text to Speech Text to speech software generates voice content from text input. Compared to speech recognition, it executes the inverse operation.
Figure 2. Text to speech software
Benefits of using a voice portal in an education institution •
Opens the institution through a 24/7 access which can be profitable to different kinds of students
•
Gives access to online services without using a computer, therefore very valuable for mobile/wireless students.
•
Allows the automation of basic and repetitive assistance tasks, information providing and, therefore, is a good way to help refocus the administrative or education staff to higher value tasks.
•
Most big organisations (banking companies, telephone operators, television companies, job services) offer voice portals to their users; it is then important that the education institution can provide the same level of service to students.
Target users Students are the main target and it is interesting to note that allowing access to voice services via mobiles will be of benefit not only to students that are on the campus but to those who spend little or no time on the campus (distance learning students, parttime students, evening students). The organisation staff (teachers and employees) are also users of the system since some services are dedicated to provide interaction between students and teachers or administration. Potential students are also an important target: some services can be targeted to people looking for a university and that need to have immediate and always available information services on registration fees, orientation information and so on.
29
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
What is the link with mobile learning? Enhanced possibilities for mobile student The voice portal is independent of the phone network used; it can be a cellular network, a switched phone network, or even voice over IP telephony. By studying the impact of mobile technologies on mainstream education, we already mentioned the fact that students are more and more connected through their mobile phones and devices. Therefore, providing them with voice enabled services will meet their expectations by allowing them to interact more closely and efficiently with the institution from any location. Using a mobile phone to get access to content Retrieving a database content: the FAQ example. A voice portal can be set up to give access to content which is another link to mobile learning. A good example to use here is the FAQ database because it is typically the type of content that would benefit from being accessed by voice: •
•
•
Some questions are frequently asked, for example inquiries by phone to administrative staff can represent an important workload especially in certain time periods (registrations, exams). Even if FAQs can be huge, they are generally organised as medium sized content items and thus delivering them vocally will not decrease their value or prevent the student from memorizing parts of them. It is rather easy for a speech recognition system to take the question input and link it to the appropriate answer.
The design of the system will be exactly the same; the difference will be on the back end application that will be a FAQ repository instead of an administrative application. It is important to note that the FAQ can deal with administrative matters as well as learning materials. Thus deploying a voice enabled system in an education institution can cover both administrative interaction and education purposes of the institution with the same platform. 30
Using voice browsers Voice browsers are generally considered as solutions that help disabled people to browse internet web sites. It is interesting to note that these technologies can also benefit a broader set of students since a voice browser could be connected to a voice portal and thus allow a mobile student to navigate some items of a web site without having to watch a screen or use a keyboard. An immediate application is to give access through a phone number to information delivered on the intranet web sites of the institution. Clearly, to be voice browsed, the web content must follow accessibility rules which should be the case, at least for disabled users.
Voice systems best practices The design of the voice user interface The user interface is the key element that will help or hinder the interaction of the student with the system. Building a good user interface will therefore have a positive impact on : •
Time : the design focuses on reducing time needed to perform the more frequent operations
•
Satisfaction
•
Costs: reduces telecommunications costs, and encourages the student to use an automated voice service rather than call the administrative staff.
Best practices are widely available and deal with •
Organisation of menus (length and order of items)
•
Access to help system
•
Access to human operator
•
Simplicity of vocabulary
•
Length of speech items
•
Memorization considerations
•
Error handling
•
How to avoid unnecessary items or content
•
Choosing the voice characteristics (accent, languages, male vs. female)
•
Use accessibility rules for web sites
Voice message to students who dial a certain number
Conclusion Among the different types of user interaction that can be se up on mobile and wireless technologies, voice applications are especially valuable for a mobile user because they need limited user interaction and therefore their use is very straightforward: •
They do not need full text input like email or SMS messaging
•
The output is delivered without screen reading.
Although this is not dedicated to mobile usage, it is very valuable for mobile students because the limited need for user interaction allows an everywhere and hands free usage (while driving, in public transportation, while studying in a library).
31
Chapter 4 SMS question – answer system Gabor Kismihok SMS messages have had great impact on academic support of learning activities. In this chapter a summary is given on the use of SMS question & answer systems, detailing the benefits for students and for tutors. At the end of the chapter examples are given of successful implementations.
Introduction Autonomy in learning People participating in distance education nowadays need support in developing skills for individual learning, which include the following challenges:
Text messages in the academic sector In the academic sector, text messages are used for two main purposes: •
Administrative issues, regarding the study programme, which include:
•
Considering and identifying learning needs and strategies of students;
•
General information about the administrative tasks to complete
•
Providing support during the learning process, which is based on individuals’ learning strategies;
•
Grade information about exams, assignments, etc.
•
Continuous feedback and evaluation of the performance of students;
•
Financial information about the academic fees and scholarships
•
Re-think or re-organise the learning strategy, based on feedback.
•
Registration to courses
•
Academic activities, such as:
•
Utilization of the communication flow between the students and the teacher with the help of SMS, MMS, and Interactive Voice Response – IVR – systems (e.g. Q&A session)
•
Assessment using multiple choice questions and quizzes
•
Giving feedback about the deliverables of the course
•
Instructions about the teaching material, learning hints and strategies.
To handle these challenges and provide support for students, a continuous tutoring, monitoring and assessing activity is essential. The usage of mobile messaging can support this communication because of the following reasons: •
Easy to use communication channel, as almost all the students have a mobile phone
•
Efficient, as the number of undelivered messages in case of a well maintained phone-number database is relatively low (compared to conventional official letters)
•
Cheap way to reach students, as the cost of a message is far less than postal costs
•
Synchronous feedback is possible
•
Lecturers can have a clear view of the most important difficulties of students
•
Fast reorganisation of the learning content, based on students’ needs
32
SMS Q&A system According to Brown (2005), we can talk about an SMS question-answer system, when “students ask questions via SMS regarding a given pre-selected topic and they are then answered automatically by the system via a comprehensive programmed matching system [text database]”.
SMS question – answer system
SMS message
Purpose
Result
Dear student: SMS your questions (1 question per 1 SMS) on the topic: ECO-SYSTEMIC APPROACHES to: 0825558888
To provide students the opportunity to clarify issues and questions without the high cost of a lengthy telephone call; to provide asynchronous learning support; and to lessen the impact on the call centre or the faculty’s telephone tutoring.
An enhancement of achieving the desired learning outcomes. Other successes have not yet been determined. This needs further research.
Table 1. An example for a Q&A SMS (Brown, 2005)
Pedagogical considerations Research, conducted by the Trinity College, Dublin (Market et al., 2004), shows the importance of interactive messaging cycles in course communication. These communication loops, which exist between tutors and students and also between the students only, help the participants to explore and understand the curriculum better. This research identified three guiding principles: •
The interactive loop originates and concludes with the student
•
Interactivity can occur irrespective of technology: involving technology in all, some or none of the interaction stages
•
The originating student ‘owns’ the interaction, determining if the loop is completed”
ICT interfaces are to collect systematically the needs of the students in given topics. According to Figure 1, interactions start and conclude with Student A (Student A can also be a specific group of students). All these communication loops have two halves: an initiation (1a and 1b) and a response (2). Both halves can be supported by ICT, but it is not a necessity, it always depends on the form of learning activities. In Message Loop A for example, the response is not mediated by ICT, which means that the lecturer has a face to face meeting with the students, where all the questions are collected by this SMS Q&A system, but the answers are provided without the help of ICT. In Message Loop B and C the lecturer’s (B) and the two students’ (C) after-class communication are mediated by ICT (it is possible to give both synchronous and asynchronous feedback).
The following figure indicates the various interactive loops between the course participants. The roles of the
Lecturer
Lecturer 1b
2a
Student B 1b
1b
2
ICT Interface
ICT Interface
ICT Interface ICT Interface 2b
1a
1a Student A
In-Class
A
2a
Student A
After Class
B
ICT Interface 2b
1a Student A
After Class
C
Figure 1. Interactive loops between course participants (Market et al., 2004)
33
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
This feature can support learning activities of various student groups, especially the ones, who participate in a distance learning programme. Depending on the tutor, this type of SMS communication can be established between the teacher and:
•
specific groups of students extracted from the database for specific academic support;
•
small groups or individuals to support better understanding.
•
all students;
•
students of a specific programme;
The benefits for participants of the communication flow are detailed below.
Factor
Impact
Advanced accessibility
Both the students and the tutors are accessible through mobile devices, which are not dependant on time and place.
Feedback
An assessment of the learning content can be based on the student questions and responses. The weak points and unclear details of lecture notes can be pinpointed. This can provide important input for a course content reorganisation and also a good basis for consultation preparation.
Didactic efficiency
The answers based on the questions can be provided in many different ways: virtual course space – detailed background information IVR – explanation of important logical relations SMS – facts This multi-channel approach helps students not only reading the answers, but also helps to memorize them, as they get information in various ways.
Student counselling and learning strategy
The received amount of questions help the tutors to develop personalized counseling plans for each student, based on the claimed missing or unclear knowledge. This can modify the predefined learning strategy as well.
Costs
The establishment and maintenance of an SMS Q&A system is much cheaper than regular post-based Distance Education. In combination with the existing eLearning implementations this mLearning subsystem costs 20 times less, than ordinary systems. (Brown, 2005) Table 2. Benefits for participants
Passing learning content to students or answering their questions are challenges for the tutor. An interactive text message based communication system, which is connected to several other eLearning applications as well, can support this activity quite efficiently. The tutor – side communication may combine mobile, voice and text based components as well:
3. MMS, which may also include explanatory images, with longer text. With this technology, we can also provide smaller lessons, summaries to the students. 4. Interactive Voice Response – In this case the student receives an SMS with a phone number. After calling this number, a pre-recorded answer for the question can be heard.
1. A website, where students can find the detailed answer to their questions, which were sent to the tutor;
To make a complete solution, these applications can be integrated with other mLearning and eLearning environments:
2. Bulk SMS / individual SMS can be sent to the student, however the 160 character limit can be very challenging, when a clearly understandable message must be formatted;
•
34
SMS-portal integrated with the LMS/LCMS (e.g. WebCT). This is a built-in message interface, which allow the users to send messages to other user’s mobile phones.
SMS question – answer system
•
Mobile blogging (moblogging) – this application allows the user to post a blog from mobile phones
•
M-assessment (e-assessment on mobile devices). These tools are capable of assessing and evaluating the performance of students. It is also possible to measure and evaluate courses.
•
Mobile technology combined with collaborative learning applications (e.g. discussion groups) enhances the quality of teamwork within student groups.
Examples and Case Studies Learning Technologies Research Group, Kingston University, United Kingdom It is important to know how successful a mobile communication channel towards the students can be. Would they use this form of interaction or deny it completely? In the research of the Learning Technologies Research Group at Kingston University researchers involved 1000 students in an SMS communication research project, which aimed to investigate the key success factors and constraints of this technology (Stone et al. 2002). The results justified that mobile users are ready to receive and send information through this channel. It was also demonstrated “that it was possible to take mobile phone users on a complex “journey”; i.e. where a series of interactive SMS exchanges may be required to
achieve completion of a task or goal.” However the facilitators of the messages (e.g. university staff ) should consider the fact that students think about mobile communication as a personal interaction and not as data communication between two electronic devices. It is advisable to keep the “human tone” of the messages, as students take them more seriously than some codes, generated by a computer. Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland To facilitate interactions in the Trinity case among class members and in tutor–student relations, an SMS Gateway was connected to the internal network of the service hosting institution in order to handle the outgoing and incoming messages. The software solution of the Trinity pilot came from MediaLab Europe (MLE) and operates with a Nokia Card Phone 1.0 interface (Market et al., 2004). The receiving procedure is the following: 1. Students send their SMS-questions to a previously indicated phone number; 2. The phone number is assigned to a tutor and his laptop, which is capable of receiving the student messages directly; 3. The messages are captured by the MLE software and 4. Written into an Excel spreadsheet.
Figure 2. Receiving a message at Trinity College (Market et al., 2004) With this system, the lecturers at Trinity College could collect student questions and reflections during classes in the form of text messages, which enabled them to modify the structure of the presentation to provide a deeper explanation about the unclear points.
University of Pretoria, South Africa The University of Pretoria has started deploying SMS based mLearning services in 2002. After the successful administrative pilot testing the University also started to develop SMS features for academic functions in 2003. 1725 students of 3 different academic programmes used the system. After the first successful pilots, a university35
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
wide task force has been established for implementing this new technology and an mLearning Management System has been introduced. The task force created the framework of the universitywide system, which includes: •
the range of functions which should be implemented as mLearning services (both academic and administrative)
•
the general conditions about the usage of mobile devices for learning (including the SMS)
•
accurate and correct information providing towards the users
The task force decided to introduce the following SMS related services: •
bulk SMS and IVR for communicating with the students
•
SMS assessment tools (MCQs and Quizzes)
The students accepted and adopted this new technology quite fast. A great number of learners responded immediately to the messages from the university. The cost of the communication has decreased. Using ordinary methods to reach the students would have cost 20 times more than bulk messages (Brown, 2005). The South African experts agree on the idea that mLearning should be a supporting channel (not a stand alone solution) of the communication between the various stakeholders during the learning process. Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand In the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand a pilot project has been running for testing students’ usage of SMS Q&A. The participants are enrolled in “Electronic transactions and security”, a second year paper of the Bachelor of Business programme. The online platform used is “AUTOnline” – a BlackBoard-based environment. The researchers want to find answers for the following questions (Petrova 2005): •
Learners value the pro-active “anytime, anyplace” approach which fits in with their life-styles
•
Learners value the instant feedback, which helps them to achieve the learning outcomes
•
Ownership of a higher-quality device will influence adoption positively.
36
Although the research is not reported to be finished yet, there are some challenges, which may be worth mentioning: •
Limitations such as text length;
•
Lack of graphical user interface (SMS);
•
Establishing interface towards the existing eLearning tools is important (e.g. LMS).
University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom At the University of Wolverhampton several research projects have been done on mobile learning. One of the activities was creating, using and evaluating blended learning activities, which were supported by mobile text messages, WAP applications and VLEs (Riordan, Traxler 2003). Text messaging was used to support problematic students having difficulties in preparing and passing exams. Without a support they might have had to be dismissed from their academic programme. Messages were tailored to each student, reflecting the learning content in the VLE and WAP environments. They were also urged to appear in faceto-face consultations, when it was necessary. The following type of messages were sent out to the students (Traxler and Riordan 2003): •
General reminders about coursework deadlines
•
Individual feedback on coursework
•
Revision tips, which were related to teaching materials.
•
Individual administrative issues, like fixing appointments with tutors
•
Urgent administrative issues, like changing lecture location
This pilot project was considered to be successful regarding the acceptance and usability of SMS messaging in Higher Education. Students got used to receiving academic text messages on their mobile device, which was more popular during the test than receiving and reading e-mails from the university. University of Sydney, Australia In 2004 an SMS messaging system for facilitating classroom experiments was introduced at the School of Economics and Political Science (Cheung 2004). The system was used during classroom activities when data had to be collected from students, about special microeconomical game-exercises.
SMS question – answer system
Students had to send their responses to a mobile number. The SMS server collected all the incoming messages and a background application converted all data into an excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet was already available and usable for demonstration purposes during the lecture. A personalised evaluation and a feedback on this basis were sent out to the students’ mobile devices. Language Learning approaches There are several remarkable approaches in the world, which use text messaging as a tool in teaching foreign languages. BBC World’s Language Service and BBC Wales offer an SMS service for their subscribers (Chinnery, 2006). These messages include grammar and vocabulary revisions. At the Kinjo Gakuin University, Japan, Thornton and Houser also
made successful experiments in English teaching (Thornton, Houser 2005). In Japan text messages are a bit more advanced than in Europe. SMS messages are substituted by mobile e-mails, which allow the users to send more than 160 characters in a message, however the size of the messages doesn’t reach the length of a normal e-mail. The mobile vocabulary courses included 3 messages per day (see an example on figure 3.) for two weeks. The mobile e-mail course was quite successful and efficient. Japanese student who got these messages performed significantly better on course tests, than students who received regular e-mails. The study also “suggests that the effect of regular study encouraged by (mobile) e-mail is more important than the details of the lessons”
Figure 3 – Example of vocabulary teaching message (Thorton, Houser, 2005, p. 222) Despite mobile e-mailing not being a commonly used service in Europe it is possible to send and receive longer text messages than an SMS in Europe as well. MMS messages are very similar to SMS messages. They are easy to transfer, fast, but the information content is more advanced. In an MMS message it is possible to send not only text, which is longer than 160 characters, but also pictures, images, which may also help the student to understand and learn from the content. The disadvantage of the higher MMS price is vanishing with the continuous spreading of the 3G mobile networks, which may make this approach beneficial for both students and institutions.
Conclusion As a conclusion, some key points must be summarised regarding academic communication between the students and the teacher, using mobile devices. •
mLearning should not be a stand alone function when it comes to communication between the tutor and the students.
•
mlearning is enabling fast and cost effective student access.
•
SMS and MMS technologies are cheap and accessible for almost every participant of our society. (The mobile penetration rates are quite high everywhere around the world). 37
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
•
SMS Q&A – despite its limitations – is a tool that works well. On one hand it can indicate student difficulties about teaching materials, on the other hand it’s capable of providing beneficial feedback for students.
According to pilot projects, which have been conducted in this field, the quality of the learning experience improves with the usage of this technology. Using mobile devices is fun for students and for tutors as well!
References Brown, T. (2005) M-Learning today. Pretoria: University of Pretoria Cheung, S.L. (2004) Fun and games with mobile phones: SMS messaging in microeconomics experiments. In Atkinson, R., McBeath, C., JonasDwyer, D. and R. Phillips, R. (Eds), Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE Conference Perth, 5-8 December 2004, pp. 180183). http://www.ascilite.org.au/ conferences/perth04/procs/cheung.html Chinnery, G. (2006) Emerging Technologies. Going to the MALL: Mobile Assisted Language Learning. Language Learning & Technology January, 2006, Volume 10, Number 1, pp. 9-16, http://llt.msu.edu/vol10num1/emerging/ Markett, C., Sanchez, I., Weber, S and Tangney B. (2004) – “Pls Turn Ur Mobile On”: Short Message
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Service (SMS). Proceedings of Supporting Interactivity in the Classroom conference, Trinity College Dublin Materials of the project “Mobile Learning: The Next Generation Of Learning” (2003-2005) Leonardo Da Vinci Programme of the European Commission. http://learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/ Petrova, K. (2005) Mobile Learning Using SMS: A Mobile Business Application. Auckland: Auckland University of Technology Riordan, B. and Traxler, J. (2003) – Supporting Computing Students at Risk Using Blended Technologies. Proceedings of the 4th Annual LTNSICS Conference, NUI Galway, pp. 174-175 Stone, A. Briggs, J. and Smith C. (2002) SMS and Interactivity – Some Results from the Field, and its Implications on Effective Uses of Mobile Technologies in Education. Proceedings of IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education, p. 147 Traxler, J. and Riordan, B. (2003) – Evaluating the effectiveness of retention strategies Using SMS, WAP, and WWW Student Support. Proceedings of the 4th Annual LTNS-ICS Conference, NUI Galway, pp. 54-58 Thorton P. and Houser C. (2005) - Using mobile phones in English education in Japan Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 21, pp 217–228
Chapter 5 SMS assignment advice Renaud Ferly Being able to improve the support or the assistance provided to students in each and every moment of their studying activities is a major issue for mainstream education. To take a French example, only 59% of students who start studies in the university will be able to achieve them, which is a worse result than in most European countries (Herbillion 2004). A previous mLearning project showed in a report that 77% of a student population estimated that using a mobile is an easy way to provide communication to and from the tutor (Ericsson 2004). In this chapter we take one of the features offered by mobile devices (SMS messaging) to examine how SMSs can help in delivering advice to students doing a university or school assignment.
Defining the basic requirements of the system The institution must start by considering the important issues that one has to address in order to design and build an SMS based assignment advice system. The features needed to fulfil the educational goals obviously depend on the specificities of the pedagogical context involved: the characteristics of a particular educational context in a particular institution will lead to a specific set of features (based on the type of students, the field studied, the learning goals of each assignment, the difficulties faced by students). Nevertheless, it is possible to refine the global requirements by considering some common issues. Will the assignment advice be broadcast or given through a bidirectional channel ? The assignment advice can be given mainly through two communication models: •
•
A broadcasting model: the advice is sent to the student or to a group of students by the advice provider. In this case, there is no solicitation before the advice is sent. A query/answer model: during the first step, the student requests advice from the advice provider; after analyzing the request, the advice provider sends the appropriate advice to the student.
Will the advice be delivered automatically or by human operation? In a human operated system a human instructor is in charge of searching, elaborating, and writing the appropriate advice. There is no difficulty in relating the student working context to the appropriate advice since the instructor holds the whole intelligence of the system. An automated system will be able to examine data that is given to it (for example: a student question, a list of completed assignment steps, an assignment result) find the appropriate answer and then send it back to the student. The difficulty here will be to design processes that can be automated, and build them on top of a more complex software architecture: the Return on Investment for such a system must be carefully estimated. What advice content will the system be based on? There could be no content at all, and in this case it is necessary to let the instructor evaluate each advice request and elaborate the advice; or it can be based on a course or set of courses that the assignment refers to. The first step will be to evaluate the advice material that is available and then decide how to use it with the different solutions possible: •
Structure and build an advice repository
•
Integrate the advice content into a Learning Management System 39
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
•
Build a links database pointing to external heterogeneous advice sources (Web sites, online courseware, online papers)
•
Let the instructor handle the advice himself or herself.
The functional components The request making component This component allows a student to make a request concerning the work that was assigned. The advice delivering component After taking note of the problems the student is facing, the system or the instructor will choose the appropriate advice among all possible answers, or elaborate it. The advice sending component This part of the system will route advices to the student mobile devices.
A natural language based system is obviously easier to use especially for students, but it is also technically more difficult to build if the goal is to have a system delivering advice automatically. Using a codified language The student sends an SMS containing codified data (control keyword) that can be decoded by the advice providing system. This type of system is frequently used by SMS service providers that allow a user to interact with the system by using control keywords (“get XXX stock price”). One important recommendation is to make sure that this request language will not hinder students to ask for advice. •
Keep it simple: it must be easily memorised by students
•
Make sure it is reusable: once the student has memorised the keywords necessary to request advice, it is desirable that they could use them again while requesting support for another assignment. Therefore, this feature should not be used for a specific assignment but rather for a type of assignment or for a process suitable to different assignments (a methodological process for example).
Taking note of the advice Using the appropriate device, the student takes note of the advice and uses it to enhance the learning experience and achieve the assignment.
The request making component This component is useful only when the institution assignment advice system uses a bi directional communication model (see basics issues mentioned earlier), that is a system that allows a student to request advice, before sending back the appropriate answer. Although we are focusing on SMS, the means used by the student could also be voice telephone, email, or a Web based system.
•
40
Assignment status analysis The assignment status consists of data provided to the system. This data allows the system to evaluate the current advancement of the assignment and relate this status to the appropriate advice useful to complete the assignment. This data can take various forms: •
If it is not possible or difficult to figure out a logical representation of the assignment and the advice related (for example a literary work). In this case the student must explain in natural language the difficulties faced.
A natural language item: in the case where students are allowed to send the request in natural language. In an instructor operated system, the analysis is done by the instructor; while to allow automatic analysis the use of natural language enabled software will be necessary.
•
If the system is not automated : since an instructor will take note of the request, using natural language is easier for both parties.
An expression composed of control key word and data : a specific program can be set up to decode the expression and evaluate the status of the assignment for the student
•
External data conditioning the advice : if the instructor built the assignment as a process that should be achieved in a specific time frame he or she
Using natural language The student just sends by SMS his question to the assignment advice system; such a system will be appropriate: •
The advice delivering component
SMS assignment advice
could identify milestones and send periodically a warning message to the students indicating which milestone they should have reached and provide them with advice if they did not reach it. This kind of SMS advice broadcasting is very similar to certain SMS campaign used in email marketing (some companies used SMS for motivation campaigns for people who try to stop smoking for example). Other external data can also be extracted out of an information system (let’s imagine for example a multiple choice question answered online by studentswith the results stored in a database). The advice providing system could connect to the database check the non answered questions for a student, then select and send the appropriate advice to help the student. Searching the repository to match the appropriate advice In the case of a limited and known set of advices it is much easier to design the system that will implement an “a priori” matching. •
•
1st step: the assignment is designed, structured and when elaborating the assignment, the instructor connects each part or step or result of the assignment to the appropriate clues, or suggestions he or she wants to give the student at each step. 2nd step: the student sends information about his or her advancement and request advice; the system evaluates the status of the student and sends the corresponding advice already linked to that step and status.
If such a mechanism is not applicable, then the matching has to be done “a posteriori” •
1st step : the student sends information about his or her advancement and requests advice
•
2nd step the system evaluate the status of the student in the assignment
•
3rd step: this information is used to make a link to an appropriate advice repository.
Formatting the advice to allow use of SMS The most important characteristics of SMS are: •
It is a text only technology; of course we can also consider using MMS, but in this chapter we limit the study to SMS since it is more generally available which is a major criterion for mainstream deployment.
•
The text structure is limited to approximately 160 characters, again it is possible to split a longer message into multiple SMSs, but since this presumes the mobile device has specific features, we do not consider this possibility here.
So the important issue for the advice providing component is to make sure that all the available advice content is "SMS friendly" that is: •
Each advice is a text only information
•
Each advice can fit into 160 characters
If the advice content is SMS compatible, then there will be no need to work on format issues, because when the advice is found, it will be included in a file and directly routed by the SMS gateway to the student mobile. To overcome the problems of textual advices that can not be restricted to 160 characters or advices that mix different information formats (text audio, graphics, video) the system must use a multichannel strategy. The SMS channel is used to send access information to another channel. This second channel is in charge of delivering the advice to the student. Even in this case the advantages of using SMS remain: it can reach the student directly; it is wireless; it is more valuable especially for the population of teenagers and young adults.
Sending the advice information Mobile devices offer different communication channels, and therefore the system can benefit from each one and even a mix of different channels. Sending the advice by SMS The advice is embedded in the SMS and sent directly to the student Sending the advice by SMS and voice The SMS carries a phone number to access information. Sending the advice by SMS and data The SMS carries a URL to an advice resource accessible online.
Retrieving the advice SMS message on mobile device The student uses the SMS reading feature of the device, and can directly use the advice included in the message. 41
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
This is the more immediate and simple use of an SMS based assignment advice system providing it can accept the already mentioned technical restrictions. Voice Phone The student uses the phone number provided in the SMS message and connects to an IVR system. The access code allows the voice systems to make the link to the previous requests made by the student and to the appropriate advice found by the system.
a specific software solution. Web site (from computer) The student connects to the internet with a desktop or laptop computer and activates the link provided in the SMS message. This channel will especially be interesting when the use of a mobile device is not comfortable enough to take note of the advice. For example if it consists in a very important amount of text content, or if it mixes text, complex graphics, video…
This is restricted to •
•
Short or medium length content: the advice should be memorised by the student at first hearing without having to listen again. If the advice is too long or contains complex information (mathematic formulas for example) that needs multiple readings or hearings before being fully understood then another channel is probably more appropriate. Audio or Text content : It is interesting to note that even if the advice is text only (has not be converted to audio) the recent advances in text to speech solutions allow one to convert on the fly a text content via audio with a very good level of quality.
Wap site The student connects to the internet with a mobile device and activates the link provided in the SMS message. This channel is suitable for content with medium sized text and light use of graphics and multimedia. When using this solution, one has to be careful since a WML content can display differently depending of the mobile devices used. To secure the reading and make the content accessible on the majority of devices, a formatting work has to be done that can be delegated to
42
The main drawback is that the process is asynchronous since the student has to connect to a computer with a standard screen to user interface (screen, keyboard) in order to retrieve the advice. Offline device Obviously, the SMS instead of offering advice can redirect the student to offline content, for example a bibliographic element or paper courseware.
Conclusion •
Define precisely the educational goals of the system
•
Design processes and features that can broaden the usage of the system among students and teachers
•
Estimate the cost of the technical solution and validate its benefits
•
Build a prototype to test and validate the concept
•
Benefit from the multichanneling possibilities of wireless and mobile devices
The following graphic synthesizes how the usage of multichannel relates to the different types of advice sent to students.
Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) Academic administration
Figure 1. Usage of multichannel related to advice sent to students
References Herbillion, M. (2004) Rapport d’information sur l’enseignement supérieur en Europe. Paris :Assemblée nationale
Ericsson (2004) Report on the use of mobile learning for training. Leonardo Da Vinci project: From elearning to m-learning.
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Chapter 6 SMS tutoring of desired learning outcomes Desmond Keegan The value of SMS (Short Messaging System) for academic tutoring is described and underlined. Examples of successful use are given. The use of SMS in face-to-face lecture halls in Classroom Response Systems (CRS) is detailed.
The use of SMS messaging for the tutoring of desired learning outcomes is well established as a form of academic support in mobile learning.
The context for the use of SMS messaging by a lecturer could be to provide academic support for a course assignment that the lecturer knows has caused problems to students in previous years.
There are many examples of its use. These include: •
To provide a study tip for a difficult assignment question that normally gets answered incorrectly by students
•
To prepare distance education students for contact sessions
•
To provide a hint for a project or a follow-up assignment
•
To provide a course summary
•
To provide revision notes prior ro an examination
•
To highlight pages or passages in the Study guide that need special consideration
•
To provide students with a list of study aims and objectives
•
To provide additional material or clarification for a particularly difficult part of a course.
The desired outcome of this tutoring by SMS is: •
An increase in the quality of assignment answers
•
An increase in the quality of contact session interaction for distance education students
•
An increase in learning motivation
•
An enhancement of learning with deeper understanding of certain key concepts
•
More focus in examination preparation
•
More assistance with difficult parts of a course that have caused problems to students in previous years
•
A better overview of course content, aims and objectives.
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SMS messages can be used in distance education that use face-to-face sessions from time to time, to enable the students to focus on the academic content of the contact session, to come better prepared for it and more ready to participate actively in the sessions. SMS messages are of particular value for academic assistance at the time of the submission of a course project or assignment. An experienced lecturer or teacher can identify difficulties and provide support to enhance the student’s assignment grades. At an appropriate stage in a course it is advantageous to send to all students an SMS message providing a course outline or summary as a tutoring aid. SMS messages as tutoring aids are of particular value in the lead up to examinations and can list revision topics or advice on probable exam questions. SMS messages can be used to draw attention to particularly important parts of a course or to provide extra assistance for difficult parts of a course. Tutoring by the use of SMS messaging can stress the aims and objectives of the course and contribute greatly to student motivation. Above all, SMS tutorial messages are of great value for students who are having great difficulty in a course, who are known to be getting poor grades and are in danger of dropping out.
SMS tutoring of desired learning outcomes
Basis The basis for the use of SMS messaging for tutoring students in academic courses is that SMS messaging is well established in mobile learning. Tens of thousands of academic SMS messages have been sent out by universities to students around the world. This academic success follows the success of SMS messages in all walks of life. 500 billion of them are sent annually around the world. For the United Kingdom alone the statistics show that 45 million of them are sent daily. SMS messages have quickly become a major revenue stream for mobile telephone operators. At an average of 10 cents per message this totals ?50 billion a year, or 100 text messages a year for every person in the world. Major revenue generators are ordering ringtones, wallpapers and entering competitions. To this is added news alerts, sports news, financial information and downloading logos. The present generation of university students are expert texters. They have grown up with texting, use it more
frequently that phoning, and have developed skills in rapidly reading and replying to text messages from friends and companies alike. It can therefore be accepted that all students at all institutions possess a mobile phone and use it constantly in all walks of life. The success of SMSs sent for academic support and tutoring shows how they can be used in education and training.
Success All the research evidence we have indicates that students like receiving academic SMS messages for course tutoring, want more of it and regard it as a normal usage of the devices they own. The University of Pretoria Tens of thousands of academic SMS tutoring messages have been sent out by the University of Pretoria, mainly to its distance education students. All of these students live in country areas of South Africa and have no access to email or elearning. A typical SMS would look like this:
Dear course LPO 402 student: study section on Assets pp 43-44 in Tutorial Letter before answering part 1.4 of Assignment 1. This is also important for your project assignment. UP (University of Pretoria) Figure1. Example of academic support by SMS This initiative has been totally successful and has brought immediate, personal support to students doing university degrees and living in country locations without access to a computer network. The University’s statistics show increase in quality of assignment answers and increase in the quality of interaction at contact sessions as a result of mobile learning. Brown (2005) gives a detailed account of the use of SMS messages for academic support at the University of Pretoria: The University of Pretoria started using SMS for academic learning support in November 2004 in a module of one of the three paper-based distance education programmes in the Faculty of Education, namely ACE: Special Needs Education: Module LPO402.
The pilot project comprises four categories of asynchronous academic interventions during the sixmonth cycle of this module from October 2004 to April 2005. The four categories are: •
Academic instructional message (regular bulk type SMS messages).
•
IVR (interactive voice response) system for FAQs (students phone in to a “FAQ number” and receive answers from the programmed system).
•
SMS quizzes (MCQs are sent to students and a simple answer choice is replied via SMS. Answers and feedback are provided on each quiz).
•
SMS question-answer system (students ask questions via SMS regarding a given pre-selected topic and they are then answered automatically by the system via a comprehensive programmed matching system [text database]). 45
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Some examples of SMSs sent for academic support are provided in the table below: CATEGORY VOICE RESPONSE
SMS MESSAGE /
PURPOSE
ENVISAGED OUTCOME
Instruction
LPO 402 student: study section on Assets p43-44 in Tutorial Letter 1 before answering 1.4 of Assign 1. This is also important for your Project & Assign 2. UP
To provide a study tip for a difficult assignment question that normally gets answered incorrectly by students; to prepare students for contact sessions; and to provide a hint for the project and follow-up assignment.
An increase in the quality of assignment answers; and an increase in the quality of contact session interaction.
IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
SMS message: LPO 402 student: phone 0825557777 to hear more about the most import concept in this module, the asset-based approach. UP
To provide a personalised feel . to the automated learning support. Students can listen to mini lectures and explanations in the voice of their teacher.
An increase in learning motivation as well as an enhancement of learning with deeper understanding of certain key concepts. It also ‘personalise’ the interaction. All these needs further research to confirm the anticipated outcomes
Voice message when student reaches 082555777: Hello LPO 402 student. We will now discuss some frequently asked questions on the asset-based approach that will enhance your understanding of this important concept. Press 1 to hear what the asset-based approach is. Press 2 to hear what makes it so unique. Press 3 to hear why you should use it. Further voice responses are available then at each number indicated. Q&A
Dear student: SMS your questions (1 question per 1 SMS) on the topic: ECO-SYSTEMIC APPROACHES to: 0825558888
To provide students the opportunity to clarify issues and questions without the high cost of a lengthy telephone call; to provide asynchronous learning support; and to lessen the impact on the call centre or the faculty’s telephone tutoring.
An enhancement of achieving the desired learning outcomes. Other successes have not yet been determined. This needs further research.
Quizzes
First SMS message: 1st question: Asset-based initiatives are clarified in a) learning guide p14, b) Assets textbook p14, c) tutorial letter p5. Reply with a, b, or c & send
To review important content; to provide tutoring in order to reach the desired learning outcomes; and to provide remedial support on identified learning shortcomings.
The envisaged outcome is an improvement in the quality of assignment answers and the achievement of the desired learning outcomes. Other
46
SMS tutoring of desired learning outcomes
SMS if reply was correct: Correct! The asset-based approach is eco-systemic. Eco-systemic approaches emphasize a) interrelatedness, b) individuality, c) neither. Press & send
successes have not yet determined. This needs further research.
SMS if reply was incorrect: A needs-based approach emphasizes individuality and an asset-based approach emphasizes interrelatedness. Press C & send [And it continues so for up to 5 questions] Last SMS in quiz: Correct! You are on your way to reaching the 2nd and 3rd outcomes of this unit. Now read p 15-18 in learning guide. Good luck! Bye Table 1: Examples of academic support through bulk SMS (Brown 2005) It is mportant to note that the limitation of having only 160 characters available (including spaces) for an SMS text message poses some very interesting challenges when it comes to the formulation of SMS messages. It is a real challenge to formulate the correct message that provides the exact information you want to communicate without leaving possibilities of misunderstandings or misinterpretations. One badly formulated SMS can create lots of chaos with financial and many other implications.
Classroom Response Systems aim to •
Motivate students by increasing participation
•
Provide instant feedback on multiple choice questions
•
Provide information to the lecturer on student learning
•
Provide information to the lecturer in large lecture halls where it is difficult to maintain contact with all the students attending.
SMS messaging in face-to-face education Side by side with the use of SMS messaging in distance learning, eLearning and mobile learning comes its use in face-to-face education on-campus. SMS messaging is particularly useful in Classroom Response Systems (CRS). Classroom Response Systems have been available in various forms since the 1960s. Today they involve students with proprietary keypads answering multiple choice questions at various times during a lecture. The keypads used by the students communicate with the CRS either by radio frequency or by infra-red receivers. An aggregate response graph is then displayed on a projector screen, thus providing instant feedback for the students, not just on their own answering but also that of the whole class.
Classroom Response Systems today have 4 problems: •
The university has to invest in purchasing the CRS
•
Students must buy or rent the keypads to participate in the lectures
•
In large lecture halls with hundreds of students present there are considerable logistical issues in ensuring that each student has a keypad
•
Students must remember to carry their keypads to the lecture.
Enhanced interaction and feedback is possible by using the students’ SMS-enabled mobile phones instead of keypads. 47
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The use of SMS has these advantages:
allowing students to become more actively involved in constructing and using knowledge.
•
Messages are relayed to the lecturer’s computer where they are processed and stored
•
The upfront costs to the university are eliminated
•
The upfront costs to the students of buying or renting keypads are eliminated
The following benefits accrue from the use of these systems: active paticipation during a class or lecture, peer learning, student satisfaction, student retention, improved comprehension and attendance.
•
The students use a familiar technology which they use constantly outside the lecture room
The following pedagogical benefits are provided
•
Students can send comments or questions to the lecturer which provide feedback to the lecturer (this is not available on standard CRS systems)
•
Students can receive a customised post-lecture feedback on their performance by the lecturer (this is not available on standard CRS systems).
The post-lecture SMS feedback indicates the individual student’s performance compared to the mean of the class as well as indicating specific learning problems to the student. For high-achieving students this feedback provides recognition and affirmation. For low achievers it provides feedback on wrong responses to a particular part of a course which can then be revised and relearned.
•
They offer students the opportunity anonymously to test their own knowledge
•
They offer rapid feedback to the lecturer on student knowledge and understanding
•
They maintain student interest by offering a more active learning environment
•
They facilitate peer teaching and learning.
Conclusion The substitution of SMSs for CRSs, as proposed in this chapter, is based on the ubiquity of mobile phone handsets among third level students in Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and a growing range of countries throughout the world.
Benefits CRS systems or similar systems based on SMS technology have many advantages for use in large lecture halls. They permit students to answer questions electronically. Students get immediate feedback on their responses and on their peers’ responses while in the lecture room. These systems are usually used in a three-step process: •
The lecturer poses a multiple choice question that is important for the subject matter
•
Students’ responses are gathered rapidly and anonymously
•
A public display of the responses is quickly assembled and gives feedback on the variations of the group’s responses without disclosing individual’s identities.
These systems provide the benefit of anonymity in formative assessment. This is of importance to lowability students who are usually slow to participate in the traditional classroom or lecture room as they want to avoid negative reactions to their answers. These responses can serve as a springboard for further discussion. They can serve as a catalyst for creating a more intuitive, student-centered lecture room, thereby 48
Young people regard the mobile phone as more that a communication device. The tendency of young people is to personalise their mobile phone with distinctive ringtones and screensavers. The integration of these handsets and of text messaging into the learning process will involve using technology with which they are familiar and towards which they have affinity into their education and training programmes. The academic use of SMS messaging for academic tutoring in universities and colleges is well established. Tens of thousands of them have been sent out and the reception has been universally favourable. The statistical evidence that all students of higher and further education age own a mobile device makes the case for the introduction of academic tutoring via mobile learning overwhelming.
References Brown, T (2005) mLearning: Doing the unthinkable and reaching the unreachable! Ericsson mobile learning conference. Dun Laoghaire, 9.9.2005 http://learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/ the_future_of_mobile.shtml
PART 3 THE USE OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING
Chapter 7 Designing courseware for PDAs and other mobile devices Aleksander Dye This chapter is written with the intent of clarifying some issues involving in designing for small screens and mobile devices. First the term mobile device is defined, then the mobile devices’ differences from traditional computer screens are taken into consideration. We then decide on what to show the mobile users and how to display it on a small screen. The experiences and recommendations on these issues are based on extended work on the issue of mobile learning as evidenced by EU projects at NKI.
What is a "mobile device"?
•
Can be used wirelessly
A mobile device in this chapter is considered to have the following characteristics:
•
Can be used standing with minimal effort
•
Is small enough to be held in one hand.
This definition rules out a laptop with wireless connectivity, which is not to say that it is not a mobile device as such, but it is not mobile in the way that we have to design specifically for it. In our definition it is the mobility and the use of the device when mobile that is key. For this chapter the definition and guidelines are for Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or other mobile devices capable of displaying html or xhtml (from now on referred to as (x)html) on screen with the same approximate display size as a PDA (Rekkedal et al. 2005).
well. This leaves little room for actual content, which is what the users are after.
What should we show our mobile users? What is the main difference on a mobile browser? The main difference which makes designing for a mobile device a challenge is the size of the screen – or the lack of it. We need to think about how we can utilize the valuable amount of space available on a display for an application to provide output that is given to us. We are faced with a menu that fills most of our screen and if a page has adverts, that takes up most of the screen as
Keep in mind the fact that a mobile client is usually only used when the traditional desktop (or laptop) computer is not accessible. The users that use mobile devices are usually on the move, they are mobile and go on the web to do specific tasks. They are not browsing the web, they are either searching for something specific or they are doing a defined task. Your mobile user is not at your site by chance (they could be, but rarely is this the case); they are at your site to do a specific task. 51
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Your mobile user is most likely to be a valuable user, one of your regular users who also wants to access your site from somewhere (s)he can not use a more comfortable sized screen. This is most likely a user who talks about your site and gives you credit for what you do. Why not give the user what (s)he wants as well? If it is not needed – remove it. If you have adverts on your site, remove them from the mobile page, (s)he will come back later to see the adverts, (s)he is not in a browsing mode at this time anyway. Keep in mind that the mobile user usually pays for the amount of data (s)he downloads (in both time and money), therefore it is wise not to use large or unnecessary graphics.
How to display the information on a mobile device Remember the size of the screen at all time. Hide what is not useful and clean up the cluttered pages that you serve to the traditional clients. The 200 pixel menu takes up a bit of the sidebar of a computer screen, but fills up most of the mobile clients’ screens and pushes the content the users are there for away or into a small column of unreadable text. In our courses we have moved the menu to the top and removed the tables to give the content the full width of the mobile browser, but we keep the menu on the side for other clients. This way on a mobile client the menu is on top and when that is scrolled past the screen is clean and shows only meaningful content to the user.
is possible to create a design without fixed pixels and fixed positioning you are mostly there... But how do you do that?
Designing with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) One of the most important features of style sheets is that they specify how a document is to be presented on different media: on the screen, on paper, with a speech synthesizer, with a braille device, etc. When you remove style definition from the (x)html and move it into css (Cascading Style Sheets is a simple mechanism for adding style) you can control the look and feel of multiple web pages, in one or more css files that are independent of the (x)html that is viewed in the browser. This way you loosely couple the data from the display rules and have more control over the layout in different browsers or devices. The greatest advantage here is (in my opinion) that for the different devices you can have different layouts and design elements. This can be solved by the use of media types in CSS. This is done by the use of media types. The @media construct allows style sheet rules for various media in the same style sheet. "A CSS media type names a set of CSS properties. A user agent that claims to support a media type by name must implement all of the properties that apply to that media type." (W3C-m). An example from W3C is given below which shows different font layout for the different medias. Note that the last one sets line-height for both screen and print:
Design guidelines Key to remember is the size of the screen which for most PDAs are 3,5'' large displaying 240x320 pixels (current display for PDAs sold in Norway June 2006). The most popular screen resolutions on the web in the world are (Onestat): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
1024 x 768 800 x 600 1280 x 1024 1152 x 864 1600 x 1200 1280 x 800 1600 x 1024
57.38% 18.23% 14.18% 4.95% 1.67% 1.56% 0.55%
This table gives us a pointer to the fact that screen sizes are expanding, therefore we should be designing for the larger screens, right? Wrong! Design for every screen size that does not compromise the most used screen size! If it 52
Colours and Fonts There are web safe colours as well as fonts (DftW), these are easily identified and well known to designers as well as most tools for creating web pages. The web safe colours and fonts are the ones that are not operating system dependent, but displayed in the same manner on every platform. The colour management system currently used by Web browser software is based on an 8-bit, 216colour (not 256) palette. (BsC) Netscape fixed this problem with the 216-colour palette for the web. Today
Designing courseware for PDAs and other mobile devices
Figure 1: “Browser-Safe” Colours most users have their screen set to thousands or millions of colours, so for the desktop market this is not the same problem (however, two screens do most of the time show colours slightly differently based on settings). The problem is that for the mobile devices it is not as easy to obtain the same information, some devices display one font, others another. If you can identify some commonly used fonts for the mobile devices you should use them for the CSS. This will limit the choice in fonts, but this does not have to impact the traditional design – one font set for the desktop browser and another for the mobile devices. The following is a list of the most common font combinations for traditional web design and should also work on most other devices: • • • • • •
Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif Times New Roman, Times, serif Courier New, Courier, mono Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif
The use of bold and/or italic is the same as with the traditional web pages. Do not use them exceedingly, but to emphasize the message. It is easier to read bold than italic so we recommend using bold if the word is of importance to the reader’s understanding. When we look at font-size definitions the best way to implement this is the same as the recommendations for web pages – use percentage and let the user set his or her preferences, do not set a fixed size, the screen of a mobile device is small and the web page might be compressed. If the font-size is set fixed by pixels it will be too small to read for some users.
Using Illustrations The problems with illustrations are obvious; the screen of the device is too small, the download time too long,
not all devices display color. You can either see the full image and scroll in every direction or the image is too small to understand. Keep in mind that download time and cost should be kept low for the users, and if the user has a device such as a smartphone the memory might be an issue, but this is rarely the case with a PDA. For the course designers the important factor to keep in mind at all times is that it is not the look of the text and images that are important, but the information that the design is to illustrate and emphasize, design comes afterwards. If an image is being used, there should also be a descriptive text for blind users (they can have the description read to them) and the same text could be displayed for the mobile devices. The problem however is that if the text is not there in the first place, the cost involved in describing the illustrations is too large to defend for a small group of mobile users. The cost of doing so at course creation is much lower and not only gives the mobile users an advantage, but also increases the accessibility of the course to the general public.
Using Flash on the PDA Development work with Flash on the PDA is interesting but it is useful to have focus on the readability on all Flash applications. This is because low readability is much more noticeable on a small screen. Flash is an authoring software developed by Macromedia, and is used for producing vector graphics-based animations. Flash makes it possible to develop various programs/features such as navigation interfaces, graphics illustrations, interactivity in a re-sizable file format that is small enough to stream across a normal modem connection. Flash is very suitable for use on the web due to the vector graphics ability to adapt and adjust to different display sizes and screen resolutions and it is designed for optimized delivery. The important thing to remember is not to use negative text (white text on a black background) and to be more focused on the readability of the color combinations of the background and text. The choice of font is also important. It is possible to develop the courseware with the use of Flash together with audio. This was done by NKI in a previous project and has given us insight to some of the challenges in developing for small screens. After experimenting with the course assignments developed in Flash, we adapted them to the PDA. The assignments 53
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
have been adapted and further developed from the original version intended for use on a large screen to be used on the PDA with the Internet Explorer and the Flash player 6 plugin for PDA installed.
Screen format on the PDA We found that 240 x 270 (width x height) pixels was the optimal size and filled the screen as much as possible (see Figure 2: Full size of the "palette" illustrated by the red color)
Using text in Flash When we started the development we found that the text we used in the original assignments was too small and nearly impossible to read when presented on the PDA. We started to experiment with different font types and sizes. By default Flash uses anti-aliasing on the font and that makes the text a little blurry at the edges to soften the text. To get the text sharpened and easy to read on a small screen, we found that we could use an option in Flash called “dynamic text”. This proved better concerning readability and solved our problem. In Figure 1 "Browser-safe" colours, the font-size is 12 pixels, but the Flash renderer shows different sizes using two different methods. We have no good answer as to why Flash does so, but that is not special to the PDA since this is how the program itself reacts. Later on, we also discovered we could keep the font static and use the options “Use Device Fonts” in Flash. Flash uses device fonts to display certain text blocks, so that Flash does not embed the font for that text. This gave us the same output results as setting the text to “Dynamic” but we had more control over line breaking and text behavior and it might also increase the file size.
Figure 2: Full size of the "palette" illustrated by the red color
Figure 3: Different methods with text, verdana 12 pix. We experienced a lot of difference in behavior with the same Flash file when using it on a PC versus the PDA. For instance we had textboxes that showed three lines on a PDA, but could only show two lines on a PC. We solved this by adjusting the size of the textboxes to fit the PDA. A couple of assignments that use “drag and drop” functionality were developed. In computer graphical 54
user interfaces, drag-and-drop is the action of (or support for the action of ) clicking on a virtual object and dragging it onto another virtual object. This worked very well on the PDA, but we experienced the same issues here regarding text readability. One must also have in mind that some functions, like “onMouseOver”, wouldn’t work on the PDA since the PDA is equipped with a touch screen and a stylus and no mouse like on the PC.
Designing courseware for PDAs and other mobile devices Below are some screens shots from assignments made in Flash (in Norwegian):
Figure 4: Drag and Drop assignment
Figure 5: Drag and Drop assignment
Figure 6: Boat Operators Certificate “Game”.- If you make a bad decision, you’ll get an informative feedback telling you what you should have done to avoid an encounter with shallow waters.
Figure 7: Boat Operators Certificate “Game”.- Take your boat trough rough waters guided by the navigation marks and beacons
Video on the PDA At NKI we tried the use of video on the PDA with small video clips showing a discussion between two persons in a learning situation. This has worked very well using the Windows Media Player and we had no problems with viewing the files with high quality both on picture and audio. This is of course also due to high capacity of the wireless broadband solution. We encountered problems when trying to stream video directly from the web browser. Unlike Internet Explorer (IE) for PC, the old pocket version of IE was not capable of streaming video directly from the browser or of starting the Windows Media Player. This meant that one had to copy the URL into the Media Player and watch the video from the Media Player. This worked okay, but was a rather cumbersome method to watch a video.
Figure 6: Screen shot from a video clip 55
Mobile Learning: A Practical Guide
Conclusion
References
The mobile devices you are developing for have a small screen and most of the time the bandwidth is small and the cost is high. Keep the information as easily accessible as you can and strip away unnecessary illustrations. Always keep a textual description of an image for the users who can not (vision impaired users) or choose not to (users on a high cost access point who do not display images) show the images. If you have separation of content and presentation in mind at course creation, the cost of adaption to a mobile device, screen reader, converted to PDF or other format is both easier and comes at a lower cost. If the courses are already created, the cost is much higher.
Rekkedal, T., Dye, A., Fagerberg,T., Bredal, S., Midtsveen, B. & Russell, J (2005) Design, Development and Evaluation of Mobile Learning at NKI Distance Education 2000-2005 (NKI)
If there is only one course to be made available to the mobile device it will be easier to adapt that course, than to adapt a technical underlying structure used to display the content in a context or Learning Management System (LMS) to do the job. The problem is to know when the cost of adapting a course or framework/LMS is worth the time and effort and will give a positive return on investment. This depends on the size and complexity of the course and framework/LMS and the numbers of paying costumers as well as the price being paid. This is why it is hard to make general recommendations to adapt a course or the framework/LMS. The best recommendation I can give is to have accessibility and separation of content and presentation in mind when designing courses. This eases the adaptation to other media in the future.
56
Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0 http://www.w3.org/TR/ 2005/WD-mobile-bp-20051220/ (6 February 2006) Onestat.com (Onestat) http://www.onestat.com/ html/aboutus_pressbox38.html (8 February 2006) The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) http://www.w3.org/ (9 February 2006) Usability first (UF) http://www.usabilityfirst.com/ (15 February 2006) Designing for the Web (DftW) http://www.digital-web.com/articles/ designing_for_the_web/ (15 February 2006) Idedata http://www.idedata.no/ (16 February 2006) Media types on W3C (W3C-m) http://www.w3.org/ TR/REC-CSS2/media.html (16 February 2006) "Browser-safe" colours (BsC) http://www.webstyleguide.com/graphics/safe.html (16 February 2006)
Chapter 8 Podcasting as an mLearning approach Mark Riordan, Hannah Barton, Joachim Pietsch, Philip Penny and John Kavanagh Podcasting technology is outlined and podcasting production is explained. A number of implementations in both education and elsewhere are described. Some early indications of the implications of educational podcasting on the practice and process of learning are discussed. Finally some conclusions are drawn.
The Introduction to Podcasting Podcasting originally and most commonly describes the ability of users of portable MP3 players to register interests with a website which will then cause the user of the MP3 player to receive new or updated MP3 files reflecting their registered subject of interest. The name podcasting is derived from the brand name of one of the suppliers of such equipment but the technique is entirely supplier independent and in fact can be utilised from desktop PCs or Macs as much as from mobile devices. In a desire to avoid using proprietary based naming conventions the phrase audiocasting is sometimes used in place of podcasting but it is not sufficiently common to be used here. Further, the technology is not in any way restricted to MP3 format files or indeed to sound files but for simplicity sake we will refer to MP3 files throughout this chapter but it can be taken to refer to any appropriate file format. The podcast update process works in much the same way that an email client may check for new mail, instead an MP3 player can be set to check for new MP3s meeting registered topics of interest, whenever the unit is docked and thereby connected it to the internet. In the earliest manifestations, topics of interest were often related to a particular person who periodically made audio files available to interested users. In fact, Podcasting has been described as an audio blog, where a blog (contraction of web log) is a shared online multimedia diary which can be read and commented upon by users. Podcasting first emerged mainly as an entertainment concept in September 2004 and offered anyone on the Internet a platform for publishing his or her own radio show. One of the first shows to be a podcast was the “Daily Source Code” by Curry (2006).
Within a short time educators became aware that the ubiquity of MP3 players among students and the ease of the download facility would facilitate educational applications. They were also facilitated by the ease of the production side of podcasting which can be low in contrast to the high costs associated with developing eLearning materials.
Podcasting Production The production of podcasting involves two primary phases, publishing and subscribing. The publishing phase of podcasting consists of a content author: (a) creating an audio or video file of content, a podcast, typically in MP3 format; (b) publishing the podcast file to a web server, with a specific web address; (c) announcing the existence of the newly published podcast file to the world using an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. Typically, a content author, or podcaster, will create multiple podcast files and will publish the podcast files to the web server as they are created. The RSS feed is a separate file that maintains a list of the podcast files along with podcast file information (e.g., author, topic, date, description), that is updated as each new podcast file is created and published. The subscribing phase of podcasting involves the listener, or viewer: (a) subscribing to the podcast using a podcatcher or aggregator (e.g. iTunes), and (b) automatically downloading to the listener’s computer or MP3 player any new podcast files that 57
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appear in the RSS feed. The subscription process simply involves telling a podcatcher to monitor a specific RSS feed for any changes and to download, automatically, any new files that appear in the list of podcast files within the RSS feed. The term podcast is sometimes used to refer to the set of MP3 files on a given topic e.g. the set of daily recordings of a particular show. In other usage each individual MP3 file, e.g. today’s broadcast is referred to as a podcast.
In some cases a more radical approach has been adopted, Ashraf, a lecturer in microbiology at Bradford University is reported to have abolished lectures completely and uses podcasts instead. Learners access the virtual lectures via MP3 players, mobile phone or by computer. He has questioned the “effectiveness of a didactic lecture for an hour” (BBC News 2006).
The strengths and weaknesses of podcasting
In the more specific educational setting, the concept of life long learning and the importance of easy access to learning resources has contributed to the adoption of Podcasting and other mLearning technologies for educational uses. Podcasting has emerged as a support in the area of distance education but also as a support to traditional lectures. Much research has been done into the poor attendance at lectures in many courses and there has been much debate into the actual effectiveness of lectures as a method of course delivery. Podcasting is seen as a method of enhancing the effectiveness of the lecture method.
While a simple innovation in many respects, the ability to readily provide the spoken words of a lecturer is quite a powerful development. Podcasting is clearly another convenient technology to add to the suite of technologies available to those designing distance learning courses. It is also potentially of huge value in the enhancement of traditional courses. For many years the internet has been used to aid learners to maintain contact with a series of traditional lectures. The typical approach is that if a lecture is missed some of the ancillary learning resources (typically text, diagrams and images) were made available to learners who missed the class (e.g. as a powerpoint presentation). What was less commonly captured, with some exceptions, was the speech given by the lecturer at the time of the face-toface lecture. While this had been technically feasible for at least 10 years (e.g. Smeaton and Crimmins 1997) podcasting has made filling this gap straightforward. The power and utility of such approaches is significant for education generally but further advantage has been derived from this technology in terms of specific applications such as language learning (Petersen and Divitini 2005).
Duke University makes lectures and discussions freely available in podcast format (Kolbitsch and Maurer 2006, Dukecast 2005). In 2004, Duke University gave all freshmen in certain courses free 20GB ipods equipped with voice recorders. Some of the pilot courses included languages; where the Spanish class learners used ipods to respond to verbal quizzes, submit class assignments, record audio journals and receive oral feedback from the instructor. In April 2005, Duke University expanded the study and use of ipods to all classes. It was reported that using the technology actually stimulated innovative and creative thinking by staff on how to incorporate the technology into teaching. It also matched some learners preferred learning styles, for instance the ability to replay the spoken word or the mere fact that a recording of the spoken word exists, is of particular benefit to learners with a preference for an aural learning style.
Another driver for podcasting technology which may become more important going forward are podcasting of media other than sound. Photocasting and videocasting (known as vodcasting) have already emerged in the U.S. These contribute to the concept of internet social networking which has seen remarkable growth in the last two years as can be seen in the growing popularity of sites such as Friendster, My Space and BeBo. This also highlights the importance of learner produced podcasts. For instance, in language learning (Petersen and Divitini 2005, Read 2005) learners may produce podcasts of their spoken words for their teacher. This “back channel” seems less well developed in the literature but this is likely to change. For instance Read (2005) highlights the benefits of podcasts in allowing learners on work placements and other field assignments to report back to college based lecturers. All of these areas may in time merge with the application of social
Podcasting Implementations Podcasts now range from music and cultural programmes through mainstream entertainment to political/current affairs. Podcasts can be person-centred or dedicated to specific topics. Personal podcasts are produced and published by an individual and focus on the individual’s opinions, whereas podcasts on particular topics can be created by a small group of users on a specific issue.
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networks in the area of self organizing learner groups, which can already be seen in the development of on line learning communities. Of course digital audio is a long established technology and therefore podcasting can benefit from developments which can allow the power and popularity of podcasting to be enhanced such as Variable Speed Playback (VSP) (Galbraith 2001). VSP technology allows learners to adjust the playback speed of digital media content to suit their learning needs. The playback speed can be increased by 2.5 times and slowed to 1/3 normal speaking speed without pausing and without the chipmunk effect, where the voice becomes comically distorted. In the same way that such a technology can “stand on the shoulders” of past advances, a disruptive technology such as podcasting can result in many years of slow advancement being lost or bypassed. Cebeci and Terkal (2006) sound a note of warning that the lack of integration at present of podcasting with advances in learning objects may be a drawback. While there are many technical drivers of podcasting technology and mLearning more widely, it is important to note that human factors still apply and a purely technologically driven analysis will be incomplete. In addition, while there has been huge take-up of podcasting, there remain a majority of learners worldwide who have never used one. Hence, any implementation must be well thought-out from a learner perspective and must give consideration to the characteristics of each learner group. Walton, et al (2005) carried out a literature review on the use of mobile technologies in distance health education particularly in the area of Nursing and concluded that in terms of application of mobile technologies to health education, the U.S led the U.K. The issues that contributed to low usage of mobile technologies in health education for teaching and learning was due to low awareness by learners of the mobile technology and likewise of low level of ownership. The issues of a need for training and electronic security were also seen as the major limitations in this study. However, the greatest potential of mobile technologies as ranked by the learners was immediate access to learning resources without the necessity of a PC. This study predated the large-scale adoption of podcasting since 2004 but clearly each user group needs to be considered carefully to ensure a successful implementation.
Nonetheless, while caution may be warranted, there are some nice HCI features of the podcasting approach, particularly its ease of use both in production and consumption phases and in particular the podcast update process is automated so that one doesn’t have to do a manual check for new content on a potentially poorly structured and poorly updated website. In addition, guidelines are beginning to emerge (e.g. University of Madison 2006) as to how best to design the use of podcasts in learning applications which will in time help with the overall usabaility of the podcasting approach.
Conclusions Podcasting has significant potential to connect learners to learning contexts at times and places entirely of the learner’s choosing. It has little overhead of setup or configuration and utilises a modality (hearing) which can be attended to in a large variety of settings and contexts. It also has the benefits for those who prefer an aural style of learning. The nature of learners in the modern world is that they have great demands on their time and attention and therefore a technology which allows them to learn when they find the opportunity has the potential to be of significant benefit. On the production side, the overhead of recording a spoken lecture to MP3 format is relatively straightforward and even for those who would find the setup effort an obstacle, it would be straightforward for any academic institution to setup a suitable system to enable even the most technophobe lecturer to start podcasting. These factors indicate that podcasting is likely to be here to stay. This however further underlines the need for proper study of its effectiveness and limitations as a learning tool. Such studies would clearly have value given that despite high profile positive press, experiments such as that at Duke University still attract some skeptical comment (see Read 2005) and other concerns such as the widespread breach of copyright. Nonetheless, such drawbacks can be overcome and it does seem clear that podcasting or even more highly usable variants will be a routine part of education going forward.
References Curry, A. (2006) http://www.dailysourcecode.com/ Kolbitsch , J. and Maurer, H. ( 2006) . The Transformation of the Web: How Emerging Communities Shape the Information we Consume. Journal of Universal Computer Science, vol.12, no 2, 187 – 213. 59
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BBC News (2006) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/5013194.stm (May 26 2006). Dukecast (2005) - Duke University iPod first year experience final evaluation report. From http://cit.dile.edu/pdf/ipod_initiative_04_05.pdf dukecast.oit.duke.edu. Walton, G., Childs, S. and Blenkinsopp E.( 2005). Using mobile technologies to give health students access to learning resources in the UK community setting. Health Information and Libraries Journal , 22,(S2) , pp.51 -65. Chinnery, G. ( 2006). Emerging Technologies- Going to the MALL. Mobile Assisted Language Learning. Language Learning and Technology. Vol. 10, no.1 , 9 – 16. Smeaton. A and Crimmins, F. (1997), Virtual Lectures for Undergraduate Teaching: Delivery Using RealAudio and the WWW. Proceedings of ED-MEDIA/ED-TELECOM, 1997. Galbraith, J. (2001) Variable Speed Playback of Digitally Recorded Lectures: Evaluating Learner Feedback, available at http://www.enounce.com/ education.shtml
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Petersen, S. and Divitini, M. (2005), Language Learning: From Individual Learners to Communities. Proceedings of IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education (WMTE ’05) Ractham, P. and Zhang, X. (2006), Podcasting in Academia: A New Knowledge Management Paradigm within Academic Settings. Proceedings of SIGMIS-CPR ’06 Claremont California, April 2006 University of Madison (2006) Podcasting at the University of Madison Wisconsin, http://engage.doit.wisc.edu/podcasting/ teachAndLearn/ Read, B. (2005), Seriously, iPods are Educational. The Chronicle of Higher Education 51(28) March 2005. Cebeci, Z. and Tekdal, M. (2006), Using Podcasts as Audio learning Objects. Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects (Vol. 2, 2006)
Chapter 9 J2ME Based Applications in an mLearning Situation Bryan Jones Modern day mobile phone users enjoy a great choice in the variety of services accessible via their mobile phones. The mobile telecommunications industry is experiencing a transition as mobile phone networks converge with modern day Internet and data networks. The once limiting factors of network speed and handset capabilities have been surpassed. Mobile handsets have rapidly caught up with sophisticated mobile computing devices such as PDAs. The challenge for educators is to embrace mobile technology and establish possible ways to support the learning environment. Much research is already well underway and studies have illustrated mobile technology’s impact on the world of education Leonardo da Vinci (2004). Device capability and sophistication has greatly increased allowing subscribers to enjoy premium content and data services on their mobile devices. Java technology has once again reduced the barriers of interoperability and Java or J2ME is now supported on most handsets. This chapter discusses J2ME architecture, the J2ME operational environment and profiles a selection of J2ME based applications in an mLearning context.
The Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) Java 2 Micro Edition is an edition of Java, which can be configured for devices which have a physically limited footprint i.e. device hardware configuration, physical memory space and processing speed. Devices may or may not have a network connection. For example a PDA would not have a connection but a mobile phone could have a GPRS network connection. The Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) provides a robust, flexible environment for applications running on consumer devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs, and TV set-top boxes, as well as a broad range of embedded devices. Like its counterparts for the enterprise (J2EE), desktop (J2SE) and smart card (Java Card) environments, J2ME includes Java virtual machines and a set of standard Java APIs defined through the Java Community Process, by special interest groups whose members include device manufacturers, software vendors and service providers. J2ME delivers the power and benefits of Java technology to consumer and embedded devices. It includes flexible user interfaces, a robust security model, a broad range of built-in network protocols, and extensive support for networked and offline applications that can be downloaded dynamically. Applications based on J2ME
specifications are written once for a wide range of devices, yet exploit each device's native capabilities. The J2ME Architecture The J2ME architecture comprises a variety of configurations, profiles, and optional packages that implementers and developers can implement to construct a complete Java runtime environment that closely fits the requirements of a particular range of devices and a target market. Each combination is optimized for the memory, processing power, and I/O capabilities of a related category of devices. The result is a common Java platform that takes full advantage of each type of device to deliver a rich user experience. Configurations Configurations comprise a virtual machine and a minimal set of class libraries. They provide the base functionality for a particular range of devices that share similar characteristics, such as network connectivity and memory footprint. Currently, there are two J2ME configurations: the Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) and the Connected Device Configuration (CDC). Profiles To provide a complete runtime environment for a specific device category, a configuration must be 61
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combined with a profile, a set of higher-level APIs that further define the application life-cycle model, the user interface, and access to device-specific properties. A profile supports a narrower category of devices within the framework of a chosen configuration. A widely adopted example is to combine CLDC with the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) to provide a complete Java application environment for cell phones and other devices with similar capabilities. Optional Packages The J2ME platform can be extended by adding various optional packages to a technology stack that includes either CLDC or CDC and an associated profile. Created to address very specific application requirements, optional packages offer standard APIs for using both existing and emerging technologies such as database connectivity, wireless messaging, multimedia, Bluetooth, and web services. Because optional packages are modular, developers can avoid carrying the overhead of unnecessary functionality by including only the packages actually required by an application. Java2 Micro Edition, Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) J2ME CLDC (Java2 Micro Edition, Connected Limited Device Configuration) is an edition of Java aimed at small resource-constrained mobile devices where the runtime environment must fit into a few hundred kilobytes of memory (as compared to the 2.5Mb required for a typical PersonalJava environment). Java2 Micro Edition, Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) MIDP (Mobile Information Device Profile) defines a programming API that has gained wide industry acceptance and many MIDP compliant mobile phones are anticipated to come to market. A large number of applications for this environment are therefore to be expected. The latest version of MIDP is 2.0. This includes many new features for mobile devices, including APIs for media support, game support, expanded connectivity, push architecture, Over the Air (OTA) provisioning and end-to-end security. Information Device Profile, abbreviated MIDP, is specified more or less for mobile phones and other similar handheld devices. Java2 Micro Edition - Kilobyte Virtual Machine (KVM) The Kilobyte Virtual Machine includes a Java Application Manager. This is used by devices which do 62
not have a normal user interface to launch native applications. The K Virtual machines uses libraries, which can be stored on the device, in our case a phone, from the beginning. Alternatively, libraries can be transferred over the network connection in a JAR file. Java2 Micro Edition – Midlets A MIDlet is a set of classes that are related to each other following the principles of object oriented programming. So called MIDlets can be transferred from an ordinary server to the Java 2 ME enabled phone. Typically, these MIDlets are between 10 kilobytes and 50 kilobytes The number of classes is limited since the small devices cannot cope with a big number of classes, and also, since the download of big applications simply will take too much time. Different devices allow of course different MIDlet sizes. Recommendations from Japanese operators that have Java services up and running are in between 30 and 50 kB. A MIDlet is also an application that is limited though CLCD/MIDP. This means, limited sets of class libraries, and thus for example limited networking capabilities. Also, the storage memory on the device is rather small, depending on the device. Every MIDlet has some dedicated space on the phone where no other MIDlet can access for security. But a MIDlet can be, despite the restrictions, a very exciting application. If looking into the development communities today, everything from networking games to stock brokers can be found. A MIDlet is basically a packaged application, which will be transferred over the air; it can be stored locally on the device, in order to run it directly to the handset. Once located on the handset it can be run by the JRE that must be present on the handset. A MIDlet consists physically of: A Java Archive: Analogous to a zip file from the PC environment with some add-ons, it is a compressed files consisting of the compiled classes or byte code that make up the application. The extension is .jar. Java Application Descriptor: A simple text file that describes a MIDlet more accurately (e.g. The jar file name of the MIDlet, the accurate jar file size, names of MIDlets that are stored in the jar, etc.) and it also and most importantly contains the URL to the MIDlet Jar file. This is used by the application manager on the device.
J2ME Based Applications in an mLearning Situation
J2ME Applications on the handset Given a developed application and a supported J2ME environment, for example downloading a Java game, how exactly do Java applications or MIDlets get to the phone? Through a WAP browser, for example, a selection of MIDlets can be presented to the user. On selection of a link, the Application Management Software, that is an important part of a Java enabled phone, will take over and download the respective jad file.
After evaluating the jad file (Comparing size of application with possibilities of the phone, finding out if the application is already on the phone and, if yes, comparing the versions etc). Assuming a download is possible and necessary the .jar file with the actual MIDlet in it is downloaded and stored on the phone. The KVM is started up and the jar file fed into it and the application launches.
Figure 1. Provisioning of MIDlets - Example: Game download
What Type of Applications Does J2ME Enable? Many people expect to see new types of applications developed with J2ME. You can argue that the application categories would remain the same, except for a few exceptions such as location services and data applications that integrate with telephony functionality. The outcome is likely to be applications that are context sensitive (immediacy, location, personal or professional use) and are migrating from a character-based interface (browser-based applications) to a graphical environment, providing developers and end users with an unmatched level of flexibility. Just think about the evolution from DOS or mainframe applications to Windows, MacOS, or Solaris graphical environment. We still use processors, spreadsheets, accounting applications like in the good old days, but because the new generation of applications takes advantage of a richer graphical environment, the applications are better and easier to use (Leonardo da Vinci 2004).
Therefore, expect to see J2ME developers targeting the same categories of applications they focused on with WAP, but this time with the user experience compelling enough for ISVs and system integrators to be able to charge for them. As far as adoption of J2ME, the prognostics are rather good. Evans Data recently conducted a survey among 500 wireless application developers, concluding that more developers will use Java and J2ME to develop wireless applications (30%) than native C APIs (Palm OS, PocketPC, EPOC) or even WAP. The market that J2ME will penetrate the fastest is the Japanese market, with Nikkei Market Access forecasting a penetration rate of 40% this year. NTT DoCoMo, who started shipping J2ME enabled I-mode phones at the end of January 2006, has already sold 1 million units, and they expect the number to increase to 3 million by the end of September. The two other major 63
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Japanese wireless operators (KDDI and J-Phone) will join DoCoMo in the deployment of J2ME enabled handsets by the end of the summer 2006. What really matters is the number of handset manufacturers that are planning to make available J2ME enabled phones and PDAs, as well as the number of wireless operators that are endorsing the technology and putting in place a network infrastructure that will allow ISVs, content providers and corporations to deploy J2ME applications and services over their network. The benefits of Java technology as provided by J2ME in the wireless arena are many and varied. From its Write Once Run Anywhere flexibility, to its robust security features, to its support for off-line processing and local data storage, to its leverage of any wireless infrastructure, to its fine-tuned control of data exchange, J2ME is a natural platform for wireless application development.
BSM Driving Test Quiz Launched in February 2006 the BSM driving test quiz is a quiz game containing the real, exact, and complete set of theory questions in the driving theory test. The application is a J2ME implementation. The real test contains 35 questions from a bank of 900. The games are split into 9 different sets of 100 due to space restrictions on the mobile device. The user or subscriber participates by sending a premium rate SMS costing £1.50, to a SMS shot code operated for CTAD service and in turn receives the application with CTAD will sending you 100 questions (CTAD 2005).
mLearning Applications Mobile learning is very much in existence today, although not ubiquitous in deployment. Applications are now appearing aimed at the standard handset as opposed to mobile computing devices such as the PDA and smart phone. The following applications have been selected for profile based on their target devices, their application design and layout and also how effective they are. CTAD BSM Driving Test Quiz About CTAD CTAD are a UK based training and consultancy organisation and for over 25 years, have provided education, learning and training services in the Skills for Life domain and focusing on the relationship between technology and learning. Particular consideration is given to attendant issues such as inclusion, accessibility, and the mix or blend of methods and media that can best contribute to good practice. CTAD provide consultancy services and develop teaching and learning resources extending well beyond the basic skills arena. CTAD are the preferred suppliers to the National Learning and Skills Council and are approved suppliers to the DfES, National Learning Network and the Scottish National Grid for Learning. CTAD have developed many products for Ufi, Department of Health, Trades Union Congress, City and Guilds, Regional Development Agencies, many Local Learning and Skills Councils, national voluntary organisations such as Alcohol Concern and the Foyer Federation, prisons, the Probation Service, and private companies. 64
Figure 2.CTad BSM Driving Test Quiz Screen Shot
e-Libera Mobile Learning Engine (MLE) About e-Libera e-Libera are a services and solutions company offering expertise and software solutions for mobile learning and mobile information. The e-libera solution represents a learning application for modern mobile phones. The goal is to extend computer assisted and multimedia learning (short: to extend eLearning) with the factor of mobility and implement it by using mobile phones. The teacher and the learner can therefore use their mobile phone for teaching and learning. e-Libera Mobile Learning Engine (MLE) The MLE is a computer-aided and multimedia-based learning application created for mobile phones. The MLE enables mobile phones as well as some handhelds
J2ME Based Applications in an mLearning Situation
with the Java runtime environment to connect to a platform and access learning units (content) over a client / server architecture. The content is written in eXtensilble Markup Language (XML) and bundled with the learning content packaging standard, SCORM,
Shareable Content Object Reference Model. The MLE can be downloaded from http://mobile.elibera.com for free. It is developed with the Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) and runs therefore on a broad variety of mobile phones (Lazaridis and Meisenberger 2003).
The available options: •
Access to local learning objects
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Access to the mobile learning platform
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Change settings
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Help
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Contact
Figure 3 Start Page Screenshot
Figure 4 Content Layout displaying Text, Graphics and Audio and Video
The Content Creation Software (CCS) The content creation software facilitates content creation for the MLE. The CCS is an applet based authoring tool for writing and editing mobile learning
objects with "what you see is what you get" behaviour. With the help of wizards you can easily create various questions tags, include audio and video, make file-cards for vocabulary and edit metadata.
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Figure 5 Screenshot of the Content Creation Software
Figure 6 Screenshot of the Content Creation Software
The Mobile Learning Platform (MLP) The MLP is a J2SE application server for the administration of learning objects and includes the content creation software. The MLP is still in the development phase and will include group management function and status reports, the possibility to grant user
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and group rights to certain categories or objects and view status reports of the learning units and learners. The mobile learning engine communicates with the platform.
J2ME Based Applications in an mLearning Situation
Figure 7 MLP Communication between the MLE and the MLP The MLE communicates with the learning-platform over the open standards HTTP and XML. The learning objects are created with XML too. This makes the creation of new learning objects very easy and makes it possible to create learning objects for nearly every kind of learning content.
Magic Mundo Xword About Magic Mundo Established in 2003, MagicMundo Limited is a Dublinbased company whose primary focus is to provide White Label Mind Media applications for mobile phones such as quizzes, crosswords and word puzzles. MagicMundo is working with a number of companies to provide them with their own branded content in the MagicMundo Xword application. These applications are then rolled out for interaction with their various user groups; customer bases, new target markets and specialised media campaigns. MagicMundo believes that the
educational environment sector could utilise the Xword application for mLearning (Magic Mundo 2005). Magic Mundo Xword application The Xword application is a J2ME application, which can be run on any mobile phone. The application can be downloaded on to any mobile phone from a website. Anyone can create the content for the crossword or quiz very simply using the administrative tool. The MagicMundo application will enable teachers and students to create and complete assessments and tests or to simply use it for revision purposes on a mobile phone. The Xword administration tool is a Java application for Microsoft Windows, which runs on the standard desktop environment. The Xword administration tool enables the administrator to create the two files (.jad and .jar) which are downloadable to any type of J2ME or Java enabled mobile phone. The downloaded Xword file size is around 28KB
Fernuniversität - Histobric The FernUniversität’s educational mission is higher education off campus serving distant students who prefer to study anywhere and anytime as they are working professionals, need to take care of their family or have other reasons to avoid physical classrooms. The advent of the World Wide Web offered new options to extend traditional means of distance and campus education towards online distance learning and blended learning styles, respectively. Web-based and offline learning with digital media, briefly: eLearning, provide new options to involve remote students actively in (cooperative) learning and research tasks. The project we report on here (Krämer 2005) and a few other projects at FernUniversität set out to investigate the potential and limitations of mobile devices for different types of mobile learning applications as a supplement to the FernUniversität’s current e-learning services. They also aim to explore the acceptance of different mLearning solutions. From the users side, mLearning services would increase the students’ flexibility in time and location independent learning options and would allow them to access content and services on demand. In principle, all educational services, including: •
provision of learning content,
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specification, support and management of learning activities,
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maintenance of personal data,
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tutoring and consulting,
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communication and collaboration,
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performance of exercises and tests,
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access to virtual and physical laboratories (wherever reasonable) or
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access to the university library
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could be provided for students on the move.
The idea underlying this research is not to put learning completely on mobile devices but expand the learning space to the mobile world, focusing particularly on the support of spontaneous short learning phases. Look at a typical scenario for mobile learning: Peter is preparing himself for the examination in the course Object-oriented Programming. Unforeseen, he has to visit an important customer for his company. Before leaving his office, he had no time to select proper learning materials to take with him on the journey. But his eLearning campus provides the possibility to download typical examination problems on his Palm PDA or mobile phone and allows him to test his knowledge against a pool of questions about objectoriented programming. Fig. 10 illustrates a remote access with a mobile phone. The question (Frage, in German) to the left asks for distinguishing characteristics between parallel and distributed computing and the hint (Hinweis) to the right refers to the fact that all processors share the same clock in parallel computing.
Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) Academic administration
Figure 10. Knowledge test with a mobile phone: question (left) and hint (right) Besides a hint and a correct answer (Antwort) to a question, a link to related course materials a student may want to look at spontaneously to get a full grasp of the topic is alsp provided. Figure 11 depicts an access to a related section in the course (left), which talks about the properties and inner working of a semaphore, and an access to the course glossary, in particular to the entry
for semaphores (right). As modern cell phones offer megabytes of memory these days and even come with memory expansion cards, students may want to download the complete course locally via a Bluetooth or infrared connection to save connection costs on the route.
Figure 11. Viewing course material (left) and a glossary entry (right) on a mobile phone
Conclusion Although still in its infancy in terms of ubiquity, mobile learning activity has many reference cases to indicate strong activity in the areas of application development and educational deployment. The former debate of what technologies the mobile phone and networks can support has in many respects been solved; multifaceted mobile applications are now being developed. The
challenge now faced is what works best and how mobile learning can be integrated into mainstream education. Java technology, through J2ME , is strongly positioned in embracing the mainstream challenge. J2ME application development is appealing to a large pool of developers and the technology provides efficient applications deployed on a variety of independent platforms.
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References Lazaridis, I. and Meisenberger, M. (2005) MLE – Mobile Learning Engine. eLibera: Austria e-Libera (2006) http://www.elibera.com CTAD (2005) http://www.ctad.co.uk Magic Mundo (2005) http://www.magicmundo.com
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Leonardo da Vinci (2004) From eLearning to mLearning http://learning.ericsson.net/ mlearning2/index.shtml Krämer, B. (2005) Mobile Learning: The Next Generation of Learning - Technical Working Paper. Hagen:FernUniversität. http://learning.ericsson.net /mlearning2/products.shtml
Chapter 10 Using Java-enabled phones and games for learning Karl Grabe and Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin This chapter focuses on the opportunities for learning afforded by a standard Java-enabled phone. It begins with a short overview of special considerations governing the development of learning objects for mobiles before going on to introduce a range of increasingly sophisticated examples of and ideas for the development of Java-based (m-) learning objects including simple MCQstyle objects, other basic LMS-style features and tools; and a range of innovative game-based objects. The use of Java MIDlets in conjunction with other devices and technologies are discussed next including the range of life-wide learning opportunities created through the use of MIDlets with GSM receivers and, in conjunction with Bluetooth-based services, the use of MIDlets to facilitate cooperative and collaborative learning opportunities. The chapter ends with a discussion of the need for an easy-to-use authoring tool which would allow ordinary teachers and trainers to leverage for themselves and their students the range of pedagogical opportunities outlined over the course of this chapter.
Developing Autonomous Learning Objects for Mobiles – Special Considerations Developing learning objects for a mobile device can be achieved using several platforms including: •
Java MIDlet – Using Java Micro Edition
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FlashLite – From Adobe, a cut-down edition of their desktop version.
•
Mobile Device’s operation system. Typically developed in C/C++ for the mobile devices operating systems for example Symbian, PalmOS, Windows CE.
Which one is chosen depends on several factors including ease of development and market penetration of a particular platform. Most modern phones, for instance, come with a built-in capacity to run Java MIDlets but the developer requires experience in Java Object Orientated programming as well as the code libraries in Java ME. Note that if a MIDlet is to submit data over the phone network to a server for processing then programming experience using the Java Enterprise Edition libraries (or an equivalent server-side technology) will also be required. Irrespective of which platform is used to develop a learning object there are several issues that must be considered – these include the following: Display Size A mobile device’s display is much smaller that that of a PC and can vary widely form around 128*96 to in
excess of 320*240. Multiple windows are generally not possible so if a user wants to, for example, change some parameter in a game then only the setting screen is displayed while the user makes any changes. The effect of the change will only be seen when the setting screen is quit. When showing graphic images or animations it’s best to keep up close and avoid panoramic views as a lot of detail will be lost on a small screen. When deciding on images to use low detail cartoon-type artwork can look better on a small screen and use up less processing power during rendering. User Input The keyboard can be limited to around 18 keys and so m-learning applications so avoid asking the user to type in large amounts of text. As mentioned elsewhere some softkeys are generally provided. Pointing devices vary from none to a stylus. Typically phones will have a key pointing arrangement that allows direction control using Up/Down, Left/Right and Select and this can also be achieved using the numeric 2/8, 4/6 and 5 for select. Some phones contain rotary switches that can be used for pointing or menu navigation. Battery Power Mobile devices are battery powered and so the mobile devices processing power is much lower that than that of a PC. Use of computationally expensive graphics needs to be limited. If the mobile device is a phone then some minimum amount of battery capacity needs to be conserved for phone calls. For this reason mobile devices 71
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typically have backlit screens which are dimmed by the mobile device to conserve power after a certain interval of inactivity.
becomes 10000 divided by 3 giving us 3333 instead. This result could be displayed to the user as 3.333 with some text string library utilities that are available.
Issues when a program is running When an m-learning application is launched it cannot be assumed that it will always stay running nor that a network connection will always be available. The application may need to terminate if the user switches the device off, or if it needs to suspend its operation at the request of the mobile device as there may be an incoming phone call. If the application requires network connectivity, perhaps to post results of a test taken by the user, then the results will have to be stored locally if the user has wandered out of phone coverage.
Processor and Memory Mobile device processors are less powerful that their desktop PC counterparts and so is memory. A hard disk in not normally available but many portable devices allow for memory cards with gigabyte capacities becoming common.
Connectivity Mobile devices can come with various wireless connectivity built in. For phones there is the cellular network and the software developer can access and submit content over, for example, a GPRS network. The code libraries to do this are easily accessible from JME, Symbian etc. Other forms of wireless connectivity include Infrared and Bluetooth. Some idea for using this kind of nearby connectivity for learning are provided later in this chapter. Programming Libraries The programming libraries available to the programmer are cut-down versions of those used to develop desktop applications. On some early Java phones it was is not possible to write program statements involving floating point arithmetic (so dividing 10 by 3 would result in 3). If calculations with some precision are required then the program would have to be written to internally use units multiplied by a factor of say 1000 so our example
Some Examples of Simple Learning Objects for a JAVA-enabled phone Example 1: BBC GCSE Bitesize The BBC (2006) have developed a GCSE quiz game that can be used on a mobile device as a thin client (using WAP) or autonomously where the game is downloaded as a Java program. Subjects include Mathematics, Science and English (shown).
Figure 1. BBC’s GCSE Bite Size running in WAP mode. A network is always required to connect with the server and there are no animated graphics.
Figure 2. Screenshots of BBC’s GCSE Bite Size MIDlets in action The illustration shows BBC’s GCSE Byte Size running in autonomous mode as a Java MIDlet. Note the ability to display graphics (the last screen is actually animated).
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Once the game is downloaded no further network is required so it will work anywhere (Currin 2006).
Using Java-enabled phones and games for learning
Example 2: Cork Institute of Technology 3rd Year Computing Assignment Graphical User Interfaces is a subject in CIT’s Honours Computing degree and part of the subject involves developing programs on mobile devices. One recent assignment was an mLearning Java MIDlet game to test school children’s ability to answer maths questions such as addition, subtraction etc. The user typically starts off on level one with addition then, if successful, moves on
to subtraction, multiplication and division. The students were given rough guidelines as to what the program should do, for example a random encouraging message should be displayed for correct answers. Some students included a cartoon graphic that was initially blank and with each correct answer another part of the graphic was revealed. Others asked the user for their name and gender to personalise the encouraging messages. Some MIDlet screen shots follow.
Figure 3. MIDlet screen shots One of the difficulties encountered here had to do with programming ‘softkeys’ on mobile phones. These are keys just at the bottom of the screen that can be assigned different functionality based on the current program’s context. So if the user is choosing an item from a list the left softkey could be assigned “Select” and the right softkey “Back”. However it is not possible from within a MIDlet program to assign a softkey to a specific command. The reason for this is that the number of softkeys in mobile devices varies and some phoned may have a dedicated “Select” key, so trying to assign “Select” to a softkey wouldn’t make sense. MIDlets provide a mechanism where the programmer creates a prioritised list of commands such as “Select”, “Back”, “OK” etc and requests the phone’s operating system to assign them, based on a particular phone’s softkeys. The phone’s operating system then makes the decision as to how the softkeys will actually be assigned with the result that the same MIDlet running on a different phone will have different softkey assignments. Example 3: JAVA MIDlets at Málaga University Fernández-Morales describes the use of Java MIDlets as part of two actuarial degrees at Málaga University, to offer a rang of tools comprising a calendar, a glossary of terms, MCQs and a limited range of content (Fernandez-Morales 2003).
Figure 4. Main mathematical functions from Actuarial degree at Málaga University The example illustrates that it is possible to offer learners – as opposed to designers, the designer perspective is offered at the end of this chapter – something akin to the experience associated with web-based Learning Management Systems (LMSs) using JAVA MIDlets alone. It may be argued also that, as with LMSs, the secret is not in the sophistication of the individual tool – most of the tools of a standard LMS have long been available as standalone, often free, software – but in bringing a range of tools together “under the one roof”, as it were.
Game-based Learning Objects for the JAVAenabled phone Probably the most popular – not to mention profitable – use of JAVA MIDlets for the mobile phone has been with regard to downloadable computer games: a JAVA73
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compliant phone will typically come with two or three of these already installed “out of the box” but users can then use their mobile's functionality to purchase and download more. Vodafone, for example, the world’s largest mobile telecommunications network company, offer their customers, via their VodafoneLive Service, the chance to download games from an increasingly large catalogue of games, grouped together under categories familiar to computer gamers such as Sport, Platform, Combat, Shoot ‘em Up, Strategy/Puzzle etc. Many of these games, e.g. Prince of Persia from GameLoft and Call of Duty from Activision, are “light” versions of games available on a PC or gaming console, others are tie-ins with popular films, e.g. Mission Impossible III, others are versions of familiar co-op classics like Gauntlet. The file size is usually relatively low (about 60 to 100 kb) with typical download times of less than a minute; the charge, in Ireland, per download at present is usually five or seven euros, depending on the sophistication of the game. Once downloaded the games are saved onto the phone and can be played, “offline”, whenever the user wants, a great advantage in terms of cost and convenience over other “live” pay-per-use/view services (Hicks 2006). As noted in the literature many of the key characteristics of computer games make them ideal tools for the facilitation of learning. They are, for example, highly motivating (gaming is a “high frequency” activity), users are certainly actively engaged by them and they reward the acquisition of skills (albeit sometimes in a limited sense of the word “skill”); they provide instant feedback to the user and well-designed games help players to achieve and maintain “flow state”, a “state of intense concentration and passionate involvement where challenges are closely geared to ability” (Csikszentmihalyi, cited in Mitchell and Savil-Smith 2004) – a state many educational theorists would regard as an optimal one for learning. Nor are these advantages limited to the more complex 3D games of today built to run on purpose-build consoles or PCs with large graphics cards. A number of existing Java-based titles for the mobile phone could in fact be used in their current form for educational ends. For example Jamdat Mobile – a global
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wireless publisher who develops games for a range of wireless platforms including mobile phones, PDAs and Pocket PCs ¬¬– offers a tycoon-style game (Tycoon style games have become something of a genre in their own right in recent years with popular titles for PCs and consoles including Zoo Tycoon, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Monopoly Tycoon etc) called “Lemonade Tycoon” in which users acquire and test business skills in building “a little stand into a big business”.
Figure 5. Screenshots from the Lemonade Tycoon game from Jamdat (Jamdat Mobile 2006) Those sceptical of the breath of knowledge and competence that could be addressed using a game like this are directed to Prensky’s comments regarding the lessons our children are learning from a similar style PCbased game (“Roller Coaster Tycoon”): Players learn how to build and run an enterprise. players learn how to use an economic simulation with a graphic interface… players learn about the constraints on what you can and can’t do in business…On the Why, or strategy level, players learn about the trade-offs that need to be made in order to run a business successfully… players learn about a business environment – what customers think, how they behave, how to make them happy or mad (Prensky 2005, 2006). Even the more traditional arcade-style game can, with some slight tweaking, become a powerful educational tool. The screenshot below from Walsh in the Cork Institute of Technology shows a basic shoot ‘em up style game used to improve character recognition for students with literacy issues (users control the spaceship at the bottom and shoot the letters above in order to create the word spelt out along the bottom of the screen).
Using Java-enabled phones and games for learning
(API). Another user can then browse to Google maps and view these marked locations complete with the comments entered earlier.
Figure 6. Game for improving character recognition
Providing Location-based Services to Javaenabled Mobile Phones Another example of the use of the Java-enabled phone for m-learning purposes involves its integration with a GPS receiver. In The Cork Institute of Technology’s Honours Computing degree students are required to do a software project in their final year. Each student comes up with their own project proposal and then submits it to verify if it is suitable as a 4th year project. Students have been encouraged to investigate and use new technologies including mobile. To date we have had several projects involving mobile platforms including an RSS newsfeed aggregator, and a content management system for JME. One student (Lynch 2006) developed a framework that allows a location-aware mobile phone to post/get data from a server. In order to enable the phone to be location aware a Java library was developed by the student to connect to a Bluetooth GPS receiver from the phone. The GPS receiver has no user interface and acts solely under the control of this library. The GPS receiver outputs serial 'sentences' to the phone over Bluetooth and includes such information as latitude, longitude, speed etc. Additional libraries were developed to connect to the internet via the GPRS cellular network and so the phone can retrieve or store data on a server from any location. This latter library interfaces with another code library developed on a server to complete the locationaware framework. The server side programming was done using Java Enterprise Edition (JEE) servlets. To demonstrate the location-aware framework the student developed a MIDlet that allowed the user to mark his location, enter comments, and pass this information back to the server which, in turn, accesses the Google Maps application programming interface
This last project has great potential for developing innovative mLearning applications. An example would be for subjects involving outdoor learning such as geology or archaeology. An application could be developed, for example, that requires a student to seek out and identify certain geological features and then mark their GPS location on the phone. Results could be automatically gathered and marked by comparing what/where a student located a feature against a correct table of features with their locations stored in terms of latitude and longitude. This could be further enhanced by using the phone’s camera to take pictures of a feature and have this compared with a stored image of the correct solution. Image comparisons are not viable on a phone due to its limited processing power so the images could be transferred via the GPRS/Internet to a server application for analysis. Alternatively features could be accompanied by a simple symbol (like a barcode) that could be analysed by the phone itself.
JAVA MIDlets and Bluetooth Connectivity Another example of the way in which the learning opportunities afforded by a JAVA-enabled phone could be expanded through integration with other more-orless standard mobile phone features involves the use of “nearby” wireless connectivity such as Infared and, latterly, Bluetooth. Though Bluetooth is primarily associated with the provision of wireless connectivity between, for example, a mobile and a hands-free set or, increasingly, PCs and their various peripheral devices it can, in association with Java MIDlets, provide some obvious and beneficial educational applications also. For example a lecturer could provide basic Java MIDletbased content on the fly, via say a laptop or mobile, to the students in their classrooms and lecture halls. Although Bluetooth was designed to allow a device – e.g. the lecturer's PC, the Bluetooth master – to connect to up to seven other devices– e.g. student's mobile phones, the Bluetooth slaves – and a class will generally consist of more than seven students, the Bluetooth specification allows for the connecting up of two or more “piconets” (a network of up to eight devices) together to form a “scatternet”, with some devices acting as a bridge by simultaneously playing the master role in one piconet and the slave role in another piconet. Part of the functionality of the MIDlets in this scenario would be to act as such a bridge as required. 75
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The kind of content a lecturer provides might be in the way of supplementary or illustrative material, it could be something the students would look at there and then or use to prepare for a future class or assessment task – one thinks, for example of a list of recommended readings, a summary of a lecture or a description of a piece of “homework”. It might even be that students would be given a quick multiple choice or other quantitative style test to take there and then with results either being provided to them on the go or as part of a formative assessment process. A lecturer’s PC could gather student solutions via Bluetooth and then forward them to a database accessible to the lecturer’s office PC. Alternatively, if the assessment is to be finished after the lecture, the student could submit a solution OTA (i.e. over the air, using for example the GPRS network) at a later time. In either case the lecturer's PC or student's phone MIDlet could communicate with a server hosting Apace/Tomcat and running Java servlets specifically developed to gather, process and save student solutions
in a database, for access by the lecturer at a later date. Care of course needs to be taken with assessments/exams – students can have their phones connect to each other's and be tempted to get assistance from other students nearby using Bluetooth or, further afield, OTA. The integration of JAVA MIDlets with Bluetooth connectivity perhaps only comes into its own in the opportunities it can create for cooperative and collaborative learning. Mobile phone Bluetooth applications such as Nokia’s “Sensor” (Nokia 2006) which allow users to create a homepage and provide access to it and an associated guestbook to other users with the same application. The Sensor application works by scanning the area for mobile phones with Bluetooth activated after which a connection between the two terminals is established and one user can read the information posted by the other, send messages and even exchange files.
Figure 7. Advertisement for Nokia Sensor shows Social Networking opportunities in operation (“Nokia Sensor”) The same features could easily be provided by a JAVA MIDlet, making it necessary for a would-be member of the same educational network merely to have the same MIDlet installed as opposed to their all owning a phone from the same limited range of compatible Nokia phone models. Such a MIDlet would scan the Bluetooth network for other devices running the same MIDlet. A peer-to-peer connection could then be made and the type of data indicated above exchanged. Such an application could be easily used, for instance, to match up learners with similar academic or other interests to work together on collaborative assignments or short in-class discussions. Indeed, JAVA could be used to alert users to other suitable collaborators or “learning buddies” in the immediate network according to shared interests, opinions etc – one thinks, for instance, of a breakout session in a face-to-face training event where users are asked to choose a topic 76
from a list to discuss with other individuals who’ve not just chosen the same topic but work in a cognate area and have expressed a similar opinion on the matter. Such groupings could take on a life of their own and provide the basis for ongoing collaborative activity outside the classroom and the Bluetooth network – in this case the JAVA-based technology simply facilitates the creation of the collaborative group – or alternatively groups could continue to change according to a range of course and contextual factors. I might, for instance, be a multimedia student looking for a short-term collaborator with strong programming skills for a class project, or vica versa, and I might find one as I walk across campus or, just as easily, as I wait for the bus to town. The possibilities once again are legion, even more so when considered in the light of other Java-based opportunities already indicted in this chapter.
Using Java-enabled phones and games for learning
Conclusions Over the course of this chapter a number of crucial educational affordances offered by the Java-enabled phone have been dealt with, these have included: •
The provision of basic “auto-corrected” MCQ-type learning objects
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A range of other basic LMS-style features such as calendars, glossaries etc
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A range of innovative game-based learning objects
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In conjunction with a basic GSM receiver, a range of “life-wide” learning opportunities based on the location-awareness of the two devices together
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In conjunction with Bluetooth and a desktop, a range of content or tools which can be downloaded on the fly or according to certain criteria to Javaenabled phones
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Likewise a range of Bluetooth-based services can be used to facilitate cooperative and collaborative learning via basic MIDlets.
All of these innovations referred to however share the same shortcoming – that they are “once-offs”, created in a particular context for a single purpose, they cannot be modified and re-used without access to the source code and a thorough knowledge of Java ME. In order to mainstream and substantiate the use of Java MIDlets in formal education circles what is required is an easy-touse development tool that allows ordinary teachers and trainers to leverage the benefits of Java in their own educational contexts. Rather than create a completely new MIDlet each time a designer wants to offer a new learning object, a good solution would be to provide the designer with a framework which would contain the following modules: •
A PC Authoring tool to assist in learning objects generation
•
A Learner MIDlets Emulator to see and test the authoring tool's output
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Learner MIDlet(s) to interpret the learning objects (deployed on the learner’s phone).
The above framework could be developed by software engineers but made for the use of ordinary teachers and trainers with programming ability to produce learning objects according to their needs. Something of the characteristics and details of each of these envisaged modules is provided below. Research and development
work is ongoing in the Cork Institute of Technology into these components. Authoring Tool The authoring tool would be used to generate learning objects of various types, e.g. quiz-types (e.g. listmatching, basic MCQ etc) , content-types (e.g. short summaries, glossaries) and game-types (shoot ‘em ups, Platformers, Tycoon style games etc). The tool would generate files to be downloaded to the mobile device for interpretation by the Learner MIDlet(s) in order to run the quiz or game etc. The files generated by the authoring tool could be in XML format in conjunction with other files required e.g. JPEG images. The Authoring Tool envisaged here is similar to the eLibera project described in the chapter “J2ME Based Applications in an mLearning Situation” but would accommodate additional learning object types such as the game-based learning objects as indicated. Images would of course have to be optimised to the screen resolution of the target mobile device, there being little point in sending a high resolution image to a phone with a low resolution screen – the unnecessary size would only incur extra download costs and use up the phone's valuable memory resources; similarly if a phone with a high resolution display receives an image with too low a resolution then it will look unsatisfactory. One way around this would be to have the authoring tool take any images imported by the user and tailor them to the planned target device(s) – while raiseing similar points to those treated in the section below regarding an emulator module. Learner MIDlets Emulator It would be important for users also to be able to see the output of the Authoring Tool to validate that it does what is intended and that there are no surprises when it is ultimately downloaded to mobile devices of varying capabilities. Mobile software development environments such as Borland’s JBuilder and Sun's Netbeans use generic mobile phone emulators to test/debug developed MIDlets.These emulators adhere to a standard and can be replaced with emulators of another specific model as are made available from many mobile phone manufactures. Typically a software developer can, in this way, verify a MIDlet for a specific make and model. The Learner MIDlets Emulator would then adhere to this standard allowing the teacher or trainer in this case to swap in an emulator for a specific production phone when/if desired. 77
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Learner MIDlet(s) In this framework it is suggested that Learner MIDlet/s would reside on the learner's mobile device and accept input, in the form of XML and associated files, from the Authoring tool via download (Bluetooth or over the air). Ideally a single MIDlet could be developed to interpret all types of learning objects generated by the Authoring Tool. However the software design of an MCQ is considerably different from that of a shoot 'em up and catering for all content types in a single MIDlet might prove to be impractical. Such a single MIDlet would have a large memory foot print which might prevent its use on many more basic phones with limited memory. The current version of the eLibera MLE MIDlet, which handles the subset of learning types mentioned earlier, is in the order of 250 Kb in size and exceeds some phone's MIDlet memory size limitations. Phones however with this kind of limited MIDlet memory size will normally also have limited graphics ability raising the issue of where a practical cut-off point might be set as to what range of phones can be supported by the proposed framework if all types of learning objects are to be catered for. An alternative approach is to use a suite of specialised MIDlets: one for MCQs, another for shoot ‘em ups, etc. This approach has the advantage of now including some very basic phones for certain learning object types that are not resource-intensive (i.e. do not require good graphics, are not computationally intensive etc). For example a 'low end phone' with a small MIDlet memory capacity may easily run an MCQ MIDlet, whereas it may not have the resources to run a 2D mLearning graphics game. However a suite of MIDlets is more difficult for a user to use – they now need to choose the correct MIDlet for a particular learning object type. Notwithstanding this point, if the user’s phone has limited memory resources then they could manage its resourses themselves deleting one or more MIDlets to make room for others and subsequently re-downloading the deleted MIDlets later. MIDlets often need to have specific versions configured specifically for each series type, in the case of eLibera they currently provide 26 for Sony-Ericsson. This
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applies also to mobile games – there is usually a version of the game for each phone type. So it is anticipated that many phone specific versions of the Learning MIDlets will need to be developed. The user would then download only that version suitable for their phone. There are many gaming companies that have systems that already manage this for users e.g. the Irish company Selatra (www.selatra.com).
References Fernández-Morales, A. (2003), Learning tools for Javaenabled phones: an application for actuarial studies, in Attewell, J. and Savil-Smith, C. (eds.), Learning with mobile devices: research and development. London:LSDA. http://www.mlearning.org/docs/Learning%20with%20Mobile%2 0Devices%20-%20A%20Book%20of%20 Papers%20from%20MLEARN%202003.pdf (19 March 2004). BBC (2006) GCSE Bytesize Revisions. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/mobile/ (20 January 2006) Jamdat Mobile (2006), Lemonade Tycoon. http://www.eamobile.com/Web/Catalog/UK/en/ga me/mobile/ProductDetailOverviewView/product249 (19 May 2006). Lynch, S. (2006), A Prototype framework to provide location-based services to mobile phones, Final year project dissertation, Cork Institute of Technology. (unpublished) Mitchell, A. and Savil-Smith, C. (2004), TheUse of Computer and Video Games for Learning. London:LSDA. http://www.lsda.org.uk/ files/PDF/1529.pdf (12 Feb 2005). Nokia, (2006). Nokia sensor: see and be seen, http://www.nokia.com/sensor Prensky, M. (2005), What can you learn from a cell phone? Almost anything!. Innovate 1 (5), http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=arti cle&id=83 (1 June 2006) Prensky, M. (2006), Don’t bother me Mom – I’m learning, Paragon House, USA.
Chapter 11 The use of Flash Lite and web authoring tools in mobile learning course design Fintan Costello This chapter outlines the adaptation of two popular telecommunications courses for delivery on a smartphone. It covers the design methodology and development platforms used. Both WCDMA Radio Access Network Overview and Service Layer Overview are telecommunications courses used for training in the telecommunications industry.
The Device The test devices used when developing the mLearning materials were the SonyEricsson p900 and p910i smartphone. A smartphone is a term used to characterize a high specification wireless handset with additional computer features typically not associated with standard handsets. A smart phone could be best described as a high-end phone with converged PDA features which may include: •
Personal information management
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LAN connectivity
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Graffiti style data entry
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Local data transfer between phone set and computers
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Remote data transfer between phone set and computers
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Remote control of computers
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Remote control of home or business electronic systems
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Wireless e-mail, Internet, Web browsing, and fax Figure 1. The SonyEricsson p910 Smartphone
Handset manufacturers, which at one time only customized their devices to ensure network compatibility in different regions, must now manufacture to meet extensive specification lists on a handset-by-handset and carrier-by-carrier basis. Implementing such extensive customization, however, is a complicated task that is sure to grow increasingly more difficult as the market matures. Today, handset manufacturers can choose from an extensive range of
options, ranging in features which include at least three types of displays, seven screen resolutions, six bit depths, five camera capture resolutions, four form factor designs, two application environments, and four high-level operating systems (Palm OS, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Linux). Each handset manufacturer utilizes a variety of different combinations within its lineup in order to provide a 79
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provides a core set of application programming interfaces (APIs) and technologies that is shared by all Symbian OS phones. Key industry standards are supported
unique and compelling experience for the consumer. We are now extending the user experience to include education and training materials for mobile learning. Where an operator, content developer or handset manufacturer is developing an application the complexity involved in creating and deploying timesensitive and user-valuable content is extremely high. All players in the mobile chain, therefore, find themselves in need of a solution that allows them to quickly develop, deploy, maintain, and update multiple forms of content that work across an entire product portfolio and are adaptable to a variety of demands. Mobile phone users tend to be quite unforgiving in their initial assessment of new services. As the mobile telecoms world migrates towards data services deployed on networks and handsets, today’s users have extremely high telecoms grade performance expectations with regard to mobile services and applications. Mobile data service is not the Internet. Subscribers tend to reject new applications within two or three trials if this performance is not met. It is therefore advisable, when creating any new applications, mobile learning in this example, to give users the service they want, make it work, make it easy to use and to make it easy to pay for, so that the subscriber has a full understanding of exactly how the content or service is charged for should a charge apply.
The Platform The P900 platform uses the Symbian operating system. Symbian OS is the advanced, open, standard operating system licensed by the world's leading mobile phone manufacturers. Symbian OS is designed for the specific requirements of open, advanced, data-enabled 2G, 2.5G and 3G mobile phones. Symbian OS was planned from the beginning to be a full operating system in terms of functionality. Symbian OS is characterized by: •
Integrated multimode mobile telephony – Symbian OS integrates the power of computing with mobile telephony, bringing advanced data services to the mass market
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Open application environment – Symbian OS enables mobile phones to be a platform for deployment of applications and services (programs and content) developed in a wide range of languages and content formats
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Open standards and interoperability – With a flexible and modular implementation, Symbian OS
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Multi-tasking – Symbian OS is fully object-oriented and component-based. It includes a multi-tasking kernel, middleware for communications, data management and graphics, the lower levels of the graphical user interface framework, and application engines
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Flexible user interface design – By enabling flexible graphical user interface design on Symbian OS, Symbian is fostering innovation and is able to offer choice for manufacturers, carriers, enterprises and end-users. Using the same core operating system in different designs also eases application porting for third party developers
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Robustness – Symbian OS maintains instant access to user data. It ensures the integrity of data, even in the presence of unreliable communication, and shortage of resources such as memory, storage and power
At the time of writing, Symbian is at version 9.2. Version 7.0 was used for both of the courses. The Delivery Platform for WCDMA RAN Overview This course was designed to be accessed from an LMS hosted on a web server. The course content was designed to be platform independent; it would be equally accessible on: •
A PC or PDA running Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera or variants
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A smartphone such as the SonyEricsson P900 running Opera on Symbian
Opera is a modern browser engine, with similar functionality as provided in Opera's desktop products. Opera uses the standard Symbian OS sockets mechanism, and as such has the ability to browse over GSM-CSD, GPRS, CDMA, TCP/IP, etc. The engine is also capable of browsing local files. The engine supports the following features: •
Rendering: HTML 4.01, CSS-1 and CSS-2, and MHTML
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XML: XML 1.0 with support for XHTML 1.0 and XHTML Basic documents
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ECMAScript: support ECMA-262 version 2 standard (and most of version 3).
The use of Flash Lite and web authoring tools in mobile learning course design
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JavaScript environment: partial DOM and DHTML
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Java: supports downloading and installation of Java MIDlets
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Image formats: gif, animated gif, jpeg and png
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Plug-ins support using subset of Netscape plug-in architecture
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FTP downloads
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Handling of unknown URL schema. This includes support to pass "mailto:", "fax:" and "sms:" schemas to the messaging application
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Handling of unknown MIME types: files of types not natively supported by the browser are passed to other applications
The Delivery Platform for Service Layer Overview The course was designed to run on the P900 as previously. However, based on the lessons learned while developing the WCDMA course, it was decided to design the Service Layer Overview course so that it would have a much smaller footprint. As a result the course was developed using a different development tool, Macromedia Flash Lite. The aim was to develop a shorter course with a higher level of technical detail and to provide a simpler user interface and more intuitive interaction. The course module would be developed as a downloadable module which would be stored locally on the phone.
WCDMA Radio Access Network Overview The course provides students with an overview of the WCDMA Radio Access Network, with all its components, and functions. This course duration is suggested as 3 hours, including testing. The course content consists of four training modules and an end of course test, presented as a mix of text and still graphics. All modules have animations in Flash with full voice-over. Technology and software used It was decided to develop this course as a succession of linked XHTML Web-pages that load into a frame element in a user-interface page. The development tools - Macromedia Dreamweaver MX Version 1.0 and Opera 7 - and technologies - XHTML 1.0 Transitional and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Level 2 - were used to accomplish this. In addition, an image-making tool (Adobe Photoshop 5.5) was used to design and create
small diagrams for course pages, and JavaScript and DOM technology facilitated the provision of dynamic page features. XHTML 1.0 Transitional To qualify as valid XHTML, each Web-page document of the alternative .handheld. site had to obey the following rules: 1. The document had to have an XML declaration: As the character encoding of the document was other than the default UTF-8 (Unicode Transformation Format-8), the document had to have an XML declaration. 2. There had to be a DOCTYPE declaration in the document, with the declaration referencing one of the three Document Type Definition (DTD) files for XHTML (strict, transitional or frameset): The DTD file for XHTML transitional was referenced. 3. The root element of the document had to be .html, and the html element had to designate the XHTML namespace: An XML namespace is a collection of names, identified by a URI reference, which are used in XML documents as element types and attribute names. The document had to have the head, title, and body structural elements: •
A standard document should have the head, title, and body structural elements.
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All elements in the document had to nest properly.
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All element and attribute names had to be lowercase.
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Every element had to have an end tag, unless declared in the DTD as EMPTY.
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Empty elements had to have an end tag, or the start tag had to end with />: For example, would not be valid; but or would. The empty elements are: area, base, basefont, br, col, frame, hr, img, input, isindex, link, meta, and param. If ./>. syntax was used, there had to be a space before the /> (e.g. ).
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Attributes could not be minimized: E.g.,
would not be valid; but
would.
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All attribute values had to be quoted.
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Certain elements had to have an id attribute as well as a name attribute: These elements were: a, applet, form, frame, iframe, img, and map. 81
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For attributes with values of an enumerated type, the values had to be lower case e.g., align="CENTER" would not be valid; but align="center" would.
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All script and style elements had to have a type attribute.
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All img and area elements had to have an alt attribute.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) L1 / L2 CSS is a technology for attaching style (fonts, textalignment, background-colors, element-positioning, and so on) to structured documents (e.g., HTML documents and XML applications). CSS enables authors to separate presentation style from document content, and this simplifies the webpage development process. In addition, all style rules defining presentation and formatting throughout a website are contained in a single CSS file, and design refinements and changes that effect multiple pages are made in a single stop. A major benefit of using CSS when developing this course was that it facilitated the implementation of wellstructured, maintainable XHTML documents. As all presentation rules were centralized in an external .css file, the XHTML documents needed only to lay out the basic structure of each page, and therefore the purpose of the markup would be clearly understood by anyone examining and maintaining the code.
JavaScript JavaScript is a scripting language for creating simple code to control the behavior of web document objects. Web-page elements such as tables, table cells, images, elements and
containers are accessible through corresponding object representations in the Document Object Model (DOM). JavaScript functions are used to toggle the visibility of course user-interface icons and headings. In response to user clicks, these functions use the DOM to control objects representing and elements so that particular icons and headings are shown or hidden. The JavaScript functions that control the dynamic userinterface of the prototype course are triggered by user interaction with clickable page elements. After an event (such as a mouse-click on an anchor, or the loading of the body section of the document) occurs, the browser checks whether there is JavaScript code to be called. The browser will carry out the instructions in the JavaScript function that is supposed to be called when that particular event occurs. Figure 2 shows how different icons (open-folder or closed-folder icons) and headings appear on the navigation panel of the course when the user goes from one lesson to another after clicking a lesson number (outlined).
Figure 2. The navigation panel of the course displaying different icons and headings after the user goes from one lesson to another. The and element objects available to JavaScript through the DOM provide access to the style sheet visibility property settings for the elements. (JavaScript also changes the background-colour settings for certain table cell elements when the user makes lesson-section selections). JavaScript code is included in webpage documents by placing it between opening and closing tags. JavaScript is used to write scripts that run client-side on 82
the Web browser. This contrasts with a situation where code instructions in a webpage document run on the Web-server before the page is sent to the client. JavaScript began life as a Netscape scripting language but as it grew in popularity the other leading browsers (Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla and Safari) provided support for it or .ECMA script (This was a closely related European Computer Manufacturers Association standardized specification).
The use of Flash Lite and web authoring tools in mobile learning course design
Document Object Model (DOM) The ability to change the appearance of a Web-page dynamically with JavaScript is made possible by the DOM. The DOM originated as a specification to allow JavaScript scripts and Java programs to be portable among Web browsers. The W3C DOM is designed to be a standard, cross-browser Application Programming Interface (API) to the structure of documents. The DOM allows scripts to access a Web-page through a hierarchical structure with the window itself at the beginning, and breaking down into nodes and child nodes. A
container element with an child element, for example, would form a parent element node to child element node link in the abstract view.
“Multiple Access Technologies”) that appear when the user clicks Lesson 3.
The DOM can connect any element on a page to a JavaScript function. To find, for example, an element in the document with an id attribute value of diagram1, the following path is used in JavaScript:
The W3C did not fully standardize the DOM until 2001, and older browsers (Netscape 4 and Internet Explorer 4) implemented their own conflicting DOMs. However, the majority of modern browsers now support the W3C DOM.
Figure 3. The section-headings group (bracketed) that appears when the user selects lesson 3.
window.document.images.diagram1 An easy way to access an object in a document is to pass the unique name value of the elements id attribute to the getElementById method of the Document interface:
During development of this course, it was discovered that the Opera 6.31 browser does not have a complete W3C DOM implementation. During testing JavaScript code to change the background style sheet property setting worked on Opera 7, but not on Opera 6.31.
document.getElementById(‘diagram1’) JavaScript functions in prototype course pages use the getElementById approach when changing particular elements style sheet property settings. The following code segment was used so that a particular group of section-headings would appear on the navigation panel whenever a user chose the corresponding lesson: while (startHeadingNoNewGroup < startNoNextGroup) { document.getElementById ('topic_Sect_Heading' +startHeadingNoNewGroup).style.visibility = ’visible’; startHeadingNoNewGroup++; } Each of the elements in the group targeted in the previous code segment is uniquely identified by a number part in its id attribute value, e.g. topic_Sect_Heading17. This is why concatenation with a startHeadingNoNewGroup variable is necessary in each iteration of the loop. Figure 3 shows the section-headings group (“Section Objectives”, “Spectrum and Duplex Tech’s”, and
The differences between the Opera 7 and Opera 6.31 DOM implementations highlighted an important consideration. JavaScript in pages produced for smartphones / PDAs cannot be guaranteed the level of control over document objects that a full DOM implementation would provide. For this course, JavaScript use of the DOM was simplified and a getElementById approach was settled on for dynamically changing certain elements’ background-color or visibility style sheet property settings. Macromedia Dreamweaver MX Macromedia Dreamweaver MX Version 1.0 was used during coding because it has the following features: •
A Site Definition Wizard that allows developers to specify a root folder where all site development work (sub-folders and files) is saved to. Once a site is defined Dreamweaver can automatically update all pages sharing a common template if changes are made to the template. A site definition also provides developers with an efficient, mouse-click means of inserting pre-defined (in a CSS file) class and id names to HTML tags. 83
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•
A validator that can be set up to validate against a particular Markup language specification, e.g. XHTML 1.0 Transitional.
•
A facility for previewing the page being coded in whichever installed browser has been specified for that purpose in Edit > Preferences > Preview in Browser.
feature to ensure that pixels at the edge of an antialiased shape blend with the Web-page’s background-color. •
A Web color palette can be specified for the image (to use the palette most often used by Web browsers).
Course Design and Development Adobe Photoshop 5.5 Photoshop provides settings when an image is being saved in Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) that enables the developer to produce a lightweight graphic for improved webpage download time: •
Transparent areas from the original Photoshop image can be included in the GIF Web version (to produce a GIF with a transparent background).
•
As well as preserving the full transparency of background pixels, the developer can use a matting
The prototype course user-interface screen (a Web-page with an iframe element for loading course material) was created with a column
container that holds all content. The user interface page was designed to behave dynamically. When the user clicks a lesson number on the navigation panel, the icons and headings displayed by the panel change, and new material is loaded into the element. Figure 4 illustrates this dynamic capability.
Figure 4. Example of dynamic changes (changed navigation panel folder icons and headings, and changed course material) on the user-interface. 84
The use of Flash Lite and web authoring tools in mobile learning course design
JavaScript included in the user interface page provides the dynamic features shown above. The folder icons are elements, and each heading that JavaScript needs to control is placed in a separate element. JavaScript functions in the user-interface page respond to user interaction by changing style sheet visibility property settings for different combinations of and elements. If the visibility property setting for an element is hidden then it cannot be seen on-screen, while it is shown when its visibility property is set to visible. There are a number of set locations on the navigation panel for displaying dynamically updating icons or headings.
To provide a different displayed combination of icons and headings for each lesson in the course, the JavaScript in the user-interface page allows only one element from each stacked set to be visible at any time. This is why, when the user chooses a particular Lesson, one specific, corresponding icon (either an open-folder or closed-folder icon) or heading is displayed at each of the dynamic display locations highlighted in previous screen-shots. As the JavaScript is used to dynamically update the navigation panel only one element from each stack set has its style sheet visibility property set to visible.
At all times there is one specific icon (either an openfolder or closed-folder icon) or heading displayed at each location.
The dynamic behaviour of the course user-interface was achieved by combining the CSS, JavaScript and XHTML and by manipulating the DOM. This combination of technologies is known as DHTML (Dynamic HTML).
All of the icons (either an open-folder or closed-folder icon) or headings needed for a specific location are stacked on separate virtual layers above that location. The elements are placed on separate layers by setting the style sheet position property to absolute for each element. The separate layers created in this way act like transparent sheets stacked on top of one another.
JavaScript updating of the user-interface display when the user chooses a Lesson also involves loading corresponding material into the page’s iframe. It is a separate web page (displaying material that corresponds with the Lesson chosen) that is loaded into the iframe. The following code is used to load different pages into the iframe in the user interface page:
It would be possible to create a vertical stack of icons or headings using transparent sheets placed over one another if each sheet had a different icon or heading text. CSS was used to achieve virtual layering of elements over the course user-interface and each dynamic display location on the navigation panel has its own icon or headings set stacked above it.
frames[’iFrame_WCDMA_RAN_Overview’].location.href =’lesson’+currentLessonNo+’_Sect’+barToActivate+’.html’; Figure 5 shows some of the pages that can be loaded into the user-interface .
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Figure 5. The pages that can be loaded into the In relation to the design of the course material pages that load into the interface , the major challenge was how to convey ideas diagrammatically in the limited space available. Concise, uncluttered diagrams were the aim. Diagram key color codes were used to avoid having to insert explanatory or labelling
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text directly into graphics. Sometimes the complexity and size of a necessary diagram could not be reduced enough for device screen size. A scaled-down, simplified image map version with different clickable areas was used to provide links to separate full-size sub-section views of the original graphic.
The use of Flash Lite and web authoring tools in mobile learning course design
The course material consists of 87 screens displaying text, audio and graphical content. An interactive help feature is available by allowing the user to click on a diagram or graphic for further explanation. A self-paced questionnaire accompanies the material as a separate module. Navigation is purposely reduced to forwards and backwards navigation only. Technology and software used When considering this course development compared to WCDMA RAN Overview, it was decided to develop a shorter course with a higher level of technical detail as the subject matter and provide a simpler user interface and more intuitive interaction. The course module would be developed in a downloadable module and stored locally on the phone. To meet these requirements, the course was developed using a different development tool, Macromedia Flash Lite, which is a profile in Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004. Macromedia Flash Lite Macromedia Flash Lite is the Macromedia Flash profile developed specifically for Mobile devices. The Macromedia Flash platform, the foundation upon which Flash Lite is based, was created to enable content developers to easily and rapidly deploy content to mobile devices, from handheld devices to traditional mobile phones to smartphones. Flash Lite leverages Flash technology to provide a deeper multimedia experience and, by means of Over-the-Air (OTA) update capability, allows for dynamic content creation and distribution.
Figure 6. This course page is shown loaded into the user-interface page’s . Displayed here is a clickable image map.
Service Layer Overview Service Layer Overview is delivered as a short presentation, or “Technical Snapshot”. The aim of the snapshot series is to provide an insight to new business areas, concepts, technologies or hot topics. Technical snapshots are generally presented as 30 minute presentations or demonstrations.
Additionally, Flash Lite can perform background downloading and caching, a feature that helps to reduce problems generated by wireless network latency issues. Flash Lite has been deployed by a number of leading operators, including KDDI, NTT DoCoMo, T-Mobile, and Vodafone KK, and handset manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and more. It is also supported in devices such as PDAs, multi-function devices from iRiver and practically every interactive television provider. While Macromedia’s Flash Player is capable of running on high-end mobile devices,Flash Lite provides a smaller, lighter profile for devices with a low hardware footprint, for example, memory or processor restricted mass-market mobile devices. 87
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Once a device supports the Flash Lite player wireless operators, content developers, and handset manufacturers can deploy Flash Lite content across devices with varying OS, processor, browser, and screen size configurations. This facilitates the implementation of a standard user interface across these devices. Additionally, this standard user interface can be modified separately from the actual Flash Lite, allowing for over-the-air updates and dynamic content creation. ActionScript and Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004 Creating Flash Lite content requires Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004. Content is created frame by
frame and text, graphics, motion graphics or animation and sound can all be manipulated to create end-user content. Each frame is controlled by a timeline. Further content creation, user interaction and navigation can be achieved using Action Script. ActionScript is an object-oriented programming language that is designed specifically for Web site animation. ActionScript makes it possible for developers to create onscreen environments such as games, tutorials, and e-commerce applications that can respond to user input through the keyboard or mouse. ActionScript is an event-driven language and reacts to triggered events such as key press or stylus input from a mobile device.
Figure 7. Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004 ActionScript was modelled on ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association)-262, an international standard for JavaScript. In the Flash 5 version, new ActionScript syntax, conventions, and features were introduced that make it similar to JavaScript, which in turn makes the language automatically familiar to most Web developers. Flash 5 also includes a new ActionScript editing environment that automates editing tasks and reduces development time. However Action Script for Flash Lite supports Action Script functionality for Flash version 4. 88
An example of an ActionScript command used in this course is as follows. GoToandPlay( ); Availability Flash 2. Usage gotoAndPlay([scene:String,] frame:Object) : Void
The use of Flash Lite and web authoring tools in mobile learning course design
Parameters scene An optional string specifying the name of the scene to which the playhead is sent. frame A number representing the frame number, or a string representing the label of the frame, to which the playhead is sent. Returns Nothing. Description Function; sends the playhead to the specified frame in a scene and plays from that frame. If no scene is specified, the playhead goes to the specified frame in the current scene. You can use the scene parameter only on the root Timeline, not within Timelines for movie clips or other objects in the document. Example In the following example, a document has two scenes: sceneOne and sceneTwo. Scene one contains a frame label on Frame 10 called newFrame and two buttons, myBtn_btn and myOtherBtn_btn. This ActionScript is placed on Frame 1, Scene 1 of the main Timeline. stop(); myBtn_btn.onRelease = function(){ gotoAndPlay("newFrame"); }; myOtherBtn_btn.onRelease = function(){ gotoAndPlay("sceneTwo", 1); }; When the user clicks the buttons, the playhead moves to the specified location and continues playing. Managing Graphics in Macromedia Flash MX Professional Flash is typically used to build up movies and animations frame by frame. A movie is a collection of scenes and a scene is a single frame or an animated sequence of frames. The actual content - static graphics, motion graphics, text and audio is managed and formatted within the Flash MX Professional studio. Graphics used for animation are created in conjunction with web development tools such as Adobe Photoshop
to optimise graphics format, appearance and file size and for graphics editing such as color enhancement, fades and cropping and graphic creation. It is necessary to obtain a device template for the handset you are creating content for. Some supported device templates are included with Flash MX Professional and are attainable when creating a new file. Graphics and movie objects, known as symbols in Flash, are displayed on the stage and can have graphic, button or movie properties. You can specify the symbol name and its behavior as a static graphic, a movie or animation or a button. This brings motion and interaction to your content. A button requires accompanying action script code to implement interactivity or event driven actions.
Downloading the Flash Lite player In the desktop environment web browsers typically provide plug-in support for the Macromedia flash player thus enabling web sites to embed appealing flash design and animation within their pages. The browser support for the Flash player removes the necessity for the user to install and configure the Flash players themselves. Thus Flash content designed for websites can be embedded as an object in a webpage and viewed once the browser has a plug-in configured or installed. The Flash player or plug-in is available as freeware. For mobile devices however, the Flash Lite player is licensed per supported device. Device support is manufacturer specific and only a subset of each manufacturers device portfolio currently supports the Flash Lite player. The business model being adopted by Macromedia is to license the player to handset manufacturers, making the Flash Lite player available as a default on any new handsets sold that support Flash Lite. A number of major handset manufacturers have announced such licensing agreements with Macromedia. However at present, although device support exists the Flash Lite player must be licensed as software to be installed on the phone. The player is non-transferable and must be licensed to each device you wish to develop, test or view content with and is specific to the device’s IMEI number you supply when you purchase the player. Macromedia’s response to this current scenario is that the player is being licensed in the developer’s domain for a nominal fee, which is appropriate to R&D efforts for Flash developers. The aim is not to place the 89
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responsibility on mobile phone subscribers to source and download the Flash Lite player but to have it available as a feature on a new phone once licensed by the handset manufacturer. To avail of the Flash Lite player a subscriber must upgrade their device. Ultimately the goal for Macromedia is to have its player licensed on all or the majority of new handsets. Downloading the Flash Lite player and installing it on a supported device will enable you to view Flash content stored locally on the phone. The following procedure explains downloading the Flash Lite player. 1. It is necessary to decide if your device supports the Flash Lite player or not.
To view content it is necessary to create a new directory called Flash within the document directory on your phones file system. The phone’s root directory consists of five sub-directories. Select Document and create the new sub-directory Flash. All future Flash movie files (.swf ) must be stored at this location. The directory structure to stored content is located at My p910\Phone Memory\Document\Flash. It is from this location that all Flash Lite content, .swf movie files are launched by the Flash player. The user can simply navigate through the phone’s file system with a stylus in a similar Graphical User Interface to Microsoft Windows.
2. Once you have decided your device will support the Flash Lite player, visit http://www.macromedia.com/software/Flash Lite and follow the link to purchase the player.
Distribution of content
3. As the player is licensed per device it is necessary to provide the IMEI number for the mobile handset you wish to install the player on. The IMEI number is short for International Mobile Equipment Identity, a unique number given to every single mobile phone, typically found behind the battery. IMEI numbers of cellular phones connected to a GSM network are stored in a database (EIR Equipment Identity Register) containing all valid mobile phone equipment. To retrieve the IMEI number, type *#06# on the handset and press call to retrieve the number.
•
4. It is then possible to download the Flash Lite player for your phone. The downloaded file will be a .sis file, which you download to your PC.
Typically content creators would host content for distribution to users through content servers or portals. The user can download content to the PC, which is then loaded on to the handset or directly download content onto the handset. Further peer-to-peer distribution would be achieved through mobile messaging and transmission.
Installing the Flash Lite Player and Future Content Once the .sis file has been downloaded to a PC it is necessary to move the file to the phone for installation. This is achieved through a memory card, USB docking station connection, Bluetooth or an Infrared connection on the phone. Once the file is located on the phone, you can select the file and begin the installation. The phone is now configured to support Flash Lite content and .swf Flash movie files. These files are available as freeware on galleries and exchanges on the web or you can create your own content with using the Flash studio.
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Considering the compressed file size of Flash Lite movie files content distribution can be achieved through a number of distribution media.
• • • • •
From PC to handset, via a USB cradle or docking station. From PC to handset, via Bluetooth or infrared technology. From PC to handset, via memory card. From content server / portal via mobile network download From handset to handset via Bluetooth or Infrared technology. From handset to handset via mobile messaging such as MMS (Multi-media messaging).
Conclusion In the case of these two courses, different design styles were used; this was largely due to the design limitations of the source material. As neither course was originally developed for delivery via a smart phone, innovative solutions were required in adapting the material for a smaller screen and user interface. Didactics, navigation and course flow all require reconsideration when redeveloping existing content. For example, while both of these courses contain large
The use of Flash Lite and web authoring tools in mobile learning course design
blocks of text, this presentation method is not suitable for a smaller screen. Converting such content into graphical form, by using Flash Lite for example, is a good solution to these problems. Supplemental documents can be offered as part of the course delivery, outside of viewing course content on a smart phone. Ultimately modularization and simplification of course content is the way forward; delivering a customized, downloadable course from a Learning Management System with supporting documentation and services.
References Leetch, G. and Mangina, E. (2004), A Multi-Agent System to Stream Multimedia to Handheld Devices. http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/ICCIM A.2005.6
Symbian (2006) Symbian OS, www.symbian.com/index.html. Leonardo da Vinci project (2004) Mobile Learning: The Next Generation Of Learning. Learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2. Jones, B. (2005) Developing Learning Materials for Smart phones - A Technical Paper. Learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/files/workpackage 3/dev_learning_materials_smart_phones.doc. Smith, S (2004), Producing a Prototype Mobile Learning Course - A Technical Working Paper. Learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/files/ workpackage3/ericsson_technical_workingpaper_ 2004_pa2.pdf. Ericsson (2006) Ericsson Mobility World. www.ericsson.com/mobilityworld.
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Chapter 12 Location and Presence: Context in mLearning Ray Boland This chapter looks at Mobile Positioning and Presence technologies and how they can be used in a context aware mLearning application. A description of Mobile Positioning and a number of positioning techniques are given, along with an overview of the Instant Messaging and Presence Services. Also detailed are two examples of mLearning applications that use mobile positioning and presence to provide a context sensitive service.
Introduction As mobile communication veers away from the simple user experience of voice and text services, and moves closer toward a full colour, multimedia user experience, applications run the risk of bombarding users with complicated interfaces that require all their attention and skill. Despite the range of new services available on mobile devices, there is one aspect of the technology which hasn’t changed, and frequently it is this aspect that application developers overlook: the user. In the mobile learning environment the most valuable commodity is not the screen real estate, the bandwidth available or the processor speed. It is the attention of the user. The mLearning application must compete for the user’s attention with other mobile devices and the external environment. In a mobile learning scenario, this environment can be anywhere from a classroom to a packed commuter train. The application must, therefore, be aware of the user’s needs/goals so that it can work autonomously rather then simply react to the user’s input. Therefore, the key for the application is to autonomously collect as much implicit information about the user when his/her attention is focused on their external environment. This information can then be used to provide a personalized learning experience relevant to their needs. Essentially the mLearning application must become context-aware if it is to survive (Schilit et al. 1994). Mobile Application design, be it for mLearning or otherwise, must take a number of factors into account (Abowd 1999).
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User Preferences The biggest obstacle for mobile computing applications is the limited user interface. The capability of the user interface for mobile devices is generally limited in what can be viewed or entered by the user. Thus applications cannot rely on laborious keypad information being entered by the user. Instead the application must try to infer as much information about the user from their preferences as possible by modelling their profile from information already available. This can be done both explicitly (by asking the user to enter preferences) or implicitly. Implicit user modelling involves observing how the user behaves toward the application or the information they access, and using this modelling data to gauge their interests or needs (Noble et al. 1997). Time Another factor in context-aware application design is the importance of time in providing the user with a valuable mLearning experience. Time again can take on many levels of accuracy – hour, minute, etc. Time must be taken into account for applications that rely on providing information related to particular events or appointments. In the mLearning scenario, often the most up to date information is the most relevant – in this context time has great importance. The Device Location Location can be used to infer a number of attributes of the user’s context; comparing commuting patterns with other mLearners allowing to meet up to collaborate, providing information on available resources in their proximity, or even informing them of events occurring in particular areas (Schilit et al. 1993). Location can have many levels of accuracy, from positioning the user
Location and Presence: Context in mLearning
geographically to being able to gauge if the mobile device is in hand or stowed away. Location Based Services (LBSs) provide personalized information for the user given their location, and this is the focus of this paper.
Mobile Positioning Mobile Positioning is the process of geographically locating Mobile Stations (MS) in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) by collecting and analysing location information, calculating the position, and reporting it for further usage to an application. It is a service layer technology that allows (LBSs) to access information
automatically about a user’s context without explicitly asking them to provide it. Figure 1 shows the architecture of a Mobile Positioning System (MPS). Mobile Positioning Systems allow middleware applications and LBSs that are aware of the mobile subscribers MSISDN (their phone number) to request the geographical location of the user within the operator network. While Mobile Positioning has obvious commercial applications (Chen and Kotz 1997) there is also a legal requirement driving the deployment of accurate positioning techniques in a number of countries.
Figure 1. Mobile Positioning System The method by which the mobile subscriber is located depends on a number of factors: •
The implementation of MPS that the operator has installed
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The type of handset the subscriber uses
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The type of network the subscriber is connected to (i.e. 3G or GSM)
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The level of accuracy required/allowed for the locations based service application
Cellular Based Positioning Methods Cellular Based Positioning Techniques (Technical Specification Group 2004) use information from the Cellular Network to decide on the location of the user.
Generally, these methods involve some form of Time of Arrival (ToA) calculation that takes into account the location of the cellular base station which the mobile station is currently connected to. ATI Any Time Interrogation (ATI) is the simplest form of locating a mobile station. ATI can be used in 3G or GSM, and involves giving the user’s location as being the cell in which they are connected. Their position is given as the geographical location of the Base Station. So in the example in Figure 2, the handset’s position in A is given as cell which it is connected. In the case of B, an increased level of accuracy is obtained by using a directional antenna.
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Figure 2. ATI Example CGI+TA Cell Global Identity + Timing Advance (CGI+TA) takes ATI to another level of accuracy be using the Timing Advance value in the GSM network and using it to define a more accurate inner and out radius. Timing Advance is the lag period (in milliseconds) between the start of the time code on the base station and the start of the data burst from the mobile handset. This lag period
can be directly attributed to the distance of the handset to the base station and typically equates to 1 millisecond to 550m, and thus the accuracy of the TA value is equal to 1100m. So again, using the same examples as Figure 2, in Figure 3 CGI+TA was used to position the handsets. In each case (i.e. A and B) the accuracy is increased by using the TA value to estimate their distance from the base station.
Figure 3. CGI TA E-CGI Enhanced Cell Global Identity combines a CGI+TA with the Mobile Station’s signal strength (RX Level)
reports to allow the triangulation of the Mobile Station in relation to a number of Base Stations.
Figure 4. E-CGI Scenario 94
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The user’s location is returned as a grid number, whereby each grid can achieve certain signal strength toward each base station.
Non-Cellular Based Positioning Methods GPS Global Positioning System has become the de facto standard for positioning. Originally designed for military use by the United States, it now has a number
of commercial applications that range from personal navigation to asset tracking. GPS is a non-cellular positioning method as it does not use any actual information from the cellular network (e.g. the Cell Global Identity or the TA Value). Instead it calculates the position of the user based on satellite timing signals receive from a Global Satellite network of 25 active satellites orbiting the Earth.
Figure 5. GPS Scenario Typically in GPS, the GPS receiver picks up the signal from 4 different satellites. Each signal contains a timestamp and an identifier for the satellite it came from. The GPS Receiver has a static almanac file containing information on the flight path of each satellite. For each satellite time signal it receives, the GPS Receiver checks the flight path for that satellite in the almanac and by comparing a number of satellites it is possible to gauge its own global position. GPS has an accuracy of typically 10m however because GPS is a satellite communications positioning technique it does
not work well in built up urban areas and will not work indoors. In order for GPS to work the GPS Receiver must have clear skies above it to be able to reach the optimum number of satellites. A-GPS Assisted-Global Positioning System (A-GPS) is a noncellular based positioning method also; however it does use the cellular network to transport the satellite information to the A-GPS Receiver.
Figure 6. Assisted-GPS 95
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Figure 6 shows the request flow for A-GPS and the main system elements used. The GSM network accesses satellite information from a Reference Receiver, typically located on a roof top where it is guaranteed good satellite coverage. The satellite information is relayed over the operator network via the SMLC (Serving Mobile Location Centre).
Positioning Accuracy While A-GPS is the most accurate of all the positioning techniques, it requires supplementary hardware for both the network operator and the mobile user, and thus has yet to become a truly commercially viable positioning technique. Most of the cellular techniques described can be deployed quite quickly with minimum impact on the operator network or the user experience.
Figure 7. Positioning Accuracy
Mobile Positioning obviously does not have a direct educational value. The user’s position will not necessarily make any difference in achieving their educational goals. It will however help the application model the user’s current environment and gather other implicit information about the user (e.g. how fast they are travelling). This information can then be used to personalize the data sent to the user, making it more accurate and more customized to their needs.
Instant Messaging and Presence Presence and Instant Messaging are one of the fastest growing areas in mobile communications. As communications on a whole move toward all-IP networks, applications popular on desktop PCs such as video telephony and instant messaging are now being
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pushed onto mobile handsets. Applications such as Instant Messaging and Presence Server (IMPS) allow presence and instant messaging service between PC Subscribers and mobile network users. IMPS Instant Messaging (IM) is a type of communications service that enables the creation of a private chat room with another individual in order to communicate in real time over the Internet. IM differs from SMS or email in that not only it is in Real Time but also can be over both mobile and fixed networks. IM applications are among the most widely used software over the Public Internet, with many IM applications providing subscribers with a single communications end-point (IM, email, video telephony, file transfer etc).
Location and Presence: Context in mLearning
Figure 8. IMPS 2.1 Solution Architecture Presence services are often seen as a supplementary service to IM client applications. A user of an instant messaging service can employ a presence service to keep track of the listening status of a set of users or contacts. Most Presence Services now have some emoticon service that allows users to imply their mood during chat sessions. Presence Services do not have a direct value in an educational sense but it can however help to derive implicit information about users’ contexts by grouping them into special interests’ groups. If a user is a member of a particular special interest group, it is a relatively simple task for an autonomous application to model their user profile and perhaps their educational needs.
mLearning as a Context Sensitive Service If mLearning is to compete with other Mobile Applications it must distance itself from the desktop applications from which it’s grown out of. To say mLearning is a combination of Mobile Computing and eLearning is correct in some ways – however there are certain attributes of an eLearning Application which will never succeed in mLearning. An eLearning application is capable of providing the user with vast amounts of information compared to an mLearning application. If mLearning is to succeed in the Mobile Computing environment it must take into account the context in
which it is being used. The following are two hypothetical examples of how mobile positioning could be used in mobile learning. Context Sensitive mLearning Before describing a context sensitive mLearning application, the term context must be defined. Context, as previously described can be made up of three elements; User Preferences, Location and Time. The needs of the user in mLearning are relatively complex: trying to model them can be a difficult task. The main limitation on the gathering of User Preferences is the User Interface. Having the user enter large amounts of data through a mobile device interface requires patience and time. The mLearning user must also have some prior knowledge of their subject in order to retrieve information that is relevant to their needs. This said, and given the user’s attention may be easily distracted by their external environment, the risk of overloading the user with information (and thus losing their interest) is great. Collaborative Learning Collaborative Learning is a cooperative effort whereby a group of users come together to decide on the relevance of information for themselves and others in their group. Context therefore, involves maintaining a list of contacts for the user and using this list to infer information about the user’s interests. Put simply Collaborative Learning follows the general rule – if my friends like it, then I’ll like it. 97
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Using Mobile Positioning and Presence in a collaborative mLearning application would allow the derivation of a large amount of User Context automatically. From the point of view of Positioning, it is possible to access to the user’s current location. There is also the possibility of tracking the user in order to
analyse their regular commuting patterns. If we take two users of similar educational interests – who are taking part in a similar educational event or mLearning course – the possibility is there to organise meetings between these users based on their commuting patterns.
Figure 9. mLearning Conference Scenario
Take the scenario (Figure 9) of a large conference. There are a number of events taking place simultaneously at a particular venue. User A is a member of a group of mLearning students interested in WCDMA Radio Network issues. While at the conference, User A attends a lecture entitled WCDMA Overview and finds it to be a good resource for her needs. User A could use her mLearning application to give the event a good rating – this then could be suggested to other similar users in the area who may be thinking of attending the same event. User B is a member of User A’s group and also attending the event. Based on User A’s evaluation, User B receives notification that the event is taking place again and it has received good evaluations from his group (i.e. User A). User B is then provided with relevant information based on his common interests with his friends and his location.
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If we look then at User C, who is not attending the event but is a member of the same group – he could then be informed of future events from the same presenter or of similar content, which may be taking place in the near future. mLearning Contact Management Another possible mLearning technique which could be of benefit to a user is a buddy list for mLearning purposes. Such a service would involve a user requesting the location of mLearning Classmates; the user would then receive a multimedia message (MMS) from the mLearning Buddy Application detailing the whereabouts of the users in their group.
Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) Academic administration
Figure 10. mLearning Buddy Application Scenario In the example above, User A maybe in need of some help with an assignment. He sends the request to the mLearning Buddy Application to find someone who can help him. The mLearning Application replies via MMS with a map containing the whereabouts of User B & C, each of whom may have the expertise to help User A with their query.
Context Sensitive Systems are seen as the way forward for mobile computing as they can work autonomously and deliver a personalized service without huge impact on the user’s attention. Given its ties to Mobile Computing – mLearning applications must move toward a context sensitive paradigm in order to deliver a personalized education service to mobile users based on their needs or environment.
Conclusion The key to designing a successful context sensitive application is to define a context which will take into account the user’s interests, their friends’ interests, and their location. Crucially, the bulk of this context must be gathered independently by the application without distracting the user unnecessarily. Mobile Positioning Systems enable autonomous gathering of information on the user’s location by mobile applications while Presence Services allow for a central access point for presence information and contact management for special interest groups
References Schilit B., Adams,N. and Want, R. (1994) ContextAware Computing Applications. Proceedings of the Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications, IEEE Computer Society Abowd, G. (1999) Software Engineering Issues for Ubiquitous Computing. Proceedings of ICSE'99. Schilit B., Adams, N., Gold, R., Tso, M. and Want, R. (1993) The PARCTAB Mobile Computing System. Proceedings of the Fourth Workshop on Workstation Operating Systems (WWOS-IV), IEEE Computer Society
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Chen G., and Kotz D. (1997) A Survey of ContextAware Mobile Computing Research. Dept. of Computer Science, Dartmouth College Noble B., Satyanarayanan M., Narayanan D., Tilton J.., Flinn J. and Walker K. (1997) Agile ApplicationAware Adaptation for Mobility, Sixteenth ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles
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Technical Specification Group (2004) Services and System Aspects – Functional stage 2 description of location services in UMTS 3GPP TS 23.171 V3.11.0 (2004-03), 3rd Generation Partnership Project.
Chapter 13 The use of mobile communication technology for tutoring Katy Graham This chapter looks at how mobile technology can be used for tutoring in a mobile learning environment. It is divided into three sections; the first section looks at existing research to determine what the role of a tutor is in a mobile learning environment. We then ask what tasks a tutor should perform, that is, what a tutor should do to improve the quality of mlearning There is no set list of these requirements, so general functions are suggested based on existing research and projects. Once these functions have been identified, the second section examines the mobile enablers available to tutors. The final part of the chapter suggests how these services can be applied to become effective mobile learning tutoring aids. Finally, an existing mobile learning system is examined to see how a similar system could be used for tutoring mobile learning.
1. Role of the tutor in mobile learning Although instructional models exist for distance or eLearning, a literature review revealed that in the field of mobile learning, there are not many widely used pedagogical models or principles that describe the facilitation of learners learning processes by tutoring interventions. Trainers and educators need to design learning materials for the growing use of mobile devices. However, the design of the materials must be based on sound learning theories and instructional design principles (Ally 2004). Clarifying the role of the tutor and establishing effective methods for supporting students’ learning in a mobile environment must be included in this design. Psychologists gain a working knowledge of the basic cognitive processes underlying memory and learning - knowledge that is critical for promoting optimal learning in any educational setting. In his paper, Ally discusses the main cognitive learning theories and concludes that mLearning materials need to use multimedia strategies that are information-rich rather than textual strategies. This will result, Ally states, in developers’ greater use of visuals, photographs, videos and audio. Multimedia content is used to a great extent today in e-learning. The introduction of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) gave mobile devices access to the internet via Wireless Access Protocol (WAP). It also enabled the evolution of short messages (or SMS) into picture messaging (also called multimedia messaging or MMS). Video telephony has more recently become available and also mobile TV. It would seem like the convergence of news and entertainment, mobile
networks and the Internet is almost complete. So if multimedia strategies are to be used more extensively in mobile learning, the question of how can mobile multimedia be used effectively to scaffold the learning progress of mobile learning students must be addressed. Pedagogical Model for Mobile Tutoring Ally examines mLearning design models from the perspective of the learner. It makes sense, therefore, to examine mLearning from the tutor’s perspective if designing a mobile tutoring system. To differentiate Information Technology (IT, also known as Information and communication(s) technology or ICT) based learning from traditional forms of learning, the term eLearning was coined. Following this, learning in a mobile context was termed mLearning. A literature review shows that different terms such as online tutor, online moderator, e-moderator, distance education tutor, e-tutor (Denis et al 2004) are used to refer to the roles of a tutor in eLearning. In this chapter, the term mTutor is suggested for the tutor in a mLearning environment. We must define the tasks that an mTutor must perform to fulfil that role before designing an mTutoring system. As mentioned above, there is no widely tried and tested pedagogy that defines what an mTutor should do. Inventing the phrase mPedagogy is probably stretching this mobile vocabulary too far but Googling the word mPedagogy revealed that it is in use, albeit not very much. The search retrieved three results, one of which was a paper 101
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by Silander and Rytkönen. In this paper, they proposed a theoretically constructed pedagogical model for mTutoring called AEFIRIP. AEFIRIP is based on the contemporary learning theories and pedagogical models of eLearning, but it is focused on the characteristics of mobile learning. This was the basis for the development
of a semi-automatic tool for mobile tutoring. AEFIRIP is an acronym for the phases of the pedagogical model designed for facilitating mobile tutoring of learning taking place in a mobile environment. It stands for Activation, Externalization, Focusing, Interpretations, Reflection and Information Processing.
Phase Description of activity 1. Activation
Activating student’s prior knowledge and cognitive strategies by context creation or e.g. presenting so called activating Questions
2. Externalization
Externalization of student’s prior knowledge and thinking models. Students become aware of their prior knowledge by making it visible and exposing it to reflection.
3. Focusing
Focusing students’ perception and cognitive processing in a mobile learning environment according to the objectives of the learning situation (e.g. by focusing questions or assignments)
4. Interpretations
Explicit interpretations done by student based on perception and prior knowledge/cognitive strategies as well as situational factors.
5. Reflection
Reflection of own interpretations and situational factors.
6. Information Processing
Information Processing consist of sub learning processes (cognitive processes) such as problem solving, classification, comparison, elaboration etc.
Table 1. Phases of the AEFIRIP pedagogical model for mobile learning and tutoring
What does an mTutor do? Based on reading articles in this area, some tasks that a tutor performs are suggested below: • • • • • • • •
• • •
Guiding students throughout knowledge the building process Setting exercises Marking exercises Attaching handouts to marked assignments Availability for questioning Suggesting reading/research areas. Motivating students Encouraging debate and reflection through online discussion (this differs from the email mentality, which lends itself to providing answers to direct questions) Reducing the students’ perceived isolation Interfacing between the students and the learning institution Synchronous working using videoconferencing
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• •
Asynchronous working through text messaging or blogs Collaborative working through shared applications and workspaces eg. shared whiteboard
Probably there is no single way to tutor in the mobile environment. It is likely that the tutoring methods should be context specific, and may need to be adapted to the students (age, background, environment etc) and to the nature of the course being taken. The role of the tutor is not a new one, but traditional educational models have limited value since they rely on face-to-face interaction between students and tutor. Nonetheless, in trying to ascertain what tasks an mTutor must perform, it is worth examining what is to learn from face-to-face and online pedagogy. Much in the same way that eLearning looked to traditional forms of learning for cues as to how to design a learning methodology, so mobile learning looks to eLearning to see how its adaptation
The use of mobile communication technology for tutoring
may be done. For example, the Leonardo project ‘From eLearning to mLearning’ (2002) looked at eLearning to see what could be learned in the development of learning materials for mobile learning materials. So, in examining the role of the tutor in a mobile learning environment, it is worthwhile looking at the way online tutoring is performed. In the Online Tutoring e-Book (Cornelius and Higgison 2000) it is stated that, in online tutoring “above all the tutor should be flexible”. It is appropriate to apply this to mobile tutoring also. By way of combining the above approaches of gaining information from tutoring in a face-to-face learning environment and in eLearning, Silander and Rytkönen interviewed 52 teachers who had previous experience in
web-based teaching. The authors posed the question: How can advanced mobile technology facilitate the teacher’s work like tutoring and guiding the students’ learning processes? Answers were focused, not on the technology, but on the educational practices that it enables. This is very relevant to what we are trying to establish in this section of the chapter which is ‘What should an mTutor do? Based on Silander and Rytkönen’s (2005) questionnaire, the table below of the educational practices that mobile technology may be used for was drawn up. Education al practices listed 5-7 were not assigned a mobile technology. This author has suggested possible mobile technologies and tutoring applications for these educational practices.
Educational Practices
Mobile Technology
1. Tutoring and guidance of the learning process:
Tutoring by SMSs Blogs (an abbreviation of web logs, like an online diary) Student’s inquiries Receiving and answering student’s acute questions in problem situations Reaching students rapidly Tutoring by video phone calls Providing help by SMSs if needed Maintaining tutoring dialogue Getting students answers to learning tasks/assignments Getting material like pictures and text gather by a student in an authentic environment Easy access to students learning diaries / learning log books
2. Receiving students products:
Easy access to students observation logs and reports Chat One-to-many communication
3. Communication:
Real-time Interaction Student’s portfolio Gathering continuous evaluation information on students learning
4. Evaluation/assessment:
Gathering evaluation information from authentic learning situations
5. Working on open learning environment
Chat-rooms, Contact lists with presence information for push to talk, multimedia messaging, application sharing.
6. Positioning of students (GPS)
Mobile Positioning Centres (MPC) can position students, could be used to guide and provide geographically relevant information to students
7. Simulations
Application Servers could host a simulated environment and deliver this via mobile handheld devices Table 2. Educational practices for which mobile technology may be used 103
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Clearly, section 1 Tutoring and guidance of the learning process relates to mobile tutoring. Taking the activities listed in this section as the desired mobile tutoring practices that teachers would like to perform using mobile devices, section 3 will re-examine these practices and suggest other mobile services that could be used to perform them. It is worth bearing in mind that Silander and Rytkönen’s research was conducted a) among teachers, not necessarily those aware of all mobile telecom services. There could be activities not listed here that they felt could not be addressed by mobile technology and b) the paper was given in 2005, since then many developments have been made. The continual evolution of telecom core networks to an all-IP environment enables many more services than before. Automated mobile tutoring Automated or semi-automated tutoring, if designed carefully, could be ideal for large numbers of learners. The knowledge, strategy and experience of the expert could be performed with the automatic delivery of the mTutor's own tutorials. The advantage for the tutor is that once a tutorial is developed, it can be delivered again and again to new students. Any automatic mobile tutoring system should support easy creation of new tutorials thereby reducing the time it takes to create a tutorial, maximising use of resources. Most existing mobile learning environments use a mobile Learning Management System to track and manage a student’s progress through a mobile or blended learning curriculum. It is likely that an automated tutoring application would be integrated with the mLMS, providing and using information in a back-end database. A number of automated mobile tutoring systems have already been developed. Älykkö is an application that Silander and Rytkönen developed for tutoring students’ learning processes based on the AEFIRIP model for both PC and mobile devices. Students can construct the individual content of learning in the form of portfolios and communicate with tutors by using the tutoring dialogue log. It is primarily a tutor’s tool with automatic and semi-automatic tutoring . MTutor is a software package developed by Culverhouse and Burton at the University of Plymouth. MTutor enables one-to-one tutorials over the web. Tutors pose a problem and provide resources and their own expert knowledge for the learner to find a solution. MTutor follows the model of traditional tutorials, where learners meet with their 104
tutor to work through and discuss directed problems. MTutor provides a complete computer-based tutorial system with defined stages. Peer tutoring Research on peer tutoring indicates that the intervention is relatively effective in improving both tutee’s and tutor’s academic and social development. (Gartner & Reissman 1993). In fact, the benefit to the tutor may actually outweigh that of the benefit to the student. In their 1993 paper, Peer-Tutoring: Toward a New Model, Gartner and Reissman state: “This results from reworking what they know in order to make it understandable to their tutees. This learning through teaching is the significant mechanism, and it poses an opportunity to reformulate and extend the use of peer tutoring.” So if the tutor role is so effective, why not build on this and give all students the opportunity to be a tutor? This model is different from usual tutoring approaches where more proficient students tutor the less proficient. What will tutees and tutors learn in the tutor-centred mode, Gartner and Reissman ask. First, they will learn the subject matter that is being tutored. Second, they will learn how to tutor. Third, they will learn how to listen and communicate effectively. Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, they will learn about learning. Tutor training Any research article on online tutoring notes that tutors need training and practice to learn to do it well. Etutoring or m-tutoring differs so much from face-to-face tutoring that a specialised training is required for the results to be of benefit to the learner. It is important that the first experience a tutor has of m-tutoring technology is a good one, otherwise they may be reluctant to try it again.
2. Third Generation Technologies With the current and forthcoming wealth of ways to communicate, there is a danger that educators may be over-eager to use this technology simply because they can, putting the cart before the horse; the solution before the problem. Implementing a tutoring mechanism that has no perceivable benefits is a waste of the time it takes for students and tutors to learn how to use it in the first place. Just because the technology is available it does not mean that there is an overriding educational reason to use it (Lockitt, 2005). So the question is not how can mobile technology be used for mLearning, but rather, how can mobile technology be
Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) Academic administration used effectively for mLearning? To answer this question, it is a good idea to have a look at the technology that is soon to become widely available on mobile handset. The next section looks at these possible tools for tutors of mobile learning. Third generation (3G) mobile networks will offer faster uplink and downlink speeds with more reliable connections and a Quality of Service across the radio access network. At the same time, mobile core networks are migrating toward an all-IP backbone, furthering the convergence of fixed line and mobile networks. This evolution provides a basis for richer and more complex services than were available previously. 3G technology is standardised by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), defining standards in the radio access network, the core, the service layer and user equipment. Multimedia enablers will be discussed in this chapter, in particular the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and the applications it supports. Although mobile devices can be tools used during the whole knowledge building process, this section lists the features of 3G mobile devices that could be used to tutor the knowledge building process taking place on-site in a mobile environment. Section 4 will suggest how these features can be combined into an mLearning application. IP MultiMedia Subsystem The IP MultiMedia Subsystem (IMS) is an (Internet Protocol) IP standard specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). It is a platform that supports many new and existing services. It is seen as the cornerstone of the evolution toward an all-IP network. Indeed, the word evolution is worth noting, as it is an evolution, not a revolution of the service networks in mobile telephony. Data communication or Datacomms is, in principle, the communication of information between computer systems. This includes communication within a local environment (LAN) or where the systems are separated over some distance (WAN). Various methods for data communication have evolved over many years going well back through the 20th century. The phrase ‘convergence technology’ is often heard in relation to IMS. It is seen to enable this evolution, or convergence of the datacomm, telecom, entertainment and media networks into one service. An implementation of IMS is called the IMS Common System (ICS). ICS consists of components that are used in both wireline and wireless IMS system deployments and/or,
components that are used to support different solutions in one domain. For example, the ICS contains a presence component and group list management component which may be used for a number of different applications, for example both are used for the Push To Talk and WeShare applications. The support of wireline and/or wireless applications could be very useful for the mobile tutor who is more likely to access the tutoring system from a PC in his office, whereas students will be more likely to be on the move, accessing from a PDA or a mobile phone. Device profile caching is a feature of many applications that sit on the ICS for example, the WeShare application. Storing the details of the device that a student last used to access the system allows the system to tailor the presentation of the material to the mobile device. Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) could be used to make changes in the layout and providing the appropriate style sheets based on the clients accessing the page. An extension of this principle could be applied to mobile tutoring also, whereby a tutoring system records the device last used to access the mTutor or materials suggested by the tutor, and presents it in a suitable form. ICS supports Push to Talk (PTT) Application, which is a walkie-talkie type of single duplex communication, and the WeShare family. The Push to Talk Application enables real-time communication one-to-one and oneto-many with the press of a button. The solution is based on the Push To Talk over Cellular (PoC) standard to secure global interoperability. WeShare is a family of services enabling the sharing of pictures and video while talking. The IMS solution also includes Engine Multimedia Feature Server and Presence Server to provide IP Centrex applications for enterprise customers as well as multimedia offerings to residential broadband customers. Also included in the IMS is the Service Development Studio which is a development tool with on open source integrated development environment for new applications that can run on the IMS platform. It is possible for developers to develop content that use the services offered by the IMS eg. Presence, group lists and so on. Presence Service The Presence service is a component of the IMS platform that may be used by other applications e.g WeShare. It enables a user to subscribe to another user’s presence. This means that user1 will send a message to user2 requesting the ability to see their presence and any 105
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changes that may occur to it. User2 will see a pop-up message with this request and can either allow it or not. If they allow it, User1 will be able to see when they log on. All users will have the ability to change their availability, much in the way that MSN Messager does i.e. busy, out of office. Even moods will be possible to indicate. So User1 will see any of these changes when user2 changes them. So for example,in WeShare, when a list of buddies is called up on the mobile handset, it will be possible to see who is logged on or not. A tutor would be able to initiate a WeShare session with a student or vice versa. Group List Management Group List Management is the IMS platform whereby a list of buddies (addresses) may be stored in a shared server, or on application specific servers. This is a component that is available to other applications, eg. Push To Talk. If a user wished to contact one of their stored PTT buddies, it is simple to lookup the buddy address and send a voice message. Similarly, if a tutor wished to notify a group of students as to an up and coming deadline, for example, he can simply select this groupname and send a message. Service Development Studio It is possible to develop IMS applications by using the Service Development Studio and thereafter launch them on a SIP Application server or an Application Server. This could allow the developer to develop specific learning applications, that could facilitate the tasks that a tutor should perform as part of their role. Push to Talk The PoC service, as defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), provides the possibility for two or more users to communicate in a walkie-talkie type of fashion using mobile telephones. It requires the person speaking to press a button while talking and then release it when they are done. The listener then presses their button to respond. The call setup is quick, involving only the press of a button, allowing instantaneous communication. PTT is implemented over standard GSM/GPRS/EDGE and CDMA200 networks. The solution can be implemented on the same device that is used as a traditional mobile phone. This feature makes it particularly suitable for mLearning for students who cannot afford PDAs or smartphones that to date have proved more effective for mobile learning. IMS PTT is 106
based on IETF and 3GPP/3GPP2 standards and uses the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for control signaling. This adherence to standards guarantees interoperability and therefore more widespread availability and use and also provides ‘future-proofness’. Features of PTT •
One person can talk to everyone in the group at one time, just by pressing the PTT key.
•
User Contact List – Users can view the availability of contacts (or buddies) in their contact lists. They may be listed as individuals or as group members in the group contact list. Based on who is available, the user can select one or many buddies from the contact list and send them a PTT invitation.
•
Instant Personal Talk - This service includes 1-to-1 communication as well as 1-to-many communication.
•
Instant Group Talk – PTT enables the set up of group calls, where one user sets up the group session either by selecting a pre-defined group or by creating a temporary group on-the-fly.
•
Invite or Reject – A recipient has the option or manually accept or reject joining a PTT session.
•
Presence Indicators – This provides a user with an indication of the presence of another user on the network, in other words, indicating that a user is registered.
•
Do-Not-Disturb (DND) – If a user is engaged in another call the presence will be set to a do-notdisturb mode. All PTT invitations will automatically be rejected in this mode. A user can also choose to activate and deactivate the DND function while not engaged in a call.
•
Contact and Group Management – The user is able to manage their buddy list and create groups from the mobile device, or from a Web interface. Users can add, edit and remove contacts on their lists.
WeShare WeShare is a family of services combining the circuit swiched voice with packet switched data, like pictures, video and games. These services have a very obvious potential to be tools for tutoring any type of mLearning course. It is flexible allowing media to be sent at anytime during the call.
Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) Academic administration The advantage of WeShare for tutoring is that it is built on existing behavior. During voice conversations, (face to face) people share things. So they will probably want to do this when having a voice conversation that is not face to face. (This is why it is called weShare.) Features of WeShare •
The user can combine any voice call with different media types: weShare includes Video, Picture, Stored File as current share-able options with, Games, Music and Web.
•
Whiteboard application allows two users to see the same diagram and add text or graphic to it. So if user1 adds an arrow, user2 will see this arrow on the shared whiteboard. Voice will simultaneously be heard with this.
•
It is easy to understand. It is almost totally intuitive. Nothing difficult about using it at all.
•
Minimises user input, just a few key strokes are required, therefore suitable for a mobile learning environment
•
Users can introduce service & educate each other during the call
•
A user can see immediately (via the CSI icon) whether or not the other party has weShare.
•
Can spontaneously add something to help convey the message
•
Material can be stored or created during the conversation
3. Applications enabling tutoring of mlearning students Telephones are still used an enormous amount by both students and their tutors but have only recently become again the subject of critical analysis and research, mainly in the context of mobile phones and 'mLearning' (Keegan 2002). In a paper presented to the
Third EDEN Research Workshop in Oldenburg by Gaskell and Mills (2004), it was found that proactive and responsive contact from the tutors in the Open University UK as well as over-the-phone tutorials were favourably received by the students, improving student performance on the course assignments as well as increasing student retention. Their paper did not examine the functionality of the mobile phone beyond voice and SMS messaging. The technologies discussed in section 3 have the potential for the tutor in a mobile learning environment. However, the task of designing mLearning applications and appropriate learner support is complex and challenging. The impact of new mobile technologies needs to be appraised and evaluated. What the following section covers is the suggested applications of 3G mobile technologies for the purposes of mTutoring. In section 2 the role of the tutor was discussed, and more specifically, what a tutor should actually do was analysed. Table 2 in section 2 listed some of these tasks. Section 3 examined the available tools to do this. In order to give some structure to applying the functions offered by the tools in section 3, we revisit table 2, this time applying the possible use of the tools which we have since learned about. Table 3, below, introduces a third column, which lists the technology that could be used to achieve the task identified by Silander and Rytkönen’s research. Some other technologies are suggested here in combination with IMS applications. MultiMedia Messaging Service (MMS) or picture messaging enables graphic and text to be sent to/from student and tutor. This could be a map, diagram etc. Short Message Service (SMS) is a circuit switched technology for transmitting small amounts of text. Global Positioning System (GPS) is present in 3G networks and can approximate the position of a mobile terminal. Wireless Access Protocol provides mobile access to the Internet. (iMode also performs this function).
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Role
Task
Technology
1. Tutoring and guidance of the learning process:
Tutoring by SMSs Blog Student’s enquiries
SMS Web based system Email,SMS,PTT,Voice call with WeShare add-in Voice call or Video call (WeShare) PTT WeShare SMS
Receiving and answering student’s acute questions in problem situations Reaching students rapidly Tutoring by video phone calls Providing help by SMSs if needed Maintaining tutoring dialogue Getting students answers to learning tasks / assignments
Voice,WeShare WAP access for students to get to pre-assigned tasks.
Getting material like pictures and text gather by a student in a mobile environment
Students submit video,voice, picture messages to tutor. These could be stored on database as part of mLMS
Easy access to students
Presence service with PTT or WeShare
Learning diaries / learning log books
PTT, SMS, Email
2. Receiving students products:
Easy access to students Observation logs and reports Chat One-to-many communication
Web access to stored student logs and reports PTT, SMS, Email PTT, conference call
3. Communication:
Real-time Interaction Student’s portfolio Gathering continuous evaluation information on students’ learning
WeShare, Voice Call mLMS support mLMS support
4. Evaluation / assessment:
Gathering evaluation information from mobile learning situations
mLMS support
5. Working on open learning environment
Chat-rooms, Contact lists with presence information for push to talk, multimedia messaging, application sharing.
Presence and Group List (PGM) management in IMS
6. Positioning of students (GPS)
Mobile Positioning Centres (MPC) can position students, could be used to guide and provide geographically relevant information to students
Mobile Positioning System (MPC)
Application Servers could host a simulated environment and deliver this via mobile handheld devices
WAP access to simulator. WeShare stored maps, games, demos, video walkthrough of an equipment upgrade procedure, for example.
7. Simulations
Table 3. Educational practices and technology used 108
Mobile learning/SMS (Short Messaging System) Academic administration
4. Moop Project Having examined the roles of the tutor and then listed the newer ICS technologies in sections 1 and 2, we then looked at some suggested uses of these tools for mobile tutoring that could be developed, based on the pedagogical models discussed in section 2. But are there any current applications of these technologies for the purposes of mobile tutoring?
school learning. The basic functions of a mobile phone are normally usable. The real-time learning situation is coordinated by the teacher and enables interaction between pupils using Push To Talk. Maps and GPS are used for safety. The environment offers tools that support communication between pupils, pupil groups and teacher. The work is divided up into 4 steps:
Some projects that use a small number of theses applications have been mentioned in this chapter already, but a very good example of a system that uses nearly all of them is a system developed by the software house Incode Oy from the city of Oulu in Finland called Moop. The pedagogic and technical know-how of Moop is developed in a collaboration of the public and private sector. The Moop application is developed by the software house Incode Oy from the city of Oulu in Finland. The project is supported by Nokia, Elisa and Viestimaa companies. The pedagogical planning and development work of Moop environment has been done by the schools of Korvensuora, Oulunlahti and Patamäki (2005) in Finland. The project has received funding from Oulu’s development project for network services and from the Smart Oulu project. To conclude this chapter we will examine how Moop is used and how, going forward, a similar system could rework this model for the purposes of mobile tutoring. Moop is an existing mLearning system that utilises many of the above mobile services. It is included here because it is very close to demonstrating how most of the above technologies could be used by an mTutor. It is based on a sound, learner-centered pedagogy. The teacher in the Moop system fulfils some of the roles of the mTutor discussed in section 2, but it could very easily be extended to provide a full system for mobile tutoring. Moop is a learning platform for situations where a pupil first makes observations, then saves and manages them on a mobile and web-based platform. It promotes interaction among students and teachers. The learning environment is closed and safe for pupils to use, requiring users to log in before allowing access. The system enables learning through observations – taking photos, recording sounds and interviews or filming short video clips in the nearby surroundings of the school. A camera phone is used as a tool that supports elementary
1. Teacher or Pupils Prepare the Task Courses on the Computer – The teacher logs into the system and assigns tasks to the student. These may be location dependent. 2. Execute – The student logs into the system and sees the list of assigned tasks. The student performs the task by writing an answer, sending a picture, recording a sound or for example by filming a short clip according to the task. The observation is then sent to a database with a push of a key. 3. Real time interaction – The teacher can see the location of every pupil or group from the map view of MOOP teacher's web application. Also the map view of MOOP teacher's mobile phone application can be used. The tasks executed and pupils' observations are delivered in real time to the teacher's and pupils' MOOP web applications. The teacher and pupils can communicate through the mobile phone's PoC connection while outdoors. 4. Finish the task –The pupil logs on the MOOP pupil's web application. All the tasks and observations have been saved and can be seen in the pupil’s MOOP application. Attached to every observation, there is a small map showing the location where it was delivered from. The pupil can revise the observations by for example adding clarifying notes to the pictures. This system of mobile learning is learner centred and motivates a pupil to drive his own learning path. A similar system could incorporate the role of an mTutor into this learning path. The activities of the Moop teacher are very similar to those of a mTutor (discussed in section 2). An mTutor would take a step back in the execution step, but would be available for queries. The mTutor should not provide any direct solutions, just providing the student with support at this stage. Step 3 could be an opportunity for Peer-to-Peer tutoring. While in the authentic environment tutoring from a peer that is present or in a remote location would 109
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benefit the tutor and tutee. Step 4 of the Moop course could be extended much more for the purposes of the mTutor. The mTutor can look at all students submitted observations and notes and mark them accordingly. The mTutor could facilitate a group discussion to review the tasks with input from all students. The mTutor could suggest a student re-take the task if a student went about the it the wrong way, or send further material to give the student better understanding of the topic.
5. Summary To conclude, it is clear that mobile technology and applications can have various pedagogical roles in tutoring students in a mobile learning environment. The design and implementation of a mobile tutoring system using mobile technology must be with reference to a soundly researched pedagogical model. It is possible that mTutoring may be semi-automatic, and it is likely that it would be part of an existing mLMS with a database tracking the students’ progress, storing grades and completed assignments. Mobile learning is fast developing in its scope and effectiveness, moving from short-term small-scale pilot projects into mainstream education and training as part of a blended learning environment. The research and development of mTutoring systems will develop with it. While it is a small field at the moment, the area of tutoring mobile learning is one that is likely to grow.
References Silander, P. and Rytkönen, A. (2005) An Intelligent Mobile Tutoring Tool Enabling Individualisation of Students’ Learning Processes. M Learn Seminar
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Denis,B., Watland, P., Pirotte, S. and Verday, N. (2004) Roles and Competencies of the e-Tutor Networked Learning Conference. Gaskell, A. and Mills, R (2004). Supporting Students by Telephone: a Technology for the Future of Student Support. Third EDEN Research Workshop, Oldenburg, Germany. Keegan, D (2002) The future of learning: from eLearning to mLearning, http://learning.ericsson.net/ mlearning2/project_one/book.html Ally, M. (2004) Using learning theories to design instruction for mobile learning devices. M Learn Seminar Garnter, A. and Riessman, F. (1993) Peer-Tutoring: Toward a New Model. ERIC Digest http://www.ericdigests.org/1994/peer.htm Cornelius, S. and Higgison,C. (2000) Online Tutoring e-book Chapter 2 The Tutor’s Role http://otis.scotcit.ac.uk/onlinebook/otis-t2.htm City of Oulu, Board of Education; Schools of Korvensuora, Oulunlahti and Patamäki Incode Ltd (2005). Moop mobile and network learning environment http://www.edu.ouka.fi/ koulut/korvensuora/moop/moop_report.doc Lockitt, B. (2005) Mobile Learning http://www.3t.co.uk/Post-14EducationandTraining/ index.aspx?id=2&SubSect=66 Leonardo da Vinci project (2002) ‘From e-learning to mLearning’ http://learning.ericsson.net/ mlearning2/project_one/index.html
Chapter 14 Practical considerations when developing course materials for mobile learning Aleksander Dye, Bryan Jones and Gabor Kismihok Experience in the development of mobile learning courseware leads to decisions about various techniques used, including choice of font and type size and other display techniques for mobile learning. These decisions are put forward here as possible choices for readers who wish to develop mobile learning materials.
Recommendations on choice of font for mobile learning on PDAs The following is a list of the most common fontcombinations for traditional web design and should also work on most other devices: • • • • • •
Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif Times New Roman, Times, serif Courier New, Courier, mono Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif
Using these fonts will increase the likeness of fonts on different devices.
Recommendations on choice of font and type size for mobile learning on smartphones and mobiles Font choice, from experience, is very much a trial and error approach and also a matter of personal preference. As stated for PDA design, common font combinations for traditional web design exist and many designers have a personal preference for look and feel. Third party applications must be considered as font support will differ from application to application. For example, font support in a web browser as opposed to font support for the Flash Lite player installed on the handset. The same consideration can be applied for devices as different devices will render graphics and fonts differently. Initial versions used Sans Normal 11 and Serif Normal 18. The preferred font for the final version was Verdana Normal 12.
Much of the mLearning work to date targeting standard mobile phones has been SMS based, so font selection is not a consideration as the supported font is device specific.
Recommendations on bold/italics mobile learning on PDAs The use of bold and/or italic is the same as with the traditional web pages. Do not use them exceedingly, but to emphasize the message. It is easier to read bold than italic so we recommend using bold if the word is of importance for the readers’ understanding.
Recommendations on bold/italics for mobile learning on smartphones and mobiles Varying the font mark up, colour, size and type is recommended and can help emphasise the look and feel of your material. A recommendation would be to use distinct font and colour for application instructions, navigation or help and use a different dedicated font for course content and learning objectives. Furthermore a separate distinct font type and size for actual learning content or subject matter is also recommended. Content creation for the mobile phone is not a technological debate; phones are now generally considered multi-media devices. It is better to design for the mobile environment than attempt to simply port existing content. The users or target audience must be engaged; and how they assimilate the material is very different to a classroom or desktop environment. User’s attention spans are lowered due to the smaller nature of the mobile device and also the environment they may be in, for example waiting in an airport lounge 111
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or commuting to and from work. Users of mobile devices, such as phones, tend to be more cost conscious if the application is deployed over a network and a data charge is incurred. There is a lower tolerance for delays and difficult navigation of applications. Phones have been traditionally easy to use and reliable and users can be every unforgiving when trying out new applications or services.
stripping away unnecessary illustrations. Always keep a textual description of an image for the users who can not (vision impaired users) or choose not to (users on a high cost access point who do not display images) show the images. If one has separation of content and presentation in mind at course creation, the expense of adapting it to a mobile device, screen reader, converted to PDF or other format is lower and easier to accomplish.
Memory requirements and design for grahics for mobile learning on smartphones and mobiles
Assignments which are useful on small screens are short questions with automatic feedback, quizzes, multiple choice assignments and other assignments requiring little amounts of textual input from the user, such as a vocabulary test. It is possible to design multimedia assignments, for instance in Flash, such as drag and drop and other types of assignments if the device has support for them.
Typically bandwidth determines the memory requirements for data transfer. Again standard network provider charges vary and are as such unpredictable. Users are often not aware of the costs involved for data as operators charge varying tariffs for data transfer, whether it is GPRS or 3G for example, and roaming charges and content are service specific. In general data over mobile transmission is considered expensive, especially in comparison to broadband data rates. Reducing graphic formats reduces the size of applications but also the amount of data required for download. When developing standalone applications using Flash Lite for example, application size greater than 250kb in size is not recommended as the processors for most mobile devices run into difficulty in managing applications of this size. Lags occur in screen refresh rates and animations, applications become slow, predictable and “buggy” in appearance and use. An alternative design approach is to modularise learning material. It was found during testing that the inhibiting factors for students of mobile learning material were primarily 1. The speed of the application whether it be streaming or downloading. 2. The duration of the content. It is generally preferred to have short concise material or to reduce larger bodies of material into modules. By modularising learning material with the user’s preferences in mind conveniently assists when reducing filesize.
Assignment design requirements for mobile learning on PDAs Mobile devices have a small screen and usually the bandwidth accessible is low with an unpredictable cost. It is important to keep information easily accessible by 112
Assignment design requirements for mobile learning on smartphones and mobiles When an application is being designed the flow can be decided by the designer. With learning applications it is possible to prevent a student progressing to further content without attaining a particular score. Depending on the subject matter of the application, where possible it has proven effective to engage the student with their physical environment, for example a thesis application developed by students of Dublin City University (Godfrey et al. 2005). The application was designed for primary school geography students and involved following a map and answering questions about the physical landscape of a national park in Ireland. Some features which assisted in effective assessment were • • • • • •
Verification of correct answers Forced re-tries or incorrectly answered, randomly questioning the student Multiple choices questions Score counters / pass rates Hints to assist questioning Drag and drop exercises.
Streaming audio and video requirements for mobile learning on smartphones or mobiles The primary considerations for media streaming are primarily the mobile device capabilities, for example does the handset supports colour display and does it have a media player to support streaming protocols? Another consideration is the access technology to the data network. Considerations for service provider access technologies are the coverage available for that network, such as 3G, and the quality and speed of the data connection.
Practical considerations when developing course materials for mobile learning
Bearer
GPRS
3G
HSDPA
Download Speed
160 kbps
384 kbps – 2 Mbps
384 kbps – 14 Mbps
Table 1. Packet Switched Mobile Network Download Speeds Note: Download speeds vary according to network coverage, subscriber usage and service provision
Design and performance issues in relation to the use of Flash Lite in mobile learning When designing content for Flash Lite using Flash Mx 2004 it is important to adhere to certain practices. Here is a description of the recommended practices (Morris 2006). Technique matters when creating animations- from tweening to hand tuning Motion tweening: On the computer, slick motion graphics in Flash often require high frame rates to look smooth. Flash designers often use from 30, 60, or even 100 frames per second (fps) to achieve the appearance of smooth motion graphics (animations) with tweens. However, if you try that on a mobile phone, the graphic will be anything but smooth. It will appear to stutter across the screen. According to Heim, Director of Technology at Smashing Ideas (an entertainment and marketing services studio which creates interactive content for all screens) in Seattle and a Macromedia Advisory Board member, “The secret to successful animation with Flash Lite is what I call hand-tuning”. Hand tuning: Hand tuning is the process of manually adjusting your animation key frame by key frame. Or in the case of motion graphics, this translates into the following: Start with tweens as you usually would, then hand-tune your animation, frame by frame, to get the result you want the user to experience. When you are creating animated transitions for mobile devices, you will have to adjust your thinking from the computer monitor. For example, a cool transition that shows a transparent object speed onto the screen will work just fine on a computer monitor, but on a mobile phone it will run in slow motion and ruin the effect of a smooth transition. The first step to making this transition effect smoother for the mobile phone is to use a less intense effect during the motion—for example, tint the object or reduce its brightness, and only set its
transparency one frame after the transition has completed. So in conclusion, instead of moving something at 50 fps, you create what your eyes perceive during the motion. Don’t combine transitions with changes in transparency or other graphical effects; this will slow down your animation. Optimizing Flash Content: It is very important to optimize Flash content for mobile phones, because personal digital assistant mobile phones run slower than computers. For example: Start a project with a frame rate of 10 to 15 fps: Apart from making it easier for the Flash Lite player to keep up, a lower frame rate will also lead to a smaller file size. Each keyframe of a symbol adds 12 bytes to a SWF movie. This may not sound like much, but it can add up, especially in the case of animations. Place your graphics in symbols rather than on the main Timeline or in groups: Optimize the symbols by selecting Modify > Shape > Optimize or by hand with the subselection tool. This will remove unnecessary points, and any hidden shapes and symbols. It will make the Flash content look and perform better and it will reduce the file size. Simplify your animations: Don't have too many things going on at the same time. Avoid performance killers such as alpha transparencies and gradients. They create a better-looking animation, but they also affect performance. Besides, on a small phone display, much of the effect is lost anyway; it may even look worse. Simpler graphics will often look better and perform better on the small screen. Avoid pans and alpha fades: Short (five-frame) fades over a static background may work just fine. If possible, work only with shapes and remove lines, including outlines around shapes. Lines are more complex to render for Flash. When creating 113
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animations for mobile devices, you will run quickly into problems when you ignore these best practices for optimizing Flash content. Best Practices For Optimizing Sound a) Optimise the animation scene by scene. Sound and animation do share memory resources, so it only makes sense that a cleaner animation allows for more sound. b) Different mobile phones support different types of audio, but, as a rule, most support various types of MIDI. When authoring for mobile devices, you must place a proxy sound in a supported format such as MP3, WAV, or AIFF in the Flash document temporarily. The temporary sound files serve as pointers to the final MIDI files. The conversion from sound file to pointer (or proxy) happens as you publish your Flash Lite movie. c) Use the Flash Lite SoundBundler.exe application to bundle the desired sound files together. When you create this bundle, it saves as an FLS file. This bundle is played when triggered by an event on the mobile device. When the appropriate event is triggered, Flash Lite 1.1 processes this bundle and plays the sounds in the format supported by the device. Bitmap Images versus Vector Graphics Bitmap Bitmap images improve performance, because they are rendered already. However they other factor is they result in larger file sizes. For complex backgrounds, there's no way around using bitmap images, because animation on top of a complex vector background would be very slow. On a small device screen, a lot of that detail will be lost anyway.
Memory The biggest enemy when creating Flash Lite content is not performance, but running out of memory. We have already touched on this in relation to sound and animations. It is based on this issue that you will most likely spend most of your debugging time. First, you need to realize that file size is not equal to memory used. File size is an important indicator, but it is simply not the same as how much memory your movie needs to run. For example, JPEG images are compressed inside the SWF file, but they need to be restored to their full size for display. The same is true for sound files—an MP3 or ADPCM compressed sound file is a lot smaller than a raw sound file, but when played, it has to be turned back into raw sound. Other objects, such as movie clips or code, need more memory at runtime by themselves than they would if they were stored in the SWF movie. Additionally, you're able to create more objects when the movie is running, for example, by duplicating movie clips. Each new object uses additional runtime memory without adding to the file size. That doesn't mean file size is not important; you may still have to meet file size limit specifications, and bandwidth. When the file is received over the air bandwidth is still very limited, similar to the bandwidth of a 14.4K modem—unless you are fortunate enough to develop for 3G networks only. You also need to keep in mind that most phones have rather limited storage capacities. To make sure the Flash Lite player has enough memory to run animations the animation is split into shorter segments, each placed in separate movie clips.
A simple vector background helps animation performance. When creating bitmap images save them as PNGs because they are a smaller file size then JPEGs and there is no quality loss.
Text Issues Flash Lite 1.1 includes support for both device fonts and embedded fonts. Although embedded fonts give you more control over the design of your content, they increase the size of the SWF file. Supported mobile phones support multiple device fonts providing content developers with multiple options for using device text fonts helping keep your file size small. When using device fonts, Flash Lite 1.1 limits text-formatting options in dynamic text fields to justification (left, center, right) and color. Formatting options such as superscript, subscript, and kerning are not supported.
A Bitmap image versus vector graphics is not an eitheror question—each has its place, so choose wisely.
When you create Flash Lite content, you can use Flash to embed text. If you place text inside the application or
Vector Vector backgrounds, on the other hand, can scale without loss in quality. This can be very beneficial to your file size, or when creating Flash Lite content for more than one screen size. For bitmaps to look their best, they need to be displayed at 100%, no scaling applied.
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Affordability: the ability to increase efficiency and productivity by reducing the time and costs involved in delivering instruction.
graphics, use a typeface that is designed specifically for small screens. Choosing readable fonts is always an important design consideration. This section describes several options for using fonts and text for Flash Lite content.
Durability: the ability to withstand technology evolution and changes without costly redesign, reconfiguration or recoding.
It is very important to use the right type fonts for the Flash Lite content you intend for display on mobile phones, which have small screens. Standard fonts such as Arial or Verdana are not easy to read, because Flash Player handles anti-aliasing in all but the low-quality mode. In this case, you should consider using pixel fonts that are displayed without anti-aliasing. Pixel fonts make text more readable because text outlines are aligned along pixel boundaries. Because these fonts use pixels to create each character, they remain sharp and easy to read. They can be used on all types of screen displays, regardless of the screen resolution. The font sizes need to be in increments of 8 points (8, 16, 24, and so on) to remain crisp and legible. Use an 8-point font to get the maximum amount of text on the screen yet keeping it legible.
Interoperability: the ability to take instructional components developed in one location with one set of tools or platform and use them in another location with a different set of tools or platform (http://www.adlnet.org). The basis of the SCORM compatible content is the structure of the learning content, which identifies the activity tree, which contains modules, clusters, units and courses. It is essential to define all the connections between these elements in the content packages. This tree basically represents the sequence of courses in a predefined structure. In order to build up this tree the content developers have to present the following models:
When using pixel fonts, follow these guidelines: • •
•
Place text on absolute x and y values (10.0, not 10.2, for example). If you create input or dynamic text boxes, make sure you embed your fonts. Otherwise, your Flash content is displayed in the default system fonts. To make your text stand out, use a combination of font types
Compliance with SCORM SCORM compatible content development Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a standard model of the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL), which was established by The Department of Defense and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in November 1997. The main idea behind this model is the creation of reusable learning contents within a standardized framework. According to the description of the ADL, a standardized content development has to fulfill the following criteria: Accessibility: the ability to locate and access instructional components from one remote location and deliver them to many other locations.
Follow up model – collects information about the student activities.
•
Activity status model – handles the information about activities whitin the tree
•
Sequence definition model – Defines the sequence and navigation between the elements of the tree, provides information for the follow up model
References Godfrey C., Kelly N., Maguire P., (2005) mLRN Project, Thesis for B.Sc(Hons) in Multimedia. Dublin:Dublin City University. Morris E., (2006) Flash Lite for computer technology, Thesis for B.Sc(Hons) in Multimedia Systems. Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin: Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
Adaptability: the ability to tailor instruction to individual and organizational needs.
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Chapter 15 The enrolment of mobile learning students into fee-paying and assessed courses Desmond Keegan The importance of enrolling mobile learning students in assessed courses is underlined if mobile learning is to be incorporated into mainline education and training. The dangers of remaining at project level are stated. Examples of mobile learning assessment are given. It is also important that mobile learning students should be enrolled into fee-paying courses.
It is a goal of the field of mobile learning that mobile learning courseware should be assessed with the same rigour as is applied to the assessment of face-to-face and e-learning courses. It is important that mobile learning courseware, or modules of courseware which have mobile learning components, should form part of courses that are assessed in the same way as the other courses of the institution. If this does not occur, mobile learning will not be incorporated into the mainstream of education and training provision. It will remain a project with all the fragility of project status which has already been outlined elsewhere in this book. Parallels with the field of distance education, of which mobile learning forms a subsection, are relevant here. Distance education had the advantage of using the same methods of assessment as were current in face-to-face education at the time. These were either essay-type assessments, or written answers to questions set by the institution and its representatives. In spite of this similarity of assessment methodology, the first 100 years of distance education (1870-1970) were subject to constant criticism and tainted by the correspondence image. The assessment methodologies in use led only slowly to accreditation at university level. An immediate change of status and of the quality and quantity of provision came in the 1970s with the foundation of the European Open Universities. These universities had their own charters for the awarding of degrees and developed strict assessment criteria. The Open University of the United Kingdom even went as
far as the introduction of Kosmat Analysis. Kosmat Analysis was a computerised weighting of assessment scores to ensure that the same grading scales were being used by all assessors. As the university was located in all parts of the United Kingdom it was important for it to ensure that assignment gradings were the same in the North of Scotland and in the South of England. The history of assessment in eLearning was quite different. eLearning was, from the start, characterised by a strong corporate dimension and by the use of pedagogical strategies that were not characteristic of European universities: chatting, quizzing, the templating of content, multiple choice questioning, reusable learning objects. Rekkedal (2002) from NKI in Norway explains a European academic attitude to multiple-choice questions in a policy document thus: Traditionally, NKI has put little emphasis on objective, multiple-choice questions. This is mainly due to our general views on knowledge and learning. We look at learning as a change in the student’s perception of reality related to the problem areas studied and increased competence in solving problems in a field, ability to differentiate between focal and more peripheral questions, analytical skills and competence in using the tools within a field in appropriate ways.“ This means that learning results are shown in a qualitative change in the student’s understanding, academic, social and technical competence. The learning is a result of active processing of learning 119
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material and solving problems individually and/or in groups. This view is often the opposite to what we can find in many so-called eLearning programmes, where knowledge often is seen as a larger amount of information or ability to recall and reproduce facts. In addition to cost considerations, this is why we have put little emphasis on using fancy effects in a behaviouristic pedagogical tradition, programmed learning and knowledge transmission (see Marton et al, 1997, Morgan 1993 on students’ conceptions of learning, deep level and surface level approaches to learning). We also hold the view that learning is an individual process that can be supported by adequate interaction and/or collaboration in groups. The arguments above have resulted in emphasis on other assessment, exercise and assessment solutions than multiple-choice questions and similar assessment techniques. Quizzes and multiple choice questions tended to be the usual form of assessment in eLearning. In spite of this, accreditation at degree, diploma and training certification level was quickly won and this acceptance may carry over to mobile learning.
used to produce a 3 or 4 alternative multiple choice assignment that is comfortable for student study and response. Multiple choice questioning is well established in mobile learning and works well on mobile devices. A typical pattern would be: the institution sends an SMS message with 3 or 4 multiple choice questions to all students. The student is instructed to press a, b, c, or d and send. If the student is correct the institution replies: Correct! and adds a higher level question for reply. This process is continued for up to 5 questions. If the student was incorrect the institution replies with explanation of the error and with the correct answer and further questioning. At the end of the process the institution replies:
Dear Student Correct! You are on your way to reaching the 2nd and 3rd outcomes of this unit. Now read pages 60-65 of the learning guide. Good luck!
Figure 2. Example of multiple choice questioning by SMS Other forms of questioning on mobile devices include quizzes, drag and drop, screen games, matching pairs, Assertion-Reason, Multiple Response, True/False, Text/Numerical, Ranking, Sequencing.
Fig. 1 Space available on a mobile device for student assessment The illustration shows the challenge and opportunities for the presentation of multiple-choice questioning on a mobile device. Experience shows that this space can be 120
The University of Pretoria reports the developing of mobile assessment software to help students to assess themselves and claims that in subjects where they introduced this kind of assessment the success rate increased significantly! They report that they had 50 first year students in 5 groups of 10 downloading their assignments via Bluetooth on their PDA's; connected these via a WiFi 3G connection to the WWW; where they searched for and downloaded the needed information and built a presentation; used Bluetooth to transfer the file back to the server and did their presentation of their research findings for assessment to the rest of the group. Here is a screen assignment from a mobile learning course in the field of Telecommunications:
The enrolment of mobile learning students into fee-paying and assessed courses
Enrolment of mobile learning students into fee-paying courses The enrolment of mobile learning students into feepaying courses is also a goal of mobile learning course development. The reason for this is that if the course is not presented for paid student enrolment in the prospectus of the institution, it remains at the level of a research project and has the fragility of project status.
Figure 3. Example of multiple choice questioning on mobile phone Next is a mobile learning assignment in the field of High School Geography (Godfrey et al. 2005). In this assignment the student clicks on the red numbers, each of which leads to further information on the feature selected. This is accompanied by one or more pages with a 3 or 4 point multiple assignment. Feedback is provided. The student is either informed that the answer is correct and directed to further questioning or told that the answer is incorrect and the correct answer is provided:
Clearly these observations apply only to courseware in countries in which fees are payable for further and higher education programmes. It is a goal for the field of mobile learning to emerge from its present project status and take its place as an official form of education and training provision, as the fields of distance education and e-learning have done before it. A major stage towards this official status is the listing of the course for paid student enrolment. The dangers for the field of mobile learning of not achieving this official status are that it remains at project level, the preoccupation of a professor or staff member working on a research project in some small area or department of a college or university. The undertaking remains peripheral to the official procedures of the college or university, and of its faculty or department structure. The characteristics of projects are well known. They tend to collapse when the project funding is withdrawn. There is no continuity of results once the project has been completed. The project grouping tends to be dispersed and to focus on new undertakings. The expertise developed within the project group tends to be dissipated and the research gains are not consolidated.
Figure 4. Assignment from High School History course on the History of Irish Monasticism These illustrations show how imaginative forms of assessment can be designed for mobile learning courseware. As in the field of eLearning assessment in the field of mobile learning will have a focus on multiple choice questioning. The acceptance of this form of assessment for accreditation in eLearning courseware justifies its use in mobile learning courseware as well.
A great number of distance education and eLearning initiatives have not survived the transition from project status. They were based on special funding from international or national or local government funding or funding from some educational foundation and have withered and died when the funding came to an end. Contract staff, employed for the duration of the project, are let go and the full-time staff return to other work. The impetus created by the project is lost and the expertise developed during the project is not developed. It is important that the field of mobile learning should not follow this route. 121
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The example of the fields of distance education and eLearning show how these two fields, both of which are outside the field of traditional face-to-face education and training like mobile learning is, achieved the status of fee-paying provision and, hence, entered into mainstream provision alongside traditional face-to-face provision. The early days of distance education were commercial and fee-paying, but tainted with the correspondence image. Correspondence education institutions were developed on a ‘for-profit’ basis and run as businesses in which charges for courses were central to the activity of the business. In spite of this correspondence image courses were sold by correspondence colleges throughout the world especially in fields like accountancy, languages and high school graduation. The early days of distance education at colleges and universities was again fragile in status but always on a fee-paying basis. A major breakthrough occurred in the 1970s with the foundation of the European Open Universities: the Open University of the United Kingdom at Milton Keynes, the FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany and the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia in Madrid, Spain. These universities immediately offered their courseware for paid enrolment, though in the early days at the German Open University, these fees were subsidised from general taxpayers’ revenue. The paid enrolments at the Open University of the United Kingdom quickly reached the 200.000 paid enrolments per year figure. Distance education courseware was then accepted for fee-paying enrolment in conventional face-to-face universities and colleges where the courses were offered side by side with the face-to-face courses, sometimes for the same fee and sometimes for a different fee. In a similar way fee-paying courseware was quickly introduced into the field of eLearning. eLearning had, from the start, an important corporate character and eLearning quickly became a multi-billion dollar/euro training industry, with extensive enrolment of students whether in fee-paying courses or in courses paid for their company. eLearning quickly spread to the university and college sector and eLearning courses were quickly offered sideby-side with their face-to-face and distance education 122
equivalents, sometimes for the same fee and sometimes for a different fee. It is an important goal, therefore, for a university, or college or corporate training structure that when it decides to introduce mobile learning as a form of provision, that this provision should move quickly from its research project status to take its place amongst the fee-paying courseware of the institution. The structures of fee-paying for mobile learning needs to be carefully considered as mobile learning students will study largely as individuals whereas fee-paying structures for colleges and universities in conventional education are largely structured on groupings of students. The use of mobile learning for fee-paying courses, or the inclusion of mobile learning elements into a fee-paying course, guarantees that the institution will treat the course seriously, that the faculty in which it is used will take ownership of it and that it will be assessed in an appropriate way. If mobile learning modules or courseware that includes mobile learning elements is not offered for fee-paying students in the prospectus of the institution, mobile learning remains at the level of a hobby for a professor or staff member. The costs for the staff member’s time spent in the development of mobile learning courseware cannot be recovered from mobile learning. For mobile learning courseware the status of providing a fee-paying course is linked to being included in the official prospectus of the institution, and to student achievement on the course being assessed by the staff of the institution, and to the course being available for credit at degree, diploma or training certification level, or being included as part of a course that is so assessed.
References Godfrey C., Kelly N., Maguire P., (2005) mLRN Project, Thesis for B.Sc(Hons) in Multimedia. Dublin:Dublin City University. http://learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/ resourcesshtml Dye, A and Fagerberg, T (2005) Exploring online services in a mobile environment. http://learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/files/workpa ckage2/nki_technical_working_paper_2005.doc
The enrolment of mobile learning students into fee-paying and assessed courses
Marton, F., Hounsell, D. & Entwistle, N.(ed.) (1997) The Experience of Learning. Implications for Teaching and Studying in Higher Education. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.
Rekkedal, T. (2002) Assessment and Evaluation Techniques in NKI E-Learning Courses. http://learning.ericsson.net/socrates/doc/ norwayp5.pdf
Morgan, A. (1993) Improving your students learning. Reflections on the Experience of Study. London, KoganPage.
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Chapter 16 Enrolment of mobile students into official and accredited courses Alexander Dye, Torstein Rekkedal and Truls Fagerberg This chapter describes the process of adapting NKI’s learning management system to support students that have enrolled into NKI’s official courses and want to use mobile devices in their studies. It is based upon the work carried out by NKI Distance Education.
NKI’s focus has been on the development of learning services to use on a personal digital assistant (PDA) in distance education to increase the student and teacher flexibility in their study and mentoring situation. It should be emphasized that we assumed that the NKI Internet students normally will have access to a desktop or laptop computer with Internet connection. This means that the equipment and technologies used when mobile are additions to the students’ equipment used when studying at home or at work. It should also be noted that our developments were based on the absolute assumption that mobile learners would study in the same group as students not having access to mobile technology. Thus, the design of the learning environment had to cater efficiently for both situations.
represents a generic development of the model of distance teaching institutions and applies normal media and technologies independent of time (and place), such as asynchronous computer communication, video, audio and printed materials. The model on the opposite end of the scale, ‘the extended classroom model’, assumes that the students are organised into groups required to meet regularly at local study centres and applies technologies such as video conferencing, satellite distribution, radio and television (Gamlin 1995).
One of the overall aims for NKI has been to extend the distribution of learning materials and communication to lighter equipment and increase the flexibility in distance education. A number of evaluation studies among distance and online learners at NKI have demonstrated that students emphasize flexibility (see e.g. Rekkedal 1990, 1998, 1999, Rekkedal & Paulsen 1997).
In this connection we have chosen the philosophy for the development of Internet based education at NKI: Flexible and individual distance teaching with the student group as social and academic support for learning. NKI recruits nearly 10,000 students to more than 600 courses and over 120 study programmes by correspondence based and Internet based distance teaching every year. These students may enrol to any course or programme or combination of courses on any day of the year and progress at their own pace. This flexibility does not exclude group-based solutions in cooperation with one single employer, trade organisation or local organiser, or that individual students on their own initiative or by the initiative of the tutor are collaborating on learning tasks.
We have argued that distance education generally seems to develop in two quite different directions. The solution at one end of a flexibility continuum can be described as an individual, flexible solution allowing the student freedom to start at any time and follow his/her own progression according to personal needs for combining studies with work, family and social life – ‘the individual flexible teaching model’. This model
NKI philosophy on online learning is expressed in the strategic document (NKI 2005): “NKI Distance Education facilitates individual freedom within a learning community in which online students serve as mutual resources without being dependent on each other.” This philosophy sets the premises for NKI in their development of flexible education and system for Internet based learning and sets the
Increasing the flexibility of distance education
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guidelines for both technical and didactical development. To get a brief overview of the parts in an Internet based learning system, it is recommended to take a closer look at the model “The Multimedia WorldWide Web Kernel for Distance Education”.
In connection with a previous European Union Leonardo da Vinci project we described the programme and distribution system in Internet based learning as a ‘Multimedia World Wide Web Kernel for Distance Education’ (http://www.nki.no/eeileo/) with the following elements:
Figure 1. “The Multimedia WorldWide Web Kernel for Distance Education”. In designing the learning environment with the mobile learner in mind, all these aspects and functionalities have to be taken into account. In addition one must also take systems for administration into account when developing solutions to support the mobile learner.
• • • •
Mobile Design and Development Issues Students’ and tutor’s use of technology when mobile When mobile – and using mobile technologies – NKI found that it was generally satisfactory for the student (and the tutor) to have the course content available to study on the PocketPC. In addition, the following communication possibilities were seen as necessary. When mobile, the student must be able to: •
Access the course forum archive to read messages (if necessary) (messages on the forum is also sent to participants as e-mails)
•
Access the course forum to submit contributions to the discussions Send e-mail to fellow students, to the teacher and to the administration (study advisor) Receive e-mail from fellow students, from the tutor and from the administration Submit assignments by e-mail including attachments Receiving assignments corrected and commented on by the tutor including attachments.
To access e-mail and discussion forums, mobile phones with infrared connection to the PDA were used.
Studying online and/or offline One must consider whether courses are designed to function as online interactive e-learning programmes or not, and if some parts of the courses implies interaction 125
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with multi-media materials, tests and assignments. Traditional courses at higher level of education could often involve intensive study, mainly of text based materials, solving problems, writing essays, submitting assignments and communicating with fellow students by e-mail or in the web based conferences. This means that most of the time the students will be offline when studying if “always online” solutions are not available. From experience NKI also know that the students often download content for reading offline and often also print out content for reading on paper. When planning for the mLearning environment, the NKI project team had long discussions whether to develop the learning materials for online or offline study. NKI considered 3 alternative solutions for distribution of course content during project one. The 3 main solutions for distributing content were:
NKI decided to develop systems for the “Download-on-demand” version for course distribution. The decision to go for the choice of downloading content for offline study was based on previous experiences and also the following considerations: NKI Internet students study mainly offline. Communication concerns discussion with fellow students in the academic forums, cooperation on projects and group assignments, and individual communication with other students – and, most important, according to our evaluations (see e.g. Rekkedal & Paulsen 1997), communication with the tutor including submission of assignments with correction and feedback. All our analyses concluded that the students should have all these possibilities available on their desktop or laptop PCs, including online interaction with the learning materials.
1. The AvantGo Mobile Internet service 2. Online access via mobile telephone to the entire course 3. ‘Download-on-demand’ version
Figure 2. Screen shot from the webpage from the “Download-on-demand” version of the course. Initially the course material was provided in two versions. We chose a course previously developed for Internet/web based learning already available in a HTML version. This was relatively easy to adapt and display on the Pocket PC using applies Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer that is a web browser with far less functionality than the full scale PC version. 126
The second version of the course was provided as an Ebook using Microsoft Reader with ClearType to read the course material. Microsoft Reader with ClearType enhances display resolution by as much as 300 percent by improving letter shapes and character spacing, making them appear more detailed, more finely crafted, and more like printed fonts. This gives powerful digital advantages
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like integrated dictionary support and electronic annotations, while honouring the best traditions of typography to ensure proper kerning and leading, correct margins, and line justification, to name a few. There are several methods to produce materials in the Microsoft Reader format. One may create on-the-fly
Reader files via publishing websites like eBookExpress or download software that converts publications into Reader files/e-books according to individual preferences. One of these is ReaderWorks that is third-party software recommended by Microsoft developed by OverDrive Inc.
Figure 3. Screen shots of course pages on the PDA NKI concluded that the learning environment should include the following aspects (Fagerberg, Rekkedal and Russell 2002): Technology: • Pocket PC/PDA • Mobile phone • Portable keyboard Learning content and communication: • Learning content to be downloaded on the mobile device to be studied offline. Downloaded content to include all course materials: o Content page o Preface o Introduction o All study units
o •
•
Resources (articles on the web, references to other resource materials) Online access to the discussion forum with the possibility of as quick as possible access for reading in the Forum and writing contributions E-mail for individual communication with tutor and fellow students and for submitting assignments. Assignments may be submitted as text-based e-mail or as Word or Text attachments.
Designing and Testing an Always-Online Environment for Mobile Learners As a result of the experiences, NKI wished to continue the research on mLearning based on the PDA solutions available in 2004-2005. After examining the different brands available, we decided to develop solutions for the follower of the previous devices, HP iPAQ Pocket PC 127
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5500 series with built-in wireless network card. At the same time all developments were done with the main object to develop generic solutions independent on devices on the user side. For NKI as a large-scale provider of flexible online distance learning, and as well as for other providers as well, it is extremely important to deliver cost-effective solutions, i.e. for NKI it is of vital importance that we are able to find system solutions that allow learners who are users of mobile technology and wish to study also when on the move, that also allow other students to apply standard technology. The solutions must be designed in ways to allow both groups to participate in the same course. This means that we had to look for solutions that are optimal both for communication and for distributing content in courses, independent on whether the students and tutors apply mobile technology or standard PC and Internet connection for teaching or learning. Online access to course content was considered to be the best solution. However, 5 years ago this was seen as neither technologically nor economically possible. Since then, the technological developments have made it more attractive to start developing and experimentation with solutions based on the assumption that an “always-online environment” would be available for mobile learners. This is, in fact, close to reality today, and will most probably be the normal situation in the near future.
Functionalities of the “always-online environment” When planning for this project, the NKI project team emphasized development of solutions for mLearning where students and tutors using PDA/PocketPC through wireless systems could benefit from teaching and learning in an “always-online” environment. Although downloaded content gives access to the course at any time, this solution has some disadvantages, such as: • • • •
Little incentive to log into the Internet College and take advantage of a learning community No possibility of taking advantage of interactive materials No (or slow) access to other Internet resources Restricted communication possibilities
During the planning process we described the following aspects of an always-online solution that would possibly increase the quality of the services for mobile learners: 128
• • • • • • • •
High bandwidth gives fast downloading of course content and use of audio, video and advanced graphics Independence of synchronization with desktop PC Access to resources on the Internet at all times Easy access to e-mail at all times Possibilities for online assessment and assignments Options for easier co-operation with fellow students Possibilities for synchronous communication, chat and IP telephony ADSL or free access to WLAN give control over costs
During the first phase of this project an “ideal” description of requirements for a mobile learning management system (mLMS) for the NKI context was developed by Dye & Fagerberg (2004). The requirements were based on the assumption that the NKI Learning Management System, SESAM, would be further developed to accommodate the needs of mobile learners with priority to learners using PocketPC. A description of SESAM and functionalities have been given by Paulsen et al. (2003).
mLMS system requirements The specifications proposed by Dye & Fagerberg (2004) are presented below and the specification is divided into six categories. These functionalities can be considered as recommendations for other institutions when considering LMS systems and mobile learning. We have used the term mLMS, Mobile Learning Management System, in this chapter. This means that the LMS is capable of dealing with mobile devices and system, not that the actual LMS is mobile. Overall framework needs • The mLMS must be a part of an LMS and support the mobile client as well as traditional clients. • The mLMS should provide different types of content to different devices automatically. • The mLMS must create a comfortable learning environment for students studying with mobile devices. Course content • The mLMS must be able to store course content in the system. • The mLMS should provide easy navigation. • The mLMS should provide a zoom function for illustrations and pictures. Access to courseware • Access to resources, library, references, glossary and exam database.
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• •
• • • • •
• •
Access to course planning tools and calendar. Students must have the possibility for submitting assignments. This could be by e-mail with attachments, submission systems or other solutions. Tutors should be able to answer and return assignments. One should have access to a class list with tutor and student information. Students should have the possibility to answer using multiple choices, drag and drop test/exercises, etc. Text to speech possibilities would be very helpful. The mLMS must support graphics, audio and video, moving image. Have in mind the issues with displaying elements of a certain size on a small screen. (Large pictures, animation etc.) The mLMS should immediately provide answers and feedback on test/exercises to students. It would be useful to have searchable course content.
Communication • One should have access to online synchronous communication such as chat, IP telephony would also be useful. • One must have access to an asynchronous communication system such as e-mail. • The mLMS could support Short Messages Service (SMS) between students and teachers for instance to notify the teacher that a student has just delivered a new assignment. The other way around, a student could get a notification that the teacher has just sent the answer to the assignment. This notification could also contain the score/grade. • The mLMS could support the use of Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) for instance to upload pictures to personal presentations. • SMS between users of the mLMS and the mLMS to give reminders and other information as well as enrolling and signing up to exams and other arrangements. • Students and tutors must have access to course forums to read and write messages. • One must have access to a list with both tutor and student information. • Message board. • Announcements. Administration of users This is a feature that is meant for the administration of the institutions and is not actually a part of the end user system for the mobile student or tutor.
• • • •
The mLMS should give the possibility to register for an exam. One must have access to student records. Student tracking. SMS and MMS administration system
Other • The mLMS should give the possibility to enrol to a course (students enrol from a web page) • Provide export features to have course access even when offline. This is a feature if the “always online environment” is not available. • Adjustment of personal settings such as changing password or e-mail address. • Access to frequently asked questions (FAQ). • Access to contact information. • Access to general study information such exams dates, student handbooks, regulations, etc. • Access to a sitemap. • A possibility to print from the device. • An area where you can upload and store personal files. • Access to technical support services.
Features and functionalities tested in the NKI trials Related to the requirements above NKI has developed the SESAM LMS into a functioning mLMS. The trials were carried out during March 2005 with 18 test students registered in the course “Sales and services” (Rekkedal & Dye 2005). The functionalities tested are described in the following writing. The elements tested in the trials should be seen as elements that function as foundation of what to include when developing user stories and test matrixes for own mobile learning development and in own testing. Introduction to the PDA and use of equipment As the majority of the test persons were not users of a PDA, we started the test by describing the hypothetical real situation lying behind the developments and how to use the PDA. It is important to have in mind the level of competence regarding mobile devices and technology use in general when developing for the mobile user. It could for instance be difficult to set up ones PDAs correctly, but there are reasons to believe that students choosing to use a mobile devise in their studies already are familiar with this technology.
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Logging in and navigation on the NKI Internet College personal page The students were asked to log into their pages on the Internet College and to navigate and examine their personal page as it is presented on the PDA. Navigating in the course After having been acquainted with the personal start page, the students had the opportunity to navigate around in the course. Navigation is perhaps one of the most important parts in a well-functioning system for mobile learning. There is limited space available on a small screen and one should be very focused on this when designing the course navigation structure and course material that will be used on a handheld device. Reading study units 1 In the trials all students were instructed to read the text of study Unit 1. Submissions of assignment for Study Unit 1 The first assignment in study unit 1 was: “What is your opinion of reading course texts on the PDA?” Instead of answering the ordinary assignment for submission, the students wrote an answer to the above question. Submission 1 involved using Pocket Word for
writing the answer, storing the word document, opening e-mail programme, attaching document, sending and receiving e-mails. During the test the students received feedback from the tutor with comments. Examining multi media (ordinary multi media in the course) The following standard multi media elements in the course were examined: • • • • •
Sound Video Multimedia Multiple-choice questions Drag and drop exercises
In addition the test course included some multi media elements specifically developed for mobile learning: • • • • • •
Sound including Synthetic speech (Talking course pages) Multimedia Multiple-choice questions Graphics Animations with and without sound Drag and drop exercises
Reading in the course Forum All students and teachers have access to a discussion forum that is available within each course. In these forums one can ask questions, read previous postings
Figure 4. Screen shot from the discussion forum in the course SPICE 603 130
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Figure 5. Screen shot from the discussions forum in the course SPICE 603 Online Teaching and Learning, on the PDA
and discuss various issues. The functionality of reading in the course forum and writing messages to the forum was tried out. The first message was written by the tutor. The students received messages by e-mail onto the PDA and read the same messages on the course pages. Writing messages to the Forum For writing messages to the forum, the students had to open a text box on the forum pages of NKI Internet College and write their messages. Writing messages to the forum may be done either by writing in Pocket Word and paste into the forum text box, or by writing directly into the text box. All agreed that a portable keyboard is a need for writing more than very short messages. If not online, a student will normally write the forum messages in a text processor and paste it into the text box on the forum pages. When submitting assignments to the tutor, the students had to use the Pocket Word programme, store and retrieve files and attach files to e-mails sending and receiving mails. For students inexperienced with the use of a PDA, these operations may seem a little complicated. All activities,
both writing to the forum and submit assignments, seemed to have functioned satisfactorily for most of the students. More about navigation in the course The students also examined the course functionality through reading presentations of other students and writing e-mail to fellow students, sending and receiving mails Synchronous communication Although NKI in general puts little emphasis on synchronous communication, as this project concerned a theoretical always-online environment, we took the opportunity to try some synchronous solutions such as chatting by MSN messenger and Skype. Skype offers primarily an IP telephony functionality, which was also tested in the trials. Thus, the students also had the opportunity of communicating orally with fellow students using the PDA and Internet telephony with Skype.
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Figure 6. Screen shots of synchronous communication software on the PDA.
Conclusion The NKI developments and research on mobile learning has resulted in better solutions for serving distance online learners. We have learned that cost efficiency considerations do not allow for developing parallel versions of courses. Courses must be developed, presented and distributed in ways that allow both mobile and non-mobile learners to participate and enrol in the same course and that course materials can be assessed both by standard and mobile technology with acceptable quality of all content elements. Interaction with course content and multi-media materials and communication with tutors and fellow students must also function adequately both through standard and mobile technology. It is still a question of what the “ideal” device and solution for mobile learning really is. Probably the answer is a result of the learner’s individual preferences. That is why NKI has found it extremely important to experiment with different solutions that have inspired developments towards finding course design systems solutions that may serve the needs of the learner independent of the technology used by the students.
References Dye, A. & Fagerberg, T. (2004) Mobile Learning Management System specification. http://learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/files/workpa ckage1/nki.pdf 132
Fagerberg, T., Rekkedal, T. & Russell, J. (2002): Designing and Trying Out a Learning Environment for Mobile Learners and Teachers. Sub-project of the EU Leonardo Project “From e-Learning to mLearning”. http://www.nettskolen.com/ forskning/55/NKI2001m-learning2.html Gamlin, M. 1995: Distance Learning in Tranisition; The Impact of Technology: A New Zealand Perspective. Keynote address to EDEN Conference ‘The Open Classroom’ Distance Learning and New Technologies in School Level Education and Training, Oslo. NKI (2005): Strategisk plan for NKI Fjernundervisning 2005-2007. Internal document. Bekkestua: NKI. Rekkedal, T. (1990) Recruitment and Study Barriers in the Electronic College. In: Paulsen, M.F. & Rekkedal, T. 1990: The Electronic College. Selected Articles from the EKKO Project. Bekkestua: NKI/SEFU. Rekkedal, T. (1998) Courses on the WWW - Student Experiences and Attitudes Towards WWW Courses. An Evaluation Report Written for the Leonardo Online Training Project http://www.nki.no/eeileo/ http://www.nettskolen.com/alle/forskning/35/0306 98.html Rekkedal, T. (1999) Courses on the WWW – Student Experiences and Attitudes Towards WWW Courses – II. Evaluation Report Written for the Leonardo On-
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line Training Project, MMWWWK. http://www.nki.no/eeileo/ Rekkedal, T., Qvist-Eriksen, S., Fagerberg, T., Paulsen, M. F., Aakre, A. K. & Sjaastad. J. (2003) Student Support Services in E-learning, http://www.nettskolen.com/forskning/ student_support/student_support.pdf
Rekkedal, T., Dye, A., Fagerberg,T., Bredal, S., Midtsveen, B. & Russell, J.(2005) Design, Development and Evaluation of Mobile Learning at NKI Distance Education 2000-2005 (http://www.nettskolen.com/forskning/ m_Learning_2000_2005.pdf )
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PART 5 EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL MOBILE COURSE DEVELOPMENT
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Chapter 17 Courses on Art Appreciation for mobile devices Miklós Biró, Andras Gabor and Gabor Kismihok In this chapter a description is given of two pilot courses developed for mobile devices at Corvinus University of Budapest (CUB). The first part of the chapter details issues about difficulties of content development and mobilization. Pilot results and user satisfaction are discussed in the second part.
Courses on Art Appreciation Corvinus University of Budapest has developed two complete mobile courses:
2. Introduction to the Urban Architecture of Budapest
1. Introduction to Contemporary Hungarian Painting
Figure 2. Graphic from Introduction to the Urban Architecture in Budapest Figure 1. Graphic from Introduction to Contemporary Hungarian Painting
The courseware contains an overview of modern art, discussing three significant art movements in more depth. The course material includes reviews of specific styles and artists in these areas as well. The language of the content is Hungarian, since Hungarian art students were taught using this material. The course contains about 50 paintings as examples of various art movements.
The courseware has been developed for art history courses by an urban history professor. It contains an overview of old gate door-handles and their connection to the history of the architecture of Budapest. The courseware is also in Hungarian, since the target group of this material was the same as before. The course contains 68 different buildings, which are important for the urban architecture history of Budapest, but not very well known to the public.
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Developing course materials The development processes were the same for both courses. After the analysis of the course in a paper-based form, it was restructured during a consultation process between the author and an eLearning expert who was familiar with the SCORM standard. As a result, we have divided the course material into packages following the main parts of the course. In case of the paintings course, we identified three main categories. In the case of the architecture course, we divided the material into seventeen packages according to geographical location. After the classification, the metadata required by the SCORM standard was created. This metadata described the internal structure (sections and subsections) of the electronic material. The SCORM standard suggests a content packaging methodology for the creation of content entities in the course. This means that only a relatively small piece of information can be shown on one page, or – in our case – one file. The content was accordingly separated into plain HTML files containing a small amount of information. Using this technique, the appropriate structure of the course could be maintained, so the navigation between the elements of the structure became quite easy. It is also better for the content management system to manage user progress by bookmarks – which simply means the storage of the current part (file) of the material, and not the current page where the text may be long and may have to be scrolled. As a result, the content packages have been developed with their appropriate metafiles describing the structure in a specified XML format.
Delivering course content mLMS For the purposes of the pilot testing of the course materials, the staff of Corvinus University of Budapest decided to use the Atutor Learning Content Management System. The Atutor environment is an open source application developed by the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre at the University of Toronto. A much-emphasized aim of modern distributed learning solutions is to separate learning content from the means and infrastructure of content delivery. Delivering content for mobile devices means preparing an
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infrastructure for displaying content online considering the special needs of mobile browsers (restricted XML and HTML set and small screen resolution). The aim of the project was the development of a SCORM conformant online learning content, customization for display on Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices and smartphones. The content packages, which were developed by the Corvinus University staff in Atutor, are in conformance with the 1.3.1 (2004) version of the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). However, Atutor is not fully compatible with the SCORM standard. It does not implement the Run Time Environment, which didn’t cause any problem to us since we do not use this feature of SCORM during the pilot phase (it is only necessary for interactions between the material and the learning management system, as in the case of tests for example). Moreover, there were some minor differences in the metadata interpretation of Atutor and the SCORM standard. To avoid difficulties and to enable the re-use of the lecture materials, two kinds of packages have been developed: a version for Atutor and another version conforming to the SCORM standard. SCORM conformance has been tested with the open source testing suite available from Advanced Distributed Learning. The result was that the course packages are well-formed, valid and compliant with the standard. Since our packages contain plain HTML pages and images, we decided to publish them as normal web pages, so we have created a Table of Content page for them, which follows the structure of the course described in the SCORM metadata files. This way, the different representations of the course are identical. Using Atutor for mobile devices is not more difficult than using the system for an ordinary PC. The only requirement is a html based browser, which has an internet connection. After the log in procedure at www.atutor.hu, the user can browse the on-line teaching material, and enrol to the ones, which are related to the given study programme. The teaching material is fully indexed, searchable. The system allows the student to communicate directly with the content supervisor (teacher). The Atutor environment is available not only in English but also in Hungarian, which makes it suitable for Hungarian course-development as well.
Courses on Art Appreciation for mobile devices
Figure 3. Screenshot from ATutor Mobilization One part of mobilization has been done by the sectioning of the course according to the SCORM standard. Since we have divided the material into small textual parts, they could be easily fitted on the screen of a smartphone. This way, the material was already mobile. We have converted the pictures into a small form, to make them suitable for display on mobile devices. This led us to some of the challenges regarding smartphone browsers. There were two browsers available for smartphones at the time of the pilot test: Opera and the integrated browser from Symbian. Each browser interpreted the given size of a picture differently. The 60% sized picture width was interpreted by Opera as 60% of the visible page width, and as the percentage of the picture width (in pixels) by the internal browser. So we decided to directly convert pictures to a small form in order to reach optimal visibility on small screens. There was another problem with browsers: the internal browser supports special Hungarian characters while Opera does not. The next issue with mobilization was to change the appearance of Atutor, since it uses a horizontal arrangement, which is quite optimal for large PC screens
but does not fit small screens. Since Atutor can have so called Themes, we managed to arrange its layout in a vertical way. Being on-line As was mentioned before, there were two browsers available for smartphones. The internal browser was mainly a WML browser capable of interpreting HTML pages as well. This browser could connect to the internet by using the GPRS features of the given device. The features of this browser were much more moderate than Opera which is supposed to be a possible candidate for gaining the position of the de-facto standard in the market of pocket browsers. But Opera couldn’t connect to the Internet through the phone using its GPRS features.
Feedback Place & Time The first pilot course was located in the Hungarian National Gallery, on the 20th of February 2005. The second one was in the historical Castle District in Budapest. The date of this course was the 25th of August 2005. The CUB staff allocated 2 hours for both events, which also included a short introduction about the course material and about the test circumstances. 139
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In both cases a content supervisor gave a brief overview about the topics and students discovered the location and the learning content individually afterwards. Participants Altogether 24 people tested the course materials. 22 of them were students and 2 of them were lecturers. The CUB staff provided technical assistance for students, as some of them didn’t have any previous experience in using Smartphones or PDAs. Equipment The CUB staff provided 3 Smartphones (Ericsson P900s), 3 PDAs (HP Ipaqs) a small portable computer. PDAs didn’t have Internet connection, so only the offline course material was accessible, which was stored in the memory of devices. The P900s were capable to access the on-line content, but the off line version was available on their memory sticks as well. After each course, a questionnaire had to be filled out by users, which provided the basis of this evaluation. The figures in brackets indicate the results of the Urban Architecture course.
strongly agreed at the second time). The time students spent learning how to use the equipment, was not more than 5-10 minutes. It was clear at the end that majority of the students enjoyed the virtual mobile course. Furthermore, 58% (92%) of them would participate in another mLearning course, and half of them (75%) would recommend this learning method for other people as well. All participants (83%) agreed that mLearning increases the quality of eLearning, and a large majority of them thought that learning objectives could be fulfilled by mLearning. There was no evaluation included in the on-line and off-line course material about knowledge gained throughout this course. Nevertheless, the content supervisor asked some questions that students could only answer if they read the course material. Technical Feasibility There were some technical and functional differences between the devices used during the test. The problem mostly occurred, when a student, who used a PDA before, changed to a Smartphone. As a PDA has a bigger screen and MS Windows based software environment, it was more convenient to use than a Smartphone where the users had to learn the usage first, and than try to use the course material. Cost Effectiveness The students were mostly uncertain about the cost efficiency of the mLearning course. On the one hand, reaching the core course material itself, in case of using off-line version, was free. CUB provided the technical equipment, the software and the content for free as well. On the other hand, if people use this system individually with their own devices on-line, the costs of a course can be quite high. Student reflections As it emerged from our questionnaire, accessing and reading the text on mobile devices functioned quite well. 75% (92%) of students were satisfied with it. The text was supported with a rich image gallery. The quality of images were much better on the PDAs, than on the P900s, as the screen was bigger.
Figure 4. Student with a Smartphone User satisfaction On average students were satisfied with the equipment. 66% agreed, 17% strongly agreed that it was easy to use the equipment during the first event (42% agreed, 58% 140
From the student’s point of view, the structure of course materials was sometimes not clear enough. For instance, it was easy to get lost between the different styles, artist names and paintings. This confusion happened mostly because the off-line version was lacking the search function. Users who used the on-line version didn’t face
Courses on Art Appreciation for mobile devices
this problem, as teaching material was fully indexed and searchable. A very interesting point was that mLearning is quite exhausting! Students agreed that using mobile devices needs more concentration from users than an ordinary classroom presentation or an eLearning course. They stated that using these small devices makes their eyes tired after an hour. According to our experience, a 15 minutes break after an hour long session is essential. Later, when students are more familiar with the usage of mobile devices, they don’t need so much help from the content and the infrastructure supervisors, so they might be able to concentrate on the teaching material more efficiently.
Another advantage of PDA was the MS Windows environment. Users who haven’t got any experience in using mobile devices, which are able to handle mLearning teaching content, could browse the content on a PDA easier, as the environment and the logic of the operating system and the web browser was similar to the software they use on their own PCs. In the case of the Urban Architecture course another missing point was a map. In the discussion after the session some students recommended that an interactive map be put at the beginning of the course content. The user can indicate his or her position on the map, which shows the nearest building in the neighbourhood. With GPS it would be possible to get proper guidance as well. However, the structure of the content was well established, so it was easy to find the buildings, which were shown in the course content.
Challenges and Conclusion
Figure 5. Students browsing the content on the Urban Architecture course The biggest lesson learned by the CUB staff about these courses was that the bigger the screen of the device was, the more one could learn about the content, which was accessible through that device. That’s why PDAs were more suitable for mLearning purposes than Smartphones. Pictures, images were bigger and it was more convenient to read the text, as more characters were shown in one line.
Despite some technical issues related to Internet connection, the courseware was suitable and available for further testing with students. Besides the on-line version, the plain HTML package could be stored on a memory card, so an off-line version was also available for the users. The students had to put the memory card into their mobile devices and play the content with any browser on the phone. The offline version is cheap, and accessible anytime, anywhere. According to the student feedback mobile learning is a useful academic application, which in this practical case is capable of supporting face-to-face education successfully.
References Materials of the project Mobile Learning: The Next Generation Of Learning (2003 – 2005), http://learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/
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Chapter 18 Mobile Learning and the Marginalised Judy Nix This chapter highlights different initiatives which showcase how mobile learning can be used to advantage among a myriad of learners who for different reasons have difficulty accessing learning.
mLearning as an assistive technology Can mLearning give an advantage to those people who find accessing traditional learning a problem? TechDis (2005) in the United Kingdom has developed an interesting grid which highlights the potential of mLearning in this arena. TechDis is an organisation who Type of tools
wishes to be the leading educational advisory service on inclusion and accessibility in the UK. It aims to enhance provision for disabled students and staff in higher, further and specialist education and adult and community learning, through the use of technology.
mLearning potential Sound - many PDAs provide the facility for easy voice recording. Many disabled learners have difficulty with note-taking - voice recording may offer an easy alternative.
Recording tools:
Images - the inbuilt cameras on many PDAs and phones provide an alternative way for many learners to make records when (or where) traditional note-taking might prove difficult. Text - Handwriting recognition, portable keypads and onscreen keyboards provide alternative opportunities for making notes in a range of environments. For some learners this can be more effective than note taking with pen and paper.
Planning:
Students with difficulty in planning and organisation can benefit from many of the inbuilt functions in PDAs and phones, such as the calendar, clock, to do lists, alarms, notepad functions etc. In respect of planning assignments and essays, mind mapping software for PDAs can allow learners to separate content from structure and focus on each independently.
Reading tools:
Print challenged learners can benefit from the alternative media available on many PDAs. These can include audio clips, animations, video clips or text to speech.
Writing tools:
Word prediction and spellchecking software are available for the main PDA platforms and can offer support for learners in a range of environments where PC-based support would not necessarily be available.
Communication tools:
For many disabled learners, mobile phones add disproportionate value to the learning experience. For example, SMS and email allow deaf learners to work on collaborative tasks on an equal footing with their non-signing peers. Similarly, the ability to beam files wirelessly between devices means collaborative tasks are made easier for all users - often providing disproportionate benefits for many disabled learners. Live uploads to blogs, wikis and mediaboards can enable disabled learners to actively participate in field courses even if access is limited. Table 1. http://www.techdis.ac.uk/?p=9_5_20052007040722
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Naturally, where there are advantages, there may also be constraints. Learners who are visually impaired may struggle with screen size. Learners with poor coordination may find the buttons on mobile devices too small to manipulate. Learners with cognitive difficulties may have problems navigating the functionalities of a mobile device. However, technology, even if it costs a little more, can often solve some of the problems mentioned above. Speech recognition, screen reader, character by character interactive texting, alerts which are purely auditory, external screen magnifiers, virtual keyboards, simple graphical navigational aids and clear menu structures can make a difference. It is important to select the appropriate device to match the skills (both physical and mental) of the learner. In general, the disabled prefer mobile devices as they are lighter, easier to use and easier to manipulate than more conventional devices. The personal/private aspect of mobile learning should not be under-estimated. There are learners who will not interact in the classroom due to personality traits, lack of confidence or fear of failure. Those undertaking elearning modules can be intimidated as the screen is large enabling colleagues or others to know what they are studying. Mobile learning, due to the screen size and the user’s relationship with their device, is different. People can learn without feeling self conscious. Case Study – i-Map i-Map was devised by Howell and Porter(2003) at the Tate Modern Art Gallery, London, to enable blind and visually-impaired people to engage with the art of Matisse and Picasso. i-Map also aids blind and visuallyimpaired students and their teachers to understand the work of these artists, how they were motivated along with concepts of modern art. The project had its roots in work undertaken with partially-sighted adults to seek ways of describing art through language. Sculptures were explored with the aim of creating ways of interpreting art through language. A creative team, including writers and performance artists, helped the group to describe different tactile sensations. The developers considered it vital that i-Map would bring a visually-impaired person to the same level of understanding of a painting as a sighted person. This increased the challenge as all, rather than some aspects,
of a painting had to be included. i-Map incorporates text, image enhancement and deconstruction, animation and raised images. It visually deconstructs works online to examine small areas of a painting in detail to enable those with visual impairments to build a better understanding of the whole picture. Map, sponsored by BT, won a BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award in 2002 for accessibility.
M-Learning – Disaffected Learners M-learning (LSDA 2004) originated from a 3-year panEuropean research and development programme, aimed at helping young adults aged 16 to 24, who were considered most at risk of social exclusion, to engage in learning activities to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. The group consisted largely of disaffected learners who had not succeeded in the education system. They were not involved in any education or training and were unemployed, under employed, or even homeless. The consortium was a partnership of organisations combing skills in pedagogy and technology. It included Ultralab at Anglia Polytechnic University in the UK, Centro di Ricerca in Matematica Pura et Allicata at the University of Salerno in Italy, Cambridge Training and Development in the UK, Lecando in Sweden and cocoordinated by the Learning and Skills Development Agency in the United Kingdom. Background In 1997 the OECD conducted an international survey on adult literacy which found that many developed countries had functional illiteracy rates of 20% or more. In 1999 the UK Government asked Sir Claus Moser to advise on ways in which its plans for basic skills provision for adults could be supported and developed to achieve a target to help 500,000 adults a year by 2002. Moser (2003) found that in the UK one in five adults had “less literacy than is expected of an 11-yearold child”. Further UK Government research in 2001 stated that “of the 580,000 or so 16-year-olds who leave school each year, around 15,000 are below Level 1 in both Maths and English, where Level 1 is the level of attainment schools pupils are expected to achieve by age 11”. In addition, “22% of these young people do not go on to training or work after they leave school” (DfEE 2001). Hence the concentration on young adults aged between 16 and 24. Solution The project constructed a micro portal (mPortal) through which learning materials, mini web page builder 143
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tools, a collaborative activities tool, messages, chat, discussion & blogs, the learning management system and a simple help guide for the system were available. Learners were able to access materials both online and offline via the mPortal. This was to make it as easy as possible for the users by minimising problems which may have been encountered by, for example, signal problems while on the move or in remote areas. Material was developed at Entry Level 3 of the UK Adult Literacy/Numeracy Curriculum (DfEE 2003). Following initial testing, feedback was received which resulted in material for Entry Levels 1 & 2 being suggested. The mobile devices used during the project were XDA II along with the Sony Ericsson P800/P900. Additionally, quiz games developed in J2ME (Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition) were pre-loaded onto the phones which were used. The J2ME driving theory test game was very popular. SMS was used two ways – the first involved questions being printed and circulated, the answers to which were SMSed to a predefined number and a response was received. The second involved an SMSbased basic Italian language course where the learner could respond by replying to the SMS message with a further message which was tracked, verified and forwarded to a new SMS containing test results and suggestions for improvement. This allowed students with standard phones to take part in the learning process. Findings A mentor approach was employed to ensure that the learners knew the purpose of the research and were happy to take part. In some cases activities took place over a short period of time whereas in other cases learners were involved with mobile learning on certain days of the week over a longer period. The learners were allowed to take the devices home to use them whenever they pleased. Pre and post research review questionnaires were uses. • •
•
62% of the learners were enthusiastic about learning after using the mobile learning. 29% were assessed by their mentors as having developed a more positive attitude towards reading after taking part in the research. 82% felt the mobile learning games could help them to improve their reading or spelling and 78% felt these could help them improve their maths.
Conclusion Analysis of the research suggested that mobile learning can make a useful contribution to attracting young people to learning, maintaining their interest and 144
supporting their learning and development (Atewell 2005).
The use of Mobile Learning by the Homeless in the United Kingdom. As part of the project described above, M-Learning, the LSDA in the UK decided to analyse the affects of mobile learning on the homeless. 216 people took part in the main project whereas 32 people were surveyed as homeless learners. They were given mobile devices for between 1-6 weeks and in some cases were allowed to keep them for the duration of the research (SavilleSmith 2005). Findings The mobile device used for this part of the project was the XDAII. Most of the participants had no previous experience of using palmtop computers but were very positive afterwards. The features most used were the storage of numbers, the downloading of files from a PC, accessing the internet and listening to music. More than one-third of the participants considered that access to the internet was the most important feature of using a mobile device. One of the mentors involved with the project commented that there was a noticeable increase in confidence in his group in the use of the internet during the course of the project. Another mentor made use of the mPortal to introduce his learners to the internet where literacy issues were acting as a barrier. In one instance, participation in the project encouraged one homeless learner to seek help from a local Adult Basic Education Centre to improve his mathematical skills. At the end of the project, the participants were reluctant to give back the devices as “(they) didn’t want to give them up”, “it was helpful. I wish we (could have) used them for a long time” and “they like them so much because they can’t afford such devices themselves and also because they can use them anywhere”. Some of the organisations involved in the research have subsequently looked into instigating their own mobile learning initiatives. Conclusions The mentors noticed a change in attitude and/or ability in the homeless learners after participation in the project. There was some evidence that mlearning helped the homeless learners to identify what kind of learning support they needed. It helped them to remain focussed
Mobile Learning and the Marginalised
for longer and helped to build stronger links between them and their mentors. The participants thought the XDAII was a useful learning tool.
Response (IVR) for FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), SMS quizzes and SMS question/answer system.
mLearning – Distance Reducer
An academic instructional message could include a study tip for a difficult assignment which students normally get wrong or preparation for a contact session/tutorial. The outcome was better quality assignments through increased interaction at the contact sessions.
Distance in learning can mean either mental or physical distance. This section will explore how mLearning can contribute to lessen physical distance for students. Background In 2002 the Distance Education Unit at the University of Pretoria started to use SMS (Short Message Service) for basic administrative support (Brown 2005) for teacher training programmes for in-services teachers in rural Africa. The students had no access to a computer network infrastructure; however, they all had mobile phones. Solution The University posts courseware and general information to its students who often live up to 100km from the nearest Post Office. It was common for many packages to be returned. With the introduction of SMS to let the students know that a package had been posted, the return rate on packages dropped significantly (Hendrikz et al. 2005).A similar approach was adopted for assignment submission. Submission dates or extensions of submission dates were sent to the students by SMS, resulting in normal assignment submission statistics. If a contact session/tutorial was scheduled, the date, time and venue were SMSed to the students ensuring a full attendance. Registration for exam dates was also included which resulted in a higher rate of participation in relation to previous years. Challenges The main challenge was to ensure that the SMS message was clear, succinct and not open to any ambiguity. At times it took up to three weeks to compose a message as only 160 characters were available. It was important also to categorise the database of mobile phone numbers as it was not necessary to send all student every message. However, the participation, completion and success rates greatly out-weighed any difficulties. Extension Following the success of SMS for administrative purposes, the University of Pretoria decided to extend the service to academic matters in November, 2004 (Hendrikz et al. 2005). Four areas were concentrated on: academic instructional message, Interactive Voice
IVR for FAQs was used to reinforce important concepts in particular modules. The students were invited by SMS to contact a specific number where they could listen to important aspects of the concept in question. This led to a deeper understanding. SMS quizzes were developed which facilitate content review, help to identify learning shortcomings and tutor desired learning outcomes. SMS question/answer systems allowed the students to ask questions on issues they were unsure of, much cheaper than making a telephone call. This initiative is new, but even so, the standard of assignments has risen. Conclusion mLearning has enhanced the distance education experience for many African students. Not so long ago, these students had very limited access to eLearning due to the poor fixed telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas. The rapidly growing wireless infrastructure is addressing this deficit, thus taking some of the disadvantage out of distance.
mLearning – Drug Awareness Crosscare (the Catholic Social Care Agency of the Dublin Diocese) has initiated a confidential SMS service for young people to warn of the hazards of drug taking. A person can send a text on the name of a drug and receive information on its effects (2006). Background Surveys undertaken in Ireland in 2005 have highlighted that 27% of students interviewed between the ages of 15 to 24 had used cannabis while a further 3% had experimented with cocaine. Even though it is perceived that there is a lot of knowledge and information about drug use and abuse in Ireland, if you are 13 or 14 you 145
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may not be aware of the dangers. 66% of those of have taken illegal drugs, took them for the first time while in secondary school. Solution Crosscare has launched an SMS alert service, with sponsorship from The Vodafone Ireland Foundation, to provide people with urgent advice on the dangers of illicit drugs. The service recognises all the different ways, code words and common language used to describe and tag illegal drugs. Information is accessed by texting the name of the drug to a number. A description of the negative effects and the dangers surrounding the taking of the drug is then sent back along with a phone number and web address for more advice. The idea is to discourage people from experimenting with dangerous drugs which could ruin their lives. Even though the service is directed at young people, it is open to anyone who requires this information. Conclusion Currently this is a six month pilot scheme which commenced in April 2006. By July 2006, 60,000 enquiries had been received by the service demonstrating the need for the information and also the effectiveness of SMS to get that information out to the target audience.
Conclusion As stated already in this book, in Europe mobile phone penetration has reached 100% in most markets. Its ubiquity is starting to be tapped to assist inclusion be it for the disabled, those who feel/are marginalised and those who need help to make good choices in life. Users develop a personal relationship with their mobile phones which they view as a necessary possession. As can be seen, services developed using the mobile phone are quickly successful as they reach the target audience directly.
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References TechDis (2005) http://www.techdis.ac.uk Howell, C. and Porter, D. (2003) Re-assessing Practice: visual art, visually impaired people and the Web. London: Tate Modern Art Gallery. LSDA (2004) M-Learning project. http://www.mlearning.org/ Moser, C. (2003) Background to Skills for Life – the Moser Report http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/ socialinclusion/adults/moser.html. DfEE (2001) Transforming Youth Work. London: Department for Education and Employment/Connexions. DfEE (2003) http://www.dfes.gov.uk/ curriculum_literacy/level/ Attewell, J.(2005) Mobile technologies and learning – A technology update and m-learning summary. London:Technology Enhanced Learning Research Centre, Learning and Skills Development Agency. Savill-Smith C. (2005) The use of Mobile Learning by Homeless Learners in the UK. Proceedings of IADIS International Conference Mobile Learning. Lisbon:IADIS. Brown, T.(2005) mLearning: Doing the Unthinkable and Reaching the Unreachable http://learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/files/confere nce/keynote.pdf 2005 Hendrikz, J., van der Bank, A., Viljoen, J, and Brown, T. (2005) Mobile Learning Project Team. Pretoria:University of Pretoria. Crosscare (2006) www.dap.ie
Chapter 19 Courses on the PDA at NKI Truls Fagerberg and Alexsander Dye This chapter gives an overview of the process of development of courseware to be used on a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). It is based upon the work carried out by NKI Distance Education. The NKI research team studied international experiences concerning mobile learning, analysed technological solutions and pedagogic/didactic needs based on our internal practical experiences and results from previous surveys and evaluation studies among our distance students.
Introduction The technical solution chosen was to use the Pocket PC/Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) in combination with mobile phone for distribution of learning content, communication between tutor and students, between students and for students’ communication with the learning material. Technologies develop so fast that the specific technology available changes from one week to the other. It was important that the solution chosen had some generic basis, i.e. also that the specific brands of PCs, mobile phones and keyboards etc. should not constitute any substantial restrictions concerning the generalising of our experiences. After analysing PDA/Pocket PC devices, we chose to build our learning environment around the Compaq iPAQ communicating via mobile phones with infrared connection. The solutions were tried out with two different courses, The Tutor in Distance Education and SPICE 603 – Online Teaching and Learning. As a result of the iniyial experiences, NKI wished to continue the research on m-learning based on the PDA solutions available in 2004-2005. After examining the different brands available, we decided to develop solutions for the follower of the previous devices, HP iPAQ Pocket PC 5500 series with built-in wireless network card. At the same time all developments were done with the main object of developing generic solutions independent of devices on the user side.
Development of courseware and the software applied In the first project, From e-learning to m-learning NKI adapted two courses previously developed for Internet/web based learning, ‘The Tutor in Distance
Education’ and SPICE 603 – Online Teaching and Learning’ to the PDA. NKI has also experimented with a course called “Sales and Services” adapted to the PDA. The two courses adapted were two of NKI’s many ongoing Internet courses and therefore already available in a HTML version. Thus it was relatively easy to adapt the existing versions of the courses to the iPAQ since MS Internet Explorer is the browsing tool used. The main part of the adaptation was to create directories and file structures that ensured that all content was present and worked as intended. Some modifications had to be done, e.g. the table of contents had to be changed, so that all links to introductions, study units, articles etc. could be placed on one page. The table of contents page also contained links to other course pages such as class list, forum page, the student’s personal presentation, NKI college page and others. Students could find a link to the presentation of their tutor with contact information. The course also includes reference links to many external resourses. Initially in 2001, we supplied our students with two optional versions of the course, one in HTML and one in the Microsoft Reader (*.lit) file format. Based upon our evaluation results and experiences with Microsoft Reader from 2001, we decided to offer the course in the Microsoft Reader format only in 2002. Microsoft Reader is a program for reading e-books or content in the *.lit file format (MS Reader file format). Microsoft has developed Microsoft Reader with ClearType that enhances display resolution and improved reading qualities. This also gives powerful digital advantages like integrated dictionary support and electronic annotations, while honouring the best 147
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traditions of typography to ensure proper kerning and leading, correct margins, and line justification, to name a few. The software also gives the opportunity to read ebooks, Pocket Dictionaries etc. downloaded from the Internet and synchronized to the PocketPC via the PC. For the 2002 trial, NKI chose to adapt one of the courses in the SPICE program, SPICE 603 Online Teaching and Learning. The Specialization Program in International Online Education (SPICE) comprises five six-credit (ECTS) courses about online education delivered internationally via the Internet (Fagerberg et al. 2002). In the second project, “Mobile Learning: the Next Generation of Learning” (2003-2005) NKI’s focus was to develop server side solutions and mobilize our learning management system that made it possible to provide all the courses in NKI’s portfolio to be used on a PDA without specific course adaptation. The best approach to “mobilizing” an LMS in our opinion is to optimise the pages for layout by using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), not by using tables, which has been the tradition for a long period of time. We are now using CSS and div-tags in (x)html (Extensible
Hypertext Markup Language) to control the layout. This not only eases the “mobilization” of the content, but also improves the accessibility for other users that might have different disabilities. By laying out the pages by div-tags and CSS one separates the content from the presentation, which is a good idea. This, for instance, enables one to use one font-family for print and another for screen, as well as changing the text-size and any other properties of the page based on the target device. To do this we used a method in CSS known as media-types, which recognizes the device accessing the page and uses the appropriate style-sheet for that device (one still has to write this style-sheet though, but the content stays the same). This enables the designer to re-design a page for one device and not every device intended to access the page.
Solutions exemplified 1, Sales and Services This example is from the course Sales and services that NKI adapted specially for the PDA in the first project. This example show an intro page accessed via an ordinary web browser and the course menu gives access to course content in a fixed width to fit to the PDA screen.
Figure 1. Screen shot from the demonstration course “Sales and Services” in a web browser from an ordinary desktop computer.
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Courses on the PDA at NKI
Figure 2
Figure 3 Figures 2 and 3 show the course “Sales and Services” from the PDA. Note that the course menu at the bottom on figure 3 is available on all pages for easy navigation
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Figure 5. Drag and Drop assignment (Flash)
Figure 4. Screen shot from study unit 1 with link to interactive assignments. On the PDA the text is perfectly adapted to the screen. The menu link is fixed at the bottom of the PDA screen to allow easy navigation. Multi-media elements were developed in Macromedia Flash and were also specifically developed for the PDA version. We tried different solutions to make the multi-media elements readable on the PDA. We had to make special adaptation to the Flash files to be able to display them on the PDA with acceptable quality. The conclusion, both during development trials and testing with
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Figure 6. Multiple choice assignment (Flash)
students, was that that most multi-media elements have details that are difficult to present in acceptable form on the PDA. It is important not to use negative text and to be more focused on the readability of the colour combination of the background and text. The choice of font is also important (Dye and Fagerberg 2005).
Solutions exemplified 2, SPICE 603, Online Teaching and Learning
Courses on the PDA at NKI
These are screen shots, Figures 1- 10, from the PDA from the course SPICE 603,Online Teaching and Learning. These examples show how the course appears on the PDA when generated online “on-the-fly” as dynamic web pages powered by NKI’s LMS SESAM. Thanks to the development during the second mlearning project, we are now able to deliverer our entire course portfolio to a PDA with good quality. There are still issues with large images and animation as described in Chapter 7.
Figure 7. Enrolment page
Figure 8. Course menu
Figure 9. Course introduction page
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Figure 10. Course objectives
Figure 11. Question for reflection, an example of an assignment
Figure 12. Course objectives
Figure 13. Online recourses
Courses on the PDA at NKI
Figure 14. Discussion forum
Figure 15. Contacts
Figure 16. Student’s personal presentation
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Conclusion In our trials during the two projects, “From e-learning to m-learning” (http://learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2/project_one/) and “Mobile Learning: the Next Generation of Learning” (http://learning.ericsson.net/mlearning2) it is our clear impression that accessing even comprehensive course material and using communication elements on the PDA functioned well. Along with designing systems for accessing course material it is also important to pay attention to the integration of communication elements such as e-mail and forums when designing for handhelds devices (Rekkedal et al. 2005). It is our absolute recommendation for institutions not to develop parallel solutions for delivering content to different devices. If possible the technical solution should seek to separate content, layout and business logic from each other to maintain maximum control over each element. There are still challenges to overcome in converting existing materials intentionally developed for large screens the small screen of the PDA or other mobile device. The optimal solution for the small screen is obviously to make the most of the space available, and the challenge is to do this globally on the server, not on
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every single web page. If the basic structure is basically good, there are already technologies available, which solve the problem with small screens quite well.
References Dye, A. & Fagerberg, T. (2005) Mobile Technical working paper 2005, http://learning.ericsson.net/ mlearning2/files/workpackage2/nki_technical_worki ng_paper_2005.doc Fagerberg, T., Rekkedal, T. & Russell, J. (2002): Designing and Trying Out a Learning Environment for Mobile Learners and Teachers. Sub-project of the EU Leonardo Project “From e-Learning to m-Learning”. http://www.nettskolen.com/forskning/55/ NKI2001m-learning2.html Rekkedal, T., Dye, A., Fagerberg,T., Bredal, S., Midtsveen, B. & Russell, J.(2005) Design, Development and Evaluation of Mobile Learning at NKI Distance Education 2000-2005 (http://www.nettskolen.com/forskning/ m_Learning_2000_2005.pdf )
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