psp, TV, mp3, pda, mobile phones: can we REALLY put learning onto them all?

How do we cope with supporting real, valid, mobile learning on a huge range of devices?

The more time I spend surrounded by mobile learners, the more this question comes back to haunt me. We have used many different approaches and devices already, but still the issue is FAR from simple.

There are a wide spectrum of strategies. At one end we have learning that is VERY device specific - exploiting what each device does best. At the other end is data-pushing, where we have some central resources that get intelligently reformatted for multiple different devices.

But which is best?

Evolving standards for data push us towards the data-push area. I can see the same RSS feed on many different devices. My smart content system will reformat a powerpoint to run on many different devices. A lo of energy has been invested in perfecting data-push, but is that really enough for learners?

At the other, device specific end, think about simple mp3 players. All they can do is audio. Nothing else. But they have a really useful place in learning. Why can’t I listen to key lessons, and reminders?

Or think about camera phones. Encouraging learners to collect media samples can be a rich and rewarding addition to their learning.

But data push doesn't even get a look in on either of these examples. And most mobile web standards are irrelevant.

So where should we put our energy?

My personal philosophy on this is that we need to be able to do both. We should rejoice in the standards, and wherever possible support the emerging mobile web and data standards like XHTML, RSS, Wap, XML, CSS etc. But we also need to make the most of the unique features of specific devices. Just because the web browser on my smart phone doesn’t talk to my camera, does that mean I shouldn’t take a picture as part of my learning? Of course not! But I can guarantee that if all the learning is too standards or even browser centric this will be neglected.

So - I go for both. Some materials can be pushed out to multiple devices. But beware of losing the (possibly even richer) learning that happens with device specific features.

QR Codes anyone?

QR Codes have been around for a while. They are one of several different attempts to improve on barcodes, offering a small image that contains machine readable data.

You may not realise, but your phone could tell you that the one on the right says "www.m-learning.org"

QR Codes are one of several similar systems to start being used with camera-phones, and this is where it gets interesting to us mobile learners. I can embed a URL, and attach the code to a picture in the museum. If I point my phone at it, I can get taken to a mini-website with more information about that picture.

Or for the tech-savvy businessman - why not include your email or phone number in a QR Code. It will save your contacts typing them in.

But the main reason I am blogging QR Codes, is that Nokia has started shipping the reader as standard in their Japanese phones. And that this format is fast becoming mainstreamed there. Consumers are finding links on supermarket shelves, bus shelters and magazine ads.

So - if it is being taken up by industry, why not at school too?

There are (as always) many different ways to do the same things. Semacode is another variant, and hypertag is a more feature-rich and advertising-friendly approach. But for me the big take-up in Japan is a taste of mainstreaming-to-come.

If you are interested in the specifics, wikipedia has a good summary of QR Codes (of course!)

and hypertag have made a great animation, to show what can happen when your phone starts getting real digital data from the world around you!

for more on the Japan usage, see Mike Love's links on SmartMobs