Mtraining Metodyka Ver2 Final en

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
The Mobile Training Methodology for E-business ver. 2.0 has been prepared as part of the E-business Mobile Training - use of mobile Performance Support System for acquiring e-business management skills project, co-financed by the Leonardo da Vinci Lifelong Learning Programme. It is based on mobile Performance Support System for Vocational Education and Training project, and results developed during its implementation.
This consortium implementing this project consists of:

Nowoczesna Firma S.A. (NF) Inveslan Management Observatory Fundation (FOZ) Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) Plovdiv University (PU) National Distance Education University (UNED)
Authors:
Piotr Maczuga (NF) Micha Plewczyski (NF) Karolina Sikorska (NF) Tamara Rodriguez Fernandez (Inveslan) Anna Jaruga (FOZ) Agnieszka witecka (FOZ) Krzysztof Zieliski (FOZ) Philip Penny (IADT) Nevena Mileva (PU) Dimitar Tokmakov (PU) Elio San Cristbal Ruiz (UNED) Manuel Castro (UNED)
ISBN: 978-83-63481-03-2
Warsaw 2013 E-business Mobile Training - use of mobile Performance Support System for acquiring e-business management skills www.mtraining.eu
Table of contents
Introduction
The mobile world. Workforce mobility and the rise of mobile devices Learning with mobile devices everyday contexts and use patterns The why and how of learning/working with mobile devices Hardware, software, and mobile learning models The capabilities of mobile devices Mobile operating systems Mobile browsers Web Apps vs. Native Apps
4
5 5 7 9 10 12 13 13
Defining Mobile Learning

Revising the definition of mobile learning Why is mobile learning different? Supportive vs. instructional tool Four levels of mobile learning Advantages and opportunities Challenges and risks Mobile learning applications, uses, and experiences Mobile learning content sources LMS integration
17
18 19 20 21 22 23 26 29 30
Andragogical aspects of mobile learning

The mobile learning scenario M-learning theoretical framework
31
36 37
Mobile learning in corporate contexts

Business drivers of mobile learning Contexts Mobile learning tools
40
41 47 53
Mobile performance support system

Introduction Performance-centered learning Implementation of performance support scenarios
59
60 60 61
Designing and delivering mobile learning

General aspects of mobile design Mobile usability Multimedia and learning Tools for developing mobile learning
70
71 73 86 90
Final remarks
Tips for implementing mobile learning
93
94
Bibliography
96
01.
Introduction
The mobile world. Workforce mobility and the rise of mobile devices
Mobile computing is one of the fastest growing areas within the technology industry worldwide. According to an interim update of the Ericsson Mobility Report, global mobile penetration reached 89 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012 with 6.3 billion mobile subscriptions. There were 1.7 billion mobile phones sold in 2012. Gartner (in January 2013) predicts mobile device sales will grow to reach 1.9 billion units in 2013. Smartphone sales are expected to hit 1 billion units in 2013, which means that for the first time smartphones will outsell feature phones. This information reveals that mobile devices are very accessible and widespread tools that do not require important equipment investments, and that penetration to all economic layers is possible due to their ubiquity (Martin, et al., 2010). In general, mobile devices are reaching all levels of our society, being used not just for communication any more. New commerce, advertising, social networking, media, and obviously corporate training and formal education are having mobile devices as a fundamental platform for future development. Smartphones and tablets have enabled workers to be more flexible than ever before because they do not have to be rooted to their desks in an office to do their job. According to the report published by Cube Labs (Cube Labs, 2012) the number of mobile workers in 2012 was 397.1 million using mostly smartphones (91%) and tablets (44%). The profile of mobile employees goes from consultants, financial services professionals, banking executives, delivery drivers, and retail sales employees, to field service employees, executive assistants, supervisor and general manager.
Learning with mobile devices everyday contexts and use patterns

According to Cube Labs (Cube Labs, 2012) the most common apps used by mobile employees are related to email (86%), Web browsing (80%), contacts (80%), calendar (75%), instant messaging (73%), office apps (71%), task and project management (63%), line of business apps (59%), and CRM (51%). However, due to new lifelong learning initiatives educational apps will become as commonplace as any other kind of app. Also, some devices are particularly focused on content consumption, such as tablets. According to (MeeFeedia, 2010) iPad users consume 3X as many videos as web users, spend 4X as long watching videos as web users, and consume 5X as many videos as iPhone users. That fact makes these devices great vehicles to be used to deliver educational resources. However, not only video-based resources can be used to foster education on these devices. Current mobile learning projects range from informal learning (e.g. museums, flights) aimed to provide additional information and services in informal environments; to outside-the-classroom experiences based on geo-location where learners can collaborate and participate in real environments; or performance support systems, aimed to improve learning performance by scaffolding the learning process through immediate feedback in adaptive scenarios (Martin, et al., 2010). These systems are not just an extension of the traditional Learning Management Systems (LMS), since they allow students learn in any place and any moment, taking advantage of, for example, the boredom moments on the bus. Reviewing the mobile and ubiquitous learning literature, there are several classifications of m-learning (mobile learning) applications. Naismith (2004) uses as indicators the technical features of the devices used for information, communication or educational purposes. According to the information and communication technologies (ICT) approach, the systems are classified by the type of mobile device (Notebooks, Tablet PCs, cell phones or smart phones) and the type of wireless communication technologies (GSM, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.) that they support (Martin, et al., 2010).
Other authors focus more on the ability to support on-line or off-line access to learning materials (Attwell, 2005), or on the type of information used in the educational process: learning or administrative (Chang, 2003). These classifications do not cover the complexity of the current mobile learning applications (Martin, et al., 2010). This is why authors like Georgieva provide two types of classification (Georgieva, 2005) (Figure 1):
Information and Communication Technologies, as in Naismith (2004) Educational technologies. The proposed classification is based on the following main indicators: Support of synchronous and/or asynchronous communication. Support of e-learning standards. Currently most m-learning systems do not support e-learning
specifications such as SCORM.
Availability of a permanent Internet connection between the mobile learning system and users:
on-line, off-line and mixed-work.
Users location: on-campus, off-campus or both. Access to learning materials and/or administrative services. This means that the student receives
course content such as tests or administrative information such as schedules and exam marks.
Supported Notebooks TabletPC PDAs Smart phones Cell phones

n. mu ogy l Com o n h tec
Not supported
Communication between students and teachers
Learning materials Administrative information
Inf orm
Acc ess
atio
n
ice
Mo bile dev
m-Learning system
On-line Off-line
ca Lo
GPRS GSM IEEE 802.11 Bluetooth IrDA

E-learning standards
tio n
On-Campus Off-Campus Not supported
Supported
Figure 1. A general classification of m-learning systems [Georgieva, 2005].
The why and how of learning/working with mobile devices

In the context of mobile learning, Bob Mosher and Conrad Gottfredsons Five Moments of Learning Need are a good basis for any practitioner new or experienced in the mTraining world to to keep in mind. The five needs occur: 01. When learning for the first time 02. When wanting to learn more 03. When trying to remember and/or apply 04. When things change 05. When something goes wrong Due to its specific character, m-learning works best in some specific areas or situations of providing information1. Mobile learning is most suitable when it comes to the number 2, 3, 4 and 5.
5 moments of learning need
When learning fo the first time
When learning more
Instructed-led training Web-based training Performance support Electronic performance support system
When remembering and/or applaying whats been learned When things go wrong, and Performance support Electronic performance support system
When things change
1 Compare: 1. Mobile Learning: All Talk? What is the reality of mobile learning in corporate learning? December 2011, Copyright Elearnity; 2. http://learningcircuits.blogspot.com/2012/02/whats-different-about-mobile-learning.html; 3. Dr. Conrad Gottfredson, head of the Performance Support Lab & Seminar at the Masie Center Mobile Training Methodology for E-business
When wanting to learn more mobile technology can be used as a supportive tool for learning. They
allow quick access to additional information (like corporative data bases, documents and procedures) in the exact moment and place when and where it is needed.
When remembering and/or applying whats been learned it can provide knowledge refreshers, job aids
or performance support any moment it is needed, especially in the need of applying previously gained knowledge and skills in real context, during performance of given action.
When things go wrong it can be very helpful in situations of crisis, when quick access to critical infor-
mation is needed. Therefore it allows people react immediately and effectively to overcome difficulties or correct errors.
When things change - especially in business environment, we live in the era of continuous change and
information overflow. Employees need to adapt swiftly to rapidly changing conditions, and constantly update their knowledge and skills and continue learning in formal and informal ways. They also need to deal with infobesity, i.e., difficulties of understanding and decision making caused by the presence of too much information. Mobile learning can help them in finding relevant data delivered just in time and always up-to-date.
After we have known situation when mobile learning do its job, it is good to know its basic toolbox:
Mobile Refreshers the content provided via mobile devices can be really helpful after attending regular
training. It could be distributed as supportive material, and designed to simplify the process of repetition. A review of short chunks of material, focused on the most important things can support and reinforce learning..
Mobile Just in Time Performance Support the mobile learning model also provides accessibility to
learning materials on demand when it is the most necessary. The information is delivered exactly in the same time when one needs it. This could be done by enabling access to the content that was specified earlier or by collaborative work. In the second case somebody can get an answer or a tip from a person who is experienced in that specific field.
Workflow Support this is a combination of all previous elements in the business context. A mobile
access to information gives possibility to review important information in the moment of need. For example, it can be very useful in a business environment, just before an important meeting outside the company. Access to relevant, crucial information at any time and any place can be very beneficial.
Hardware, software, and mobile learning models

Mobile device A mobile device, which is also referred to as a handheld device or handheld computer, is a small-size computing device. The most popular mobile devices used for learning are: Mobile phones (also known as cellular phones, cell phones and a hand phones) are used to make and receive phone calls and SMS text messages by connecting through radio signals to base stations that are linked in a cellular network. Most of todays mobile phones have a number of additional features like MP3 player, short-range wireless communications (Bluetooth, infrared), e-mail and internet access, or camera. They are sometimes called feature phones and lie halfway between low-end, simple mobile phones and smartphones. Smartphones: While there is no standard official definition of the term smartphone (and it is sometimes hard to distinguish it from a feature phone), we assume that a smartphone is a device that combines the functionalities of a mobile phone, personal digital assistant and computer. It is based on an advanced operating system that allows you to install and run various applications and offers access to the internet via mobile browser. As Woodill states, Current smartphones have taken on some of the functionality of laptop computers, allowing access to e-mail, documents, and office productivity software. Smartphones usually have a miniature QWERTY keyboard, or a virtual keyboard on a touch screen. Smartphones are currently seen as being one of the most suitable platforms for mobile learning purposes (Woodill, 2011). eBook readers (also called an e-book devices or e-readers) are devices designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. They use electronic paper technology for better readability of their screens especially in bright sunlight. The disadvantages of electronic paper are: they can display content only in black and white with no capability of displaying video content. For mobile learning they are limited to mainly text and image based information. Notebook and netbook computers: Not everybody consider laptop/notebook and netbook computers a part of the mobile ecosystem. But as they become smaller, thinner and easier to carry around they can be used as mobile learning devices that are generally more powerful than smartphones and equipped with full features of PC computers. On the other hand, they allow full-feature, traditional e-learning without design restrictions typical for mobile content. Tablet devices and computers: half-way between smartphone and laptop computer, they take advantage of both kinds of devices. Having screen big enough for browsing traditional e-learning content, they present some limitations (for example, many of them dont support Flash or other formats popular for Web) but also some advantages (like GPS or gyroscope) over regular computers. Their market share is still limited, but their popularity is growing very quickly and they are likely to substitute in some extent e-book readers and netbooks.
Portable media players (such as iPods and MP3 players): are used for storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, video, documents, etc. Their clear advantage is the small size and light weight, but they have to compete in the market with mobile phones and smartphones, as well as other more specialized devices such as portable DVD players. Google Glass: augmented reality glasses from Google. Thanks to them, we will be able to send a text message without using our hands and get to know all about the stranger, reaching past us down the street. Glasses are controlled by voice, touch and motion of head. Information appears in front of our eyes. Currently GG recognizes only the commands issued in English. Glasses allow us to record, take pictures, installing applications and transferring data. It is also possible to audio playback and connect the Internet - by sharing the phones connection or via the built-in WiFi. Google Glass will lead us, therefore, to a designated location, and search for information on the Web. The appearance of GG raised a lot of emotions related to the protection of personal data. Thanks to glasses, everyone will be able to record what he wants, without the knowledge or consent of the person being recorded, who simply will not be aware of it. Google Glass is not currently commercially available in the market, the exact date of it is not yet known. mTraining methodology focuses on smartphones and tablets as they are the two most popular mobile tools for business use.
The capabilities of mobile devices

Horton (Horton, 2012) provides a detailed list of the capabilities of mobile devices and the possibilities of their use for learning. See Horton (Horton, 2012) for ideas of how to take advantage of every one of those capabilities and the learning activities that can be involved.
Capability Screen display Audio playback Video playback Clock Calendar Contact list GPS Map display
Description (what the user can do) Display text, graphics, and video. Play voice, music, and sounds. Play video segments. Display time, measure time, and schedule events. Schedule activities and display reminders. Catalog the name, address, e-mail, phone number, and other contact information for participants. Detect latitude and longitude coordinates. Show streets, roads, buildings, and terrain. Can pinpoint the learners location with GPS capability.
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Navigation Bluetooth E-mail Web browser Text messaging Audio recorder Still camera Video camera Edit and format text Edit photographs Edit audio Edit video Keyboard (screen) Keyboard (external) Phone call Social networking Wireless networking Calculator Spreadsheet with charting Voice control Text-to-voice synthesis Voice-to-text External microphone Augmented reality Data probes
Connect to another Bluetooth-enabled device. Connect to another Bluetooth-enabled device. Send and receive e-mail messages and attachments. Access Web servers and all that they provide. Send short text messages to another mobile device. Record voice, music, and other sounds using the built-in microphone or an external microphone. Take photographs. Record motion and audio. Enter, organize, and format text. Adjust photographs: crop, straighten, change brightness and contrast, alter color, and apply special effects. Shorten, combine, and adjust volume and tone of audio recordings. Cut, sequence, overlay, and adjust video clips. Enter small amounts of text. Enter large amounts of text. Talk to other people. Connect to social-networking sites and tools, such as, Twitter and Facebook. Connect to the Internet and local-area networks via WiFi, EDGE, 3G or other wireless protocols. Perform common calculations. Perform math with rows and columns of numbers and display charts of results. Activate and direct functions of the mobile device with voice commands. Have the device speak aloud words stored as text. Convert spoken words to text. Record sound through the microphone jack on the device. View relevant data superimposed on the image recorded by the video camera. Measure physical data such as: temperature, air pressure, pH, salinity, O2, CO2, acceleration, force, light, color, and sound level.
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Mobile operating systems

Modern mobile operating systems combine the features of a PC operating system with others typical for mobile devices, such as touchscreen, GPS navigation, camera, or cellular communication. They allow developers and end users take best advantage of handhelds technical features and apps. The most common mobile operating systems are:
Android from Google (free and open source) iOS from Apple (closed source, proprietary) Blackberry OS from RIM (closed source, proprietary) Symbian from Nokia and Accenture (open public license) Bada from Samsung (closed source, proprietary) Windows Phone from Microsoft (closed source, proprietary)
World-Wide Smartphone Sales (%)

180 000
160 000
140 000
120 000
100 000
80 000
60 000
40 000
20 000
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
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Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1 13
07
07
07
07
08
08
08
08
09
09
09
09
10
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10
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11
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11
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20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Android
iOS
Windows Phone
RIM
Bada
Symbian
Windows Mobile
Other
Source: wikipedia
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20
13
Q2
Below we compare the two most popular operating systems:
System iOS
Content capability HTML, HTML5, apps. No Flash content
Strengths Popular with end users and strong installed base. High performance and stable operating system. High level of standardization. Good quality of software and technical support. Popular with end users. Good documentation. Open platform based on Java, integrated with Google apps. Wide choice of different models at various prices.
Weaknesses Lack of enterprise security. Closed operating system; requirements of using Apple App Store to deliver apps (complicated and long process of approval).
Android
HTML, HTML5 (depends on browser), Flash, Android apps
Customization by phone manufacturers, many different screen resolutions and other differences.
Mobile browsers
Similar to all operating systems, mobile browsers differ greatly in terms of features. While the most advanced offer full support for most websites in addition to some native features, others have limited functions and can only display mobile-optimized content. Smartphones and tablets, whose important function is web browsing, generally implement advanced features, and allow users install additional browsers if the native one does not suits them (for example, to play Flash content on iOS devices).
Web Apps vs. Native Apps

There are two main approaches for porting an educational environment to mobile devices: adapting a web version to the constraints of mobile devices, and building a native implementation in each supported mobile phone. Regarding native applications, most mobile devices provide development frameworks on top of which thirdparty developers can build applications. The added value of this is clear: the functionality of the mobile device becomes flexible, since new applications can be built using the capabilities of the mobile device (Ordua, et al., 2009). However, the range of development frameworks has become wide. Applications available for mobile operating systems are usually native applications developed in their own software development kit (SDK), which is only supported by each operating system (Ordua, et al., 2009).
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Top 9 Mobile Browsers from Feb 2011 to Feb 2012
StatCounter Global Stats
30%
24%
18%
12%
6%
0%
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11
11
11
11
11
11
11
01
01
12
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
c2
t2
20
ch
ay
ne
pt
ril
ly
Oc
No
Au
De
Ap
Ju
Opera
Android
iPhone
Nokia
BlackBerry
Se
ar
Ju
iPod Touch
Netfront
UC Browser
Dolfin
Source: StatCounter
The advantage of using a native technology is that it can use all resources that the mobile device provides through the used SDK. If the mobile device supports it, the application may use 3D graphics, retrieve the users position, access the accelerometers, the camera, use Bluetooth, interact with files and handle disk storage, access the mobile calendar or contacts, or even play music and videos, while mobile web browsers usually do not provide these features to web applications (Ordua, et al., 2009). The other possibility is to create a mobile-enabled web platform. Support for web applications in mobile devices has increased during the last years. With the arrival of the Web 2.0 and Cloud computing, it became necessary to support complex web applications in mobile devices. However, web applications usually need to be adapted for mobile devices. This adaption requires three changes (Ordua, et al., 2009): 01. Provide a proper layout. Developers should think what is actually going to be used from a mobile device, and how may the user see it in a small screen. For instance, newspapers tend to provide a vertical panel where each news item is represented in a row with a single sentence, so the user can quickly see what news item is more interesting and click on it. Each row acts as a button, so it becomes easy to click it with a touch screen.
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Fe
Other
Ja
20
12
02. Provide the required contents. Developers should think what contents are going to be migrated to the mobile version. Users might look at the mobile version as a complement to the desktop version, so it becomes normal that some features are not present. 03. Avoid plug-ins. Many web applications provide features that are based on plug-ins such as Java applets, Adobe Flash or Microsoft Silverlight. These plug-ins are not available in most devices, and it is difficult that they become available there, due to the resources required for the plug-in developer to port the plug-in to the wide range of mobile platforms. The following table2 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of web vs. native apps development.
Web Apps
Native Apps
++ Platform independent development, so can

reach a wider range of audience
++ Lets you access the devices features like
++ The app can be delivered instantaneously as
camera, accelerometer or the data like address book
there are no intermediate delivery platforms like app store
++ Controlled user experience ++ Rich media functionality ++ Development time would be more so would be
the maintenance overheads
++ Faster development and lower maintenance ++ High end (rich) applications can be developed if
HTML5/CSS3 technology is used for development, which also enable use of audio, video and animation within the application data is stored on the device
++ The app has to go through some kind of app
++ Content remains secure on your servers, no ++ Updates immediately affect all users ++ Web-apps require no approval, fees, or placement process within a commercial app store
store / marketplace before it reaches the intended audience and the process could be time consuming and fuzzy access and retrieval (pull) of information / knowledge just when needed
++ Allow creation of a dedicated channel for
++ Can store user specific information and act as

a personal learning agent (at least to some extent)
-- Requires Internet access -- Requires a web URL; you must host it on a

server
++ Does not require Internet access -- Platform specific; you must build multiple apps
to address various operating systems
-- Features and functionality are limited, espe-
cially with regards to access to device features that of native apps and will also be dependent on the web access speed
-- Performance can be lower as compared with
-- Native app stores require an approval process;
for each device, the app has to go onto a different store
-- Less control over user experience -- Lack of standards across mobile browsers
-- Higher cost of development
2 see: http://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2010/07/13/mobile-learning-considerations-native-apps-or-web-apps/, http://bottomlineperformance.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/BottomLinePerformance_mLearningBrief_20110802.pdf Mobile Training Methodology for E-business
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Nevertheless, there is also a third option that lets developers take advantage of both web and native characteristics. The hybrid apps are developed with HTML5 wrapped in a native container. The container allows them to be sold in app markets also gives them access to native capabilities like the camera, microphone, contact list, or notification system. For the end user, they look and behave like native apps. But the main content is written in HTML so it can be updated and modified easily and its development is considerably cheaper than creating and updating a native app, especially if we need to develop for multiple operating systems. We also need to stress that some of the commonly mentioned advantages of native apps over web apps (better performance, offline mode, access to device attributes, geo-location capabilities) are becoming less obvious with the development of technologies based on HTML5/CSS3 and JavaScript. While HTLM5 functionalities are not yet stable, some of them are already implemented by major web browsers (Ordua, et al., 2009). These features include:
Audio and video Canvas Geolocation Storage and databases New forms
Some widespread web applications, such as YouTube or Google Maps, already provide contents using HTML5. YouTube supports video through HTML5 instead of depending on Flash, if the user explicitly agrees. Google Maps use HTML5 geolocation capabilities to show the user where he is by pressing a small button. This button will only appear if the web browser supports geolocation (Ordua, et al., 2009). Since mobile web browsers are based on modern web browsers, some mobile web browsers already provide these functionalities. For instance, both iPhones and Android devices can already handle geolocation, as well as Windows Mobile by installing a plug-in (Ordua, et al., 2009). A brief history of mobile learning is provided to help the reader understand its origin and development. Before the era of computers and the Internet there was only one way to get educational content without leaving home via correspondent courses. People subscribed to courses and materials which arrived through the post. It remained this way for a long time and this was called distance learning. When computers appeared they provided a quick way of information delivery and internet access enhanced this capability immensely. It changed the picture of modern education completely. People now had access to immense repositories of information. But there was still one step to go. The development of mobile devices opened up a new era of information accessibility and delivery. Mobile devices are now similar to mobile personal computers through them users can access the Internet via telecommunication networks or WiFi. What is even more interesting is the fact that today the smartphone is one thousand times faster, 100 thousand times smaller and 1 million times cheaper than supercomputer developed at MIT in 1965. It is equipped with a wide screen, touch UI, GPS, and accelerometer orientation sensors, loud-speakers, WiFi, CPU and GPU capable of running 3D games.
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02.
Defining Mobile Learning
Mobile devices with this level of computing power offer what personal computers cannot - constant access to information regardless of time and space. Mobile learning is a very effective way of acquiring and accessing knowledge in a very flexible way, just in time.
Revising the definition of mobile learning

There is no single definition of mobile learning but there are several that are popular and widely cited. At the beginning the most popular definitions emphasized the technological aspect of the process. Over time other important factors have been incorporated, such as: personal, social and ubiquitous learning. When defining mobile learning or mlearning, two perspectives can be distinguished, depending on whether the mobility of the learner is stressed or the use of mobile technology. Addressing the first perspective the use of a mobile device is not always necessary, because access to the internet or a network allows the learner also to be mobile. Addressing the second perspective, the learner is always mobile, but does not need to be all the time. When stressing the use of a mobile device when defining mobile learning, a distinction can be made between the use of mobile technology as the only tool for learning or mobile technology as one of the tools. Moreover, a distinction can be made between learning within an educational institute (i.e., school or university), or learning on location (i.e., natural environment or workplace). The two perspectives described are complementary and can be combined in a definition for mlearning in which mobile devices increase the mobility of the learner. Thus, mlearning may be defined as the provision of education and training on mobile devices. However, to facilitate this mobility, the mobile device should meet several requirements. The learner must be able to use the mobile device wirelessly, standing and with minimal effort. Moreover, the device should be small enough to be held in one hand and should be easy to take along (Dye, 2007). Examples of such devices are, smartphones, mobile phones, palmtops, MP3 players, and iPods. So we could find mobile learning defined as any educational provision where the sole or dominant technologies are handheld () devices (Kukulska-Hume & Traxler, 2005). Another author considers that mobile learning should be restricted to learning on devices which a lady can carry in her handbag or a gentleman can carry in his pocket (Keegan, 2005).
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One of the best descriptions of mobile learning was presented by MOBIlearn Project:
... when considering mobility from the learners point of view rather than technologys, it can be argued that mobile learning goes on everywhere - for example, pupils revising for exams on the bus to school, doctors updating their language skills while traveling abroad. All these instances of formal or informal learning do not necessarily involve the use of mobile technologies, but have been taking place while people are on the move and should therefore be classified as instances of mobile learning. Moreover, mobile technologies can be used at a persons usual learning environment. In fact, there has been substantial amount of research in recent years looking at the employment of PDAs in classrooms. By virtue of the technologys mobility, such PDA-based classroom learning has also been considered as mobile learning (OMalley, et al., 2005)
For operational purposes in the context of our proposed methodology which is directed to the use of mobile devices, we could say that mobile learning happens when people implement their mobile devices in the process of teaching and learning regardless of time and location.
Why is mobile learning different?

These perspectives also help to distinguish the field of m-learning from e-learning. M-learning is a specific type of learning which implies that the learner can access the training disregarding the location and the time, the training contents are accessible from anywhere at anytime.Specifically and practically this means the evolution from the wired virtual learning environment of today, to the wireless virtual learning environment of tomorrow. We can compare traditional learning to e-learning and e-learning to m-learning. Criteria are very simple how, when and where. E-learning gives a possibility to acquire knowledge without appearing personally on stationary courses and when time is the most suitable for a user. The limitation concerns accessibility to a computer and internet network. It is also important that rules concerning communication between students and teachers are different than in traditional learning. Mobile learning is some sort of extension of e-learning and often is complementary to it. It could be also complementary to traditional trainings. Because of the fact that mobile devices are used to support m-learning process there are technical limitations of the appearance of course content and its length. Mobile learning appears most efficient when it delivers very short piece of information and when it is not overloaded with multimedia. At the beginning of mobile learning, the fastest and the cheapest way to prepare mobile content was to resize down previous eLearning material. But after several years it became clear that mobile learning could not be e-learning on small screen devices. The development of mobile learning methodology shows that course materials for mobile learning must be prepared differently than for e-learning. If not, they are usually ineffective. The reason is simple. As it is written above and will be mentioned below mobile devices have certain limitations. If educational content is not prepared due to specification of the device, some audio-video material could be displayed incorrectly, font could be too small and a quantity of text could be too large.
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There is also another very important thing besides use of modern technology. It is way of thinking. Mobile learning is a sign of important shift of educational paradigm. Learning becomes more ubiquitous than ever. With personal computer and the Internet we have gained access to vast amount of data. With the mobile revolution this access we have everywhere. This is powerful tool we have. Now we must learn how to use it efficiently. That is why Horton (Horton, 2012) distinguishes between the two meanings of the term mobile learning:
Participation in conventional learning by mobile individuals. Mobile learning techniques and technolo-
gies allow mobile individuals to participate in established forms of learning including classroom learning, virtual-classroom learning, standalone e-learning, social learning, and performance support.
Real mobile learning. In real mobile learning, we learn not from the mobile device but from the world
around us. Real mobile learning requires learning from objects, environments, and fellow learners that we encounter as we move about in the real world.
Supportive vs. instructional tool

Mobile learning is a very flexible way of learning that can be used as a supportive tool or as an instructional tool. As a supportive tool, mobile devices can be used as the vehicles to pass contents from the trainer to the learners, for example, recording lessons that will be accessible using a mobile device. As an instructional tool, mobile devices can be used as instructional tools to construct learning. Mobile devices can be treated as tools that help students execute their tasks and promote the balanced development of their mental abilities by functioning as intellectual partners to the instructor and the learner. Educators can provide students with electronic books, content reference sites, graphing calculator, dictionary, and thesaurus etc. Finally, electronic quizzes and tests can be taken through mobile devices. In both cases, the interesting thing about mobile learning is that it is possible to access training at any time from any place. On the other hand, it is also necessary to highlight that mobile learning can have two different roles: it can be used as part of a training to enforce the learning process or it can be used in an isolated way, basing a training just on mobile learning. For example, the first case would occurr with a course which combines in person sessions with mobile learning for the development or training of certain parts of the course (for instance, the theory is given by a trainer through in person sessions but the learner has the possibility to practice some parts of the contents later on from any place and at any time because its possible access to them. In the second case, mobile learning can also be used alone (not being part of a course) making the training content available just in a mobile way. The selection of one way or another will depend on what is the purpose of the training. Mobile learning can perfectly be used alone if the aim is training a specific skill or competence (serious games can be a good example of this) but if the aim of the trainig is more general or the purpose is to transmit knowledge, most of the time mobile learning will work better as a complement for a wider training action which will use e-learning or in person sessions, for example, as the main methodology.
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Four levels of mobile learning

Taking into consideration the definition of mobile learning used in this document (a way to access training anytime from anywhere), we can say that mobile learning has existed even before the development of mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets (for example, paper flashcards used to remember facts or vocabulary). However, the development of technology has widened the possibilities to access to training and this is a boost for mobile learning. In this sense, we could set the origins of mobile learning a decade ago, with the use of PDAs in primary schools in the United Kingdom (Sharples, 2000). Over the decade four levels of provision of mobile learning have emerged, with each requiring different instructional design guidelines. Level 1: SMS messaging. The use of SMS messaging in educational contexts stems from the daily need of all schools, colleges and universities to communicate with some or all of their student bodies. For urgent communications (e.g., cancellation of a lecture), the main avenues for communication used by these institutions are: the postal services, email or SMS messaging. In many cases the postal services are too slow and not all students check their emails regularly, making these means not effective for this type of communication. However, all students enrolled in schools, colleges and universities carry a sophisticated communications device. If the institutions communication is sent to the students mobile phones by SMS messaging, the message will be received immediately by all students. An SMS messaging system can be set up by in-house development or by using an SMS service provider. It is important to note that the limitation of having only 160 characters available (including spaces) for an SMS text message poses some very interesting challenges when it comes to the formulation of SMS messages for education. It is a real challenge to formulate the correct message that provides the exact information you want to communicate without leaving possibilities of misunderstandings or misinterpretations. One badly formulated SMS can create lots of chaos with financial and many other implications. Level 2: Screenshots of educational content. Mobile devices are ideal for receiving short, five to six screen presentations of educational content, such as a course summary, advice on examination preparation, and assistance with a part of a course that has caused difficulties to students in the past, tutorial advice or even multiple choice tests. Level 3: Course modules. Presenting full mobile learning courses on a tablet device cause no problems. A comfortable didactic environment can be created by using Microsoft Reader Works to display the content. However, the challenge today is to solve the problems of screen size for the presentation of course modules in mobile learning on the slightly smaller screens of smartphones and mobile phones. Many experts in the field of mobile learning have argued that mobile devices are only suitable for snippets of learning information and cannot be used for the presentation of full course modules. If this position were accepted mobile learning would remain forever peripheral to mainstream education and never be incorporated into mainstream education and training. For mobile learning to succeed the following need to be achieved:
Mobile learning courseware needs to be assessed in the same way as face-to-face courses, distance
education and e-learning
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Mobile learning courseware needs to be accredited as at least part of normal degree or diploma
programs
Mobile learning courses need to be listed in the college or university prospectus as are face-to-face
courses, distance education and e-learning
Students need to pay for studying mobile learning courses (in those countries in which it is normal for
students to pay for education). Level 4: Course modules with location and context sensitivity characteristics. Mobile learning course development with context sensitive and location sensitive characteristics places learning in context. It enables learners to study information while being in the context to which this information applies, seeing the environment which the study material refers to. Mediascapes and QR codes can be used for the manipulation and delivery of the course. Mediascapes are a new form of media which combine and layer digital sight, sounds and interactions into the physical world to create immersive and interactive experiences. Users equipped with a mobile device can move through the physical world and trigger digital media with GPS via an invisible interactive map, in response to their physical location. Mediascape design is a process of experience design which involves interaction design, choice of location, media region design, and an overall specification of the program logic and content production. Mediascapes involve producing specific narrative scripts of the work package training and specifying the logic for the interaction flow of the dialog. Any time dependencies for playing the scripts are also built in. Deciding how, when and in what form the user can interact with the media is central. A QR or Quick response code allows the attaching of information to space. The QR code is a two dimension bar code that can be read by all mobile camera phones. When a QR code is read it will automatically open the mobile web browser and access a web page. This adds significant value as it improves accessibility to information on the move. The QR code leads to the clickable world where any physical object can become an interface to the virtual world.
Advantages and opportunities

It is becoming more and more popular to have a personal smartphone or tablet. These type of mobile devices due to their small size and lightness are highly portable even more so than laptop computers. Additionally they usually allow one to connect with the Internet. Having a portable modern electronic device that can access the Internet enables one to participate in mobile education.. The possibility of learning in a mobile environment (situational learning or learning on demand) appeals to many people who may be multitasking. Mobile accesses to learning database gives them great possibility to spend potentially non-productive time for acquiring new information and skills. One can learn everywhere; it could be in a queue in a market or an office, a bus or a train, a bench in the park etc. In this point of technical development and social needs, educational bodies have great opportunity to use mobile devices to deliver specially prepared content to the individual users. It could be files, a piece of short information about important events. But what is most important it also could be highly interactive educational content. Possibility of collaborations with other participants is also an available and very useful option. Learning material could be provided everywhere when it is needed where there is internet access.
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According to Shuler in (Shuler, 2009), mobile learning has some unique attributes that can enhance education beyond the anywhere, anytime learning. This view is shared by other authors:
Mobile devices reach places that traditional learning cannot. Along these lines, Colley said, Twenty-first
century learning is not confined to a geographical location, or a particular space designated for learning purposes (Colley & Stead, 2007).
Learning is more user-centered. Mobile device-based learning works best as part of a blend of approaches. Mobile device-based learning works best if it is perceived as another tool that can be used to fit a learning need (Sharples, Corlett, & Westmancott, 2002), (Stead, 2005).
Mobile devices can be used to remove some of the formality of education that non-traditional learners
may find unattractive (Attwell, 2005).
Mobile devices can increase motivation and engagement with learning. Mobile learning is ideal for facilitating collaboration and communication. Mobile technology can foster the growing shift from an instructor-centered classroom teaching to constructivist learner-centered educational settings (Holzinger, Nischelwitzer, & Meisenberger, 2005).
Mobile devices make the learning process faster, easier, more attractive and more acceptable to disenfranchised learners [Attewell, 2002].
Every time when it is suitable for somebody. Thanks to the fact that mobile devices could be easy carried
there is no problem to use them in the right time (Stone, 2010).
Through mobile devices the access to specific information is possible in the moment of need Mobile learning allows one to save time. In this way one can learn when normally it will be not possible. For young people their smartphones are part of everyday life. They talk, send text messages, play,
browse the Internet and do a lot of other things using them. Often they cannot imagine life without them.
Challenges and risks

Elearnitys report on mobile learning (Elearnity, 2011) addresses some of the most common challenges of using mobile devices for learning:
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Small screen of mobile devices
It is natural that mobile device, to be still mobile, must be small. Therefore, it is possible to carry it easily. As a result screen size is also limited. This problem was partly solved by resignation of traditional keyboard in favor of bigger screen. There is also constantly new technology under development to bring better and better screen resolution and quality of colors. It results in improvement of visual experience without making devices bigger. Today smartphones and tablets are as much powerful as computers ten years earlier. The most recent models have a CPU with four cores. To run such powerful machine a lot of energy is necessary. It is clear that developers made a decision. They prefer giving more powerful devices now than wait for new, more efficient battery technology. As an effect, we have fancy smartphones that need to be charged usually every day. To have quick access to a piece of information (and it was not preloaded) one must have good speed of internet connection. It is not always granted. Some problem with the Internet could occur even in developed countries in Europe. It is especially true in rural areas. In most smartphones there is no real keyboard which is replaced by touch keyboard displayed on a screen. One of disadvantages of this solution is the fact that, when keyboard is displayed, space for other visual elements is limited. On the market there are several operating systems for mobile devices. Each has different capabilities of playing multimedia files. For example, iOS does not support flash files and it is great limitation for content creators. As a result content must be prepared with awareness of each platform limitation. The preparation of content for mobile devices is different process than preparation for standard eLearning. Due to technical capacity some technical aspects must be fulfilled. The main aspects are processing the speed of device, system capabilities and the size of screens. It requires appropriate set of skills from designers team. Furthermore, there is serious technological limitation concerning mobile devices. Generally every kind of mobile devices requires specific skills that should be fulfilled. This process may be simplified by using special software which automatically sets up parameters of the materials. This type of software usually cost a lot of money. Nowadays people are more and more advanced in using mobile devices but one must assume that it is possible that somebody could have problems with using mobile device in learning environment. Secondly mobile learning is not well acknowledged by people (HR, CEOs) responsible for strategic decisions in companies and even by trainers yet. If we want mobile learning to develop it must be supported by wide range of professionals.
Short battery lifetime
Slow internet connection and high prices for bandwidth Touch keyboard
Technical limitations of operating systems
Designing mobile content
Organizational challenges
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Shuler (Shuler, 2009) also affirms that some critical challenges must be addressed to achieve successful implementation of m-learning:
Negative aspects of mobile learning, such as potential distraction or privacy issues. Cultural norms and attitudes. No mobile theory of learning. Currently, there is no established theory of mobile learning addressing
assessment, pedagogy and instructional design issues.
Differentiated access and technology. The wide range of technologies and their inner complexities must
be overcome by teachers and learners. Corbeil addressed other challenges about mobile learning:
Mobile devices may make it easier to cheat. Mobile learning could give tech-savvy students an advantage over non-technical students. Mobile devices could create a feeling of isolation or of being out-of-the-loop for non-technical students. Mobile learning may require media to be reformatted or offered in multiple formats. Mobile learning could create an additional learning obstacle for non-technical students and instructors. Mobile devices may be used as a new high-tech package for the same old dull and boring content.
This last challenge is very interesting because it captures the reality of many current m-learning applications. These projects tend to provide the same content with the same methodology but through a different technological delivery method. These projects do not take advantage of the fact that mobile devices offer a totally different set of features aside from content provision and support evaluation. Actually, according to Corbeil, mobile learning supports learning experiences that are collaborative, accessible, and integrated with the world beyond the classroom (Corbeil, 2007). According to Najima, mobile learning allows the learner to keep track of his learning activities from any location, even while moving from one place to another (Najima & Rachida, 2008). In addition to traditional learning activities such as courses and multiple choice exercises, mobile learning provides a suitable environment for practical training. For example, mobile devices can be used to request assistance, to carry out practical work, and to project realization, as they allow the learner to follow these activities in a realistic context. In summary, most authors agree that the achievement of a successful mobile learning application requires
Developing new pedagogical theories for mobile learning. Educational innovations to produce new applications for new environments. Training teachers and learners to adopt mobile technologies and incorporate them into the learning
process.
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Mobile learning applications, uses, and experiences

We propose the following classification of mobile learning applications:
Communication and collaboration Location aware applications Data collection Referential information Reminders and schedulers Assessment and evaluation Minigames
Communication and collaboration
Collaborative applications are all those that encourage knowledge sharing, making use of the learners physical location and mobility (Clough, Jones, McAndrew, & Scanlon, 2009). This covers various collaborative activities (form text messaging to social media), games, simulations and virtual worlds, user generated content, as well as mentoring and cognitive apprenticeship (Woodill, 2011). Thanks to the Web 2.0 the role of an information provider that creates the content and an audience that consumes it is changing. Currently the audience is both provider and subscriber, having as main example Wikipedia. Educators can incorporate this feature into education to help learners taking an active position in their own learning. The objective is not only to study what teachers say. Learners can be more involved in the learning process. The mobile devices were created to allow communication and they are the perfect tool to support social learning. Mobile learning technologies allow for collaborative learning, social networking, building of communities of practice, learning games, simulations, virtual worlds, immersive language learning, mentoring, and messaging. They allow learners to work on projects from anywhere in the world while they are mobile. (Woodill, 2011). Boticki carried out a pilot project about learning fractions. In this pilot each student had a fraction in the device (e.g. 1/3, 3/8, 2/5) and should interact with the peers to find others with a fraction that makes the unit. In this application, for example a student with the 1/3 fraction should interact with other students trying to find other with a 2/3 fraction, or two students with a 1/3 fraction. This application involved students collaborating to solve a problem. At the same time they learn how to sum fractions to get a unit (Boticki, Looi, & Wong, 2009). Technical capabilities of modern mobile devices and the wide range of content creation and sharing apps (like extremely popular photo app Instagram) permit and extend communication far beyond voice calls and short text messages. Users can now take pictures, record and edit audio or video, or use text-to-speech (or speech-to-text) tools to create original content directly on their phone and share it in an instant with the world. This content can document learning, be part of the assessment, learners mobile portfolio or learning content for others.
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Another field of application is mobile games. Mobile learning and educational games are two trends that are rapidly converging. The main reason is because gaming is a very well-known language for new generation of students (Kirriemur & McFarlane, 2004). Most of them spend several hours every day with these platforms, using video games consoles such as Playstation, Wii, or Xbox. In addition, there are also mobile video games consoles, such as PSP or NintendoDS. This last product offers educational products, such as Brain Training with a great acceptance focused in a new public target: adults. In this game the motivation is to improve the mental age by solving mathematics-related problems. According to that concept, authors such as Becker have pointed out aspects of videogames very related to constructivist principles [Becker, 2007], which can be used to promote students to play active roles and learn through experience rather than just memorization. While users play they feel as an active element, free to explore the in-game world, which can help in the acquisition of deep knowledge about the domain of study (Lavn-Mera, Torrente, Moreno-Ger, & Fernndez-Manjn, 2009). The AudioGene project proposes an interesting approach where an educative and collaborative game integrates blind and non-blind students to solve biology problems (Sanchez & Aguayo, 2008). Results showed that the game helped to create a work environment where students forget about their vision differences to solve problems and build knowledge together.
Location aware applications

Location aware applications contextualize information, allowing learners to interact directly with their environment; for example, collecting environmental data linked to geographical context or accessing contextually relevant reference material (Clough, Jones, McAndrew, & Scanlon, 2009). Context-based systems (where context is defined as a compilation of location, profile, etc.) provide a very interesting added-value to mobile learning applications. Context-aware applications let students interact with the environment in a totally new way. Authors like Baldauf in (Baldauf, Dustdar, & Rosenberg, 2007) defines context-aware systems such as applications able to adapt their operations to the current context without explicit user intervention and thus aim at increasing usability and effectiveness by taking environmental context into account. Particularly when it comes to using mobile devices, it is desirable that programs and services react specifically to their current location, time and other environment attributes and adapt their behavior according to the changing circumstances as context data may change rapidly. For instance, a student in the restaurant will have different needs than in a museum or in a garden; or a teacher in a classroom will need different information than in an office. Knowing where the user is in each moment it is possible to offer personalized learning through the mobile device depending not only on the profile but also on the moment and the location. There are examples of this kind of application for informal learning at cultural environments, such as museums or historical places. In this case, the system would offer information about master pieces, buildings or areas when the user approaches to them. Users could enjoy not only with text, but also with funny videos or animations related to the content. Mobile context-aware learning applications seem to cater for certain specialties more than others such as: agronomy, biology, geology, archaeology, etc.
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Data collection
Data collection applications use the handheld devices ability to record data in the form of text, image, video, and audio (Clough, Jones, McAndrew, & Scanlon, 2009). Those can be used for assessment and evaluation (we will discuss it below), feedback gathering, polling and voting, creating media (see discussion on user generated content above), or monitoring (especially in medical field).
Referential information
According to Clough at al., [r]eferential applications [are those] that use dictionaries, translators and e-books to deliver content when and where it is needed (Clough, Jones, McAndrew, & Scanlon, 2009). Speaking of content delivery, Woodill (Woodill, 2011) mentions also RSS feeds, digital media channels (podcasts, video), job aids and other applications. A natively mobile content are podcasts, or audio recordings delivered originally via iTunes library to Apple iPod (hence the name). Podcast allows ubiquitous learning whereby students can access a variety of educational material anywhere, anytime on iPods, MP3 and MP4 players or mobile phones. Podcasts permit students to access educational materials at home, while travelling to university or work, or doing any activity they choose. They can play the recordings at any time which is convenient to them rather than be confined to set class times. Podcasts in the educational setting allow students on-demand access to audio or video-recordings of lectures or other learning materials at their convenience (Nataatmadja & Dyson, 2008).
Schedulers and reminders

These kind of applications basically send some piece of information to the students as reminders.. They can be classified in two different groups depending if they offer administrative or learning information. Accordingly, they can provide or remind some useful and most up-to-date administrative information, like exams results, deadlines, appointments or course schedules, or deliver learning content in a push model. The learning content schedulers can also be location-sensitive, combining scheduling with location. In (Montalvo & Torres, 2004) a Mobile Context-aware and Adaptive Learning Schedule (mCALS) tool is described. It creates and enhances opportunities for students to study in different locations. The goal of the system is to select appropriate learning objects for students based on their current user contexts (location, concentration level and frequency of interruption) and user preferences (knowledge level of a topic and available time).
Assessment, evaluation and research

Mobile devices can be used to track and report on learner progress in many different kinds of tasks, to perform tests and examinations, facilitate feedback during the learning process, or gather data for research. From the point of view of the learning process, the main categories are:
Formative assessment and evaluation are methods used for feedback while learning. Adaptive assessment and evaluation are used to individualize the learning path. For example, a preliminary quiz can determine the level of knowledge of the learner and allow determine next steps, like skipping content thats too basic or rehearsing before continue to the next level.
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Demonstrative assessment and evaluation are used to demonstrate knowledge and skills achieved, for
example by tracking and reporting learner progress. From the point of view of agents involved in learning process, we can distinguish between automatic evaluation, expert evaluation, peer evaluation or self-evaluation.
Mobile learning content sources

Often you dont need to build a powerful mobile app from scratch to deliver learning content. Good news is that you are likely to already have training content that can be easily transformed into mobile forms. Here is a list of content types that can be used:
Formal learning modules (must be shorter than traditional e-learning) Supplemental content or review materials as part of a blended learning program (Stone, 2010) Social media Searchable references (like Wikipedia, or your companys databases) Expert videos Job aids and checklists Podcasts and video Audio books eBooks or book abstracts Abstracts and refreshers to complement traditional e-learning training SMS and video calls Quizzes and assessments Test-prep flashcards (Stone, 2010) Follow-up quick-tips (Stone, 2010) Job aids and checklists Mobile e-reference (Stone, 2010)
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LMS integration
Analysing the academic literature about m-learning applications, most mobile learning systems are isolated applications. The applications are made ad-hoc for a particular case, environment, or project. Most applications do not make use of the knowledge already existing in e-learning platforms, despite the fact that on-line education has employed these platforms for years. E-learning platforms at the centre of on-line education are a repository of both content and services and thus should be incorporated into mobile learning applications. Mobile applications should not be designed independently without taking advantage of all existing resources. Cheung showed an example of the integration of e-learning features into mobile learning environments (Cheung, Steward, & McGreal, 2006), where a prototype was developed enabling Moodle LMS to be used through smartphones (Cheung, Steward, & McGreal, 2006). These authors exchanged the three-frame template of Moodle for a one-frame template to allow users to better visualise the content. The prototype did not offer the full functionality of Moodle because many of the features did not work properly in a smartphone. One of the features that could not be moved was SCORM, which is a fundamental part of the evaluation process in Moodle and must be incorporated in the design of mobile applications including assessment. Chat, quizzes with timers and crosswords were also unavailable. Another example is the use of a web service-based architecture to move some of the functionalities of Moodle to a mobile device [Conde, 2009]. This also allows the re-use of some of the existing services in LMS such as authentication and monitoring, making it unnecessary to create them again in the mobile application. The result of this development was MLE Moodle (Mobile Learning Engine). Since then, various mobile LMs appeared on the market, mostly being mobile adaptations of existing corporate e-learning environments. Some of them are SumTotal LMS, Upside2Go (learning management system designed especially for mobile), eXact Mobile (an extension of eXact LCMS), or official Moodle native iOS app that largely replaced the previously mentioned MLE Moodle.
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03.
Andragogical aspects of mobile learning
Learning theory for mobile learning

Mobile devices are always available and can be used for a variety of learning functionality - providing access to content (both informational and instructional), review and assessment, and for communication and collaboration purposes. They can be used for formal or informal learning purposes as well as for performance support, i.e. for delivering information and support just-in-time and in context. Mobile devices are popular and well used by many people within m-learning project target groups. They are regarded as personal technologies, and as such likely to encourage a positive response. With the current rate of development mobile devices will have the capability of delivering high quality, multi-media content at affordable prices within the next few years. If considering the fact that more people have mobile phones than computers we can assert that m-learning is more accessible than e-learning. If we are interested in enhancing adult learning, a priority must be to design m-learning and teaching strategies that involve active learning, for example, in experiential fieldwork, simulations, role-plays and games (Leigh & Spindler, 2004). Learning and teaching strategies are needed that provide opportunities for learner adaptation and reflection (Laurillard, 1993), that encourage critical thinking, and that support students professional development through self and peer evaluation, feedback, review and assessment opportunities (Raban & Litchfield, 2007). Effective and practical strategies are needed that support learners to gain knowledge and skills in specific identified graduate attributes, curriculum objectives and stated learning outcomes.
The need for a revision of existing pedagogies and learning theories

Emergent technologies for learning demand that educators revisit existing pedagogies and learning theories. Those existing pedagogical frameworks may no longer be sufficient when learning is delivered using mobile devices. To continue to subscribe to existing models and practices of teaching and learning is to limit the learning experience afforded by these brave new technologies. In order to exploit the full affordance of mobile technologies it is necessary, at the very least, to re-examine existing pedagogies. Conversely, the phrase Pedagogy before technology is presented by Beetham and Sharpe, in their introduction to Rethinking pedagogy for a Digital Age. The suggestion being that, rather than creating a new pedagogy for new technologies, it better serves the practitioner to locate new technologies within proven practices and models of teaching. When talking about mobile learning in corporate contexts, we need to remember that employees are adults and their motivation and learning is different than those of children. We propose andragogy, constructivism and connectivism as main learning theories relevant to mobile learning. Andragogy is a theory of adult learning proposed by Malcolm Knowles. His theory can be stated with the following six principles of how adults learn:
Adults are internally motivated and self-directed Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences Adults are goal oriented Adults are relevancy oriented Adults are practical Adult learners like to be respected
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Guidelines for mobile learning:
Mobile learning supports learners motivation and sense of control over their own learning. It allows
them to use the devices they are familiar with and to learn at a time convenient to them. You should also give learners control over pacing and freedom to navigate the course in their own way.
Provide real-life problems and examples. Create a meaningful context: realistic case studies that learners have to solve for themselves, provide guidance resources needed and feedback after they have submitted a solution.
Base your case studies on examples relevant for their work. Take advantage of their experiences and
knowledge they already have. Dont provide a complete solution; rather, let learners use their own knowledge to solve the problem.
Make sure the course is relevant to them. Adult learners need to know how the training they are under-
taking can help them to make their work easier. Set concrete, realistic goals for the course, but remember that possibly every learner will start the course with different goals and expectations. Be flexible keep an eye on your overall course objectives but let learners state their own goals. If possible, coach them to make the best of your mobile course. Motivate learners with realistic scenarios or provide valuable information they can easily apply in their job.
Provide meaningful, specific and immediate feedback. Dont waste your learners time with unnecessary information or irrelevant content. Leave out anything
that wont help them to achieve their objectives. Use screens, images and case studies which are close to the learners experiences.
Make learning interactive. The learners want to participate actively in the course and be able to apply
newly-acquired knowledge in practice. This means not only including many course-related activities, but, most of all, activities that give them skills to perform their jobs more effectively.
Include practical tips, job aids, and other resources that they will take away to apply in their work.
Encourage use of external resources, like knowledge bases, journals, libraries, etc.
Show respect by taking care of the high quality of your course. Listen to your learners, their expectations,
comments and experiences. The theory of Constructivism is based on a premise that each individual through their learning activities imposes meaning on the world. The learner through his or her learning activities imposes meaning on the world. The learners construct their knowledge and understanding through the learning experience, this knowledge is constructed rather than discovered. Jonassen, D.H. (Ed.) (2004) Handbook of research on educational communications and technology, 2nd. Ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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Jonassen (Jonassen D. , 2004) proposed that there are eight characteristics that differentiate constructivist learning environments: 01. Constructivist learning environments provide multiple representations of reality. 02. Multiple representations avoid oversimplification and represent the complexity of the real world. 03. Constructivist learning environments emphasize knowledge construction inserted of knowledge reproduction. 04. Constructivist learning environments emphasize authentic tasks in a meaningful context rather than abstract instruction out of context. 05. Constructivist learning environments provide learning environments such as real-world settings or case-based learning instead of predetermined sequences of instruction. 06. Constructivist learning environments encourage thoughtful reflection on experience. 07. Constructivist learning environments enable context and content dependent knowledge construction. 08. Constructivist learning environments support collaborative construction of knowledge through social negotiation, not competition among learners for recognition. Some of the principles of Connectivism, as described in George Siemenss original 2004 article (Siemens, 2004), are:
Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources. Learning may reside in nonhuman appliances. Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known. Nurturing and maintaining connections are needed to facilitate continual learning. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill. Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities. Decision making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow because of alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.
Examples of application of those teaching frameworks are incorporating the need for students to acquire multiple perspectives or viewpoints on subject matter into the design of the mobile learning course. Also, the requirement to abandon rigid pre specified learning objectives will be examined, and how this will impact on the development of a mobile learning course.
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In the Constructivist world, it is vital that students create or construct their own knowledge. Sitting in a classroom and passively receiving knowledge from an authority figure is not in keeping with the principles of Constructivism. Interactivity is emphasised, however, it is important to acknowledge that this requirement for interactivity is not merely satisfied by the adoption of a mobile technology into the classroom environment. It is incumbent upon the designers of a mobile learning course to ensure that students are truly able to interact with the digital media in their learning environment. These media as accessed through the mobile technologies, whether video, digital or audio are important aspects in the creation of a learner-centered environment. The overriding importance, however, lies not with the technology, nor the digital media, but with the knowledge constructed by the students as they interact with these tools. The pedagogical framework informed by the Constructivist and Connectivist school places the student at the centre of the learning process. Because emergent technology is exiting and newly available, it is easy to become absorbed by the technology itself. This is true both for researchers in the area and for students employing mobile technology as learning tools. However, it is important that the technology itself does not become a distraction or a diversion. Again, poorly designed or ill structured mobile courseware or a Virtual learning Environment (VLE) may lead to frustrations and anxieties as students attempt to familiarise themselves with the system. Educators, developers and designers who strive for mobile learning environments with a sound pedagogical basis will take pains to avoid this occurrence. An environment of tool should not be a hindrance, but rather an instrument for thinking and problem-solving (Fjortoft and Sageie, 2000) A sound pedagogical framework based on developing the students ability to think creatively and form multiple perspectives on subject matter requires courseware incorporating tasks and subject matter that are authentic and based in the real world. It is not sufficient to develop a series of exercises that demand completion simply for the aim of applying a principle of knowledge. It is incumbent upon educators and developers to draw the tasks from those that the student would be likely to encounter in a real world environment. A personalised approach to learning is central to a pedagogy based upon the principles of Constructivism and Connectivism. The mobile device is a pedagogic tool that enables students to acquire knowledge at a personal level. In order to offer a truly personalised experience, it is necessary to first understand the learners existing skills and interests. The Futurelab report Towards New Learning Networks advocates the following: Currently most discussions about increasing learner choice and voice are focused around giving learners a greater variety of routes through predetermined and predefined subjects and curriculum content. However, a truly personalised system requires that learners will not only have greater choice and influence over the pace, style and content of learning but that they are also supported to become active partners in developing their own educational pathways and experiences. A pedagogy that advocates personalised learning is one that also by necessity advocates a move towards more informal learning environments, moving outside the classroom. The mobile device is the ideal tool to foster informal learning. The mobile device affords location independent access to information services. Professional knowledge is there for a purpose to be used when professionals need to respond effectively within professional roles Rhoda Sharpe and Martin Oliver consider Erauts influential views on professional knowledge in Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age. Learning knowledge and using knowledge are not separate processes but the same process. The process of using knowledge transforms that knowledge so that it is no longer the same knowledge. Sharpe and Oliver point to various studies to demonstrate difficulties encountered by professionals when asked to explain how they are applying their knowledge and making decisions. They write that tacit knowledge is unexpressed and difficult to capture, posing difficulties when attempting to design effective case studies for students to study. This leads the authors to advocate professional development that takes the form of observation, conversation or shared participation, all informal styles of learning, learning through social networks to access the knowledge of colleagues.
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Mobility in itself is not the key to the difference, but by focusing on mobility we can, according to the authors, gain a better understanding of how knowledge and skills can be transferred across different environments and life transitions and how technology can aid us as a mobile society seeks to cram learning into the gaps of daily life. A second criterion in their search for a theory of m-learning is the acknowledgement that much learning takes placed outside the typical learning environment, from cafes to cars, locations which are described by the authors as impromptu sites of learning. Thirdly, the authors point to those practices that best enable successful learning and deduce that the social- constructivist approach is one which fosters successful learning. The last factor in their attempt to postulate a theory of learning is the ubiquitous use of personal and shared technology. The authors point to the convergence between new personal and mobile technologies and new conceptions of learning as a personally-managed lifelong activity.
The mobile learning scenario

The discussion on the main identified issue is centered around two questions: (a) what are the relationships between pedagogical approaches and technological affordances of mobile devices? and (b) which are the concrete characteristics of the pedagogical approaches that inform the instructional design guidelines for technology-enhanced mobile learning? The traditional instructional methods apparently do not serve the purpose of mobile learning, but there are a number of pedagogical approaches which may match nicely to the technical affordances of mobile learning. Some examples of such approaches, but not limited to, are minimalism (Carroll, 1998), cognitive load theory (Sweller, 1994), anchored learning (Bransford et al, 2005), cognitive apprenticeship approach (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1996), jigsaw teaching (Bransford, in press), theory of problem solving cognitive style (Kirton, 2003), performance support system approach (Gery, 2002), cognitive flexibility theory (Spiro & Jehng, 1990), peer teaching and assessment (Bransford, in press), and a set of principles (effects) of multimedia learning (Mayer, 2005) such as split-attention principle, modality principle, redundancy principle, segmenting, sequencing and learner pacing principle, guided-discovery principle, work-out example principle, and collaborative principle. The analysis of these theoretical approaches would identify the underlying principles that could be further used to formulate instructional design guidelines for constructing a mobile learning scenario. What follows is a possible blueprint of such a scenario.
A scenario blueprint
The scenario always begin with building challenges, which should resemble, as much as possible, workplace referent situations (anchored learning, cognitive flexibility theory, guided-discovery principle of multimedia learning)
Then students collect the resources for the challenges, which could take any format (text, audio, and
video).
An important part in tackling the challenges are just-in-time, just-enough, and just-at-the-point-ofneed advices (performance support system, worked-out example principle of multimedia learning) by experts (cognitive apprenticeship) and peer teaching from the fellow students (peer teaching and assessment).
Experts and fellows help to build a multiple perspectives view on the issue under investigation (cognitive
flexibility theory).
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Students work first individually and then in small groups (collaboration principle of multimedia learning).
Working in groups they get hints and learn how to manage the diversity of cognitive styles in order to cooperate effectively (jigsaw teaching, theory of cognitive styles for problem solving).
The messages for mobile communication are based on some of the principles of minimalism (use as few
words as possible, break the text into small, self-contained modules, usually no more than seven steps for procedures), cognitive load theory and multimedia learning (split-attention principles, modality principle, redundancy principle and segmenting, sequencing and learner pacing principle).
Mobile technology offers unprecedented possibilities for combining the strengths of formal and informal education, and professional internship. This technology connects people working at different places (formal, informal, workplaces) with opportunities for expert and peer feedback and co-learning. Some ideas to enrich this scenario could be borrowed from Bransford et al (in press).
M-learning theoretical framework

A framework for learning and teaching with mobile devices could consist of five components:
Pedagogical framework context; defines areas that influence the framework itself and forms the basis
for further development. M-learning pedagogical framework context focuses on m-learning theory and practice, motivational factors, strengths and weaknesses of mobile learning.
Pedagogical approaches; promote particularly principles of constructivist theory, along with blended,
collaborative and active learning. In a constructivist approach, learners are encouraged to be active constructors of knowledge, mobile devices embedding them in a realistic context, at the same time as offering access to supporting tools. Compelling examples of the implementation of constructivist principles with mobile technologies come from a brand of learning experience termed participatory simulations, where the learners themselves act out key parts in an immersive recreation of a dynamic system.
Assessment techniques; define and support diverse types of assessments. The question here is: if its
possible to use device-based assessment, self-assessment, peer assessment and tutor assessment?
Current pedagogical practices in the partnership countries; different aspects of national specifics
(national curricula and educational policy plans, existing pedagogical practices in the partners organizations, technical infrastructure and future users).
Teacher training; supports teachers work and endorses them during content production as well as
delivery strategies decision. Techniques and methods to build a learning community and encourage the participants to explore the systems as well as the materials.
In general, the authors from the literature raise the following concerns/questions connected to the pedagogical aspects of m-learning:
How can mobile devices be used in education/training process?

The authors identify mainly two approaches to mobile devices integration: 1) as a supportive tool; and 2) as an instructional tool. As a tool to support educators mobile devices allow the recording and maintenance of the lessons that take place, the instructional procedures, the type of mentoring and the pedagogical approach,
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the role of the teacher and students. Additionally, they facilitate communication between faculty members and students through file sharing capabilities, built-in networking and a friendly interface with on-line discussion and e-mail options. On the other hand, mobile devices can be used as instructional tools to constructive learning. Mobile devices can be treated as tools that help students execute their tasks and promote the balanced development of their mental abilities by functioning as intellectual partners to the instructor and the learner. Educators can provide students with electronic books, content reference sites, graphing calculator, dictionary, and thesaurus etc. Finally, electronic quizzes and tests can be taken through mobile devices.
For what contents could mobile technology be used?

The contents which mobile devices can be applied vary. Research so far shows that the experiments took place in various fields such as: Business and specifically MBA classes, Accounting, English, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science and Geography classes etc. Other activities include innovative games, exploring museums and exhibitions. Additionally, mobile learning devices can be used in order to evaluate students learning as well as assess attitudes to learning.
What is the role of the educators and the students in the design, development and implementation of the innovation?
Educators should be involved throughout the entire process of designing, developing and implementing mobile technology integration. They need to accept and embrace this innovation in order to successfully integrate it in their teaching practices; otherwise they might boycott it as in some cases they did with computer integration. Educators feelings have to be considered regarding this innovation. Positive and negative reactions are expected to emerge. Educators willingness to integrate mobile devices in their settings should be examined. Along the same lines, students should be also involved in the process of mobile devices integration. Students need to have direct input on the process and features being developed. Additionally, educators need to be trained on how to apply mobile devices in their practices. To integrate computers in classroom practices, researchers were addressing the need that educators should be computer literate; in this case they have to be mobile literate. This is a greater challenge because they have to deal with various types of equipment (hardware) and software. Additionally, as Alexander (Alexander, 2004) supports the role of the educators needs to move towards facilitation and not teaching.
Collaboration among various stakeholders: educators, students/ learners, engineers, computer scientists.
Adopting an innovation is a risky process. But in order to minimize that risk and increase the success probabilities, it is important to be proactive and apply a systemic, holistic approach to mobile technology integration. The systemic approach to an innovation implies the involvement and participation of different parties in the design, development and implementation of the innovation. Various stakeholders such as educators, students/ learners, computer scientists and engineers should collaborate. Their collaboration is a critical element to successful mobile devices integration in education. The above stakeholders need to communicate, coordinate their actions, transfer and share their knowledge and experiences, as well as align their needs and goals. Educators need the help, support and knowledge of engineers and computer scientists and vice versa. It is not feasible to achieve m-learning without the coordination and knowledge integration of the above fields.
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What are the educational benefits and gains that can be achieved?
It is reasonable and expected that some researchers, educators and practitioners are wondering and trying to understand what the educational benefits from m-learning are. Research showed so far that through mobile devices reluctant learners can be motivated, hard-to-reach learners can be reached, various skills can be developed and improved as well as better communication among learners and between learners and instructors can be achieved. Consequently, there is a need for some experiments to take place in order to examine the integration of mobile devices and their effects on various parameters such as students learning, performance, and behavior, before moving further.
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04.
Mobile learning in corporate contexts
Business drivers of mobile learning

Mobile in business point of view
Popularity of mobile solutions makes them also important in the business sphere. And this in a very wide range, not only in the sphere of m-learning. It is generally agreed that the greatest benefits of mobile solutions may have representatives of an e-business. However, it is a broad concept for this phenomenon not just e-commerce. Mobile solutions are in fact becoming more and more popular in such areas as:
M-Learning Management E-Commerce Marketing and Publishing Banking and Finances

Business in any form is dependent on efficient communication. We mean both the internal (training, work) and external (support, promotion) communication. Key factor is the technology and the way you communicate with other market participants, co-workers and so on. Stakeholders see the great potential in using mobile devices and broad access to the web by phone or tablet enywhere and at any time. In this situation, they are investing more and more in mobility. This makes sense, because in the mobile world, both - worker and the client, are always online. So important is improving the effectiveness of communication, and consequently the efficiency of work, education or promotion. As a result, it is profitable to invest in solutions that can benefit both the HR, sales and marketing. Should also remember that e-business companies are by definition very closely connected to the network and new technologies, so mobile solutions are a natural development of their possibilities.
How to start thinking in a mobile way?

There is a whole group of factors which determine the success or the fail of mobile business solutions. Both in the context of opportunities and risks. So before the company will decide to invest in any mobile solution, its decision makers should realize a few facts.
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Positive factors
Negative factors
++ access to resources anywhere ++ ease of use ++bring your own device friendly ++ more hits on the website ++ more sales opportunities for the company ++ people love mobile tools
-- unequal access to the mobile hardware and to

the Web
-- many solutions that do not match each other

(e.g. screen size, files format)
-- poor battery performance life -- not as useful as a laptop (usually) -- can be dangerous without security solutions
(e.g. viruses, hacking)
In any case, e-business practitioners are faced with important decisions surrounding the implementation of mobile learning or training hardware and software solutions.
Hardware, software and technology aspect - You must remember that the success is the appropriate
use of hardware and software. Note that the mobile hardware device is both: cell phones, smartphones, PDAs, tablets and even netbooks. Software can be native or web based.
User experience Check exactly what is the experience and capabilities of users. If you do not pay attention to it, your project will be a failure. Many people do not have much experience, except calling or texting. If you show them a very sophisticated solutions, they may not be able to use its. On the other hand, techno geeks will expect innovative, sophisticated solutions. In both cases, the efficiency will be low.
Is a Mobile solution the best solution? Is it possible to use mobile technology for the intended purpose,
and will it benefit your company? In some cases, non-mobile solutions can be better, even if you have thought differently. So you have to double-check your assumptions and verify the facts: Is mobile the best solution? it is the mobile choice because it is popular or trendy?
If you thought about these issues well, Im sure youll succeed. In this case you can use mobile technology to many activities. Were focused on the m-learning, but remember that many of the following actions contains the elements of the learning (e.g., customer education), even if they are not immediately apparent. So, what you can use the mobile?
management commerce and finances (shopping, mobile finance service, mobile payment, near field communication,
m-ticketing)
marketing (geolocalisation, gamefication, qr codes, augmented reality) publishing (social media) security
As you can see, some items from the list above can also suitable in learning context. Lets see how to use it.
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Mobile learning in company

In the mobile learning the most important is the fact that learning process takes place by using mobile tools (software, devices). But more importantly - that process takes place in specific mobile environment. In any other case classic e-learning can be better, that is more popular and standardized. However here access to the content context matters - anytime, anywhere, although - as we said - in specific terms that may not facilitate the reception. Even today it is difficult to imagine the learning process with mobile devices, because the way we use mobile devices more tends to teach or support in the context of specific situations or problems. It is also important that the m-learning in companies does not need to concern only their own employees. Mobile solutions can be successfully used for the education of the market and thanks to gain new customers. This is an area closely linked with m-marketing. However, in this case, besides knowledge of the marketing will be essential knowledge of the methodology of teaching with the use of mobile devices. It is also worth looking at how the mobile operators react to new trends in mobile learning. In the world now there are more than 900 companies providing such services3. Although the most popular products are still calls or text messages delivered through the GSM network, but their contribution is declining steadily. Its not just about increasing opportunities for hardware, user appetites or ambitions of companies wanting to communicate with buyers of their products through mobile technology. What matters is the fact that traditional GSM services are becoming less profitable (drastic fall of rental costs and prices of services provided in recent years). Providers know that nowadays they can earn more by selling data transfer. Until that the customers need more efficient hardware, more useful software and fast access to network resources (www, mail servers, vpn protocols, cloud resources etc.). The new phones in providers catalogs often are not even phones - see the iPad: does not have any ability to carry voice calls over GSM). In this situation, more and more profitable is to create a native mobile content, as the number of devices and connections to the global network is growing. Factors that have a major impact on the mobile business are also associated with the location. In Europe, the biggest increase in mobile and Internet connections can be observed in developing countries. For example, in Poland there are more registered SIM cards than people living. Mobile market is not only the hardware and users, but especially applications. They allow companies to provide various services, including the areas of e-business. The value and market dynamics of applications is therefore in some sense a reflection of the entire mobile market. However, if mobile learning is a regular part of business in your company,it may be necessary to standardize the equipment and the way it is used. Already, many companies give their staff mobile phones to have access to them. Until now, the key factor was the monthly cost of use in GSM network (ringing and writing text messages only). It was enough just to choose this parameter in order to gain as much as possible with as little expenditure. In the context of mobile learning there are a number of other factors when choosing provider of equipment and technology. Its not just a question: iPhone or Blackberry. We also have to know:
Connectivity - quality, ease of use and conditions are very important if we require the employee to have
permanent access to the network
Battery life - it is very important if you often use in situations where there is no power source.
3 http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-520862.html Mobile Training Methodology for E-business
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Camera resolution and memory size - often use the built in camera in mobile devices to document and
archive data.
Tech support and replacement - in case of damage or lost. If the device is a major working tool we cannot wait 14 days or more on replacement or repair. To better understand this, think about it: fare enough in cases of failure you only have to move the SIM card into any other phone, use it and wait patiently a few days for repair. Nowadays if the device is used for m-learning, is not that simple. In the event of failure, you may lose your saved files, test results, access to the m-learning platform. Therefore, support, and the ability to quickly repair or replace the mobile device is so important. When choosing a mobile device the quality and speed of customer service should be a crucial issue as well as batery life or connectivity. On the other hand, mobile phone manufacturers and software suppliers introduce new methods of caring about our data. Its important f.e. in case of flooding out our phone. When it comes to iOS with which we are dealing in devices from Apple, we have iTunes - a program well known to the users of that computer giant. Next method is to make automatic backup in safe virtual cloud. It is a form of our local storage maintenance holded in remote location. Just like in iOS, also Android can boast of a variety of options that allow to recover data from a backup. One of them is to create a Google account. Very often, users of specific equipment manufacturers gain the opportunity to set up an account in the cloud manufacturer for free (for example Samsung). Free of charge account usually has the ability to archive data and system settings. There are contacts, settings, mail accounts and default settings smartphone. Since there is no one program that is dedicated to all Android devices, every manufacturer provides its own utility designed to synchronize your device with your computer. In the aforementioned Samsung it is Kies, HTC provides HTC Sync Manager, and Sony provides access to PC Companion. A common feature of all the programs is the ability to back up and synchronize data stored on your phone. For all users of Windows Phone, Microsoft provides its space in the cloud, called SkyDrive. Also available for Windows on PC software allows you to synchronize data, including contacts such as Microsoft Outlook. In this way, you can use contacts stored in the phone and the computer. The users of Blackberry devices, as long as you have installed the BlackBerry Desktop Software, do not need to worry about losing (at least most) of their data. In fact, with each smartphone available on the market, regardless of the operating system, you can back up your data. There are many ways and the user has to decide which to select. A convenient solution seems to be to store data in the cloud. Then, regardless of whether we have in your computer, you can recover the data for your device. Unfortunately not many people know about those solutions, especially when it comes to common users For the company it is a potentially dangerous situation too - the risk of losing data or confidential data drain out. Therefore, some devices can be erased remotely (for theft) and allows a very detailed protect accounts and content. Apps and mobile solutions developers more frequently direct their products directly to the managers and supervisors. It comes to showing the idea of facilitating access to content and learning. Therefore on the market appeared a lot of applications integrating personal and professional needs. They show the possibility of tools (QR codes, location, content aggregation, performance support, etc.). It is important that top executives in the organization experienced all the benefits of the use of such solutions.
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Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Just a few years ago there was no concept of the presence of private mobile devices in the business. Today, this situation changes a lot. There is increasingly blurred line between private and business use of mobile devices. Experts say even about the greatest revolution since the appearance of the corporate PCs on our desks. The explosion in the use of Smartphones and Tablets in the consumer market is impacting how IT enterprise deal with protecting and securing corporate data. This is due to a natural preference by employees to increasingly use their own personal Smartphone and Tablet computers for work and play. Most experts on this topic will agree in a broad brushed way with the following statistics:
There are approximately 6,500 different models of mobile devices that are capable of accessing the web.
By the end of 2012 there were approximately 6.5 billion mobile subscriptions globally out of a global population of 6.5 billion.
According to IDC, Strategy Analytics 695 smartphones and 115 million tablets were sold globally in 2012.
These numbers are expected to increase by approximately 20 per cent and 35 per cent respectively by the year 2016.
It is predicted that nearly 90% of new growth will come from emerging economies such as Africa and Asia
where educators and policy makers are striving to close the digital divide in education and business.
The ABI Research forecasts that global revenue from the use of mobile devices in business until 2017 to
reach the level of $ 340 billion.
Analysis, whose results were published by Gartner at the end of 2012 shows a predominant proportion
(70%) of companies planning to implement mechanisms that allow for BYOD over the next 12 months
Good Technology Annual Report for the year 2012 shows the highest percentage of BYOD model implementations in large companies employing more than 10,000 workers (46%). In second place (18%) are smaller companies, whose team is in the range between 2 and 5 thousand people.
According to Magic Software Enterprises (research took place in 2012), most popular firmware on
mobile devices are: email, web browser, calendar, instant messaging, task manager, social networking applications;
The main reasons why employees choose BYOD is the ability to better carry out their work, flexibility, one
device on two environments;
Percentage of mobile platforms in companies is: Android (65%), iOS (77%), Windows Phone (33%),
BlackBerry (84%); One of the most recent significant predictions surrroundig the use of mobile devices such as smartphone and tablets is from Gartner at least 60 per cent of information workers will interact with content application via a mobile device by 2015. Gartner also predicts that by 2014, 90 per cent of organisations will support corporate applications on a variety of personal devices. There is a great deal of convergence in the marketplace; modern mobile devices such as Smartphones and Tablets offer gigabytes of storage for audio and video. A single device can be a phone, camera, media player and office work tool etc. Both Apple and Android devices have many of the features of laptops or desktop
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computers and can now access the web at broadband speeds. All of these advances mean that increasingly end users will insist on using their own personal device for work. This trend BOYD is no longer emerging it is in reality well established and here to stay.
Employee Data Privacy

One area that is a cause of concern for all stakeholders and practitioners involved in delivering mobile training for business is in the area of employee data privacy. IT managers face the challenge of securing company data and at the same time they need to avoid breaching employee data privacy which could lead to legal action against the enterprise. The following key points are highlighted in a publication by OVUM (www.ovum.com) designed as a guide for BOYD policies. The following key points should not be viewed as a substitute for legal advice.
BOYD is the common face of IT consumerisation
Mobile consumerisation and the trend towards BYOD is happening whether the enterprise wants it or not. Employees accessing corporate data and application on personal devices present a huge risk to data security, but attempting to secure data by monitoring personally owned devices can be seen as an invasion of individual pricacy rights. Organisations of all kinds face the task of securing their data while also complying with data privacy regulations.
Update the organisations IT acceptable use policy
Requiring employees to sign up to a mobile policy that outlines security measures and the responsibilities of both the employer and the employee is the best way of ensuring both data security and compliance with data privacy regulation. It can also help to set out a framework for managing mobile costs and extracting value from mobile consumerisation.
Adopt formal information governance principles
While data privacy laws differ from country to country, two main principles across geographics have an impact on enterprises implementing a BYOD policy: organisations must take adequate meaure to secure any personal data that they process; and individuals must give explicit consent for their personal data to be accessed and processed.
Understand and accommodate local privacy laws
Vendors are looking to incorporate the process of achieving employee consent into over-the-air (OTA) device provisioning workflows. Enterprises looking to implement this type of solution should seek legal advice on how this form of consent will hold up against local privacy laws, as it may not be as binding as a signed policy or contract.
So is BOYD a threat or useful solution? Lets look at the advantages and disadvantages: Pros:
++ The next stage of development of the company ++ Employees use the equipment, they know ++ Employees mobile devices are generally better and more advanced than the corporate one ++ Productivity growth
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++ Saving time and money needed to train new employees to use corporate platform ++ A larger number of available tools and applications ++ Employees feel more at ease in the company ++ Better communication
Cons:
-- The risk of losing control of the devices and the entire organization -- Physical security of mobile devices is exposed to a greater risk -- The risk of data loss -- More responsibilities for IT managers -- Complications with the transfer of employees to other positions or employment of new -- Exposure to virus attacks the system -- Fear for safety data -- Privacy Policy - complex legal issues
Contexts
People use mobile phones and other mobile devices primarily for entertainment. When we see people in mass communication, we often find, that phone or tablet becomes their game consoles, media players or libraries. That means one thing: they get bored. Get bored on the way to work, at school, during breaks between classes, in line to the doctor or waiting for the delivery of pizza. Mobile technology allows to use this time more effectively, that would otherwise be wasted or at least non-optimally exploited. So if it can be used for entertainment, it can also for learning (for more: entertainment and learning are not conflicting goals). It is a lot of contexts for e-learning using mobile devices. We look at the most popular.
Training content delivery

Training content is one of the most expensive parts of training. Using mobile tools to reduce training costs can also effect overall learning experience. But it is also a great challenge. On the market today are several thousands models of mobile devices. Even if only about 100 of them are popular, we are still talking about the need to deliver content to different operating systems: Symbian, iOS, Windows Mobile, Android, Blackberry and many others which will appear in the future. The materials must therefore be supplied in suitable form, so that each user can access them without any limitations. For example, a Power Point presentation on the screen with a resolution of 320x240 pixels can
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be unreadable. Consequently - the user will have to open the material through a computer, which in turn ensures that the entire idea makes no sense. Its easier to send email. Mobile is the form of content, not only the form of delivery.
Direct sales company designer and developer for their sales representatives a special web-app that provides materials about the latest products and newly solutions. Due to the dispersed structure of the Staff, it was much more efficient solution than sending materials by courier. Representatives who are on the road (form client to another client, head office, warehouse etc.) are all equipped with the mobile phones in the same class and mobile Internet connection, in order to increase efficiency. Such activities not only increase product knowledge, but also influenced the ease of communication.
How it can work in practice?
Pros:
++ Reduction of the cost of materials ++ Current knowledge of the product increases the efficiency ++ Fast delivery of materials
Cons:
-- Problems with accessibility for all on the same level -- The cost of purchase phone calls and configuration Activating knowledge before training
Mobile devices can also be used to activate the participants before the classical training. For the same purpose may also be used PCs but it is worth to give the participants a choice - growing number of people determine the possibility of using applications in a mobile version. Mobile versions of the application are becoming as obvious as internet access in a mobile phone. Moreover, this solution works well in large groups, where we cannot assume that every participant has access to a PC. And even if it is difficult to determine the time and place of use of the materials.
Training company can use mobile phones of training participants to activate their participation in the journey to the place of training. This allows trainer to properly prepare and introduce the topic of training. Estimated in this way can save several hours of training to be spent on more valuable activities. As you know, trainings in the classical form are expensive. You have to pay for place, meals, accommodation and materials. Its good if even part of the content can be pass in the mobile form.
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Pros:
++ Saving time ++ Engaging of training participants ++ Diversity of training

Cons:
-- Differential access to material -- Participants do not always can focus on training while travelling Summarizing/refreshing knowledge
The easy availability of mobile devices and the Internet makes them the ideal tool to refresh knowledge. It is used primarily by the fact that m-learning process can take place in moments when the user has time, and it takes only seconds to run. So you can take advantage of even small pieces of time. This model of learning usually does not have rigidly fixed resources and guidelines, because the user of mobile device is not always able to spend as much time for learning as the script of lesson would require from him. In one case it is 10 minutes, in another - 1 hour or longer. Therefore it is important to give access to knowledge resources for each type of user. The disadvantage of such solutions is that the user can easily forget them. If you do not feel the need to refresh or supplement knowledge, you will not use this opportunity and see any benefits. It is important to develop system of learning requirements or reminders about the tool. If it is a native application, it must be up to date and rich in content. In the days when turning on the phone and launch a web browser takes a few seconds, user will more frequent use of Wikipedia or other open sources, if the applications database is incomplete. Therefore the hard to create an application will be wasted.
A good example are the applications to learn foreign languages that do not have lessons but the system themed cards or tasks. Frequency of learning depends on the user. Applications can record his progress and usually allow to verify it. This solution is very close to the idea of mobile learning. The participant learns when she/he can. It does not have to spend on a specific time. These solutions are great for exercise knowledge, which often changes or should be continuously updated to be effective in practice (foreign languages, law and procedures).
Pros:
++ Knowledge at doses relevant to the possibility of user ++ Employees continuous development
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++ Opportunity to study in some spare time, even if there is not much time
Cons:
-- Lack of control over the progress -- Require solid motivation Assessment and evaluation
A lot of comment surrounds assessment and evaluations of the training process. Usually, we are lacking the time or resources to perform rigorous assessment and evaluation. This is especially important in e-learning, where a coach or tutor does not have physical contact with the participant. Evaluation is often limited to performance the report and statistics of participation. Of course, its definitely not enough to make sense. The use of mobile devices allows maintain this process better and more adequately. Participant may get an assessment on cell phone and read it at any time. Communication via e-mail or LMS platform in such a case is less effective. But more and more important is the content of the evaluation than the form in which we can provide. Todays mobile devices allow you to display text, animations and charts. Applications can automatically generate reports and send them to interested users. But its important to note that the evaluation process itself cannot be completely automatic, because will lose relevance for all involved.
In cases where the contact between the employee and management is rare (because of the structure of the organization), mobile devices can be used as an assessment tool. We can use them for immediate feedback after mystery customer survey. This allows examine the process faster and more reliably. In this case, the employee, who was tested does not have to wait several weeks for the appropriate report. He can learn the lessons almost immediately, thanks to mobile communications. All you need to do is develop a reporting system. In a simplified version of this can be a simple text message. In a more sophisticated version multimedia attachments or satisfaction surveys can be added. Mystery shopper survey is highly reliable but also expensive. Therefore it is important to take advantage of inexpensive and available tools.
Pros:
++ Short content delivery time ++ Possibility of improvement the work in a short time
Cons:
-- No contact with real human
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-- Necessity to learn how to use the reporting system Performance support

The main advantage of mobility is a direct and immediate access to important resources. By definition mobile phone or smartphone is always at hand. In the era of the popularization of wireless Internet access to the network is no longer a problem. Performance support uses a particular need to gain knowledge here and now. Sometimes it was hard data, other times models to resolve. It is easier to run a mobile phone than to look for information in paper documents. This works only if the employee has access to good and rich knowledge base. Such a database should be the official source of information, if employees have to make decisions on its basis. For this purpose, you can create even a simple repository of knowledge, procedures, schemes. It is important to make it useful and easy to use. The important in performance support is data access time.
It can be used when success depends on rapid access to the strict knowledge or data. Such tools can be used by employees who sign a lot agreements and contracts outside the company. This includes for example insurance companies. Access to the database forms and client data much increases the effectiveness of business meetings.
Pros:
++ Access to knowledge anytime, anywhere ++ Saving time (no need to check paper documents) ++ Quick decision making
Cons:
-- Need to care of the content relevance -- Need to update the database Workflow support
Workflow is one of the most important elements of each company. Good workflow support provides a proper flow of information about the processes related to the operation of the company. Thanks to this work is more efficient. However, in most cases, its difficult to talk about the use of modern tools to support these processes. Also in the context of learning. The primary data collection tool in many companies is still paper or spreadsheet. Can we use mobile devices to support a modern business in the workflow? It seems so. One solution may also be a mobile data collection, which effectively replaces paper and pencil.
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Workflow support should be designed to avoid problems with the quality of data provided. Communication in these processes must be fast and stable, so poor Internet connection or a short battery life (for some devices) may be a problem. If the solution will operate within a single company (headquarter), you should turn it into a corporate Intranet. This will ensure the stability of the connection and protect data against theft (access from outside the company will be impossible). It is also important that the relevant personnel responsibe understands the following:
Do employees have experience working in a computing cloud? Does the company understand the processes and procedures involved in digitizing existing corporate
paper based content that can be accessed in the cloud and at the same time ensure the continued smooth running of the corporation.
Is your virtual environment safe? Does your budget allow for the purchase of applications and hardware to achieve all of the above and
sustain the changes undertaken? These are the key questions that each manager needs to consider. Without these safeguards mobile workflow support makes no sense.
Filed sales representatives using handheld devices to complete forms about costumers and their orders. The data can be then synchronized with the companys CRM.
Pros:
++ Possibility of automation of data entry ++ Less time spent on manual paperwork ++ Increase in sales
Cons:
-- Connection issues -- Battery life Communication and collaboration

Originally mobile devices (phones) were just designed for voice communication.. Over time text message, e-mail and the possibility of live video talks was developed. Not every device complies with all requirements in this regard. For example, you cannot receive text messages on many tablets, even if you have an active SIM card inside. On the other hand, not every mobile device works on a network connection.
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Some companies need to communicate at a level much higher than offer traditional telecommunications services. If a company depends on a unique sound quality, ability to transfer images/videos, group work (teleconference), some specialized application may be useful. It work only in connection with Internet (outside the GSM network), but offer much more than talk. More and more operators are added such applications to its portfolio. Quality may be crucial in the case of training, where nonverbal communication is important (e.g. role played scenes).
Pros:
++ High quality of content (compared with GSM network) ++ Wide offer (not just a talk)
Cons:
-- Cost of internet connection -- Necessity to have an adequate device
Mobile learning tools

Audio and video
Modern mobile devices allow play audio and video content at high resolution, increasingly by using the surround sound and 3D. Technology gives us an incredible opportunity to share knowledge with very attractive forms. Many aspects cannot be effectively presented using text and even pictures and diagrams. This is theory. In fact, there is a wide variation among the possibilities of mobile devices. We are not talking only about old mobile phones, which uses small number of users, but also of modern products that are not smartphones. We are talking about such factors as:
The size and quality of the screen - a standard phone has a screen resolution of 320x240 pixels, but
modern smartphones - 1280x800. The result is a picture composed of 77 thousand or 1 million points. The difference is very large.
Speed of the processor, memory and graphic chip - not all devices have been equipped with systems
allowing efficient media playback.
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Possibilities for play certain media file format - so far not established one universal media file format.
For most devices can be files mp4 (if we speak about movies) and swf (if we speak about animation), but older devices suit only the 3gp, format which is obsolete. As well swf can be a problem also for the new devices which do not support Flash.
Also important is the fact that the media tend to have large volume. For example - 1 minute video may need to download to the device, even tens of megabytes of data. Also, if the material is displayed in the form of live streaming, data are collected. Often users do not have such awareness. The growing availability of mobile on the Web does not mean that in any case, it involves the lack of restrictions. Despite these difficulties, it can be useful to use video and audio content for learning. It supports the learning process, makes it more attractive. But we must take into account some limitations that are due to unequal access to technology. So how to design such materials? We need to know who and under what conditions will it be used. It is also important that these materials are crucial dl. If so - inability to use them can block the learning process of a person. In such cases, we should develop file formats and resolutions, and the application should detect the device, so it selects the best format for the conditions. If possible it should allow download material in advance and play them offline. This can save time and money in a situation where you have limited access to the Internet (e.g. abroad). It is important that, thanks to mobile devices, the user can also be the creator of multimedia content. Almost every modern mobile device has a built-in camera. Often allows record video with the quality high definition. This is an excellent way to document and support the learning process.
Interactions
The most popular tools for interaction in mobile devices are still text messages - mainly SMS, MMS less frequently. In both cases, the simplicity and speed are important. Therefore, many m-learning courses are based on these solutions. This is not a good choice, considering the opportunities available today. This does not change the fact that many designers are using text massages often because they know that every mobile phone user has the ability to send and receive such content. But this is not a principle in the mobile world, because many devices are not mobile phones and do not have access to the GSM network. In addition, text messages have huge limitations, such as the length and form of communication (typically up to 160 characters per message).
Animation
Animations are perfect in mlearning. This form can be combined with voice narration too. It is more interesting than plain text, even enriched with graphics. Besides it is less complicated than the video (production costs, system requirements, etc.).
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Animation engages users more, because it has a more friendly form. Usually, it is also cheaper to make than video. A good animator is able submit the content of training wisely, even by using the small screen of mobile device. Files with animations are usually smaller than similar length videos. A limitation is the difference in the size of the screens. On the screens between 3 and 10 the difference in the amount of detail is very large and may affect the final result. This form may also contain a variety of interactive components, so it can be used very well in games.
Quizzes and polls

Quizzes and polls are a great way to engage participants in the learning process. Those elements are easy to prepare, usually do not need much space (you can display them on every screen), the results can be collected and evaluated automatically. An additional value is that thanks to these features you can:
Ask participants to view Check the knowledge and progress of participants Increase involvement in the learning process
Quizzes and polls can be simple (e.g. sending a text message) or expanded (eg, as a multi-level surveys). Both of these solutions have advantages. Simple polls allow contact with the user as easily as sending an SMS. Can be sent directly by the GSM network, as SMS or MMS, which eliminates the problem of availability of the Internet. More expanded forms can also contain text boxes, but remember to use them wisely. In some older devices entering large amounts of text may be difficult, so users will give up before completing a survey or give very short answers. Simple forms of this kind are frequently used in mobile marketing with elements of m-learning, such as knowledge contests and loyalty programs.
Just-in-time tools (calculators, glossaries, references, etc.)

An excellent set of tools are those which we can use just-in-time: various calculators and glossaries. Specialist often needs specific knowledge or the result of the calculation. Small mobile device that is always close at hand, perfectly suited to this. Keep in mind that in this case, the device is used not to learn, but to gain specific knowledge in a specific context. It cannot be mistake in content or form of its presentation. Imagine an electrician who makes complex calculations based on data obtained through the mobile tool. The measure of success is not does he learn, but if he did the job properly. If he makes a mistake the consequences could be large. Typically, such solutions should be designed individually for each company, because knowledge and scope are variable. However, some areas of knowledge are universal, such as economic law , science and encyclopedic knowledge. Choosing a solution must always be from the company. The universal tool will not be used often. The customized tool may be too expensive.
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Social tools
Social networking tools are trendy and still growing fast. No wonder that the majority of users of mobile devices with Internet access use them gladly. Mobile versions of social tools are easy to use and - usually - just functional as their non-mobile versions. It is good to take advantage of this trend in the company. In the company we can use a variety of solutions:
Texting in groups (forums) Media sharing (Wikis) Social networking (cooperation) Geo tagging (status change)
Games and simulations
Games market is the most dynamic branch of mobile applications. There is no indication that in the near future this will change. Many companies have already very serious plans to combine e-learning with entertainment (edutainment). Games seem to be the perfect solution. Games involve participants in the learning process very much, but may be a certain risk - often are so interesting and engaging that learning can go into the background. Games for learning should be designed very sensibly. M-learning games can be designed for temporal use in short bursts. In that case the user is not dependent on the tutors plan or agenda, but on his own desire to play. This has pros and cons. However, the development of mobile games is still a costly challenge. Not only the performance of the application, but its maintenance, and also provide on various platforms editions - for different mobile devices. Such investments make sense mainly when the estimated number of users is large. For small and medium enterprises, it is better to seek universal solutions. At present we have more and more solutions which allow you to create your own applications using WYSIWYG editing (without knowledge of the subjects the app developer), available in a SaaS model. When designing mobile game should take into account some important technical factors:
Number of users and ways of interaction between them Necessity of permanent communication with game server Size of the screen Ways of navigation (keyboard, touch screen, touchpad) Use of other elements (sound, vibration)
A good game should also have clear rules of evaluation (bonuses, points etc.) and the purpose.
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Virtual classrooms
An increasing number of developers of applications to conduct remote meetings also provides its solutions in a mobile version. These applications allow you to participate in a virtual classroom and with a lot of functionality:
communicate with other by direct messages access to the same documents and synchronized work work together in groups on tasks instant help from tutor or manager
As you can see these features give the magnitude potential for m-learning and have many features of social media tools too. Solutions such as virtual classroom often require a good Internet connection. It is a condition of participation in the class synchronized, while working on documents, collaboration in the group, etc. It also requires a complete focus on the subject of work, so these solutions must be precisely considered.
Location-based applications
The idea of geolocalisation isnt new. The fact that mobile devices and their users are in the network and this network has its own structure, it is possible to identify with some precision location of the device - and indirectly - the user. This can be use in the context of:
requesting the nearest division of the company locating people displayed on a map on the mobile phone (e.g. in education
game)
receiving alerts as traffic jams , shop sales location-based mobile advertising social events
and much more. When you are designing solutions based on these items, remember that they may be badly judged by some users. This is related to the privacy policy and the fact that not everyone is willing to share information about the location of his residence. It must be a very good background of what we want to use Location Based Services. If this is part of the educational game, it is easier to justify, than in the case when we turn this feature only for satisfaction. You should also remember that mobile devices and different types of networks in different ways to interpret location, so there may be major differences. For example:
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GSM - accuracy between several meters and several kilometers (depending on the distance between the
three closest transceiver stations)
3G/UMTS - accuracy up to several meters, but in many cases, the displayed data may be false (the system often shows the location of an Internet service provider, not the user of the device)
GPS - the most accurate system (up to several meters), but not every device has a GPS module.
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05.
Mobile performance support system
Introduction
A performance support system (PSS) is a promising approach in business and industry training to empower workers to perform tasks with a minimum amount of external intervention or training (Gery, 2002). A PSS is a computer-based system that improves worker productivity by providing on-the-job access to integrated information, advice, and learning experiences by providing computer support just-in-time, just-enough and just-at-the-point-of need for an effective and efficient job performance. A PSS could also be introduced in the field of education, making the learning process more performance-centered. This performance-centered approach to learning helps students to perform job-related tasks and develop job-related skills by providing them with job aids (i.e., performance support) during training. They are provided in a timely way with sufficient and relevant information to perform tasks closely related to tasks they will perform in their future job. Previous research on performance-centered learning in education shows that this approach is more effective than a traditional lecture-practice-test approach in training for higher order skills, in preparing learners for self-directed learning and for adaptation for changing jobs. The performance support can be provided through various devices. In a previous project students received performance support through wired computers or laptops. In the current project how performance centered learning can be provided by mobile devices is investigated. The use of mobile devices enhances the flexibility of the performance support, making it possible to deliver the support just-in-time and just-at-the pointof-need. It also allows training to take place where the actual work takes place. Moreover, it enhances the flexibility of the learners, who can learn wherever they are and whenever they want to learn. This document will provide a model for Performance-centered Mobile Learning. First performance-centered learning and mobile learning are discussed. Next a model for Performance-centered Mobile Learning (PML) is introduced. The model provides a pedagogical framework for performance-centered mobile learning and offers several implementation scenarios and guidelines for development and implementation of PML.
Performance-centered learning
Performance-Centered Learning is based on the concept of performance support systems used in industry. A typical performance support system is an integrated electronic environment that is available to, and easily accessible by, each employee and is structured to provide immediate, individualized on-line access to the full range of information, software, guidance, advice and assistance, data, images, tools, and assessment and monitoring systems to permit job performance with minimal support and intervention by others. Most PSSs consists of four components:
an advisory component, an information component, a training component, and the user interface component.
Applying this concept in the context of education, performance-centered learning provides students with relevant information, advice, assistance, data etcetera during a specific learning situation in which they train their job-related skills. The support enables students to perform the job, enabling them to experience the job in a holistic manner, and at the same time they can start to develop specific job-related skills in a job-related
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context. However, research (Stoyanow, Kommers, Bastiaens, & Martinez Mediano, 2008) shows that the concept as it was developed in business and industry cannot be automatically implemented in higher education on a one-to-one basis. Only if adapted to address the specific goals and characteristics of higher education could there be some positive consequences of performance support for learning. It is thus important to keep in mind the specific goals of education when developing the support to improve learning. This means that the student should not only be supported to perform the task at hand well, but also to understand underlying processes and concepts. Integrating performance-centered learning and m-learning, results in a performance-centered mobile learning (PML) approach, in which students receive performance support via a mobile device when performing job-related tasks. Important features of m-learning are that it makes learning processes more flexible and it offers the opportunity to individualize the learning material and environment. By using a mobile device that meets the aforementioned requirements (i.e., small, easy to carry) the learner has access to information at the right time (i.e., just-in-time), for the specific learning situation at hand (i.e., just-in-case), which fits his or her need (i.e., just enough) and fits his or her learning style (i.e., just-for-me). These features are in line with the aims of performance-centered learning. Performance-centered m-learning (PML) (i.e., mobile performance support systems) are similar to traditional PSS. That is, m-learning solutions integrate mobile devices within the learning process to help students perform a task by providing information, guidance, and learning experiences when and where they are needed. Some of the advantages of PML are: PML enables training when it is needed. Wireless and mobile learning can empower teachable moments moments when those interested in a particular issue are attentive, willing, and receptive to learn. Using mobile devices, learners can access job aids, reference materials, or instruction when needed. PML allows use of rich media when appropriate. Some of the wireless and mobile devices support rich media such as video, photographs, images, audio, and animation. These media can make instruction, reference material, or job aids more effective. PML provides access to experts. Wireless devices can be used to connect to and learn from experts. Using a PDA with instant messaging and awareness (i.e., the ability to tell if someone is accessible via e-mail, instant messaging, or phone), learners can access expertise. PML builds a community of practice. Using wireless devices, a community of practice can contribute to a forum or threaded discussion. Questions and answers posted to the discussion forum can be accessed from the field. Wireless devices can also be used to download tools like templates, sample letters, spreadsheets for estimating, sales scripts, and other documents that the team has developed over time. It can also be a tool for instant messaging, e-mail, or other communication and dialog. PML knows users expertise. The users expertise can be located by connecting and continuously sync training to back-end systems. The ability to connect and sync means that you can have training records that are current and easy to report on. A back-end system would track when learners need to take certification training and send the learner a reminder on the wireless device four to six weeks in advance of the certification expiration date.
Implementation of performance support scenarios

Mobile performance support systems can be implemented in education according to four possible instructional design scenarios:
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01. Mobile performance support courseware 02. Industry-based mobile performance support systems 03. Mobile social support systems 04. Integrated mobile performance support learning Each scenario requires a different structure and presentation of the content and addresses different educational goals. The scenarios will be explained in more detail in the next sections.
Scenario 1. Performance support courseware

In the first scenario mobile learning is interpreted as mobility of the content. A course provided via a wired device is simply repackaged and transferred to a wireless mobile device. The goal of this scenario is that the student can consult the learning content anytime, anywhere, because it is available through a mobile device. It is important that the existing course is developed according to the principles of performance support for learning derived from the empirical validation of the concept of performance support system in higher education (Stoyanow, Kommers, Bastiaens, & Martinez Mediano, 2008), as described in the previous section. The repackaging of the structure of performance-oriented courseware to fit the mobile device can be done according to two approaches: (a) the structure is maintained as it is and directly implemented, including background information, examples and procedures, or (b) the minimalist structure, as described above, is accepted. The background information is mentioned in About topic and some part of it in Details; Examples are incorporated into Examples topic; the Procedures section goes to Ways To and eventually Details. Most of the studies on mobile learning claim that just repackaging content previously delivered by other devices is not an effective approach. As they say learning should not be a facsimile of a web-based course on a mobile phone. Learning design should be less course like and should have more a support orientation (Learndirect & Kineo, 2007). Content creation for the mobile phone is not a technological debate; phones are now generally considered multi-media devices. It is better to design for the mobile environment than attempt to simply port existing content to m-learning. The users or target audience must be engaged; and how they assimilate the material is very different from a classroom or desktop environment. Users attention spans are lower due to the smaller nature of the mobile device and also the environment the students may be in, for example waiting in an airport lounge or commuting to and from work. Users of mobile devices, such as phones, tend to be more cost conscious if the application is deployed over a network and a data charge is incurred. There is a lower tolerance for delays and difficult navigation of applications. Phones have been traditionally easy to use and reliable and users can be very unforgiving when trying out new applications or services. In addition, publications on mobile learning suggest that it is rare for mobile learning to be the primary delivery platform for providing instruction. However, it should be noted
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that these studies did not apply strong (experimental) research design. A pilot experimental study conducted by Merrill Lynch (Brown, Metcalf, & Christian, 2008) showed results pointing to the opposite direction. The experimental group achieved a higher score in half the time, although there was no information on whether the difference was significant. In addition, crucial information is lacking on the instructional design of these courses. What was the structure of the learning activities that led to these successful outcomes?
Scenario 2. Implementing industry-based mobile performance support

In the second scenario the performance support system is implemented in higher education in a similar way as the support system is implemented in industry. That is, according to the definition of performance support system in higher education (Stoyanow, Kommers, Bastiaens, & Martinez Mediano, 2008), a performance oriented course in higher education should reflect as much as possible future work real-life situations where the acquired knowledge and skills will be applied. In these real-life situations mobile performance support systems provide just-in-time, just-enough, and just-inpoint-of-need and on demand support, to suggest an immediate solution to a problem in various situations. When training students for these situations, the mobile performance support systems can be used to support students to learn to perform correctly in these situations. In general, there is a set of situations where performance support could be an appropriate solution: situations that require location specific context (reviewing tips for effective presentation); situations where best practices can be presented (coaching, recruitment, sales skills) and situations in which the users are more likely to benefit from an access to learning on the move, e.g salespersons, field workers. The only differences between the application of the performance support system in industry and education, is that in education the support is aimed at not only improving performance, but also learning; students should also learn from the support. Guidelines for implementation
External, extrinsic or intrinsic support

Mobile performance support systems can be classified as external, extrinsic and intrinsic (Gery, 2002). They are external when in order to accomplish a task, a connection to an external source of information needs to be made. They are extrinsic when the support is available in the system, although a break in the action is needed to get the necessary information (e.g getting an additional help). They are intrinsic when the support provided is context-sensitive and it is part of the workflow (e.g tracks the position, providing navigational assistance and relevant information and tools). Intrinsic mobile performance support system can automatically detect context through a combination of context-aware computing and ubiquitous and pervasive techniques to adapt to user preferences, location, time and environment (Specht & Kravcik, 2006). Research showed, contrary to initial expectations, that external and extrinsic performance support systems are more effective than intrinsic ones (Nguyen, Klein, & Sullivan, 2005). However, it would
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be speculation to expect that this would be the case with mobile performance support systems as well.
Copy from industry

If you know about mobile performance support systems used in the industry to which the content you teach is related, try to implement these systems in your teaching practice. You can demonstrate them, but it would be much more effective if you arrange learning design in such a way that stimulates your students to apply mobile performance support systems for solving real-life problems.
Thought-provocation
Rossett & Schafer (Rossett & Schafer, 2006) suggest that performance support systems should not merely be considered as a job aid to help accomplish a procedure during performance (called sidekicks). Performance support systems should also be thought-provoking before and after performance as they coach for better performance (called planners). These latter performance support systems answer the question how but in a different way from procedural performance support. That is, How or in what way can I think about it or approach it? Thought-provoking performance support systems also answer the question why, and in addition include quality standards and stimulate a dialogue with the user.
Scenario 3. Social support systems

Learning as a lifelong activity implies that it may happen anywhere and anytime. The advent of technology and its impact in our daily life provides an opportunity to support learning in different situations, irrespective of time and location. Current computer technologies to support learning are mainly focused on formal education settings (classroom teaching, computer lab or home-based learning using Learning Management systems). However, this still ties the learner to a specific location and the need for expensive computer systems to support learners. As lifelong learners we are continually on the move, we learn and apply the knowledge at different places. We learn in different time spans of life and constantly re-use the knowledge gained. In the current mobile age, the availability of mobile devices provides sufficient confidence to use them for learning activities. The use of mobile devices would expand the learning possibilities irrespective of location. Especially for a lifelong-learner, mobile learning adds value to the formal and informal learning. Mobile technology provides the opportunity to shift from the pure instruction-centered classroom teaching to constructivist learner centered educational settings (Holzinger and Motschnig-Pitrik 2005). The students can go beyond the classroom to an outside learning environment. They can know more using their mobile devices about Geography by visiting terrain (mountains, river or forest), History by going to Museums, Chemistry by visiting a chemical industry and so on. The technology itself may provide them with motivation that would enhance their learning (Holzinger & Motschink-Pitrik, 2005). This expands the learning scenarios that can be well supported by mobile devices combining the formal, informal and professional internship situations.
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Mobile devices can also be used to bring learners into contact with each other at different locations. For example a learner browsing some information on impressionist paintings at a Museum of Art, may get to know who else is accessing similar information; they may contact each other to share their knowledge and interests. This scenario calls for developing social applications for mobile devices to bring learners into contact with each other. We may call Mobile Social Support Systems (MoSoSuSy) the applications which help people connect with each other according to their common interests in learning objects or resources at a specific location (for example, Museum, Exhibitions, Famous Buildings, Industries etc). This idea provides an opportunity to develop social applications (MoSoSuSy) to bring people together in contact for mutual benefit. We can also experiment to evaluate the impact of students learning by socializing using mobile devices. This issue addresses the opportunity to research the community-centered ways of successful learning as referred to in the report of the National Research Council (National Research Council, 1999). Community-centered learning focuses on a social-constructivist approach to learning, which requires learning to involve an active process of constructing knowledge through practice within a supportive community.
Scenario 4. Integrated mobile performance support system

In the fourth scenario mobile performance support is part of a blended solution of knowledge distribution rather than a primary channel for content delivery. This scenario is based on the assumption that mobile learning is effective if considered as only one of the components of the overall programme of learning interventions. Another assumption that underlies this scenario is that when applying mobile performance support systems in education, instructors should use different materials, devices and resources as building blocks to develop a learning design. For each type of information the most suitable information, delivery device and resource should be selected. This means, that only when delivering support through a mobile device has an added value for learning mobile performance support should be implemented. Building blocks A blueprint within the fourth scenario could contain the following building blocks:
Challenges
Start the scenario with building challenges, which should resemble, as much as possible, workplace referent situations. One of the first principles of instructional design is that learning is promoted when learners are engaged with solving real-world problems (Merrill, 2002). A number of representative instructional design theories support this principle, namely anchored learning (Bransford, Slowinski, Vye, & Mosborg, 2008), cognitive flexibility theory (Spiro & Jehng, 1990), constructivist learning environment (Jonassen, 2004) and guided-discovery principle of multimedia learning (Mayer, 2005).
Resources
Give opportunities for the students to collect the resources for solving the problem. The resources could take any format (text, audio, video).
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Collaboration, help, and advice from others

Students work first individually and then continue in small groups. An important part in tackling the challenges is to get just-in-time, just-enough, and just-at-the-point-ofneed advice by experts and fellow students. Experts and fellows help to build a multiple perspective view on the issue under investigation. Working in groups students get hints and learn how to manage the diversity of cognitive styles in order to cooperate effectively. You can use mobile devices to support all of these activities but think of efficiency, perhaps other devices are better options for this purpose. Mobile devices will perhaps be involved in only a limited number of small educational episodes. It seems that expert help for group composition and managing diversity of problem solving style is where mobile devices would be an appropriate solution. Some tips sent around to the participants is also a possibility. The same applies to exchanging information across the students as to how to approach the problem. When designing instructional messages for mobile devices keep in mind the principles of minimalism (use as few words as possible, break the text into small, self-contained modules, usually no more than seven steps for procedures), cognitive load theory and multimedia learning (split-attention principle, modality principle, redundancy principle and segmenting, sequencing and learner pacing principle). Constructing a scenario blueprint In the previous sections some general assertions and principles, but also some concrete heuristics and guidelines were provided. Because of the format required, the guidelines may seem a sort of cookbook. They should not be. You may like or dislike some of them or you can possibly reject the whole proposal. To construct a mobile performance support system a technique used by Walt Disney, might be useful. Disney played three roles: the dreamer, the realist and the critic. First play the role of a dreamer. Try to design your own ideal mobile performance support scenario using (or not) the description of the different scenarios provided in the previous sections. Imagine you have all the capabilities, power and resources to do what you want to do; no restrictions, no obstacles. Try to list as many wishes as possible. Write down everything that comes to your mind. Generate wishes, do not evaluate or judge whether they are good or not. Just follow the flow of your associations. Next play the realist. Try to make your scenario more practical and feasible but as close as possible to your ideal scenario. How can you approximate the wish by achieving something similar to the desired effect? Be positive and constructive. Finally, play the critic and list all possible weakness of your scenario. When ready with the scenario framework, you can look at the guidelines and select those of them that are appropriate for the scenario. The guidelines are like LEGO blocks: you can combine them in a way you want in order to construct your design blueprint.
A worked-out example of scenario 4

As an illustration of the considerations regarding the fourth scenario, let us consider the following case. As part of the course Software Engineering Design, a MSc students class from a Computer Science department gets the assignment to design a software application for educational and training purposes. For the design they are going to apply one of the recent developments in the field, called Rapid Contextual Design. Some of
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the activities of this design methodology are Contextual Inquiry Interview, Task Analysis and Workflow Modeling, Affinity Diagram, Writing Persona, Interactive Scenarios, and Storyboarding. These are the activities they have to do before going to use cases, activity diagrams and other more formal methods. The students have to apply the methodology on a real-life case and to work with real people. The students can get information about the methodology during a few face-toface meetings, but it is also available in the universitys learning content management system. The students work in small groups and divide the responsibilities for the tasks between themselves. Those of the students who are expected to conduct contextual inquiry interview might want to take with them on their mobile telephones some tips and tricks and consult them while on their way to the interview site or use it during down time. This simple job aid could significantly reduce cognitive load to retain information which is new. The practice of applying the Rapid Contextual Design activities is much richer than their description on paper. There are always questions to ask. The students, while at work places, can consult their tutors on these questions. For structuring students activities any of the existing formats can be used: problem-based learning, anchored learning, jigsaw collaboration and action learning, to mention but a few. As you have probably noticed these instructional approaches pay attention mainly to how to support the accomplishment of the task at hand, in this case designing a particular software application. They provide little support (if any) on how to manage diversity in groups. Being aware of yours and others personal strengths and weaknesses as a team member and knowing how to deal with it is a competence too and students need it for their initial professional adaptation and further development. Differences among team members that can rise due to differences in level of knowledge or ability are well known. Less known are differences due to diversity in problem solving styles. Even when the level of knowledge is similar, students still could have problems to work together if the gap in their problem solving style is considerable. Some expert advice on mobile phones by tutors on how to manage diversity in groups would be helpful. These are two possible ways of using mobile devices to promote performance in complex learning situations.
Scenario 5. Implementing mobile performance support system for training in e-business

If we consider mobile performance support system as electronic learning system (LMS) so it can easily be adapted and used for training in e-business. Electronic business commonly referred to as eBusiness or e-business, or an internet business, may be defined as the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) in support of all the activities of business. Commerce constitutes the exchange of products and services between businesses, groups and individuals and can be seen as one of the essential activities of any business. Electronic commerce focuses on the use of ICT to enable the external activities and relationships of the business with individuals, groups and other businesses.
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The e-business surveys (e-business watch 2011) shows that there are many sectors of European economy in which the penetration of e-business is not in a appropriate level as it is in USA and other countries. This is in the sectors where the moving of the goods and services is not as easy as when they are sold in an electronic store. The sectors which suffer from a lack of e-business are chemical industry, steel industry, furniture industry and some other heavy industrial areas. One explanation of this situation is the lack of staff training in this area for those sectors of the economy. This is where the use of traditional or mobile performance support systems can fill the gap for the lack of training in the workplace without relieving the staff of its daily duties, in this case the mobile performance support system will support the staff in taking decisions when implementing some new methods of working, selling goods or services or just exchanging information with other companies. In practice, e-business is more than just e-commerce. E-business involves business processes spanning the entire value chain: electronic purchasing and supply chain management, processing orders electronically, handling customer service, and cooperating with business partners. Special technical standards for e-business facilitate the exchange of data between companies. E-business software solutions allow the integration of intra and inter firm business processes. E-business can be conducted using the Web, the Internet, intranets, extranets, or some combination of these. One of the very important processes in a supply chain is the exchange the data between companies. Lets consider the that company A is using one type ERP system and company B is producing some parts for company A using other type of ERP system. It is essential to transfer data between 2 companies electronically without the use of many workforce loads. The solution is to connect two ERP systems and exchange the data electronically in an automatic way while they are processed in local systems. But if company A uses a different format than company B so there is need of training of the staff which processes data so to fulfill their needs. This is the place where the mobile performance support system can be used very effectively, integrating it in the ERP network environment in the 2 companies. Also because it is mobile it can be loaded in mobile devices (PDAs, smart phones, electronic input terminals, bar code readers and other mobile devices which processes data) and when the staff doesnt know what to do or how to process the data according to the standards of other company so it can easy learn using the mobile performance-support system while working and in the time when the data are collected and processed. This is just one example of the use of the mobile performance support system to support the staff while working, just in time using mobile device. E-business contains many subsets which also can benefit from the use of mobile performance support system for staff training in the workplace. These subsets are: Internal business systems:
customer relationship management mpps can provide training for the use of CRM enterprise resource planning mpps can provide training for the documentation of
ERP and its very useful when they both are installed on a mobile device
document management systems as a help instrument
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human resources management - as an training instrument

Enterprise communication and collaboration:
VoIP content management system e-mail voice mail Web conferencing Digital work flows (or business process management) this case was presented in our
scenario electronic commerce - business-to-business electronic commerce (B2B) or business-to-consumer electronic commerce (B2C):
internet shop supply chain management online marketing offline marketing

Mobile performance support systems can help an organization to reduce the cost of training staff while increasing productivity and performance. It can empower employees to perform tasks with a minimum amount of external intervention or training. Moreover the mobile performance support system provides training while the staff is doing its everyday duties. By using this type of system an employee, especially a new employee, will not only be able to complete his or her work more quickly and accurately, but, as a secondary benefit, will also learn more about the job and the employers business. An MPSS should be considered when workers require knowledge to achieve individual performance in a business environment. It should furthermore be considered when skilled performers are spending a lot of time helping less skilled performers; when new workers must begin to perform immediately and training is impractical, unavailable or constrained; or when employees need to be guided through a complex process or task that cannot be memorized. These situations often occur when new systems (e.g. Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Resource Planning) are introduced, upgraded or consolidated, and in certain call centres when agents must perform using complex systems, processes or products.
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06.
Designing and delivering mobile learning
General aspects of mobile design

We have already said that mobile devices are the most personal of all the tools we use for learning, working and communicating. Thats why any mobile interface and content needs to be designed with the end user in mind. The following illustration comes from Lyndon Cerejos (Cerejo, 2011) article on user centrered mobile web design. We have adapted his thesis to better cover the m-learning design.
Protype Review Refine
1
User Centered Mobile Design Lifecycle
Assess Current Situation
Understand Your Users
Design With Mobile Considerations
Prioritize Mobile Features
1. Assess Current Situation

The first question you need to ask is: do we really need mobile learning now?
Look for a learning or performance problem and analyze carefully if mobile learning is the best solution. Are your users really mobile enough to warrant a mobile learning approach? What are they already
doing with mobile? Will mobile access help achieve their learning goals?
Ask yourself what form of mobile learning suits your needs. Do you need content push or pull? Will you
be using collaborative tools? Assessment tools? Performance support?
What actions or activities do you want to track? Do you already have learning materials that could be converted into a mobile format? Is your content
appropriate for mobile use?
What tools, applications and mobile device affordances (GPS, multi-touch, voice, cameras, video recording) can you use to enhance learning?
Is mobile the best option for your budget? How does it fit into your corporate strategies? Ask yourself
what kind of mobile learning can you afford with your resources (staff, IT infrastructure, etc.)?
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2. Understand Your Users

According to Cerejo, User-centered design relies on user involvement throughout the design process, leading to a solution that users will find useful and want to use. To achieve that, you first need to have a clear understanding of your users, grouped into a prioritized set of user groups whose needs can be thought of individually. For a pharmaceutical company, those groups could be patients, healthcare professionals and caregivers, with the first two groups being the primary user groups, and caregivers being a secondary user group with very similar needs to patients. Identifying your key user groups and creating personas will help you design better for your main users. (Cerejo, 2011). For business mobile learning, you should also create personas of your end users.
Who are they (employees, partners, customers)? What mobile devices do they use? How do they spend most time with their mobile devices (gaming, texting, creating and sharing content, socializing, surfing the web)?
What features, apps or tools do they use most?

3. Prioritize Mobile Features
Devices are equipped with various features that could be used to enhance learning. Think what tools and devices may be more accommodating for the type of learning activity you need to deliver. See Chapter 1 for details.
4. Design Considerations
Think about issues you may not consider before. They are also important: Design for smaller screen sizes: It is important to consider size and resolution of your target audiences device(s) as well as its aspect ratio. A mobile device has a small screen when compared to a desktop screen. Moreover, screen sizes vary largely in both display size and resolution. Common resolutions for mobile phone screens vary from 128x160 or 128x128 pixels on low-end devices (simple phones) 7201280 pixels on some smartphones, with screen sizes range from 2 inches to over 4 inches. Simplify layout and navigation: As Luke Wroblewski (Wroblewski, 2011) puts it, Small screen sizes force you to prioritize what really matters to your customers and business. There simply isnt room for anything else. Minimize user input: Remember that typing on a mobile device can be difficult and take more time than on a computer keyboard, so keep data entry to a minimum. Limit responses to optional choices or short fill-inthe-blanks. (Quesinberry, 2011) Design for Intermittent Connectivity: Keep in mind that your learners may not have continuous network connections, that they can use various telephone and computer network protocols such as Wi-Fi, EDGE, 4G, and 3G, and that connection may be unreliable or slower in remote locations. We will address those issues below in more detail.
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5. Prototype, Review & Refine

Even if designing a native app, consider prototyping with web app first. This will allow you to simulate and refine the user experience and modify your course more easily. Many people neglect this effect, quite wrongly, because prototyping of an application can bring a lot of valuable comments. Some behavior or actions which for you are obvious for others may not be so.
Mobile usability
Usability is defined as the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use. (International Organization for Standardization [ISO 9241-11], 1998). The usability of a learning environment is important attribute because it leads to more effective and efficient learning. A good starting point is Nielsens ten general principles (heuristics) for user interface design (Nielsen, 2005): 01. Visibility of system status. The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time. 02. Match between system and the real world. The system should speak the users language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order. 03. User control and freedom. Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked emergency exit to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo. 04. Consistency and standards. Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions. 05. Error prevention. Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action. 06. Recognition rather than recall. Minimize the users memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate. 07. Flexibility and efficiency of use. Accelerators -- unseen by the novice user -- may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions. 08. Aesthetic and minimalist design. Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility. 09. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors. Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.
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10. Help and documentation. Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the users task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large. When considering web usability, we are talking mainly about user interface. The hardware and software used for surfing the web a personal computer or laptop, a web browser are popular, standardized and widely accepted vehicles for transmitting content and dont present mayor challenge for most users. However, things are different with mobile devices. There are a variety of models, operating systems, browsers, tools, functionalities and contexts of use, which affects the user experience. The five quality components of usability (learnability, efficiency, memorability, error prevention and user satisfaction) depend largely not only on the presentation of content, but also on physical and technical aspects of the device and on users behavior. Our experience will not be the same when dealing with a simple mobile phone and a tablet; we will not use our Blackberry in the same way as we would use an iPhone. As Economides (Economides & Nikolaou, 2008) points out, mobile devices can be evaluated in three distinct areas usability, technical, and functional.
USABILITY CRITERIA USER INTERFACE 01. Appropriate display layout 02. Simple to understand and easy to use - menus, toolbars, buttons, status messages, etc. 03. Multilingual support 04. Ability to personalize/customize device 05. Disabled access friendliness PRESENTATION & MEDIA 01. Easy of reading, writing, or providing other input to the device 02. Varied media support (text, graphics, images, audio, video) 03. Fidelity of multimedia reproduction (consider reduction in render quality of media due to device limitations) NAVIGATION 01. Simple information organization and structure File system Tools Shortcuts 02. Home and help links on every screen 03. Search capabilities 04. Consistency in user interface and interactions PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS 01. Size 02. Weight 03. Design attributes
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TECHNICAL CRITERIA COMMUNICATIONS 01. Phone 02. E-mail 03. Web access 04. Asynchronous text messaging 05. Synchronous instant messaging 06. Multimedia messaging 07. TV 08. Internet data download/upload access INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE TOOLS 01. Recorders 02. Office applications 03. Calculators 04. Drawing tools 05. Media Player and Gallery 06. Voice to Text and Text to Voice features 07. File sharing 08. Dictionaries and Translators ORGANIZATION & MANAGEMENT TOOLS 01. Calendars & Clocks 02. Database access tools 03. Agenda tools, organizers, alerts, reminders, etc. RECREATION & ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS 01. Accessing varied media including music and film 02. Playing games 03. Using multimedia tools
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FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA PERFORMANCE 01. Processing power 02. RAM and speed of ram 03. Expansion storage options and limits 04. Communication technologies (Telephony, GPRS, IrDA, WiFi, 3G, HSPDA, Bluetooth, etc.) SENSORY SYSTEMS 01. Display 02. Keyboard and Buttons 03. Cameras, Microphones, Recorders 04. GPS navigation 05. Special purpose RFID readers, bar code scanners, augmented reality scanners, smart card functionality, cashless transaction technology COMPATIBILITY 01. Open Source vs. Closed Source hardware, Operating systems and Applications (vs. iPhone, WinMo, Android, Symbian, etc.) 02. Specific focus on Browser Applications 03. Multimedia format support SECURITY 01. Security certificates 02. Encryption and Cryptography Support 03. Antivirus, anti spam, online protection 04. Password/passkey functionality 05. Screen/Keypad locking feature 06. Biometric identification features RELIABILITY 01. Battery life 02. Hardware and software crash handling and recovery 03. Online updates to firmware, OS, applications 04. Technical support and documentations While you should always consider the characteristics of the device(s) you are targeting, we have summarized some general rules that you should have in mind when designing mobile content. Regardless of differences, there are two main characteristics of mobile learning that influence the design: smaller screen size and mobility of the learner.
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User interfaces and navigations

Simplify functionality:
The interface layout, the menus, toolbars, buttons, etc. should be as simple as possible. Avoid complex
interactions. When dealing with a small screen, small selection regions, no mouse and limited bandwidth and processing capacity, you should limit the functionality and simplify user interface to the minimum needed to achieve learning goal. Mobile users demand quick, clear, and easy-to-use applications, so interfaces should be intuitive and task-oriented. (Quesinberry N. , 2011)
Design for a single-column layout. Put secondary content at the bottom of the page. This way it does not distract learners or waste space
in the first scrolling zone. The bottom is a good place for optional navigation controls, emblems, badges, copyright notices, and other legal notices (Horton, 2012).
Illustration source: http://www.jibc.ca/programs-courses/elearning/mobile-applications
Flexibility:
Ensure that the content is responsive and and adjusts well to different screen sizes and aspect ratios.
Make sure that it display correctly even on the smallest and narrowest screens. Test your design on small screens.
Use a fluid layout. Most smartphones have G-sensor, which understands the orientation of the phone
and displays information accordingly in landscape or portrait depending upon how the handset is held. By keeping the fluid layout, your content can fit the screen perfectly (Brahme, 2010).
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How content displays on devices with different aspect ratio. Source: (Brahme, 2010)
The same content viewed in landscape and portrait. Source: (Brahme, 2010)
Keep navigation simple:
Typically a mobile user is looking for specific information within an app. Minimize any additional or unrelated information. Show the user exactly what he or she needs (FabriQate, 2012).
Include visual cues to let learners know how deep a section goes (Boller, 2011) Consider the fact that users expect to get the information they need in just a few clicks/taps. This is
particularly important if youre designing a mobile performance support app. Structure information so it can be easily accessed (Malamed, 2011).
Ensure the basic navigation menus are visible on every screen (Turner, 2012).
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Sound and color:
The learners should be able to use the mobile devices in any situation, even when they are moving, in
an outdoors environment, buses, trains, etc., with varied lightning, noise and frequent distractions and interruptions. Therefore, we should consider use high contrast color combinations, and make sure that information conveyed with color is also clear without color, by using symbols or text labels.
If you want to be sure that your design is color independent, a good test is to view the page in monochrome mode (MDDE 615 Mobile Learning Group, 2011)
Dont rely on sound-only notifications etc. Let the users adjust the sound and provide alternatives (text,
image, symbols) to audio. Links and buttons:
Use clear, concise and consistent labels for navigation across all pages. Clearly identify the target of each link. Mark the visited links or sections with different colors or
underlining.
Design to minimize selection errors. Keep in mind that many users will use only one hand to operate
their device, some can have clumsy finger or large hands (Malamed, 2011). Consider ways to reduce tap errors, such as bigger buttons, surrounding selection areas with as much white space as possible, or increasing clickable area around links. According to Lyndon Cerejo (Cerejo, 2011) the tap size (width or height) for the navigation item should be at least 30 pixels.
The buttons should be in 3D style to give the user the sensation of pressing to get required action
(FabriQate, 2012).
Illustration source: http://www.byki.com/itunesclick.html
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Help, search and home:
Offer help and search engine easily accessible from any screen. Let the user return to the home page from everywhere within one step (Economides & Nikolaou, 2008).
Controls at bottom:
This is one of the key design guidelines for mobile devices where our holding style determines that the
buttons should be at the bottom ensuring maximum screen space to display content. The Thumb is a key control for most users so add the key action buttons in the thumb-hotzone (FabriQate, 2012).
While holding a touch screen phone with only your right hand, its easy to hit the dark green area and a stretch to tap the yellow area with your thumb (Wroblewski, 2011).
Show progress:
Include a screen ID such as Screen 2 of 24 to inform users of how far they have progressed through a
lesson and how much there is left to do (Turner, 2012). Avoid excessive scrolling:
If possible, avoid horizontal and vertical scrolling. If you cant, at least keep any one screens contents to
no more than three scroll lengths.
Examples from: http://emerginged.com/adlmobile
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User interactions
Design for touch: Todays mobile devices are mostly touch-based. Although the gestures supported depend on phones model and operating system, there is a basic repertoire of touch commands thats becoming a standard for interacting with touch screen (Wroblewski, 2011).
Tap: Briefly touch surface with fingertip Double tap: Rapidly touch surface twice with fingertip Drag: Move fingertip over surface without losing contact Flick: Quickly brush surface with fingertip Pinch: Touch surface with two fingers and bring them closer together Spread: touch surface with two fingers and move them apart Press: Touch surface for extended period of time Press and tap: Press surface with one finger and briefly touch surface with second finger Press and drag: Press surface with one finger and move second finger over surface without losing
contact
Rotate: Touch surface with two fingers and move them in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction
Those are the basic interactions most users are becoming familiar with. But when dealing with less experienced users, you should follow Noleen Turners (Turner, 2012) advice and [s]tick to simple touch tap or swipe commands to manage navigation between screens (for now). Dont assume that everyone knows how to use all the interface features of their smartphone / tablet e.g. pinch open gesture to magnify text. Alternatively, provide short introduction or help on how to use the course. Minimize user input The difficulty of inputting data into mobile phones is another factor in the use of mobile learning. In distance education and e-learning data input is used mainly for student-to-tutor contact, student-to-student contact, group based activities and assessments. The first three activities should present few difficulties for m-learning because young people today can achieve text input with remarkable skill and rapidity and because the reintegration of voice-based communication into distance education and e-learning can be achieved by m-learning. As the human voice has always played a major role in educational communications, its elimination to a large extent in both distance education and e-learning is a loss that mobile learning can restore. Assignments which are useful on small screens are short questions with automatic feedback, quizzes, multiple choice assignments and other assignments requiring little amounts of textual input from the user, such as a
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vocabulary test. It is possible to design multimedia assignments, for instance in Flash, such as drag and drop and other types of assignments if the device has support for them. Multiple choice questions with 4 possible answers fit easily on the screens of mobile devices. Follow Cerejos (Cerejo, 2011) guidelines for text input:
Keep your URL as short as possible, keeping in mind, feature phone users have to repeatedly press a key
for most alphabets (key presses for com are 222-666-6).
Use alternate input mechanisms where possible. Limit input to essential fields. Select the best mobile input option (e.g. allowing users to select from a list of options is often faster
than typing).
When users need to log in, offer the option to stay signed in, especially since mobile devices are personal
and not usually shared.
Content and presentation

Simplicity:
Use simple and clear language, with bigger font and short paragraphs. Remember that its difficult to
read on a small screen.
Let learners quickly find the small piece of text they really need. Consider using headlines, bullet points
or checklists to make contextual information more precise. Convert paragraphs to easily skimmed tables and lists. (Horton, 2012)
Present a brief version linked to a complete version. For example, link thumbnail graphics to an enlargement. Or link an overview to a complete article. (Horton, 2012) Bit-sized learning:
The information density should be lower than typical e-learning content. The context in which mobile
learning takes place affects the ability to absorb information. Design for short attention span and memory limitation and provide bit-sized information chunks which last no longer than five minutes. Ideally, no more than two minutes each. According to Gerry Griffin (Griffin, 2011), after about 90 seconds the user begins to lose concentration.
Each chunk should be available as a stand-alone module allow learners view the course in a non-linear
fashion and access important information when it is needed, without having to go through the entire course.
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Present only relevant content:
Give learners just the content they need, avoid extraneous or good-to-know information. Provide tools to find extra info when they need (Boller, 2011). Consider using phrases like For more
Engagement: information or To learn more (ADL, 2011) and make it easy for learners to ask questions (Horton, 2012).
Add some interactivity or diversify presentation formats. Mobile users tend to multitask or switch attention if the content is not engaging them. Text:
The use of bold and/or italic is the same as with the traditional e-learning web pages. Do not use them
exceedingly, but only to emphasize the message.
It is easier to read bold than italic so it is recommended to use bold if the word is of importance for the
readers understanding.
Varying the font mark up, color, size and type is recommended and can help emphasize the look and
feel of the material. A recommendation would be to use a distinct font and color for application instructions, navigation or help and use a different dedicated font for course content and learning objectives. Furthermore a separate distinct font type and size for actual learning content or subject matter is also recommended.
The following is a list of the most common typefaces for e-learning design which should also be effective for m-learning:
Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif Times New Roman, Times, serif Courier New, Courier, mono Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif
Multimedia: Main issues with the use of multimedia for mobile learning are related to technical aspects of mobile devices, such as processing memory, screen size, variety of supported formats etc. As [2] states, Do NOT use media in situations where its not required, splash animations, graphics that are purely aesthetic and unnecessary interaction. In most cases, there is a cost associated with developing and accessing such content, as it is likely that there is cost for downloads and bandwidth. Additionally, intensive use of multimedia elements increases learners cognitive load, making learning inefficient especially in situations of limited attention, multitasking or in the presence of distracters and hard environmental conditions.
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As stated in [9], multimedia content should be considered when:
It stimulates a variety of learning intelligences and potentially increases audience and satisfaction. It uses content that cannot be expressed in words/text. It provides options for learners with disabilities It allows increased collaboration (via video or audio posts)
When creating multimedia for mobile, you should make sure that it renders in the smallest format possible while considering minimum quality requirements. Dont make the download obligatory: allow users with limited bandwidth choose which content they want to view. Make the decision easier by providing description of the content and its size. If possible, consider simple, clear illustration in place of complex videos or animations. Since not all smartphones support Flash animations, use videos or convert your Flash content to video or HTML5. Make available lower-bandwidth versions and alternative media for crucial content. William Horton (Horton, 2012) provides a list of tips for addressing the low bandwidth issues:
High-bandwidth medium Video
Lower-bandwidth version Shorten clips. Reduce width and height. Compress more highly.
Alternative media Stills and audio. Still photograph and a transcript. Just a transcript if the visual component is not essential. Audio chat or phone conference. Text chat. Include a thumbnail image linked to the full-sized graphic.
Video chat or conferencing
Smaller window. Only the current speaker visible.
Photographs
Crop the image to just the essential part. Reduce the width and height. Compress the graphic more highly.
Audio
Shorten segments. Convert stereo to mono. Compress more highly. Choose a file format like .mp3 that is designed for small size.
Text transcript or description of sounds. Text summary of a discussion.
Slide presentation as video
Slides at smaller size and audio more compressed.

Still pictures and transcript.
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To address the specific characteristics of each device(s) youre targeting, see the official user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) guidelines from the manufacturers. Below you can find guidelines for most popular mobile operating systems:
iOS Human Interface Guidelines Android User Interface Guidelines Blackberry Smartphones UI Guidelines UI Guidelines for Windows Mobile Nokia Developer Design Portal
Design for mobility
As we have already said, the mobile learner is, well, mobile we cannot predict every condition, time and place where our learners can happen to study. We should adapt our design to various, often difficult conditions and help learners with their tasks. Horton (Horton, 2012) again gives us good tips on how to deal with mobility-related issues:
Characteristic Busy, engaged in activities they consider more important than learning.
Issues Learning must fir between higher priority activities.
Guidelines Design short, self-contained sequences. Let learners quit at any time and resume wherever they left off.
Traveling
The learner may be out of contact for hours or days.
Enable learners to download entire lessons and courses and play then offline. Announce deadlines well in advance. Include FAQ and Help so learners can solve their own problems.
Learners may suffer fatigue or jet lag.
Set generous deadlines for activities. Do not base grades on participation in real-time meetings. Make content available as text and as audio. Let learners decide when to advance. Make the replay function clear.
Distracted
Other tasks limit attention available for mobile learning. Eyesight and hearing may likewise be occupied.
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In remote locations, possibly off the grid
Slow speed connection.
Provide alternatives to high-bandwidth media. Publish a low- bandwidth version of each lesson or page.
Intermittent connection. Or none.
Enable learners to download entire lessons and courses and play them offline. Do not enforce prerequisites.
Battery life is limited.
Provide a solar charger and extra batteries. Allow learners to work from paper for simple reading activities.
In a different time zone
Out of sync with class meetings.
Minimize required meetings. Meet in the middle of the day or at a time that accommodates most remote learners. Acknowledge that remote learners may be half asleep. Publish notes.
Using a personal, rather than a corporate, device
The learner determines the device and how it is configured.
Design for the mobile devices learners already have.
Multimedia and learning

Cognitive load theory and multi-media learning
Cognitive load theory (Sweller, 1994), (Clark, Nguyen, & Sweller, 2006) and multimedia learning (Mayer, 2005) are both based on two basic principles which underlie the cognitive processes which operate in supporting or inhibiting human learning. First, the theories make a distinction between working memory and long-term memory. These two types of memory form a complimentary partnership, although they work in different ways. In working memory all cognitive processing occurs, but it has a very limited capacity and could be easily overloaded. These limitations of working memory should be taken into account, when designing courses. Second, the theories propose the existence of two channels of processing information in working memory: visual and audio. Being a sub-component of working memory, each of these channels has a limited capacity and should both be used to make learning more efficient. Based on these principles of cognitive load theory and multimedia learning the following relevant guidelines can be formulated for the design of performance support in higher education:
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Multimedia principle: Individuals learn, retain, and transfer information better when the instructional environment involves words (spoken or on-screen text) and pictures (static, like photos, illustrations or diagrams, or dynamic, like animations or video), rather than words or pictures alone. Clark and Mayer (Clark & Meyer, 2011) recommend minimizing graphics that decorate the page or simply represent a single object, and incorporating graphics that help the learner understand or organize the material. They identify four functions of graphics in e-learning:
teaching specific lesson content such as facts, concepts, processes, procedures, and principles organizing content by showing relationships among topics in a lesson showing relationship, mainly in the form of dynamic and static graphs used as a lesson interface, mainly to present case studies.
Advices for m-learning:
Use graphics and text to present instructional content. If using on-screen text, keep it short and separate text from graphics (can be illegible on smaller screens). For larger explanations, consider a voiceover, but try to make graphics self-explanatory and understandable without audio.
Avoid decorative graphics. Make all graphics relevant to the instructional purpose. Limit the use of animations. Use them only if your content cant be as readily shown with a series of
static images.
Use simple, easily understandable graphics (icons) for organizing content. Contrary as to e-learning, you should limit or avoid graphics as lesson interface. They usually render bad
on small screen and occupy to much space and bandwidth. Contiguity principle: Individuals learn, retain, and transfer information better in an instructional environment where words or narration and pictures or animation are presented simultaneously in time and space. Clark and Mayer (Clark & Meyer, 2011) recommend that corresponding graphics and printed words be placed near each other on the screen (that is, contiguous in space). If using audio, corresponding graphics and spoken words should be presented at the same time (that is, contiguous-next to each other-in time). Advices for m-learning:
If a text is used to describe image, place it on the same screen. If using audio narration, it should play at
the same time as the graphic (animation or video) is depicting the event.
In quizzes, feedback should appear on the same screen as the question and responses.
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Clark and Mayer recommend using pop-up messages when dealing with too much text to fit on the
screen. However, you should be aware that not every mobile browser supports pop-ups. Modality principle Individuals learn, retain, and transfer information better when the instructional environment involves auditory narration and animation, rather than on-screen text and animation. Advices for m-learning:
Use both words and illustrations or graphs. Explain diagrams with words presented in audio narration. Use audio for learners with a low level of prior knowledge. Only use diagrams and audio if diagrams and/or text require explanation (i.e., only in a case they do not
provide self-explanation).
Use text rather than audio when learners need reference to content. Provide text as a backup for audio explanations for learners with hearing impairments or unable to listen
to audio (e.g. in a public place or noisy environment).
Keep narration short to ease-up on download time. The principle does not always apply; for example, if presenting technical terms, key steps in a procedure,
or giving directions to a practice exercise, you should provide written words. This is especially important for m-learning, which often is used as reference or performance support.
Redundancy principle Clark and Mayer (Clark & Meyer, 2011) recommend that you avoid e-learning courses that contain redundant onscreen text presented at the same time as onscreen graphics and narration, because it is difficult for the learner to concentrate on graphics, text and audio at the same time. In addition, the learners are distracted trying to compare and reconcile on-screen text and the narration. Advices for m-learning:
Keep content down to essentials. Avoid presenting words as narration and identical text in the presence of graphics. Eliminate extraneous visuals, text and audio. If a diagram is self-explanatory do not add a text to it. On-screen text can be narrated when the screens do not include graphics.
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These guidelines do not apply when there are no pictures or the learner has difficulties processing the pictures and words. This might be the case with mobile learning; and the learner might have difficulty processing words. Coherence principle Individuals learn, retain, and transfer information better when the instructional environment is free of extraneous words, pictures, or sounds. This principle applies especially to m-learning. As we already said, designing form mobile learning requires short chunks of content and there is no place for any extraneous information. According to Harp and Mayer (Clark & Meyer, 2011), extraneous pictures (and their text captions) can interfere with learning in three ways:
Distraction by guiding the learners limited attention away from the relevant material and toward the
irrelevant material;
Disruption by preventing the learner from building appropriate links among pieces of relevant material
because pieces of irrelevant material are in the way; and
Seduction by priming inappropriate existing knowledge (suggested by the added pictures), which is
then used to organize the incoming content. Advices for m-learning:
Do not add background music and sounds to a narrated animation, especially in situations in which the
learner may experience heavy cognitive load.
Avoid adding extra entertaining or good-to-know material or decorative images not that are not essential to the instructional goal.
Use the minimal amount of words and graphics needed to help the learner understand the main points.
Personalization principle Individuals learn and transfer information better when the instructional environment involves a more conversational style, rather than formal. Research on discourse processing shows that people work harder to understand material when they feel they are in a conversation with a partner, rather than simply receiving information (Clark & Meyer, 2011). Thus, they recommend informal style, first or second person narration, and the use a coach, or pedagogical agent (cartoon, photo or animated avatar), to support learning. Advices for m-learning:
Use conversational language in first and second person Concentrate on audio quality. Prefer human voice to machine-generated voice. When designing for mobile, you often dont have spare space for on-screen avatar image. Use an audio
coach instead or let learners access the coach by tapping an icon.
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Segmenting and pretraining principles Individuals learn and transfer information better in an instructional environment where individuals experience concurrent narration and animation in short, user-controlled segments, rather than as a longer continuous presentation. Clark and Mayer (Clark & Meyer, 2011) recommend breaking a complex lesson into smaller parts, which allows the learner to engage essential processing without overloading the learners cognitive system. To help learners understand complex topics, we should provide pretraining in the names and characteristics of the key concepts in a lesson. Advices for m-learning:
Teach system components before teaching the complete process. Present and visually segregate each component in context of the whole process/system. Give learners control over pacing.
Tools for developing mobile learning

There are two main ways to create a mobile learning course: you can develop a mobile app or use one of the existing content creation and learning management tools optimized for mobile. As we have already mentioned in Chapter 1, the mobile applications can be created as native, hybrid or Web based. Generally, the manufacturers provide frameworks and tools for developers of native apps. You can also find a number of cross-platform development tools that allows you to create native, hybrid or web apps what can be deployed on various devices.
Native applications development
iOS SDK Android SDK Blackberry Symbian Bada Windows Phone

Cross-platform development
RhoMobile
90
Motorola Solutions RhoMobile Suite is the HTML5 application development platform that works with any device type, operating system and screen size, including Windows Embedded Handheld, Windows CE, Windows Phone 7, Apple iOS, Android and BlackBerry.
Appcelerator
Appcelerators Titanium Development Platform allows for the development of native iOS, Android, hybrid, and mobile web apps as well as desktop applications from a single code base.
PhoneGap
Open source and free HTML5-based tool, PhoneGap leverages web such as HTML and JavaScript.
MoSync
The MoSync Mobile SDK is a complete, rich, cross-platform mobile application development SDK. It allows to build and compile apps for up to nine different platforms at once, using C/C++ or HTML5/JavaScript, or a combination of both to create hybrid apps.
Sencha Touch 2
Sencha Touch is a high-performance, mobile HTML5 application framework. It lets you create sophisticated web apps apps that work on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Kindle Fire, and more.
Web application development
iUI
iUI is a framework consisting of a JavaScript library, CSS, and images for developing advanced mobile webapps for iPhone and comparable/compatible devices.
iWebkit
iWebKit is a free framework designed for the creation of iPhone and iPod touch compatible websites or webapps.
jQuery Mobile
jQuery Mobile is a HTML5-based user interface system for all popular mobile device platforms, built on jQuery library.
Rapid authoring tools and LMS

Below we compile a list of most popular tools for creating content for mobile learning.
SumTotal HotLava Mobile Upside2Go
91
Lectora eXact Mobile Saba Anywhere Meridian Anywhere Mobile LMS SumTotal Mobile Rapid Intake Knowledge Direct Learncast Xyleme Claro Moodle: there were various intents to make the most popular open source LMS mobile-friendly. In
September 2011, the official (i.e., developed by Moodle HQ team) Moodle iPhone app was released. With Moodle 2.0 the first mobile theme (build on JQuery) was announced.
92
07.
Final remarks
Tips for implementing mobile learning

Here are some tips for implementing mobile learning in the enterprise.
Identify learning objectives

In the beginning you need to first identify the potential learning goals. What is the problem you are trying to solve? Is the mobile solution the best option? What are the alternatives? What mobile capabilities would enhance learning? Will they help learners be more productive? Before investing in any new technology you must be sure that it is the best answer for training issues you are facing. Make your objectives SMART (Specific, Measured, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound). Think about evaluation. How will you know if you have achieved your goals? How will you measure Return of Investment?
Identify your users

The next step is to understand the targeted end-users and their contexts. What problems are they facing? What are their needs? How would the mobile technology help them in achieving those needs? Are they already familiar with using the mobile devices? What are the use context? What devices do they own? Decide if you are going to provide them with targeted devices or let them use their own. Which mobile capabilities would actually be most beneficent for the users: do they need a specific application? location-based services? communication and collaboration? Remember that the employees will accept your mobile program only if they feel its relevant for them. How can you facilitate the acceptance of new technologies? What kind of support will your end-users need? Who will handle the necessary support?
Know your training staff

Think who will provide the content and facilitate training. What skills do they need to have? Do you have to provide training for them? Will they need a manual or/and methodology? How will you provide support for them? You should know what abilities and experience your training staff have. For this reason try to imagine an average trainer with all the skills you need. Describe also basic pedagogical and technical skills which are very important in this job.
Identify content sources and types

What content do you need to make accessible via mobile devices? Does that content already exist within your organization? What type of content will you use? In most cases, you will not want to deliver the full training via mobile devices. Ask yourself what exactly will it be: short learning modules? video or podcasts? quizzes and assessments? Check lists and performance support? If the content already exists, what are the formats? Are they easy to convert for mobile? Do you need to create content from scratch? Who will provide the content needed? Possibly most of the content is already in hands of your training or L&D department. Do you consider elements of collaboration and/or user generated content? Who will create it? How will it be assess? Do you need special politics for accepting the content?
94
What about intellectual property? Who have/will have rights to the content? Who will handle any necessary updates and modifications?
Identify the technology

Consider benefits and limitations of technologies involved. How will the content be created, delivered and distributed (LMS, web, intranet, offline)? What security mechanism will be used? What actions and activities do you want to track? Consider your content formats and delivery options. Do you want to create a native app? Do you need your content to be delivered also in desktop version? Keep in mind the contexts of you users. See Chapter 6 for tips on how to adapt to environmental conditions and distractions related with learners mobility.
Define your budget plan

What would be the cost of implementation? What are your financial resources? If your budget is short, it doesnt mean you have to forget mobile learning. Consider low-cost solutions like using social media or SMS for communication, free apps for content delivery, mobile RSS channel for updates or implementing mobile-friendly version of your website. What are your personal resources (IT staff, trainers, instructional designers)? After implementation, will you be able to maintain, support, update and develop your mobile solution? Your effort will be in vain if you invest all your resources in the first phase and cannot afford the maintenance.
Develop a prototype
Create a functional prototype or beta version. Test it with a group or end-users using target devices. Evaluate and modify. In most cases, there will be need to create more than one beta versions and discuss them with representatives of all the groups involved between launching the final version.
95
08.
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Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

This consortium implementing this project consists of:

Defining Mobile Learning

Andragogical aspects of mobile learning

Mobile learning in corporate contexts

Mobile performance support system

Designing and delivering mobile learning

Learning with mobile devices everyday contexts and use patterns

Supported Notebooks TabletPC PDAs Smart phones Cell phones

Learning materials Administrative information

GPRS GSM IEEE 802.11 Bluetooth IrDA

On-Campus Off-Campus Not supported

Figure 1. A general classification of m-learning systems [Georgieva, 2005].

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

The why and how of learning/working with mobile devices

5 moments of learning need

When learning fo the first time

When learning more

When things change

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Hardware, software, and mobile learning models

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

The capabilities of mobile devices

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Mobile operating systems

World-Wide Smartphone Sales (%)

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Below we compare the two most popular operating systems:

Content capability HTML, HTML5, apps. No Flash content

HTML, HTML5 (depends on browser), Flash, Android apps

Web Apps vs. Native Apps

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Top 9 Mobile Browsers from Feb 2011 to Feb 2012

StatCounter Global Stats

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

++ Platform independent development, so can

++ Lets you access the devices features like

++ The app can be delivered instantaneously as

camera, accelerometer or the data like address book

there are no intermediate delivery platforms like app store

++ The app has to go through some kind of app

++ Allow creation of a dedicated channel for

++ Can store user specific information and act as

-- Requires Internet access -- Requires a web URL; you must host it on a

-- Features and functionality are limited, espe-

-- Performance can be lower as compared with

-- Native app stores require an approval process;

for each device, the app has to go onto a different store

-- Higher cost of development

2 see: http://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2010/07/13/mobile-learning-considerations-native-apps-or-web-apps/, http://bottomlineperformance.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/BottomLinePerformance_mLearningBrief_20110802.pdf Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Revising the definition of mobile learning

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Why is mobile learning different?

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Supportive vs. instructional tool

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Four levels of mobile learning

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Advantages and opportunities

Mobile Training Methodology for E-business

Challenges and risks