Connecting Up
Many technologies allows us to become connected with other users of technology at almost every waking moment. Of course, mobile device users can choose whether to communicate by e-mail, Bluetooth or the Internet whilst on the move giving us every opportunity to stay connected at all times.
Being connected means that we can work or play collaboratively sharing ideas, thoughts, or files - whether that means documents for business or study or simply photos to share with friends and family.
So why use Bluetooth on mobile devices?
For many reasons - such as:
- Relevant handouts and files can be beamed from a tutor to a group of learners at the start of a class
- Questions or concerns can be beamed to a tutor to encourage even the quieter members to engage
- A storyline can develop as it's passed from device to device
- Learners can send a vote by Bluetooth to the tutor's mobile phone or laptop
- Learner evidence can be sent to a Bluetooth printer
- Icebreaking activity playing a Bluetooth consequences game Data gathering by several then collation on one device
But sending files by Bluetooth means setting up permissions so the devices can allow file transfer between each other. The How To section shows you how to do this. It's always a one-to-one experience and can be a slow process if carried out with many learners at a single point in time.
Sending many files to many people can therefore be a little cumbersome so a service such as BlueBroadcast can help you set up multiple devices to distribute files when a mobile phone user is within range.
John Gerard at Meldrum Academy has been making great use of the cameras on his pupils' mobiles to improve their writing and uses Bluetooth to provide feedback and to encourage peer critique. Read John Gerard's blog entry.
Cooties™ (part of GoKnow's Mobile Learning Envrionment), is a simulation program that students use collaboratively to examine the spread of disease.
The teacher can determine the incubation time, individual immunity levels, and how many Cooties will start with the infection. Students meet and possibly "infect" each other by beaming between their Palm OS devices. The Cooties program tracks which coodles students have met and will tell students if their coodle is sick. After students have finished meeting each other, they collaboratively determine the initial carrier of the disease and trace the transmission path among coodles.
Lilian Soon's blog recommends the Nintendo Wii for various educational purposes. Why not get your learners to create Miis or ask Motor Vehicle students to play?
Chris Copestake, from Rotherham College, talks about using Bluetooth with his learners.
"Imagine a physics class where learning about acceleration, motion, and trajectory wasn’t just represented in the form of pictures and diagrams, instead imagine students using the Wiimote to simulate those phenomena." With a Bluetooth adaptor and specialist software a Wiimote can be tranformed into a powerful input device. Read how to configure a Wiimote at the 'Classroom of the Future' website.
Just about any information can be placed inside a QR Code, which looks like a strange bar code but prettier. Camera-phone users, with some pre-loaded software, can point their device at the QR code to 'collect' the information - whether it's text, a URL or an image.
Although not new technology, QR codes are now being increasingly used for educational purposes. QR Code Generator and the Kayway Reader can be used by tutors to send induction information, health and safety notes, vouchers for free stationery or food, adverts for classes etc.
Read how a Japanese tutor uses Mobile Phones and QR Codes for Formative Class Assessment - providing the options to questions in QR format - the feedback contained in the code itself.
You might not want to use this idea as a teaching method - 'Scan my Skin' where QR codes provide ways for people to get to know each other better! But it's an interesting concept.
So why connect to the Internet using mobile devices?
Many mobile devices, including handheld games consoles, can connect to the Internet - some by WiFi or with the ability to connect to a wireless LAN (local area network). Some users find web surfing a pleasure even if the screen presents a small web experience, whereas others might find the URL text entry a painful experience before even getting to the first web page. However, with the increasing number of mobile appropriate web sites being developed, a tutor can encourage learners to carry out web research at their desk in class, or out and about when moving around College or away on field trips.
If a learner has a laptop then connection to the Internet could be as simple as using a 3G mobile broadband modem. This can take them from the confines of an institution's system and allows for connection on the move - maintaining their mobile learning on their journey home or in front of the TV.
Since the sight of the first 3G Data card in 2004, all major mobile phone providers have produced USB modems. The USB modem does have an advantage as it can be used on virtually all laptops, UMPCs or mini-laptops.
Good website design makes for a site to become mobile appropriate - with a small addition to the cascading style sheet that sits behind the site. Not only does good web design improve accessibility it also allows users of handheld devices to be able to appreciate the site regardless of operating system, browser or device.
The following sites are just a few with links to mobile-appropriate sites
If you're concerned about Internet safety, yet wish for your young learners to still use the devices to carry out research, then the SynchronEyes classroom management software offers filtering and controls on wireless, wired networks and most mobile devices. The software also provides an easy way to distribute learning resources, such as assessment activities, straight to each device.