mLearning: Theory, opportunities and use

At the Turkish Private Schools Association annual symposium in January 2012, I gave a presentation on coordinating mLearning with structured education.

Slides with Turkish translation (if you'd like to help finish translating the last slides, please do!):

The abstract: The wide array of handheld computing products now available offers rich opportunities for enhancing classroom learning and extending learning past the classroom, which is often referred to as mLearning. However, mLearning also offers many challenges including classroom management, student protection, and appropriate pedagogy. This presentation will review mLearning devices with a focus on practical techniques for effective integration of mLearning and the traditional classroom. Special consideration will be given to lessons learned by Cambridge University Press as it has collaborated with leading language researchers during the development of mLearning applications.

The United States National Research Council (1999) has characterized effective instruction as having a focus along the four dimensions of learner, knowledge, assessment, and community. This presentation will align those dimensions with the physical, technological, conceptual, social, and temporal aspects of mLearning (Kukulska-Hume et al. 2009). Against this paradigm, specific mLearning products and activities will be presented. The specific activities discussed will include multiplayer gaming, use of mobile phone cameras and text messaging, and applications on advanced smart phones such as Android and Apple devices. Use of mLearning devices as-is, in concert with public domain resources, and with professionally developed applications will be presented. Attendees should expect to gain an understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of mLearning, and to be presented with example mLearning activities that can be used in class following the conference.

And notes on the slides:
Slide 2: Child devices (pen on tether) to adult (= easily broken)
Slide 3: Step 1: Learn outside class; Step 2: Use that to improve class
Slide 4: A basic “feature phone” can be enough
Slide 5: IPSOS KMG places mobile phone ownership at 92%. In this presentation, we presume students have their own hardware. A teacher might buy a phone for receiving info, for classes.
Slide 6: US DOE identified these 4 aspects
Slide 7: It’s a personal device. What is their personal life like? Also, see the blog entry "Consider learner lifecycles"
Slide 8: Performance is last: Save high stakes for when Teacher is present. (Save Teacher for what Teacher is good at.)
Slide 10: Rubric for pairing technology and teaching. More can be found in the presentation "Selecting and managing multiple new media platforms", albeit from a Publisher's perspective.
Slide 12: Figures are median, not average.
Slide 13: This app turns out to be popular in special needs education contexts, an example that for new technologies, customers will find uses not predicted by creators.
Slide 14: Reference, not gaming. One of the most important features is the social icon bar on the website.
Slide 15: An important feature is the slider to answer-- the input system doesn't get in the way of the task.
Slide 16: One thing glossed over here is technology maintenance. Do you need IT staff? Do students have their own gadgets?

English-only slides: