Mobile learning technologies can make adult education experiences easier, more fun, and more successful. Smartphones and tablet devices are becoming more and more popular. Most students have one, or access to one. Many students are experimenting with popular new software applications for their devices. Two popular apps are Blackboard for Mobile Learning and Perrla Mobile. Both of these applications show promise for the adult learner on the go!

 

Blackboard for Mobile Learning (BBML) gives online students whose school uses the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS), the option of accessing the LMS from a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. It is not uncommon for adults to struggle with finding time for studies when faced with busy lives requiring attention to children, spouses, jobs, personal responsibilities, health issues, and unexpected interruptions. Access to the LMS through a mobile device allows the busy learner to check in to class, read resources, check grades, and coordinate assignments. As BBML is constantly being updated and enhanced, soon interaction with discussion boards, blogs, wikis, and social media will be possible. Assignments will be able to be downloaded to a dropbox in a simple format and interactive collaboration with group members will be possible anywhere there is a signal (instead of only at your desktop or laptop connected with wifi). As an educator, taking advantage of BBML could take place through a reading assignment done through learner’s mobile device and then checking in to the virtual classroom to complete the assignment by writing a brief review posting. Students could also keep a log of time on their mobile device vs. time on their desktop/laptop device. It should be evident that spare time well spent using BBML saves time at the desktop which, in turn, creates more time for other life areas needing attention. More information can be found at:   https://www.blackboard.com/platforms/mobile/overview.aspx.

 

Perrla Mobile is available for either Apple or Android. Currently it is not available for any other platforms. Perrla for desktop computing is a program for formatting APA and/or MLA papers precisely and automatically to the standards described in each format. It automatically formats the body of the title page, body, conclusion, and references. Perrla makes it easy to create a “perfect” paper. Perrla mobile is not a replacement for the desktop versions, but meant to be an enhancement. Rather than formatting entire papers, it formats only research information found through searches on your mobile device, and stores them in a reference database which can be uploaded to your desktop computer for integration into a paper. This allows research work to be done any time it is convenient, and safe, to work with your mobile device. I have used Perrla for several years and it is a time saver, plus it creates documents which are perfectly formatted; there is never any question if it is done right. Perrla mobile extends some of the functionality to mobile learning devices, allowing research to be conducted even when away from home. In professional practice I would assign students a task to research a topic relevant to the course being taught with their mobile phones, and then upload their findings to a collaborative class Perrla paper. This can be done at no charge with the free Perrla Mobile application which allows up to ten references to be researched free of charge. Another assigned task would be to have each student demonstrate knowledge of, and ability to, access all of the Perrla Mobile features and apply them to the class collaboration. More information can be found at: http://www.perrla.com/MobileAppDetails.aspx.

 

Both BBML and Perrla Mobile are excellent examples of technology which makes smart use of mobile learning devices. They are technologies in the process of development, as technology advances, so does the evolution of these products. The eventual intention of Blackboard for Mobile Learning is to allow full functionality of the Blackboard Learning Management System to mobile devices. Likewise, Perrla Mobile will eventually include title page and content body creation. This technological evolution will ultimately allow complete integration of mobile devices with online education. This will create an educational experience which is more positive and successful for both learners and educators.  

OK, time for a technology rant… Last night I met a 19 year old co-worker at a pre-determined location so we could drive a company vehicle out of town for work. The night before I gave him simple instructions, plus the address of the location. We were to meet at a location two blocks off of the only major Interstate highway going east/west through Phoenix. Take the Interstate west, turn right at a clearly marked cross street, then turn into the location, also clearly marked, on your right. Did he make it??? Not even close… At 30 minutes late I called him, only to find out he had no idea where he was. He didn’t know what street he turned off of the Interstate on, he didn’t know if he was north or south of the Interstate. He didn’t even know how to read the street signs to determine the cross-streets of his location. After talking to him for 15 minutes, figuring out where he was, I gave him turn by turn instructions to my location and he got there. He claimed his GPS gave him wrong directions. OK, I’ve seen that happen. But I had previously given him simple “turn right off the Interstate, go two blocks, then turn right into the parking lot where there is a HUGE sign indicating the location.” When I asked why he didn’t just follow the simple instructions, he said “I wasn’t ever taught that. I don’t know directions, I only know how to use my phone.” Is this what technology is leading us toward? People who are helpless without technology???

 

I mention this only as a reminder for us as educators. While technology may be easier, faster, more informative, more fun, or less hassle, I think we need to make sure our learners understand fundamentals as well. Otherwise, these “shortcuts” could leave us in the dark if the technology fails us. In my example, a basic understanding of the four directions of the compass with some understanding of mapping skills would have helped. Just paying attention to what I said when I gave the simple directions instead of ignoring me and relying upon his phone GPS would have done the trick. How many young adults know how to do long division? Or any math by hand? How many of us remember phone numbers anymore? If my phone died and I had to make a call to anyone I know, (even my own mother!) I do not know a single phone number by memory. I couldn’t do it! I got an A in a graduate statistics course using state of the art software to solve complex equations. Do I understand how these equations work? Could I solve them by hand? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! And I just took this course a year ago, I couldn’t remember today how to use the software either. So, did I learn anything? Nope. I got a grade and a degree that says I did…

 

I believe we have to give learners an education that will benefit them in today’s world, using today’s technology. But I also believe we have a responsibility to help learners understand the fundamentals beneath the technology, where it came from, and how it got to where it is. Otherwise we’ll wind up with a society who can’t find their way across town, doesn’t know how to make a friend face to face, and has no way to call for help when their phone dies!

In an attempt to bring social networking into the office, “Conversations” is a new technology that provides a message board style interface for groups of people to communicate and collaborate. This technology would seem to have direct application to educational settings where all of the students and instructors in a classroom could get together with real time communications rather than discussion board style “email” messages. This would be like a real time classroom café. URL: https://hootsuite.com/features/conversations

 

Another interesting technology with potential for educational settings is “OpenID.” It is an open authentication protocol that allows a single set of login credentials work at each site visited. Once you’ve been authenticated, there is another app called “OAuth” which will automatically fill in all the personal information that each new site visited. One of the obstacles to using various websites is trying to remember login information for each site, and filling out the same tedious profile information over and over again. These two apps automatically do it for me. Without a simpler way to sign on, I tend to forget the login information, get frustrated with searches for login and passwords, and quit visiting the site. Less time spent trying to access a site and enter redundant information leaves more time for learning. This technology claims to be a safer, faster, and easier way to log into web sites. URL: http://openid.net/

My personal experiences as an online learner have created my interests in educational technology. I hope that these personal experiences can translate to professional experience as an educator in the future. I have used Learning Management Systems at each of the online schools I have attended. The LMS's I have experience with are LoudCloud, Angel, and Blackboard. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, however I believe that ease of interface between the LMS and the student should be the prime objective. In this blog I intend to report my research findings comparing various systems and note student/instructor feedback on user experience. Another educational technology of interest is mobile application technology. Though online learning has been popular for a decade, and smartphones have been around for nearly as long, joining the two technologies in a reliable, easy to use format has lagged behind. Creating mobile apps is now listed as one of the top ten desired future technologies (http://www.edudemic.com/2012/09/10-emerging-education-technologies/)for the future. Having a reliable, functional method of using my smartphone or tablet would be a huge benefit for my schedule which often has me working out of town and/or working an erratic schedule with short bursts of time where I could log in to my LMS and participate in the weekly activities. Anyone having personal experiences or who has read/conducted research into these technologies is welcome to comment and share their experiences. Thanks!