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Going Mobile in Higher Education

By IGI Global on Oct 21, 2011
IGI Global would like to thank Shalin Hai-Jew for contributing this article outlining how to create mobile digital learning objects. Dr. Hai-Jew's newest publication, Constructing Self-Discovery Learning Spaces Online: Scaffolding and Decision Making Technologies, is scheduled to be released this Winter. An excellent resource for any library, her edited research volume, Virtual Immersive and 3D Learning Spaces: Emerging Technologies and Trends, is currently available in the IGI Global Bookstore.

In higher education, instructional designers are starting to look at how to design digital learning objects that are accessible on mobile devices in ubiquitous environments. Now that the wireless fidelity (wifi) and mobile telephone infrastructure has been put into place, and now that the functionalities of numerous mobile devices enable creative uses of mobile devices, higher education is starting to move in that direction.

Mobile digital learning objects have unique features. For example, most smart phones have a more limited screen size, and even with the popularization of tablet computers, the screens are smaller than for the typical desktop computer or laptop. The interfaces for inputting information are limited, with small keypads, plug-in keyboards, touch-screens, and sometimes built-in cameras and microphones. While digital information (think text, images, audiocasts, podcasts, and vodcasts) may be pushed out fairly easily, it's somewhat more difficult to capture individual identities and their performances on electronic tests.

Still, for all the limitations, there are also new affordances. Some of these include location-aware devices that capture location data along with digital image captures. Location-sensitive apps enable people to collaborate and coordinate with each other. Web conferencing applications enable people to share information in a live context. E-book readers and e-books enable anytime anywhere access to enormous amounts of published information. And there is the Web-surfing enablement to access anything on the Web (except for some interactive Flash objects on iPads and iPods), for now.

Steps to Building a Mobile-Friendly Digital Learning Object (DLO)

To get a sense of how an instructional designer would begin building a mobile-friendly digital learning object, let's look at the workflow featured below. As usual, it is important to begin with the learning objectives. Once those are defined, then one has to look at the limited information content, the projected learner audience, the delivery method, and the interface options. It's important to decide early on whether the learning object is stand-alone or if it will be integrated with potentially non-mobile learning. (Many mobile digital learning objects are integrated on websites which may include Flash objects and so are not fully mobile-accessible). A designer should also consider whether the digital learning object is multimedia rich or lean (light).

Some mobile-friendly digital learning digital learning objects may be consumed through Web-accessible spaces only—online. Others may have an in-world component. For example, some mobile devices are used in art galleries and museums to add a digital narration layer to the displays. Those are location-sensitive devices with particular digital contents triggered as an individual gets to a particular display. Another in-world sort of mobile device use would be the assignment that students use a mobile device or sensor to collect various types of information in various locations (such as image captures in a federal park). Locative in-world experiences may be enhanced with digital information in "augmented reality" scenarios. For example, some cities have historical information and images that are pushed out to individuals with certain applications (software apps) and location-awareness turned on as they arrive in certain locations. Locative hyper-reality games involve people co-playing in a shared space—with virtual-real races or scavenger hunts or other game overlays.

Once the design has been planned, it is important to find the proper mobile application authoring tool. The easier technologies are for Web-enabled digital learning objects. Others use code directly to create mobile app-learning objects. Once the learning objects are created, they are uploaded to a Web server and may then be consumed on mobile devices, websites, learning course management systems, or a combination of access points.



(The above image was first used in a slideshow in late September 2011 at the Axio Community Conference 2011.)

As outlined in the diagram above, one starts with the Learning Design. Then, it is important to look at the Planned Deployment Ecology. Then, one develops the mobile content. The digital learning object is uploaded and stored. Finally, the mobile-friendly digital learning object is deployed.

To experience six mobile activities enabled by SoftChalk LessonBuilder 7, please go to the following link: www.elatewiki.org/index.php/SoftChalk_LessonBuilder_7_Mobile_Activities. (This page was developed by the blog entry author.)

Dr. Shalin Hai-Jew works as an instructional designer at Kansas State University (K-State); she teaches for WashingtonOnline (WAOL).
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