Thornton and Houser were among the first to show the potential for cellphones for vocabulary learning back in 2004. They sent out SMS messages to their students with new vocabulary, and made sure that each item was received multiple times by their participants. I don’t think (but I could be wrong here) that they made use of spaced learning by increasing the time interval between each exposure. Flaschard software is excellent at that, and now there are programs for use on cellphones. This could potentially be excellent as you are likely to have your phone with you when it is time for your next rehearsal. Here is one such program (www.flashmybrain.com) but there are many others.
Why do students not like to keep portfolios? I think it’s largely because they require a lot of effort, and effort that is clearly separate from and in addition to that demanded by the language activities they engage in. It takes an extra step to pull out a notebook or (more likely) log on to a website to update your learning record or to write up your reflections. That’s why it’s important to make the process as easy as possible and to integrate reflection into the learning process. Since most learning takes place outside the classroom, how can we encourage this reflection ‘in-the-moment’? To my mind cellphones are an excellent candidate. Using the simple voice recorder available on most phones students can be asked to record such things as:
- their use of the language outside the classroom (length, location, purpose)
- examples of the target language (for example a particular feature discussed in class)
- their success or otherwise in doing so (self-assessment)
- any questions they come up with
Several applications let you automatically upload voice notes to an online account. Some, such as one of my favourite pieces of software, Evernote (www.evernote.com), let you share an account. As a teacher you could set this up and let students send their recordings directly to that account so that both they and you can review it. An audio message as feedback will certainly cost you less time than a written comment. The (audio)record of students’ learning gives you a chance to give them credit for their out-of-class learning while giving you an immediate account of whether and how they use and learn the language on their own. In this way, mobile portfolios could be a feasible way to assess students’ development towards autonomy.
Coursesmart, a publisher of college textbooks in the US, is offering an Iphone application that gives you access to over 7,000 textbooks. Why are publishers of language education materials so far behind….?
Edukate is a programme designed for use on the Ipod to faciliate teaching. It contains a range of features to support class planning, student tracking and the use of teaching strategies. More information is available here or on their Facebook page. If anyone has used this, please drop me a note through the contact page to let me know your thoughts!
There is a lot of interest these days in mobile learning and regular readers of this blog are aware I’m particularly interested in this. Jane’s excellent directory of e-learning tools lists authoring tools for mobile learning. Most of these seem to be for drill-and-practice type exercised but this can be enhanced through the instructions and the context in which they are used. Has anyone used any of these in class or to support out-of-class learning?
5 Minute Outliner: http://www.5minutedownloads.com/details-5-minute-outliner.htm
Visualize and organize your ideas on your phone. Create outlines, projects and checklists or import them from your PC
Atlantic Link Content Point: http://www.atlantic-link.co.uk/home_contentpoint.htm
Rapid authoring software with automatic Flash output for Windows Mobile devices. Create fully interactive mobile courses in hours.
Cram 1.0: http://www.simpleleap.com/cram.htm
Scholastic testing software Cram allows students to create, study, and share tests on their BlackBerry, iPhone, & iPod Touch.
iWriter Solution for creating iPod study tools
http://www.talkingpanda.com/iwriter/
Learning Mobile Author Mobile content authoring and publishing tool that allows the rapid design, editing and publishing of trackable mobile learning and testing content
http://www.hotlavasoftware.com/index.php?cPath=92&osCsid=41c91867013398cbd23dd4ccee1f6845
Mobile Study Create quizzes for mobile phones (this is one of only two free ones)
http://www.mobilestudy.org/
MyLearning Author for Pocket PC A set of easy-to-use software tools that lets you create learning activities to run on Pocket PCs.
http://www.m-learning.org/products/mylearning-author-for-pocket-pc.htm
mscape authoring toolkit Download, create and share mobile, location–based media (this is one of only two free ones)
http://www.mscapers.com/home
Podquiz Maker Wizard to produce multiple-choice quizzes and instructional content
http://podquizmaker.com/
Toolbook 9.5 Provides support for the Apple iPhone and other enhancement
http://www.toolbook.com/preview/
Zirada Drag and drop authoring tool for publishing to Pocket PCs and Mobile Devices
http://www.trivantis.com/authoring_tools_zirada_overview.html
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.
Mobile learning has a lot of potential for supporting out-of-class language learning. Now it is becoming easier to create your own mobile-ready website using free tools such as www.wirenode.com These websites take your existing website or blog and help you to make it viewable and usable on mobile devices. Hosting is done on the wirenode server, so you get a wirenode address. Wirenode supports Twitter, RSS, and other ‘web 2.0′ applications, making this an excellent tool to support communicative activities outside the classroom. As an example, surf to this address to view this blog’s mobile version:
