M-Learning

M-learning stands for mobile learning and refers to the fact that in much of contemporary society, many learners are mobile. This means that many learners now demand that their learning environment address the needs of such a mobile lifestyle. In the training industry mobile learners are often serviced with mobile learning devices such as PDAs, palm tops and, in South Africa, cellphones

According to Dr Tom Brown, world renowned expert on distance education and former instructional designer now Mid Rand Graduate Institute in Mid Rand South Africa,

mobile learning is a natural extension of electronic learning (e-learning) and has the potential to make learning even more widely available and accessible than we are used to in existing e-learning environments. The role that communication and interaction plays in the learning process is a critical success factor.

Due to the ubiquitous nature of cell phones in South Africa, South Africa is leading the way by doing pioneering work in the field of cell phone learning. The Meraka Institute at the CSIR has partnered with the WikiMedia Foundation on the MobilEd project to develop a free technology platform that allows learners to upload and download information via audio wiki. See archives and links for more on this. And this is just one of the innovative ways that cellphones are being used to enhance learning.

In the training arena, cell phones can be used for anything from multiple choice quizzes to pre-recorded mini-lectures to audio wiki learning tools, that can be activated anytime, anywhere. Like with any learning materials, m-learning tools do not work if they are not fully integrated into a learning programme that has been carefully designed to support these and other learning techniques that this employs. But m-learning the potential to reach learners immediately and cost effectively, wherever they are, increasing the interactivity of the learning experience through helping to grow closer learning relationships with large numbers of learners. I have partnered with a creative programmer to be able to offer you the option of including m-learning tools in your learning materials. Together with your training team, we could come up with wonderful ideas to enhance learning in your context. We already have experience in using a number of m-learning tools. Contact me if you would like to discuss this further.