Getting Connected

The Internet and using Beaming functionality can be accessed on many mobile devices. This can be used for learning in a number of ways including:

Each learner can access his or her own specific materials.
Learners don’t have to be sat at computers and desks. Face to
face communication is therefore much easier.
‘Beaming’ between devices can encourage interaction and collaboration.
Beaming’ between devices can encourage a more timid learner to interact.
Anonymous questions can be received by the tutor via a ‘beam’ from the quieter learners of a group.

Bluetooth and Infrared technology allow you to ‘beam’ files to another person’s device. Beaming allows simultaneous interactions between people and it can encourage better thinking and problem solving skills as learners can work together on a project, sharing images, sounds and data between devices.

A storyline could be started by one learner, the document ‘beamed’ to another for the story to be added to, then passed to the next learner.

The Instant Polling Software, Ninepoll, turns a Palm into a voting device. A student inputs a polling question with up to four responses. The question is then beamed to other students' handhelds. The other students select a response and beam the response back to the original student. He or she can then view the results of the poll.

Find out more about Bluetooth. Go to BBC's Webwise section on Bluetooth.

In Practice

PDAs have been used at Dewsbury College of Further and Higher Education and Thomas Danby College and have shown to be valuable in stimulating and supporting learners in environments that do not usually offer access to technology. They support group activities without internet connectivity by the use of beaming, provide immediate access to e-learning resources, and have been widely accepted by learners including those with limited experience of other technologies.

The JISC 'mobile learning and pda' video clip describes the projects and outcomes.

The KNOWMOBILE project in Norway looked at the possibilities of using mobile technology with medical students in distributed learning situations. They intended the PDAs and Smartphones to be used for Problem based learning in medical education and to exploit the SMS and Bluetooth functionality of the devices.However in reality the students used the electronic versions of medical reference books and students' guides during the students' hospital practice visits rather than engage in the planned collaborative PBL activities. Read the full KNOWMOBILE project's findings.

palm screen When you’re on the move it’s great to be able to connect to the Internet and access learning material or an interactive web-based quiz.

In Practice

In Cornwall a tutor works with a group of travellers on-site and she finds that carrying the small devices much easier and safer than taking in quantities of laptops. Electricity is sometimes an issue so PDAs can be used ‘away from the mains’. The learners enjoy accessing the Internet- for many it’s their first experience of using the Internet and sending emails.

If you’re an amateur naturalist you might enjoy going for a walk in the countryside. Should you hear a particular bird and can’t recognise it you could use your PDA or mobile phone to access www.rspb.org and check the bird sound, see a picture of the bird and read information about its habitat and other useful information.

The Paperless Classroom

'My ultimate dream is that instead of using infrared to receive and send all of our documents we could use send them over a wireless network. This means that sending class hand-out would take seconds. It also means you could access network folders without using desktop computers. We could also surf the internet real time.

The 802.11b (a.k.a. WiFi) standard is increasingly used in corporate settings applications and the prices are dropping with many new products.

Bluetooth is another wireless standard we could use. It was originally designed as a replacement for the use of wiring for the purpose of interconnecting electronic modules. So it is designed with a very short range of under 50 feet. A new term “PAN” (Personal Area Network) as opposed to a “LAN” (Local Area Network) has been used to describe a Bluetooth network. This would be well suited for a classroom. Mrs Sorrells Dream of the Wireless, Paperless Classroom and other activities.

To avoid having to set up email connection on a PDA, try a web-based Yahoo or Hotmail account as these are mobile appropriate.

For a wide range of technical advice and information see BECTA’s Technical Paper entitled Mobile Internet Connectivity.

Mobile Technology - the handheld choice

Getting Connected

The Paperless Classroom

Quicklinks

In Practice

Using Text

Using Sound

Using Images

Using SMS (Text)

Using MMS (Images)

Using Planning Tools

Quizzes and Interactive activities

Out and About

Other sections

Choose the Right Device

Technical Tips

FAQs for Organisations

Making it Accessible

The Future

Glossary