The development of mobile learning

Devices that access the Internet have become increasingly popular as they become more affordable. Several companies have released smartphones comparable to the iPhone (for example, Samsung Galaxy) and there are also several tablets on the market. Although the first impulse is to consider these devices for entertainment purposes only, the idea of ​​mobile learning (m-learning) is gaining fuel and becoming a reality. In fact, it is the fastest growing area of ​​e-learning, having the huge advantage of mobility. What we thought mobile meant for e-learning – having the ability to easily collaborate with people around the world – is multiplied by a thousand in mobile learning, where you have the ability to learn without being tied to a desk, or even a plug.

If m-learning hasn’t been taken seriously before, tablets make it seem like the next big thing in distance learning. Companies now buy tablets for their employees in the oil and gas department, as well as construction. The numbers are also rising for tablets used in higher education. Apparently the first million iPads were sold in the first week of launch.

Some of the tablets now available have features that make them impact the learning experience in the 21st century. The best example would be the iPad 2, of course, which includes apps like MathBoard, quizzes for kids from kindergarten to elementary school; Solar System: Interactive 3D Tour of the Galaxy; Intro to Letters by Montessorium – learning sounds and phonograms; Shakespeare in Bits: animated illustrations and modern-language translations of Romeo and Juliet; Virtual history, Rome: 3D reconstructions of ancient Rome, etc. The iPhone4 also comes with a variety of educational applications, such as National Geographic, which explores every corner of the world; New Oxford American Dictionary, which contains more than 250,000 entries; Cliffs Notes: reviews of great literary works; Periodic: the compact periodic table, etc.

Although these apps are educational and beneficial, there are very few mobile-friendly learning management systems (LMS). Some platforms, such as emTrain, Element K, Sum Total, and Blackbord Learn, offer apps that are available on iTunes and can be used on portable devices. However, there are no easy-to-use (fast) content creation tools. Very few providers offer web conferencing tools as downloadable applications. The importance of the tools being available as applications is that the user can access them faster. For example, if one is looking to create a quiz from the iPad, one would prefer to search for “quiz” in iTunes and then search for “create an m-learning quiz” in Google. Moodle is an open source LMS alternative that works great on the iPad. The Moodle system itself is not in Flash, and the input fields are very accessible to end users and administrators.

Knowing how to take advantage of this market opportunity, Apple brought iTunes U, with the U standing for “university.” This gives institutions a home for all their digital content created by educators, which can be downloaded to Mac, PC, iPhone and iPad. Knowing that students are already using iTunes and familiar with the environment, it’s easy to introduce some educational apps. It goes without saying that all students can access iTunes U.

For educators, both small and large, looking to get content online quickly, there are other options. Using your own LMS allows you to make your content accessible to a large audience. Using an open source platform, like Moodle, as mentioned above, could be a real time saver in getting your content out to the masses. Note: Apple’s approval process for your iTunes store can be difficult to navigate and time consuming.