Trends in Distance Education and Open Learning: Policy ... - ADEA

CONCLUSIONAs a matter of fact, mobile cell phone has been the fastest adopted technology for the pastdecade in the world. This is very true for the African continent where the growth insubscriptions of mobile phones is the highest. Concurrently, many institutions andorganizations have been exploiting the mobile technology to achieve pre-defined goals informal and informal educational settings. There are pre-conceived opinions about whatmobile learning is and how to go for it.The findings of this research study briefly explained in the 3 major parts I,II,III have helpedin enumerating the research gaps and directions, some best practices, listing therecommendations and as per the goal of the TOR, to come up with a framework for theimplementation of mobile learning and training.The first objective set for Part I was “explaining what mobile learning is”. We have seenthat there are trivial definitions of mobile learning and that technology, pedagogy andknowledge are the key elements in any mobile learning system. We have highlighted thespecificity of mobile learning such as context awareness and its virtue when combined withthe Internet and other VLEs and also found that mLearning is not merely an extension of e-learning but a paradigm shift in integrating technology into education.The second objective for Part I was “presenting current status of mobile learning as well aslatest research”. Here we have seen the current mobile learning situation in formal andinformal settings as well as in the enterprise. Mobile learning is in its 2 nd generationcoinciding with the 4 G of mobile technology and there are numerous short term pilotprojects and initiatives across the globe. The latest research has been summarised in theresearch gaps and directions section.The third objective of Part I was “outlining the challenges faced by when designing andimplementing mobile learning”. The primary barrier is here the lack of strategy and vision.Other challenges are equally important namely the pedagogical match with thetechnology. It has also been noted that apart from restrictions imposed by the hand helddevice such as small screen size, mLearning remains in the informal domain due to lack ofstandards and the didactic instructor centric approach that instructors tend to revert back.It’s true mLearning by it’s nature tends to render training informal, thus either learners arehighly motivated or collaboration and multimedia retain the their interests.Part II corresponds to the objective “compiling advances, initiatives and applications inmobile learning”. We have seen here the economic potential for growth of mobile learningand the emerging technologies that will revolutionise mLearning as from 2010. These arethe 4G rollout and the advent of a cocktail of technologies like IPv6, Web 2.0, IMS,augmented learning and in memory analytics. Products and suppliers have been listed inAppendix 3.95