The first mobile learning workshop took place in Birmingham, UK in 2002 and the 6th International Mobile Learning Conference has just concluded in Melbourne, Australia. In five very short years we have gone from ‘playing’ with toys to planning for the future or our infrastructure to accommodate mobile delivery in all its forms…

I’ve been involved in mobile learning since 2003 and it’s interesting to reflect on the way it has grown and picked up in a really fairly short time. As someone who has worked hard to introduce mobile learning, I am well aware that the reaction to my efforts has gone from “what the hell are you talking about?” to “Please come and help us do it!”.

For those asking the question, mobile learning is teaching and learning using portable, handheld, or mobile devices as part of the overall mix in how teachers and students interact. But like all new concepts, there is a flow in evolution, and reflecting on each of the mobile learning conferences, I have mapped it out as follows:

2003 – mLearn in London:

The theme was ‘New Possibilities’ and we looked at mobile phones and some personal digital assistants (PDAs). We talked about things like browsing on such small devices and texting and some of the games that already existed on mobile phones. We also started talking about knowledge management and the types of learning that could be applied.

John Traxler, who is currently at the University of Wolverhampton in the UK, best summed up the state of mobile learning at the time:

“Mobile learning is at a stage of small-scale projects working to establish aspects of technical feasibility in specific educational settings”

2004 – mLearn in Rome:

Hosting a high-tech conference in a 12th century castle in Rome was an interesting experience!

The theme this time was “The potential is significant” and we began to discuss the changes in pedagogy, the impacts of using handheld devices, and the ease of use of the digital learning materials that were being developed. We were starting to see the newer smartphones and wireless technology was starting to appear in some places, which would immediately expand the concept of mobility.

Now we were talking about using PDAs and mobile phones to deliver materials in a way that accommodates different learning styles, in context, and overcoming some of the barriers above.

2005 – mLearn in Cape Town:

The theme “Learning is in your hands” was particularly appropriate in a country where Internet coverage is minimal but mobile phone coverage is almost complete.

At this conference we started hearing about convergence and mobile content management. We looked at practical examples of how people were implementing mobile learning in larger groups and organizations and started talking about the strategies needed to train teachers and support student learning through and for these technologies. Wireless connection was now available and expected.

Now we were really seeing how mobile technology had the potential to break down the barriers of location and time.

2006 – mLearn in Banff:

Okay, we managed to get from one great place to another, but we’re supposed to be mobile and learn, right?

The theme in Canada was “Across Cultures and Generations” and in the context of the then small but growing social computing revolution, this theme picked up on how communications technology was breaking down all barriers for those who wanted to stay in touch.

We hear about the $100 laptop and the desire to see every kid with a laptop. We are talking about digital libraries in which all the books were converted to digital format and, therefore, they could be accessed from anywhere and with any device. We talked more seriously about audio as part of the mix of instructional materials and explored the increasing means by which delivery could take place and the increasing variety of devices that offered mobility.

We are beginning to understand the ‘Net Generation’ who have hypertext minds and who approach learning in a totally different way than those who have left school long ago!

This conference opened our eyes to how exploring mobility was shrinking the world and making access to learning a reality for anyone from anywhere.

2007 – mLearn in Melbourne:

The theme we chose for this conference was “Making the Connections” and connectivity was definitely the flavor of the conference.

Even before the first keynote speaker finished his comments and the reaction to those comments was posted on blogs, twitter, ninging, wiki and otherwise posted in cyberspace! Speakers were asked questions relayed through attending delegates from venues around the world.

We explored infrastructure issues and talked at length about pedagogy incorporating technology and how the devices themselves are now evaluated less for their ‘wow’ factor than for their usability in the teaching mix. We talked about integration and embedding and how social computing could be used on mobile devices, as well as the fact that mobile devices now incorporate laptop computers with wireless connections.

And we close out the conference by looking ahead to the next 10 years and speculating about what we might do now to make sure we continue to deliver quality education through new and emerging technology.

So where are we now? Mobility is simply a reality and we expect to be connected at all times on all devices. Technology, wonderful as it is, will not fix bad pedagogy, but it will give a massive impact to good teaching practice.

At the end of the Conference we officially launched the International Association for Mobile Learning. Learn more by following the links on my website.

The area continues to grow and develop and I am getting busier working with those who want to follow this path. Contact me through my website http://www.caryloliver.com