I just read this fascinating chapter in this free e-book on mobile learning. In it the authors describe a project in South Africa that made use of cellphones to support the social aspect of learning, in order to encourage learning both inside and outside the school context. One of the elements of this project that caught my eye was the ‘mobile audio wikipedia. The authors explain (p. 202):
‘1. A user can search for a term by sending an SMS message to the server.
2. The server then calls the user.
3. A speech synthesizer will read the article found in the wikipedia.
4. If the term is not found in the wikipedia, then the user can submit
his/her contribution by dictating it to the system.’

I thought this was very neat as it bypasses the problem of the small screen on most phones. This should be possible to work also with custom-designed databases for specific domains, such as vocabulary and even expressions. Linking this with the use of a GPS that pre-loads or perhaps even suggests language based on one’s location (for example, in a park, i.e. an informal situation, versus in a library), this could be a very useful way to support situated learning.

There are a lot of interesting new social apps coming out for use on mobile phones. Of course these can be put to no other use than increasing the amount of inane ‘confersation’ (where no conversing takes place but only the conferring of useless information on others), but they can also be used to support language use, especially outside the classroom.

Some applications, like www.loopt.com let people share reviews, experiences, and find friends who are nearby. Users can leave messages related to people, to buildings, or events and share these with others. It doesn’t take much imagination to think of some ways to integrate this into a classroom.

In the (near) future we will be seeing more applications like the excellent www.yelp.com, which lets people do similar things to loopt.com but then specific to one specific location (in this case a number of US cities). You can subscribe to news and events, as well as other people’s reviews, experiences, and invitations as they are relevant to you (based on your own location).

Another website like this is www.eventful.com. By linking local events with what happens in class, students can be given a more active role in bringing information and experiences to the classroom.

With many phones now having built-in GPS, it is possible to create exercises that require students to find locations or people, or respond to their environment in dynamic, and I would think, more motivating ways.