Mobile learning, also known as "m-learning", is a convenient, current day means of delivering informational content to learners using current mobile technology devices. With the fast emergence of mobile technology proliferating in modern society, m-learning has presented an opportunity to those in the e-learning field to establish and promote best practices with instructional design with special consideration for the concepts of human memory and literacy. Because of the screen size restrictions and means of everyday use of mobile devices, methods need to be developed to allow for smaller chunks of information to be delivered for better retention and promoting informational literacy. This presentation will tie together how early efforts to create and promote literacy are tied to e-learning and how technology helped the evolution of that process, explain the basic concepts behind m-learning practices and instructional design, and provide evidence of efforts now being done to revise how m-learning is conducted on smart devices through current thought in the m-learning industry.

1. THE FUTURE OF MOBILE
LEARNING:
EMPOWERING HUMAN
MEMORY AND LITERACY
DANIELLE M. VILLEGAS
TECHCOMMGEEKMOM.COM

2. WHO AM I?
DANIELLE M. VILLEGAS
CONTENT STRATEGIST/
BLOGGER
TECHCOMMGEEKMOM

3. • Understand the evolution of early efforts to
create and promote literacy, and how it’s tied to
m-learning
WHAT WILL I UNDERSTAND
WHEN I LEAVE HERE?
MOBILE MINDSET.
• Explain basic concepts behind m-learning
practices and instructional design
• Provide current thoughts on
foundational curriculum practices
• Why ―mobile first‖ needs to be adopted as your
first method of course design now

4. ORALITY AND EARLY LITERACY
• Humans started out with an
oral culture to understand
how to retain verbalized
information
• But especially difficult for
recalling the solution for a
complex problem.

5. • To fix this problem,
the technology of
writing was created
ORALITY AND EARLY LITERACY
• Important because it
allowed human thought to
be retained and trigger
memory

6. Socrates:
• Writing destroyed
memory and weakened
the mind
• Writing was passive
because it didn’t allow
for the give-and-take of
natural speech
ORALITY AND EARLY LITERACY

7. Hieronmimo Squarciafino
(1477)
• With the invention of
the printing press and
the proliferation of
literacy was quoted as
saying,
―The abundance of
books makes men less
studious.‖
ORALITY AND EARLY LITERACY

8. HOW DOES THIS ALL RELATE TO
LITERACY?
3 Types of Learning Systems
1. s-Learning – Speech
2. p-Learning – Paper
3. e-Learning – Electronic Technology
• Each supplement or support each other rather than
replace each other.
• Differ in how knowledge is presented, preserved, and/or
delivered.

9. E-LEARNING EMERGES
• E-LEARNING= ~30+
YEARS OLD
• COMPUTERS HOLD VAST
AMOUNTS OF INFO IN ONE
PLACE--THE AMOUNT OF
DATA IS OVERWHELMING,
BUT…
• YOU ONLY NEED TO SEE ONE
SMALL PORTION OF THAT
LIBRARY AT A TIME

10. INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN NEEDED A SOLUTION!
LEARNING OBJECTS
•SMALL CHUNKS OF INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIAL
•CATALOGUED BY METADATA
•REUSABLE BY DESIGN
•DIGITAL IN FORMAT

11. WHICH MEANS…
1. LARGE AMOUNTS OF INFO NEED TO BE BROKEN
INTO REUSABLE CHUNKS THAT ALLOW MORE
FLEXIBILITY
2. LMS NEEDED TO BE DEVELOPED TO
ACCOMODATE BUILDING COURSES AND
CURRICULUMS
3. LEARNING OBJECTS COULD BE ANYTHING -
VIDEO, AUDIO PODCAST, IMAGE, AND USED IN
MANY DIFFERENT CONTEXTS

12. WHAT
CHANGED?
• MOBILE TECHNOLOGY -
NO LONGER STUCK TO A
DESK
• WEB 2.0 - SOCIAL MEDIA
CONNECTIVITY

13. WHAT IS M-LEARNING?

14. MISCONCEPTIONS OF M-LEARNING
• IT'S JUST THE TRANSFERENCE OF E-LEARNING ON
A SMALLER DEVICE
• SMALL SCREENS, LIKE ON SMARTPHONES, IS TOO
LIMITING
• PROGRAMMING FOR MOBILE DEVICES IS COSTLY
• EVERYTHING IS SOLELY CENTERED AROUND THE
CONTENT
• ONLY WORKS WHEN CONNECTED TO THE
INTERNET
• ALWAYS HAS TO BE INTERACTIVE
• LIMITED TO SMARTPHONES

15. MOBILE
INCLUDES:
• SMARTPHONES
• TABLETS
• AUDIO DEVICES
• PORTABLE GAME
DEVICES
• OLD-STYLE CELL
PHONES (CAN RECEIVE
TEXT/SMS MESSAGES)
• E-BOOK DEVICES

16. MOBILE LEARNING IS:
• SHORTER IN DURATION
• DESIGNED FOR INSTANT USE
• CAN BE PERSONALIZED
• CAN INCLUDE DATA COLLECTION OR USER-
GENERATED CONTENT
• ALL ABOUT CAPABILITIES - EXPERIENCE OVER
TECHNOLOGY
• RIGHT PERSON, RIGHT TIME, AND RIGHT PLACE
• M-LEARNING IS NOT THE TECHNOLOGY ITSELF,
BUT IT'S THE TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWS M-
LEARNING TO HAPPEN, AND WE NEED TO ADAPT

17. TOOLS AVAILABLE THROUGH MOBILE:
• PUSH TECHNOLOGY
• CAMERA
• GPS
• AUDIO FILES & WORD-PROCESSING APPS
• CONNECTIVITY

18. WHAT IS THE
ADVANTAGE OF
MOBILE?
DEVICES CAN BE WHEREVER THAT
USER/LEARNER IS.

19. WHEN IS M-LEARNING APPROPRIATE?
• WHEN LEARNING FOR THE FIRST TIME?
• WHEN WANTING TO LEARN MORE?
• WHEN TRYING TO REMEMBER?
• WHEN THINGS CHANGE?
• WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG?

20. UNDERSTANDING M-LEARNING
• We need to look not only at how learners need to
learn, but how they are going to learn it.
• Usefulness = solving the problem through a right set
of functionality at the right time
• Usability = user-friendly interface where learner can
learn smoothly and naturally, and meaning relates to
a functionally-sound use of visuals so as to allow for
an effective usability.

21. M-LEARNING THEORY
BEST WAY TO DELIVER CONTENT THAT ALLOWS LEARNERS
TO ACTUALLY LEARN AND RETAIN INFORMATION USING
MOBILE DEVICES?
• UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT OF WHERE, WHEN AND
HOW THE INFORMATION IS USED
• BRING BACK IDEAS OF CHUNKING - USING LEARNING
OBJECTS
• USE MULTIMEDIA
• USE REUSABLE INFO THAT CAN BE CHANGED WITHOUT
AFFECTING OTHER LEARNING OBJECTS, AND STORED
FOR ANYTIME REMOTE ACCESS.

22. HOW TO PROMOTE & ENHANCE
LEARNER INTERACTION?
1. SEND A MULTIMEDIA MESSAGE TO MOBILE PHONES TO
TRIGGER AND MOTIVATE LEARNERS
2. SEARCH THE WEB FOR RELATING INFORMATION BY USING
EMBEDDED HYPERLINKS (URLS)IN THE MESSAGE RECEIVED
IN THE PHONE
3. DISCUSS WITH LEARNING PEERS BY TEXT, VOICE, PICTURE
OR VIDEO MESSAGING
4. PRODUCE A DIGITAL STORY TELLING OF WHAT THEY LEARN
BY AUDIO OR VIDEO DIARY (MOB BLOGGING JOURNAL)
5. APPLY WHAT THEY ARE LEARNING IN A SIMULATED
ENVIRONMENT, SUCH AS ONLINE EDUCATIONAL GAMING

23. M-LEARNING CHALLENGES
• DEVICE VARIABILITY
• SLOW DOWNLOAD SPEEDS AND LIMITED INTERNET
ACCESS
• SMALL SCREEN SIZES WITH POOR RESOLUTION,
COLOR AND CONTRAST
• AWKWARD TEXT INPUT
• LIMITED MEMORY
• STARTING TO OVERCOME THESE THROUGH
RESPONSIVE DESIGN TOOLS

24. MOBILE STATS YOU SHOULD KNOW!
PER PEW RESEARCH PROJECT:
• 90% OF ALL AMERICAN ADULTS HAVE A CELL PHONE (1/14)
• 58% OWN A SMARTPHONE (1/14)
• 32% OWN AN E-READER (1/14)
• 42% OWN A TABLET (1/14)
• 70% OF ALL CELL PHONE USERS AND 86% OF SMARTPHONE
USERS HAVE USED PHONES TO OBTAIN "JUST-IN-TIME"
INFORMATION - ONLINE INFORMATION (4/12)
• 43% OF RESPONDENTS SPEND MORE TIME ON TABLETS THAN
DESKTOP/LAPTOPS (THINK MOBILE WITH GOOGLE, 2011)

25. MOBILE IMPLEMENTATION
• NOT MANY STUDIES YET, BUT LOTS OF
ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE
• THE MOBILE PROPOSITION FOR EDUCATION
REPORT (GSMA MOBILE EDUCATION, 2012).
 REAL TIME INTERACTION ALLOWED
STUDENTS TO FEEL LESS ISOLATED &
SUPPORTED, AND IMPROVED LITERACY
RATES

26. SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
MOBILE LEARNING IS UNIQUELY SUITED TO
SUPPORT CONTEXT-SPECIFIC AND IMMEDIATE
LEARNING, AND THIS IS A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY
FOR DISTANCE LEARNERS SINCE MOBILE
TECHNOLOGIES CAN SITUATE LEARNERS AND
CONNECT LEARNERS.
JOHN TRAXLER

27. SUMMARY:
• Early practices of using speech, learning segments, and print
can be applied to m-learning
• M-Learning is an opportunity to provide learning anytime,
anywhere for anyone with access to a mobile device.
• The main adjustment for m-Learning is adjusting one’s
mindset on how to design—mobile first! Use the tools available
on the device!
• This shift can actually help promote greater opportunity for
memory and literacy by teaching information in smaller, more
personalized ―chunks‖ for retention.

28. QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION?

29. MY CONTACT INFO:
BLOG: techcommgeekmom.com
E-MAIL: techcommgeekmom@me.com
TWITTER: @techcommgeekmom
LINKEDIN: www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemvillegas
E-PORTFOLIO:
techcommgeekmom.businesscatalyst.com
For More Information:
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