Big Issues in Mobile Learning

Big Issues in Mobile Learning

Report of a workshop by the Kaleidoscope Network of Excellence Mobile Learning Initiative

Edited by Mike Sharples

© UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM, 2006

Contents

Introduction: Mapping the Landscape of Mobile Learning What is mobile learning? How to enhance the experience without interfering with it? Affective factors in learning with mobile devices How can we address the conflicts between personal informal learning and traditional classroom education? Evaluating Mobile Learning: What are appropriate methods for evaluating learning in mobile environments? How should learning activities using mobile technologies be designed to support innovative educational practices? How can we integrate mobile devices with broader educational scenarios?

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Introduction: Mapping the Landscape of Mobile Learning

Kevin Walker

k.walker@ioe.ac.uk

Mobile learning projects are blooming all over Europe. They range from the use of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and tablet computers in classrooms, through mobile phones to support learning between schools and museums, to context-aware technology for field trips and tourist visits. International conferences such as mLearn, WMUTE and Handheld Learning are presenting the details of these projects, but it is time to reflect on the issues behind the growth in mobile learning. This was the aim of the “Big Issues in Mobile Learning” workshop organised as part of the mobile learning theme of the Kaleidoscope European Network of Excellence in Technology Enhanced Learning. It brought together forty researchers in mobile learning from across Europe for a two-day workshop where seven themes were discussed in depth for a day each, by groups of between 8 and 13 people. The participants also held plenary sessions to survey the mobile learning landscape, presenting and debating important implications from the discussions. “We've got a reasonable idea about what works,” said Mike...