As mobile and wireless technologies have improved then the potential for their use in ubiquitous learning techniques or u-learning, has been explored. It has become a trend in recent times for such technologies to become integrated into electronic learning practices allowing students the freedom to study anytime, anyplace, anywhere.
However, despite the maturity of mobile and wireless technology, there are still issues with the large amounts of data generated through such learning practices, a challenge which many systems simply cannot handle. The answer has been the development of Grid technology to provide a platform for not only delivering content but storing it as well. Wireless technologies such as WLAN, Bluetooth and RFID can be used for geographical and context services, while web technologies can be used to provide the content in a format compatible to the device in use.
In educational terms the adoption of mobile and wireless devices along with associated applications means there is a great opportunity to develop curriculum with a socially based learning and teaching aspect. These technologies can enable interaction away from the classroom and outside of the limitations of conventional desktop computers, giving students and teachers alike the ability to interact on a scale never used before.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Mike
ReplyDeleteI sense you have a background in network analysis (or I envy your network savvy-ness :) Good points about the storage concerns and compatibility issues. We still have some issues with our wireless connectivity so it is limited to an elite few basically because of the reasons you mentioned.
Diane
I had a blackberry for roughly two weeks in the fall. I couldn't return it fast enough because the web connection was so slow and not as easy to use as the iTouch.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an interesting point about interacting outside of the classroom. When I was in school we used an LMS for grades or posting assignments, but never for course engagement. This provides ample opportunities for instructors to continue class outside of required time, hopefully leading to deeper conversations for classtime.