M-learning: Future Tutor For XGeneration

Abstract

The main advantage of E-learning is independence of location and time both. However the minimum requirement of E-learning is personal computer which abandons the location independency one has to fix his position after all. Both location and time are still not fulfilled with the use of notebooks because location independency depends on the ever changing technology. Such type of problems can be solved by using highly mobile and available devices such as Mobile phones. For example the saturation in market of mobile phones in Austria is currently 81% and the mobile numbers are still increasing. Since the majority of students at both secondary schools and universities have a mobile phone at hand most of the time, Mobile Learning (M-learning) could be a new tool for assisting learning in future.

Introduction 

Learning is a fundamental cognitive process of mental and social change over an entire lifetime. Today, the organization of learning is changing especially in universities. However, new technologies offer the opportunity for learners to communicate and interact with multi-media learning resources and simulated environments. Consequently emerging technologies can enhance motivation which is the most important aspect of learning, deliver information when needed and encourage solving problems and satisfying curiosity. The use of computers in today education has mostly been focused on enhancing learning in formal settings, typically in the traditional classroom or computer lab. The use of mobile devices could expand learning possibilities and solve the problem of being tied to a particular location. In broader sense the combination of E-learning and mobile computing is called Mobile learning (M-learning). M-learning provides a way to access the applications that support learning anywhere, anytime. With a more than 4 years of trialling, research and development, m-learning has helped thousands of learners from all walks of life to develop their skills, confidence and motivation to learn. In past computers or laptops are used to support people who know what they want. Subsequently, m-learning has become an attractive area for corporate mobile devices. However hardware is considered as a solved problem; innovative, affordable and usable software remains still the greatest challenges. PDAs, small laptops can be used but it is mobile which is less expensive and widely available that is best suited for learners.

Why M-learning?

Convenience Every day we are forced to wait — for busses, for classes, for computers, for laundry. In life, we have to wait. With M-learning one has not to wait at all. It is just-in-time approach. When and where the learning is required easily can be achieved via the mobile phones.
Collaboration Great learning rarely happens alone. One of the best ways to succeed is to work together: share and compare ideas with classmates. With the help of M-learning work out the problems online and get the tips and feedback right away.
Portability Why haul around a stack of books or an awkward laptop. The latest in portable computing lets one access the schoolwork where and when one wants. Portability, however, is extended beyond the iPaq. Every assignment, study tool and learning feature have been crafted to fit into the busy schedule the way the iPaq fits in one’s hand.
Compatibility It is hard enough these days to put together everything that are supposed to learn — it is even harder if nothing seems to fit together. Not a problem here! One of the best parts of M-learning is that they fit together perfectly. It all fits together because it was designed to fit with what worked before.

Used for?

There are many ways m-learning can be used, it is not confined to any specific age, gender or other group. The learning content can be adapted to fit whatever the user’s specific learning needs and interests are. M-learning was first developed in European countries to attract young adults back into learning. In 2004, the user group has expanded to encompass people of all ages, from grandparents getting involved in family learning, adults looking to improve their employment prospects, to pregnant teenagers needing health advice and guidance. Typically, our learners could be said to have one or more of the following characteristics:

· not in education or training (including unemployed) 
· mobile 
· casual, temporary, self-employed, or 
· in low-paid/low-skill employment and have literacy or numeracy development needs. 

Increasingly, more opportunities for the use of M-learning are becoming apparent, and a new and exciting areas for work is emerged.

Applicable Technologies 

The term M-learning is applied to learning with many different technologies, and an equal variety of learning contexts. This section describes the major technologies explored in the M-learning.

SMS (text messaging) Text messaging is the simplest of all the technologies, and interactive learning activities can be devised with very basic equipment. All mobile phones can send and receive text messages, so this is by far the most widespread of the technologies. Partly because of its widespread use, and partly because of the limited length of text messages, it has developed its own etiquette and social protocols for use. Activities which require learners to send messages could be of two types:

· Learners interacting with their tutor (e.g. for extra hints, reminders, revision tips or homework questions in between classes). 
· Learners interacting with a computer that sends automated replies. 

Interacting with a tutor need not require the tutor to use a mobile phone to send text messages. A number of web sites exist which allow tutors to receive text messages from learners on their PC using an interface similar to an e-mail program. These allow the tutor to send a text message to a number of learners at once (e.g. one question simultaneously to all members of the class) and view or print learners' responses easily. Alternatively, learners could use text messaging to get automated feedback from a computer on their answers to questions, freeing the tutor from any additional workload.

MMS It is 'picture messaging', the system by which camera phones and PDAs can send images, audio clips and even video clips as well as text to other phones and to e-mail addresses. This opens up a vast range of potential learning. A number of web sites are available which allow to set up a web page and send text, images and audio to it directly from a picture message. A variety of collaborative active learning activities have been tried out in a number of contexts and in different countries using this technology as part of the M-learning. 
MediaBoard Itis a virtual 'place' (held on a web site) where learners and tutors can set up an image or map as the front page of their web site, and send text, pictures and audio messages to different locations on the image or map. One use for this in the M-learning has been to set up live events. Many potential applications for this technology have emerged as a result of extensive experimentation, demonstrations and discussions of this technology with teachers and learners. They include-
· collecting and sending in evidence for vocational or other qualifications 
· supporting people in work experience placements supporting tutors and mentors in outreach situations

VoiceXML It is a way of letting you talk to a computer via your phone (a bit like an automated telephone answering system). It can be used to simulate real-life dialogues, which is very popular with ESOL or LDD learners because they can practise a dialogue (e.g. job interview, doctor's appointment) as many times as they wish. It combines: 

· real-voice recordings 
· speech recognition 
· speech generation (computer voice) 
· conversation-flow logic. 

Beaming Almost all PDAs have infrared, bluetooth or both. These allow one device to send and receive files to and from another for free. The devices need to be fairly close by, and in the case of infrared they need to be in line of sight of each other. Several teachers, as well as software developers, have used these features for some interesting collaboration activities and tools.

Downloadable Games Now a days most of the mobile phones are compatible to download the games from web at the cost of money and time. Quizzes can be effective tools in education point of view. They are small to program so the money and time to download can be reduced. They may consist short, multiple choice and quiz type questions with interactive graphics. This has been used successfully by BBC in their math and science programmes.

Podcasting: As the craze that is iPod has grown, so has the terminology that surrounds it. Podcasting is an iPod word for downloading audio files. Even BBC Radio is in on the act. The good news is that it is easy to get involved and make your own MP3 audio files. Several language learning schools are giving MP3 players to their students so that they can download and listen to spoken audio tracks.

Challenges with Mobile Phones
The major challenges are
· The mobile phone itself
· Network accessibility
· The End user
· Context of use.

Relatively small display size, limitation in processing power, memory and bandwidth are serious constraints on their input possibilities. In addition there are certain restrictions for application development-

v Limited processing power and memory resource 
v Variety of screen sizes 
v Low resolution of the displays 
v Broad range of input possibilities 
v High diversity of operating systems 

The first two constraints lead to the conclusion that every standard mobile phone is not suitable for an M-learning application. However, mobile phones available to date are in fact Smartphones which are a combination of PDAs and mobile phones e.g. NOKIA 6600. For a platform-independent application, which can be used on a variety of different operating systems for Smartphones, a standardized integrated development environment is necessary, for example the Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME). Almost every mobile phone to date is Java-enabled. J2ME is platform-independent and makes the creation of mobile, Web-based applications possible. With the use of additional libraries multimedia-based applications can be implemented, which vary from producer to producer but the basic rule is: The newer the Smartphone, the more J2ME libraries are supported.

The Mobile Learning Engine (MLE)

The MLE is a multimedia-based application for mobile phones. The MLE can be downloaded from www.mlearn.net for free. The MLE has been developed by using the Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) and runs on a broad variety of mobile phones. Its platform-independency enables the handling of: 

· Different operating systems (Symbian OS, Microsoft MS Pocket PC, Palm OS, etc.) 
· A variety of different screen resolutions 
· Different input possibilities (keypad, keyboard or pointer device) 
· Integration of images within text, hyperlinks and elements with specific actions 
· Audio and video bars for interactive questions and intelligent help, which includes: checkbox questions (single choice, multiple choice) 

Conclusion

The educational systems, using M-learning assume a central role within the process of continuous formation. M-learning is the learning process supported by informatics and telematic technologies. It is important to underline that this does not necessarily entail the substitution of main characters of the traditional learning process i.e. teaching by an actual intructor but may consist in the support of technological resources. At the same time, the M-learning can be done with the help of various hand held devices equipped with the adequate solutions and educational contents. The aim of these emerging technologies is to provide a flexible learning instrument able to support learners during the whole training cycle, from the definition of the objective to the assessment of the results, through the construction of custom self-adaptive courses.

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Author Name: Ajay Tripathi
Lecturer (C.S.)AIM, Ghaziabad
Email: ajayinvns@gmail.com