eLearning Infusion

Toni Twiss, another 2008 eFellow, has started a discussion thread on the Vodafone NZ Corporate Responsibility Forum. The forum is based on the question, “How might access to mobile technologies impact education in the future?”

He is my initial response to the discussion. Why don’t you add yours?

Information literacy, as you have clearly stated, is a highy important skill and increasingly so as access to and information itself grows at an alarming rate. The ability to carry around in your pocket a device where access to the web, the ability to share and network information is right there, further highlights the need for students to have the skills necessary to make sense of these resources.

The quoted text, “that teachers currently give the information out to students that they have already deemed to be correct. There is not authentic context requiring students to critique information” concerns me greatly, especially if it is more than just a generalisation and the majority of teachers really do still churn out information for students to consume.

When Jane Gilbert, from the NZCER, talks about the different types of knowing she discusses how knowing what, is far less important than knowing how, who or why. If we relate this to information literacy one could argue that while the information is important, students must know how to find, sort and analyse, know who they can utilise or ask for assistance, and know why this information is required, before the content, or the what beomes useful.

Teachers, as stated, ultimately hold the key to enabling information literate students. As Suzie mentions, guiding students through the process of inquiry or research to teach them the skills is an absolute must before they are let free. I great site I have used is this one to help facilitate a small part of this process.

While the abilty of mobile technologies allow students to access the flood of information any time, any place, any where, I see the an equally exciting potential of mobile technologies in sharing information as well. MOSEP (2007), describe how these devices support the idea that “…students can literally carry their eportfolio around with them and update it at any time in any place.”

This is something that really interests me. A small moblie device than can access learning, share the process and celebrate student achievement, as well as record feedback and reflections to improve learning. Exciting stuff especially when you combine that with this type of development.

Mobile technologies offer some really exciting posibilities for both accessing and sharing information. But as you have stated Toni, it needs to be guided by effective pedagogy first as well as teachers experiencing and understanding the ways that their studetns are finding and networking their own information.

Here is an abridged version of my uLearn 08 workshop presentation, minus any audio or video content, activities, links and of course the all important commentary. If I have time, a slidecast version will be added in the future.

Any feedback would be welcome either here or on SlideShare.

Thanks to Toni, another of the 2008 eFellows, for prompting me to think about how utterli.com can potentially add an exciting dimension to our web based eportfolios.

Utterli is an online social networking site centered around creating and following discussions using a mobile phone or a computer. Utters can be audio, video, pictures or text.

By registering your mobile phone number, you can use your phone (NZ number 09 4427356) to access, initiate or participate in a discussion. Within a 10 minute time frame, you can also email in text, video or images to accompany your utter.

The really great thing is the ability to cross-post your utters to other web sites. For example, my utters will automatically be posted to this blog.

So here is how I can see this working in the context of a students’ eportfolio. For the age of the students we are working with, one of their parent’s mobile numbers would be registered.

The child would post learning and thoughts to their eportfolio as per usual, but now the ability to comment and feedback by the child or their parent is made more accessible. Learning can be shared and a quick phone call will enable a voice comment or feedback to automatically be posted into the child’s blog. Cool.

Not only that, but utters can be posted about the students even when there is no deliberate sharing of learning intended. If a student took home a reader to share with their parents, after reading and discussing the story the parents could just phone in a comment about how well the student read and what they needed help with. Doubly cool.

This would be especially great for those who prefer the ease of a quick spoken comment to that of sitting down and typing. It is also familiar technology, everybody knows how to make a phone call, whereas the blogging eportfolio software we use could in itself be a barrier to the technology reluctant parent.

So my next post will need to be an utter. Coming soon…

Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulsynnott/

Just to follow up on my last post, just read this article discussed in Ubiquitous Thoughts, a blog dedicated to thoughts and ideas about teaching, learning, and ubiquitous computing.

The article: An iPod Touch for each student? School would tap it as learning tool, discusses a middle school (Grades 6, 7 & 8 = Year 7, 8 & 9) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, which could become the first in the country to give an iPod Touch to every teacher and student…

The article is not directly related to the use of the Touch for eportfolios at all, in fact the schools seem a bit vague on how the iPods will be used! Oh the potential though… read the full article, and think of what you could do if every student and teacher at your school had one…

Photo courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellzappa/

Having just made my breakout selections for uLearn 08, I was pleased to see 3 sessions dedicated to the use of mobile phones and other portable technologies.

I am particularly interested in this breakout: Using the I-Pod touch to instantly inform parents of their child’s learning… by Paul Wright.

I see a huge potential in how mobile technologies can contribute to this area and it relates closely to some of the core beliefs I have about ePortfolios. The ability to share, for the purpose of receiving relevant and constructive feedback to improve learning, can only really happen if the learning is shared or made available almost immediately.

The web can make his happen. A blog post with embedded media takes minutes and then it’s there, ready to share. But a web based portfolio does not necessarily mean that parents will view it and share in the learning. And if they do, will they leave a comment? Will they view the learning with their child?

The physical presence of a portable device, like an iPod touch, could significantly change this. A child bringing home an iPod containing their learning gives an opportunity for sharing, not dependent on a broadband connection, taking only on a few minutes of time with mum or dad. Feedback is instant. Praise here and a suggestion here. Done.

If I think of a typical Year 3 child that takes home a reader to read with mum or dad. Why not slip an iPod Touch into the reading folder too and share some learning?

I look forward to this breakout to see how successful the pilot programme has been.

Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nirak/

My earlier post about the iPhone and its suitability to be the hub of the ePortfolio or even your PLE, has taken another turn as the Apple rumour mills get into the “What’s going to be available for Christmas 2008?” mode.

9to5mac.com this morning wrote UK report claims iPhone nano for Christmas on their website. Pictured above, the phone will cost £150 and be available on prepay. Sounds promising if it is to be believed.

This would certainly get me interested as the iPhone in its current pricing configuration is not really achievable for use in education and therefore in my ePortfolio plans. But as prepay and a one off purchase price, that would be great… if it were only true…

Just like the MacBook touch rumours… or here. Looks to good to be true, but wouldn’t it be cool?!

I have previously blogged about the potential of the iPhone as a tool for generating and uploading content and reflections to your ePortfolio. This was before the release of the iPhone 3G and the brilliant WordPress app for managing your WordPress blog. This is a pretty nifty app which has been described in more detail here, here, here or here.

There is plenty of evidence of bloggers using the tool and helping with it’s development. You can view these posts, such as this from the highly respected Dr Helen Barrett and others. The really great thing about this web app is that it also works from your iPod Touch too, as long as you have updated to the v2.0 software.

(Don’t worry if you don’t have a WordPress driven blog, there are still 13 other options described here for blogging using the iPhone or iPod Touch).

This web app and others (10 million apps in total were download in the first weekend) designed for the iPhone and Touch really hold the potential for the educational benefits of these mobile tools.

While the iPhone carried with it the hype, anticipation and desirability, it is still a device which lacks in certain areas.

But for me, the learning potential lies not in the hardware, but in the apps that are being developed to support learning. This of course is not a new concept at all, the technology should not drive what you are doing. It gets me really excited to see that a concept that wasn’t really practical or workable a few months ago has been made possible with the arrival of the iPhone v2.0 software and the WordPress web app.

What I would give to be able to afford a class set of iPhones (or iPod Touches!) to really explore this phase of elearning..

Any sponsors out there..?

Today the Wellington Apple Bus Tour visited Russell Street School as part of its tour of Wellington, Masterton and Palmerston North schools to see ICT in action.

It is always a pleasure and an honour to share and discuss what we value in our school and also give the students the opportunity to present their learning to a new audience.

I had the responsibility of sharing the school’s background and development in ePortfolios, where this may be headed in the future and an overview of my research – all in no more than 20 minutes!

I remembered this post from Ewan McIntosh’s blog:

…so in future TeachMeets the rule of No PowerPoints will stand, of course, but be coupled with “anything you want to show must be online and linked to from the TeachMeet wiki page“.

A great concept and one that more conference organisers and speakers should adopt. So here is the presentation… sorry no audio commentary.

Let me know if anything needs further explanation.

[vimeo]1190576[/vimeo]

I read and watched with interest the news about the VIA Open Source Notebook on the TechCrunch blog. Open source software and now open source computers.

Love the 2 way camera! While I am a through and through Mac user and always have been, it seems as though there is a gap in the Mac market for the void that I want to fill. That is to have a small portable tool enabling the ePortfolio to transform, or additionally become, what people may refer to as a Personal Learning Environment (refer to Graham Attwell’s blog for his take on PLEs.). True anywhere anytime cost-effective portability for learning, sharing learning and social communication.

The mini laptop seems to be the right tool for the job. Small, virtually no footprint, portable (i.e. throw it in your backpack). For me the concept seems to fill the gap between the MacBook and the iPhone. That is, a small portable device that can access all the Web 2 tools the students use as well as record still and video, project to a projector, wireless, bluetooth… an all on one solution that is small, lightweight and portable and does not require a highly expensive mobile broadband account as a mobile does. And it is cheap!

The Linux version of an Asus is only $520. Entry level MacBooks: $1649…

I hear you say, “But it’s not a Mac!”  Does that matter anymore? I exclusively use Web 2 tools for the majority of my work. Whether I use Linux, Windows or OS X it does not effect the tools I use on the web.

I am not alone in thinking this, in his Switched On column, Ross Rubin says,

the historically hazy and suddenly hot device space between the cellphone and the notebook is emerging as the best shot yet for the Linux…

One cannot finish without mentioning the XO, the laptop developed by the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) social welfare organization. Or indeed the upcoming XO2 seen above…

Food for thought.