|Contents
| Abstract
| Preface |
1 Introduction
| 2 Theoretical foundation for mobile education
| 3 Methodology and data collection
| 4 Data analysis
| 5 Conclusion
| References| Print out from the forum |
Bekkestua - Norway, January 15th, 2003
Abstract
"Computers will in the future not have to weigh
more than 1.5 tons"
-Popular Mechanics 1949
The advent of solutions for mobile wireless technologies tailored for the educational arena may mark a revolution in distance education. This new form of education has been dubbed mLearning or mobile learning. mLearning offers students and teachers the opportunity to interact and gain access to educational material using a wireless handheld device, independent of time and space. The term mLearning is commonly used for mobile education that includes mobile learning, teaching and the support services of an educational organization. In working with this report we came up with the following definition of mLearning:
mLearning is learning that can take place anytime, anywhere with the help of a mobile computer device. The device must be capable of presenting learning content and providing wireless two-way communication between teacher(s) and student(s). Typically, an educational organization administrates both the course content and the communication services.
The purpose of our report is to study in what way technologies for mobile learning influence the working situation of students and teachers. Based on this statement, we raised four research questions:
- Which technologies (both existent and non-existent) and / or factors will have the biggest impact on the adaptation of mLearning?
- Which properties of the mobile device will have the biggest impact on how fast mLearning is adapted?
- How will mLearning change the work situation of a student?
- How will mLearning change the work situation of a teacher?
Through an explorative research design and qualitative research methods using Delphi techniques, we sought to find out what future mLearning has in the educational arena. Our focus was on distance students and teachers at institutions of higher education.
Experts who were well versed in the field of eLearning were the primary data source in our study. By analysing the answers they provided through a three-phased study, we came up with a top-10 list of predictions for each of our research questions. The top-10 lists shed some light on the direction of mLearning, and its impact on students and teachers.
We conclude that wireless Internet is a must for mLearning to take off. To cater for huge chunks of data that is common in most educational websites, there is a need for high-speed wireless data transfer. However, this should be at affordable costs to the general public. The biggest impact mLearning will have on both student and teacher is increased flexibility. As a result, learning will be able to take place in other environments. Increased flexibility will place some demands on both teacher and student. It will require the student to have a high level of discipline in order to achieve his or her academic goals, while the teacher might have no clear-cut division between working hours and leisure time.
The key to making mLearning courses widely adapted is to target devices that have already have penetrated the market and have good usability. There is no use creating courses for a device that is not widely adapted. The user will not buy a new device for mLearning, but might use an existing device for something new, such as education. Technology might help in education by providing an easier way to communicate among peers as well as between students and teachers. The possibility of instant help from a peer or tutor creates an ideal environment for collaborative learning.