David and others,

The Delaware adult education technology committee is currently exploring the use
of handheld computers for instruction.  Many people have expressed excitement
about the friendliness of a computer that will fit in one hand.  We have funding
for an initial purchase of one device for each local program and a workshop to
train users.

In addition to the cuteness factor, many of us are enthused with the potential
of podcasts and other portable audio and video.  We explored the features
available on both the Palm and the Windows Mobile platforms and examined the
needs of our teachers, students, and administrators.  After several months of
evaluation, we decided on the HP iPAQ rx1955 for our first purchase.  Some of
the factors influencing this decision were (1) the sub-$300 price, (2) built-in
WiFi, and (3) built-in voice recording.   We also purchased portable keyboards
for each of the units.

Here are a few Web resources that I've found useful.  The first one is a link to
a handheld conference.  Last year's meeting provided the inspiration for trying
handhelds on a state-wide basis.

--------------
http://www.seaford.k12.de.us/mahc/   Mid-Atlantic Handheld Conference - 2006
http://goknow.com    GoKnow, Inc.
http://www.k12handhelds.com    K12 Handhelds -- look at 101 uses
--------------

David C.

-----Original Message-----
From: technology-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:technology-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf
Of David Rosen
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 9:03 AM
To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Technology] Handheld video devices

Marian, David Alex or others,

I think we will see affordable portable learning devices (PLDs) soon, and that
we should be experimenting with them now.  For those of us who are able to buy
one now, what would you recommend?  What are some useful mobile phone + Web
access + PDA devices which also have plug in (regular size) keyboards and plug
in portable monitors?

And, where are the free learning podcast sites (ideally for adults) .

Here's a web site for learning more about "ubi-learning"  (ubiquitous
learning) or "M-learning" (mobile learning), as this kind of thing is now being
called, which provides some answers to my questions, but I wonder if anyone on
this list has personal experience experimenting with m-learning and has
recommendations on the best device(s) and learning web sites for this.

	http://gseacademic.harvard.edu/%7Ehdul/

What other web-based resources for m-learning would you recommend?

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net


On Mar 2, 2006, at 2:02 AM, Marian Thacher wrote:


> The short segments of TV411 videos would be ideal for a video iPod, it 

> seems. Have you tried it out, Alex?

>

> OTAN is experimenting with posting some of our videos of good 

> classroom practices as podcasts. We aren't quite ready for prime time 

> yet, but not many of our teachers have video iPods yet either, so I 

> figure we have a little time. :)

>

> We've also talked about putting the video episodes of English for All

> (www.myefa.org) up as podcasts. As you said, though, the barrier is 

> the cost of the iPod or the cell phone charges for the student or end 

> user. On the other hand, it seems that more and more people have fancy 

> cell phones that include video, so maybe this is the wave of the 

> future.

>

> Talk about convenience! I certainly think that podcasting of audio to 

> mp3 players is going to make audio information so much more 

> accessible, and there is so much great free stuff available! Education 

> is starting to jump on this bandwagon. Can video be far behind?

>

> Marian Thacher

> OTAN

> Sacramento, CA

>

> The Technology and Literacy Discussion List <technology at nifl.gov> on 

> Wednesday, March 01, 2006 at 10:34 AM -0800 wrote:

>> David,

>>

>> Great list.  I've been thinking a lot about how video I-pods and 

>> other handheld video devices (including cellphone/PDA's) could be 

>> used in adult education.  I've heard a lot about entertainment and 

>> commercial applications but have discovered very little about 

>> educational uses.

>>

>> When we created TV411 we designed it as at as a collection of 

>> stand-alone segments - 30 seconds to 6 minutes in length.  Although 

>> TV411 airs on television as a half-hour show, we have been busy 

>> disaggregating the material for other venues and platforms, and I 

>> think mobile video will certainly be an additional platform for us in 

>> the future.

>>

>> Obvious advantages of mobile video technology are portability and the 

>> potential for on-demand content to facilitate anytime/anyplace 

>> learning.

>>

>> A big concern is the financial cost to user, particularly potential 

>> cell/video phone charges.

>>

>> How might such a resource be a useful supplement to formal 

>> instruction?

>>

>> Are there other curriculum developers out there who are designing 

>> adult educational material for mobile video devices?  If so, what 

>> kinds challenges are you facing?

>>

>> Alex Quinn

>>

>>

>>

>> A serious concern is the potential financial cost to the end user.

>>

>>

>>

>> On 3/1/06 8:30 AM, "David Rosen" <djrosen at comcast.net> wrote:

>>

>>> David and Alex,

>>>

>>> Here's a list of new or emerging technologies, applications, or 

>>> technology-related services that I think -- or have heard from 

>>> others

>>> that they think -- have potential for adult literacy education.   

>>> What

>>> would you add to this list?  Pick a couple (or more) from the list 

>>> that you think have a lot of potential and tell us why.

>>>

>>> 1. electronic white boards

>>> 2. Video (and audio) i-pods

>>> 3. mobile phones with Web access

>>> 4. wireless access

>>> 5. Internet2

>>> 6. wikis

>>> 7. blogs

>>> 8. the OLPC/Negroponte/MIT Media Lab (under $100) computer for 

>>> schools in developing countries 9. the Wikipedia 10. low(er) cost 

>>> multimedia projectors in the classroom 11. Development of "learning 

>>> objects" (online learning "modules) for the field.

>>> 12. Free/low-cost Internet telephony (such as Skype or Gizmoproject) 

>>> 13. desktop videoconferencing 14. advanced two-way speech 

>>> recognition software

>>>

>>>

>>> Anyone, what else should we add to this list?

>>>

>>> David J. Rosen

>>> djrosen at comcast.net

>>>

>>> ----------------------------------------------------

>>> National Institute for Literacy

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>>

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>

>

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