J. EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS, Vol.

35(1) 3-30, 2006-2007

MAKING mLEARNING WORK: UTILIZING MOBILE

TECHNOLOGY FOR ACTIVE EXPLORATION,
COLLABORATION, ASSESSMENT, AND REFLECTION
IN HIGHER EDUCATION

MERCEDES FISHER, PH.D.

National College of Ireland, Dublin

DEREK E. BAIRD, M.A.

Yahoo! USA, San Francisco, California

ABSTRACT
The convergence of mobile technologies into student-centered learning
environments requires academic institutions to design new and more effec-
tive learning, teaching, and user experience strategies. In this article we
share results from an mLearning design experiment and analysis from a
student survey conducted at the National College of Ireland. Quantitative
data support our hypothesis that mLearning technologies can provide a
platform for active learning, collaboration, and innovation in higher educa-
tion. In addition, we review mobile interface and user-experience design
considerations, and mLearning theory. Finally, we provide an overview of
mLearning applications being developed in the United States, the United
Kingdom, and Ireland including, Virtual Graffiti, BuddyBuzz, Flickr, and
RAMBLE.

INTRODUCTION
The Internet has revolutionized the way in which we teach, learn, and retrieve
information. The rapid spread of mobile and social media technologies has deeply
influenced the thinking, communicating, and working of entire generations. And
more and more, as the “Web 2.0” or social software movement continues to
unfold, our digital lifestyles are becoming increasingly mobile.

3
Ó 2006, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.
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The current generation of students, dubbed the “Net Generation,” has grown
up in a world that has always had the Internet, multimedia, and on-demand access
to information. As a result, today’s students have adapted to the onslaught of
digital information by media-multitasking and are open to discovering new ways
of integrating their digital reality into learning (see Table 1).
At the same time, increasing pressure has been placed on higher education to
teach masses of diverse students expecting both a quality education combined with
highly interactive multimedia. As a result, educating this Web-centric generation
has become increasingly more challenging. In this article, we illustrate how
mLearning technologies can support and provide a platform for active learning,
collaboration, and innovation in higher education.
For the most part, colleges and universities are just beginning to realize the
potential of mobile technology to improve the quality of student learning. In order
to meet their students changing expectations and digital learning styles, instructors
need to be provided with professional development opportunities to experiment
with current and emergingWeb-based technologies.
Another key indicator that the Internet is trending toward a mobile experience is
the move by media giants such as Yahoo!, Google, Disney Internet Group, Apple
Computer, and Sony to provide more and more of their content on mobile devices.
Moreover, a 2005 study conducted by the United States-based Kaiser Family
Foundation found that, although 90% of teen online access occurs in the home,

Table 1. What Are the Key Attributes of Web 2.0 Technology?

Foundation attributes
•User-contributed value: Users make substantive contributions to enhance
the overall value of a service.
•Network effect: For users, the value of a network substantially increases
with the addition of each new user.

Experience attributes
•Decentralization: Users experience learning on their terms, not those of a
centralized authority, such as a teacher.
•Co-creation: Users participate in the creation and delivery of the learning
content.
•Re-mixability: Experiences are created and tailored to user needs, learning
style, and multiple intelligences by integrating the capabilities of multiple
types of social media.
•Emergent systems: Cumulative actions at the lowest levels of the system
drive the form and value of the overall system. Users derive value not only
from the service itself, but also the overall shape that a service inherits from
user behaviors.
Note: Refer to Schauer (2005).
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 5

most students also have Web access via mobile devices such as a mobile phone
(39%), portable game (55%), or other Web-enabled handheld device (13%).
The convergence of mobile and social technologies, on-demand content
delivery, and early adoption of portable media devices by students provides
academia with an opportunity to leverage these tools into design learning environ-
ments which seem authentic to the digital natives filling the 21st century college
campus (Prensky, 2005). Clearly, the spread of Web-based technology into both
the cognitive and social spheres requires educators to reexamine and redefine
our teaching and learning methods.

STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING
ENVIRONMENTS
Whether in a traditional, computer, or mobile-based learning environment,
communication rests at the heart of the human experience. Academic institutions
need to recognize the growing and important role Information Communication
Technology (ICT) plays in students’ lives and design instructional strategies
based on these digital learning styles. Meeting the rapidly changing needs of
different student groups and utilizing new content delivery channels creates real
challenges as we search for new pedagogical solutions.
As students use social media to collaborate with others, they shape their own
identities, find, create, and join communities, set goals, and negotiate ways to
reach them and learn (Hall, cited in Phillips & Terry, 1999). Education in the
21st century can no longer be defined by static guidelines but rather by grow-
ing, changing, and evolving sets of opportunities, projects, technology, and
communities.
In order to educate and train students to become highly competent lifelong
members of a learning community, we need to provide an environment that
aids retention and development of high quality thinking and reflection.
Social-constructivist theory views learning as a socially situated, collaborative,
and task-based procedure that occurs through interaction with others (Brown
& Duguid, 2000; Schwienhorst, 2000). As we strive to identify, test, implement,
and improve delivery of a range of effective learning technologies, including
new applications and capabilities, we need to keep in mind that students learn
by becoming actively involved and making meaning out of the content.
Social-constructivists recognize an important role for technology in learning.
For learners, this approach provides an unrivaled intellectual laboratory and
vehicle for self-expression and exploration using a new wave of highly collabor-
ative Web-based communication technologies.
A recent study conducted by the UK-based NESTA FutureLabs (BBC, 2005)
concluded that the educational model needs to be “reversed to conform to the
learner, rather than the learner to the system. Moreover, the NESTA study found
that social media should be used to enable learners to study and be assessed
6 / FISHER AND BAIRD

according to their own learning style (BBC, 2005). One way to accomplish this
goal is to allow students to utilize and integrate technology in an authentic context.
The NESTA FutureLabs findings provide additional evidence to support how the
learning focus should be on learners, not just technology.
The amount of student learning and personal development associated with
any educational program is directly proportional to the quality and quantity of
student involvement in that program (Astin, 1985). Due to its ubiquitous adoption
by the college-age student population, mobile technology is a particularly flexible,
authentic, and intellectually-rich medium for scaffolding information.

Digital Learning Styles

The current college-age population are hardwired to simultaneously digest

multiple information streams through various types of news and media. They
have grown up with the Web, are always-on, and expect to utilize and integrate
technology into their learning process. Students, especially on college campuses,
are perpetually connected to their peers, professors, and course content through
laptops, social networking, mobile phones, PDA’s, PSP, and audio/video iPods
(Davidson, 2005).
The net generation’s experience with Web-based resources, communities,
and digital media encourages students to be open to more diverse experiences.
Emerging digital learning styles include fluency in new media, communal
learning, and experiential, guided mentoring and collective reflection via
Weblogs, podcasting, moblogs, wiki, Flickr, and other types of mobile
social media.
As a result of the convengence of old and new media and increased use of
mobile technology, there is a dissolving line between traditional and online
education. Peer support and collaboration are hallmarks of a burgeoning digital
pedagogy which current research on student motivation and retention in online
learning environments has shown supports the digital learning styles of the Net
Generation (Fisher & Baird, 2005).
At the core of this new digital pedagogy is the ability of today’s student to work
in both an individual as well as collaborative learning environment. And for a
generation weaned on instant messaging (IM), text messaging (TM), and the
Web, there is very little differentiation (if any) between a virtual or in-person
collaborative meeting space. Evidence of this diminishing line between virtual and
“real” environments can be seen in the rapid adoption and subsequent explosion
of user-generated content on social networking sites such as YouTube, SelfCast,
Facebook, blogs, Flickr, and MySpace. While on a positive note this trend shows
that students are open to new technologies in the classroom, at the same time it
also illustrates how many have jumped into social networking without evaluating
the long-term consequences of how public digital artifacts may impact their
future relationships, careers, or employment.
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 7

As the first generation to be raised with the Internet, they have an intuitive
ability to use ICT as a means to foster, support, discuss, and explore new ideas.
As a result, a multifaceted approach that blends current learning theory, social
technologies, and Web-enabled mobile devices are the most effective in designing
online learning environments.
For example, students can utilize mobile and/or social technologies to con-
tribute using related stories, personal experiences, anecdotes, and questions to
reflect and actively encourage others to contribute as well. The interactive,
collaborative, engaging social activities, combined with the ability to self-publish
and remix content on the Web, enable students to use technology as a vehicle
for presenting and sharing their own work as well as provide feedback on
contributions made by other students.
Moreover, due to the wide variety and availability of social software, students
are able to choose from multiple formats including text, video, audio, or photos
to find the tools that best support their own learning style, interests, and goals.
A recent study by the Irish National Teachers Organization (INTO) found
that students are using their mobile phones for just about everything—except
making phone calls. According to INTO, only 20% of the 671 students surveyed
report using their mobiles to make phone calls, whereas 81% report using their
mobile to communicate via text or IM messages (Eircom, 2006).
The INTO survey seems to dovetail with the results of a 2005 Pew Internet
and American Life study on teens and technology. Like their peers in Ireland,
American youth prefer using IM or TM for everyday conversations with friends.
Other key findings from the Irish National Teachers Organization survey:
• 96% of 11- and 12-year-old students have a mobile phone
• 60% have a camera on it
• 72% say they use it to access the Internet
• 20% use it to make calls
• 81% use it to send texts
Recognizing the growing connection between mobile media and youth, the
popular social networking community MySpace.com, announced that they will
be launching a mobile version of MySpace in late 2006.
The combination of social interaction with opportunities for peer support
and collaboration creates an interesting, engaging, stimulating, and intuitive
learning environment for students (Fisher & Baird, 2005). Effective course
design will need to blend traditional pedagogy with the reality of the media
multitasking learner.
The results of the INTO survey are not surprising, given the characteristics
of today’s learner. Clearly, the nearly ubiquitous use of portable media devices
on the college campus has provided instructors with a unique opportunity to
design mobile learning environments and new innovative pedagogical approaches
built around the increasingly mobile landscape.
8 / FISHER AND BAIRD

mLearning Pedagogy

A key tenet of social-constructivist learning theory is that drills have been

replaced with the practice of real-world situations in groups where ICT is used
to foster the exchange of ideas and materials. This combinabon of pedagogical
and technological advancement has created an opportunity to develop a richer
learning experience for many learners.
Moreover, constructivists argue that learning is active and superior to pedagogy
of learning by telling. They value a plurality of definitions, meanings, and ways
of knowing. Moreover, constructivists believe that learning requires taking a
stance, seeking and finding one’s intellectual identity, owning knowledge, owning
the artifacts of learning, and finding your own voice (Harel, 1993).
Researchers, however, are still discovering (and debating) how the various tools
affect communication and learning. Much of the focus on electronic collaborative
learning to date involves research on a specific tool; how people interact and
learn using the specific tool, and how the unique features of the mode itself
facilitate, or limit, the process.
To be clear: the mobile environment is merely another platform in which
interaction, collaboration, and knowledge transfer can occur. The use of mobile
technology defines only the parameters and building blocks on which the inter-
action can take place, providing opportunities for the social exchange of infor-
mation, interaction, and instruction. Moreover, the ability for students to reconcile
their authentic use of technology in a learning context can motivate and persuade
users to actively engage in the course content.
Designing a student-centered learning environment, however, does not mitigate
the instructor’s responsibility in helping students shape their learning experience.
In a student-centered learning environment, the instructor can embed oppor-
tunities for “seeded serendipity,” or what learning theorists commonly refer
to as constructivist-based learning. Engaging students in large classes, espe-
cially introductory level classes, can be difficult. Many students feel that due
to their large size they can be lost in the crowd. Likewise, it may be difficult
for the instructor to assess if the students understand and/or comprehend the
course content.
Providing opportunities for communal metadata creation and social interaction
helps prevent students from being marginalized. Student participation stems from
a perception of an information need and the emotional reactions of individuals in
the learning community (Goodman, n.d.). The act of sharing with their community
and receiving attention and/or feedback is a particularly simple example. Many
students mention how these types of collaborative activities helped them evaluate
their choices, motive them, and transformed their perceptions of learning.
Moreover, if an instructor with large classes creates active demonstrations,
especially ones that use technology to engage the students in interaction with
one another, they become more involved, understand what they have learned
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 9

better, and are more likely to interact further with other students or the instructor
out of class, and also values the faculty member (Light, 2004).
For example, instructors at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland
are using the AmibSense system to transmit handouts, timetables, lecture notes,
and other resources to student’s mobile phones (Gray, 2005). Additionally,
because the mobile device is nearly ubiquitous among college age students,
instructors can use mobile-based quizzes or public digital spaces for assessment.
Additional content can be delivered on-demand via podcast, course blogs, PSP,
Palm, or other portable computing device.
The use of mobile devices as a tool for social interface and co-creation of
communal metadata will reflect the priorities and norms of the community, as well
as provide collaboration to spaces unreachable via desktop computer (Goodman,
n.d.). The purpose of utilizing mobile technology is to invite students to think
together, since a class is typically a new set of people with new ideas. They may
challenge their own thinking around critical principles from the course material.
Students may also find value in the ability to move between differing delivery
systems of depending on the learning goal. Mobile learning is not only a new
technology, is also an exponent of new modes of learning. Increasingly, members
of the net generation are finding that the need is there to develop skills, access
knowledge and understanding on the spot, just when it is needed, and mobile-
based learning fills this need. This “on the go” learning style contrasts with
previous generations who were taught to learn what they needed to pass a
test, limited to resource materials in the library or textbook, and were limited
by what they were able to memorize.
Dede (2005) notes the influence of digital media on student learning, pointing
to what he termed the Napsterization of education. In this model users have
personally tailored learning paths, picking and choosing from multiple sources
of media, resources, projects, or other curriculum content which they can then
bundle together.

mLearning User-Experience Design

mLearning user design is different from desktop-based online environments.

Due to the relatively small screen display on mobile phones, content has to be
designed to fit on the mobile device. The mobile screen is smaller, and makes it
more difficult to read-large amounts of text. As a result it is vital that mLearning
course designers keep in mind the constraints and limitations of the platform
they are designing for and develop educational content with a specific type of
mobile device in mind. In addition to maintaining a simple, clean interface, other
environmental design considerations to keep in mind include limited memory
and battery life of most mobile devices (Kontio, 2004).
Effective mLearning (mobile learning) design should provide engaging content
which allows the pupil to draw connections between the contexts of the learning
10 / FISHER AND BAIRD

objectives while utilizing multiple sources of Web-based media. Another vital

design element is the users’ ability to mediate their level of participation within
a social network or virtual learning environment (VLE).
What happens to student learning when a course is revised to incorporate
self-directed learning opportunities? The learning that students achieve goes far
beyond the boundaries of what they are taught because individuals create meaning
for themselves beyond solely the intent of the teacher (see Table 2).
Investing in understanding and making strategic investments in mobile learn-
ing environments will increase student motivation, provide fluency in distributed
modes of communication and empower different types of expression and experi-
ences. Collaborative work appears to be important to support motivation by
giving a sense of active involvement within the group (Fisher & Baird, 2005).

mContent and Interaction Design

While millions of students in higher education today use mobile phones to
extend and maintain their social lives, these tools are also headed rapidly into
the learning and content delivery universe.
For example, content being delivered onto a Palm or PSP will be able to
handle more text, graphics, or other interactive features, whereas mLearning

Table 2. Digital Learning Experience Attributes

•Interactive Interactive, engaging content and course material that

motivates them to learn through challenging pedagogy,
conceptual review, and learning style adaptation. Students
expect to pick and use various types of media and create a
"mash-up" of content.

•Learner Shifts the learning responsibility to the student, and

Centered emphasizes teacher-guided instruction and modeling.

•Authentic Reconcile classroom use of social media to the authentic way

teens are using outside of the classroom. Technology use
should be tied to authentic/specific learning goal or activity.

•Collaborative Learning is a social activity, and students learn best through

observation, collaboration, and intrinsic motivation and from
self-organizing social systems comprised of peers. This can
take place in either a virtual or in-person environment.

•On-demand Ability to multitask and handle multiple streams of information

and juggle both short- and long-term goals.
Source: Baird (2006).
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 11

environments based on mobile phone interface will require designers to reduce

the amount of text and utilize mobile text reading tools such as the rapid serial
visual presentation (RSVP) interface which allow users to read more text.
One key design tenet to keep in mind is that a learner’s level of participation
will influence the design of content, pedagogy, and assessment based on the
individual preferences and needs. The user-experience allows for a student
centered and designed learning experience which the end user can personalize,
share, collaborate, and find intrinsic value in completing (see Table 3).
In terms of interaction design, when integrating social software into an
mLearning platform, course designers need to be careful not to overwhelm the
learner with too much content or software requirements. Most importantly,
course designers need to keep in mind that social software (mobile or otherwise)
is here to provide both the constraints and framework for social interaction.
Research on mobile game design by Ermi and Mäyrä (2005) found that
mLearning user design is not just about minimizing the cognitive load of the
user and making the software as simple as possible, instead it’s about designing
learning experiences that engage the student in the content, community, and
provide the architecture for meaningful exchange of knowledge.

mLEARNING AT THE NATIONAL COLLEGE

OF IRELAND (NCI)
The National College of Ireland provides multiple resources to assist students
to articulate their underlying needs and has developed an integrated collection

Table 3. Elements of Mobile Interface Design

Mobile The small keypads on most mobile devices can make it difficult
Real Estate for users to navigate a mVLE and can also effect how students
use or don't use mLearning environments. Limit text centric
learning content.

Limit Actions Designers should limit the number and types of actions
required on the keypad. In addition, limited memory on most
standard mobile devices prevents users from handling too
many graphics, large files, or multiple actions on the keypad.

Anytime, Include only the content which is the most important and
Anywhere required in the mLearning environment. Provide expanded
versions of content and/or offer multiple versions, mobile, Web,
iPod, or PSP.
Source: Kontio (2004).
12 / FISHER AND BAIRD

of technologies and training to address those needs. NCI recognizes that often
student technology needs to relate to simplicity of operation and enhanced
effectiveness.
To achieve these objectives, we view the overall solution holistically for appro-
priate points of integration, separation, and simplification. Most importantly, NCI
does not just integrate technologies strategies because it can; instead it takes
advantage of integration points when they result in tangible benefits for learners.
One of NCI’s earliest attempts to create a viable mLearning platform was the
integration of Macromedia Flash and the open source CMS Claroline platform
into a mobile virtual learning environment (mVLE). In addition, the Claroline
platform allowed faculty to create and administer courses through browsers
running on both computers and advanced mobile phones (Bergwall, 2004).
This Flash-based mobile Virtual Learning Environment (mVLE) has several
interactive features, including:
• Course materials
• Agenda
• Chat
• Exercises
• User Profiles
• Educational Flash Movies
• User/Course Statistics
• Links
Traditionally, a majority of college-level educators have focused on providing
content instruction rather than promoting learning. Most classes still have a
teacher-to-learner knowledge transfer process, and the present way of teaching
does not stimulate active learning (Barr & Tagg, 1995; Chen, Lawler, & Venso,
2003; Lord, 1994). Currently, the college has difficulty measuring how students
would apply these business communication skills beyond exams at the end of
the course. Despite much debate among educators over teaching and learning
strategies to improve student achievement, very little has been directed toward
eliciting feedback from students.

NCI: DESIGNING THE mLEARNING EXPERIENCE

The National College of Ireland identified a need in its large classes to meet
the needs within a tech-savvy group of learners where there is a diversity of
digital learning styles. In large classes, NCI started with the question of how
student learning can be enhanced or improved through the use of mobile and
social software.
NCI concluded that reconfiguring course content and activities to meet a
variety of digital learning styles, by utilizing the Web-based tools that students
were exposed to in their formative years, should result in enhanced learning
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 13

outcomes and user-experience. One aim was to utilize the student’s use of mobile
phones along with a collaborative dialog presentation tool to create a dynamic
learning environment for simultaneous use in the classroom and on the Web. In
addition, NCI sought ways to provide students with interactive opportunities to
explore and integrate other’s thinking in their own learning experience. In short:
NCI wanted to leverage mobile and wireless Internet for educational potential.
NCI felt that student’s nearly ubiquitous use of portable technology usage
provided an opportunity to conduct an innovative experiment on using mobile
technologies in a learning context. Mobile phones are readily accessible for the
majority of Irish college students. NCI also felt that these new methods to integrate
mobile technology into the higher education curriculum are likely to promote a
better balance because it gives students autonomy, flexibility, and freedom as
students add their knowledge in a community-based learning model.
This progressive mobile learning environment was designed to encompass
the best aspects of the traditional classroom along with real time technology
for posting into a class collaborative mural, interacting with peers and sharing
user and community generated content. Moreover, a mobile platform provided
members of the class with on-demand opportunities for further participation
and reflection via the Web.
This approach also provided students with the freedom to utilize technology
in a way that best fits their individual learning styles, and support current
research which shows that students process knowledge in various ways. Members
of the mLearning community were able to generate feedback, as well as create,
share, and utilize community generated content, knowledge, or artifacts (images,
video, diagrams, etc.) in diverse and creative ways.

Virtual Reflective Mural (VRM)

The Virtual Reflective Mural (VRM) was used on a large sample of first- and
second-year students at the National College of Ireland. The class met in a large
public lecture theater. The lecturer’s laptop computer was linked to a digital
projector for demonstration purposes of the Web-board tool virtual reflective
mural. Due to its ease of use, VRM is suitable for people at all skill levels, and
students readily adopted the mLearning concept (Table 4). The students were
in a module on teaching and learning within the Business Communications
course and mobile content delivery seemed well suited to mLearning.
The mobile presentation of content shows how a learner can choose between
alternative instructional approaches. The freedom of choice encouraged student-
centered learning and made for a more effective and enjoyable experience.
Instructors were able to use mobile phones to take polls, check student com-
prehension, and foster interactivity in what otherwise might have been “down
time” in a large lecture class. It could be used as a model for interactive learning;
14 / FISHER AND BAIRD

Table 4. Virtual Reflective Mural Commands

Send •Send your text/picture/video message to 086 861 2881

Reply •To reply to a message, start your text with the number of that
message (in white circle)

Comment •Add a caption to your picture message using the text or

subject fields of the MMS

emphasizes a hands-on or learning by doing approach that focuses on what the

student does, rather than on what the lecturer does.
Benefits of this learning space for the students was threefold: potential for
maximum participation (all can be posting simultaneously), increased motivation
(authentic use of technology, so little technical advice or support is needed), and
student motivation was noticeable and achieved possibly because of the increased
peer feedback and collaboration.
The goal was to use mobile ICT as a way to create and foster a more learner-
centered environment. Another goal was to provide students with the ability to
access content and collaborate in a manner that meets their needs beyond what
the teacher is able to deliver in a standard class. This strategy was included in the
course design as a means to nurture the potential of each individual based on
their intrinsic motivation and learning goal(s).
By creating such a diverse learning environment, this strategy allows users
to learn through various kinds of resources enabling them to achieve a higher
standard of results. The module raised awareness, promoted student reflection,
self-assessment, and opportunites for a blended learning environment.
The VRM activity also impacted students assessment of learning styles, explor-
ing of learning options, guidance on improvement of learning and studying skill,
and availability of social media resources that promote better understanding
of learning. Throughout the VRM experience, faculty had been encouraged to
undertake research that underpins change and innovation in the classroom.

Virtual Graffiti
Virtual Graffiti was created by David O’Loughlin, a student at Trinity College,
while he was a student working on his degree in computer science. This is the first
time the tool was utilized in an mLearning context. Virtual Graffiti has a very
friendly user interface and as a result students are able to quickly utilize Virtual
Graffiti to send text messages, photos, and video via their mobile phone. Students
create links when they reply to posts.
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 15

The instructor referred to the Virtual Graffiti environment as a “Co-laboratory

or collaboratory” where students meet to make their shared reflections on
learning visible, or leave traces of their experience for others on the learning
community virtual mural. It provides an on-demand artifact for students to
look into afterwards. This gives them the potential to engage in reflective prac-
tice and reasoning as they look at their work and see others commenting on
their refections.
Posts that were not replied to were non-linear and showed up in an open
space on the board that was both visible in the class and on the Web. There are
various reasons why some of the posts remained in the “open space” and failed
to elicit feedback from the learning community. First, the question may have been
inappropriate, off-topic, or already posed. More often, posts may go unanswered
because students may have difficulty understanding the question and will prompt
their peers to restake or clarify the question.
Social capital in an online learning community is based on reputation and
the value that each member contributes to the learning eco-system. Students
who have not effectively negotiated their social standing, alienated, or offended
the community may find the value of their posts negotiated by the community
(see Table 5).
Virtual Graffiti manages the content on the board and archives the older post
to allow room for newer posts. The older posts can still be replied and linked too,
so the tool saves screen shots in layers with all linked posts. The tool connects
replies to the same artifact, which allows the student to analyze, organize, see
relationships and interrelationships, identify parts, and compare ideas and events.
As a result, students can better narrow down the focus to understanding as much
as possible about the topic under study.
In the past, online and class board discussions were limited to primarily
text-based forms of interaction. However, with the Virtual Graffiti tool many
students posted photos, diagrams, and short video clips. Virtual Graffiti may
provide a possible long-term solution because the data is very clean; no
need tidying up after as users and other tools link comments and functions
are available.
Students can design their learning path by determining which comment to
reply to, and can participate through both the classroom large lecture/dialog
and the Internet, enabling real-time, instantaneous communication. The students
may interact with and manipulate the posts, or they may simply “talk” with each
other in the created threads.
The critical issue in a knowledge society is that there is parity of esteem among
all the learners and that there is freedom for learners to move into and out of
learning environments irrespective of learning style (Light, 2004). Moreover,
mLearning tools like Virtual Graffiti allow learning and interaction to be carried
out in both individual and community level.
16 / FISHER AND BAIRD

Table 5. Overview of Virtual Graffiti

What is Virtual Graffiti is a new concept in interactive displays and

Virtual Graffiti? entertainment. Making use of commonplace technologies,
such as mobile phones, PDA's, and laptop computers;
Virtual Graffiti allows the general public to contribute to,
manipulate, and control a large digital display.

What is Digital The Digital Public Space is our term for the large display
Public Space? which is the main interface to Virtual Graffiti.

Anyone near this large screen or projection can read the

messages and contributions that others have left on the
display; as well as add their own message.

Contributing The general public can use their mobile phones to send
to the Public SMS (text) and MMS (picture, video) messages to the space
Space by merely sending their message to a particular phone
number associated with the display.

It is possible for the users to associate a new message with

a one already on the display, thus allowing replies to and
annotations of messages.

PDA and laptop users can connect to a wireless (WiFi)

network in the vicinity of the public space, and are then
provided with a Web interface to allow them to view
messages on and post messages to the public display; as
well as a host of other features.

Replies, Users can link their message to existing messages on the

conversations, display, thereby providing the facility to annotate and reply
and threads in to the postings of others.
the Digital Public
Space Replies are graphically linked to the original on the display,
which permits threaded conversations to take place that are
easy for a viewer to follow.
Source: O'Loughlin (2005).

Virtual Graffiti at NCI

The collaborative mural allows learners to see more and do more. It gives the
learner the ability to easily see and act up vital posts or contributions to the dialog
at more places than any other strategy at NCI today. It provides additional Web
accessibility beyond just the instructor supervisory level to view information at the
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 17

individual user level or across the entire mural network. This visibility means
you can: resolve problems faster, maintain user comfort better, minimize devi-
ations from course content strategies, posts are used faster, less need for
changes, and the lowest cost of operation. It could be integrated in most college
classrooms in the market today.
Ideally, future versions of Virtual Graffiti would enable the user to have the
post read to them via an audio option, or speak into their phone and it would
write/post their audio comment in text. Ideally, on the Web view you would be
able to pan and zoom very easily, also to zoom up in on areas they want to—i.e.,
diagrams posted. Also, maybe an auto-generated podcast of the threads from
each class session, and a slow motion option when viewing video clips posted.
NCI did adjust the font size on the Web-board tool so it could be read easily
from the large pubilc theater classroom and adjusted the color for yellow font
on black background for easiest reading. We also tried out ahead of class several
mobile phones on different plans to make sure they could get and send calls
effectively inside the building as some classrooms surrounded by cement slabs
may not have good calling signals.
The content students shared in class was accessible during class on the screen
and available later on the Web as well which allows for subsequent discussion.
It also allowed additional time for students to process comments and digest
their reflections. Moreover, interaction analysis and discourse analysis could
be used to understand if some innovative activities foster student achievement
better than others.
Overall, Virtual Graffiti provided students with multiple paths they could
take to contribute or elaborate on. The classroom takes on a life of its own. We
can reuse the content in future applications of reflection. Students become
enthusiastic about the work, and NCI strongly believes this strategy will continue
to grow and prosper.

NCI LEARNING WITH TECHNOLOGY SURVEY

The following section analyzes the results of a student survey conducted to

gather students perspective on the use of mobile technology in the curriculum
at The National College of Ireland. In addition, NCI used the results of the survey
to propose specific strategies that faculty can use to make mLearning environ-
ments engaging as well as informative, enhance student-centered learning, and
meet the digital learning styles of the student population.
In past the Business Communications Course at the National College of Ireland
(NCI) was traditional teacher-centered lecture format to approximately 150
students per course in the public lecture theater.
Instructors needed to get students to think critically, be engaged, and provide
an experience utilizing authentic tools such as mobile phones, PDA’s, and laptops
18 / FISHER AND BAIRD

to assist and promote the development of critical thinking by posting to the

live class discussion board, we used the Virtual Graffiti tool.

Subjects

In this study, a survey of student opinions regarding college teaching and

learning was given in two sections of the course with 235 (137 first years, 98
second years) students completing the survey.
All students had access to the Virtual Graffiti tool through a mobile phone
number or the Web. Useful handheld remote technologies have been developed
to allow for this individual voice customization and participation in posting.
The NCI staff reported that 100% of the student population had access to a
mobile-enabled device.
The use of predictive text features on phones help learners who type slower.
It allows quick and easy connectivity and lowers the duration of the interactions
to more nugget-sized conversations. As recipients of information, knowledge,
and skills, college students should have a strong voice about the teaching and
learning process.

Survey Results

A short questionnaire was given to all students in the Business Communications

course. Instead of just end-of-semester feedback, we wanted to capture student
input early on in the course design process. The 235 students that participated
are representative of the student body. The survey was given in class, was
anonymous, and voluntary (see Tables 6 and 7).

Table 6. Student Learning Preferences

67% Group work and/or interact have discussions with peers and instructor

17% Short informal lectures, embedded with professional experiences

8% Straight teacher led lecture

Table 7. Learning and Technology

91% Instructors and students should use the latest technologies for learning

98% Students believe that they play the most responsible role in their learning
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 19

Most students described the ideal components of a college level learning

environment as interactive classes, choice in modules, smaller classes, rooms with
up-to-date technology, informal environment, more visuals, and feedback.
Other findings of overall pattern of student’s opinion include:

• Two-thirds of the students surveyed identified similar characteristics of best

lecturers. Characteristics such as passion, motivation, charisma, approach-
able, creative, interesting, interactive were cited more frequently than other
characteristics, such as intelligent, knowledgeable, professionally experi-
enced, strict, clarity, organized, and ability to control class.
• Good communication skills seem highly valued among this group of learners
above being informative. Finally, over half the students wanted feedback
on how things can be made easier, written feedback, constructive criticism,
direct answers, and continuous assessment.
Generally speaking, both the first year and second year students expressed
similar opinions on most of the survey. Class status did not appear to affect student
perceptions of teaching and learning with one exception:
• The second year students wanted more critical thinking learning activities
other than group discussion to practice problem solving decision making and
teamwork skills. While many first years still prefer homework.

In addition, several participants were interviewed after the reflective mural

building with mobile class activity which gave a more detailed picture of some of
the participants’ experiences, motivations, and reflection on the process. Among
the successes identified in these interviews were the flexibility of the content
and format in the event, and the fact that this was teacher-led. High attendance
and completion rates resulted from this approach. Motivation and support were
central to the whole process.
Good quality posts had been produced, which were an important outcome of
the project as well as demonstrating participant-learners’ technical awareness. The
return posts to the Website after the classroom event was another demonstration of
its effectiveness, as well as indicating that they had positive experiences.
There were many constructive suggestions made for future directions of the
event. This included ideas for the project expansion to cover the whole course not
just one dialog, refining the existing support in place for participating learners,
and a potentially greater role for some of the group activities in the middle. Having
students summarize themes and patterns in the dialog weekly or by topic.
Key findings of the NCI mLearning project:

• High levels of participation and completion from learners.

• Realization and publication of student-initiated, learner produced content to
the classroom mural and Web.
20 / FISHER AND BAIRD

• Creation of an expanding model suited to the Irish curriculum, tried and

tested in the classroom.
• Awareness-raising of the potential uses for mobile technologies in education,
and encouragement of curricular use of the resources produced in class.
• The creation of a community of learners.
• Creation of user and community generated content.

In light of the project’s key successes, the evaluation suggests that its flexible
model of peer collaboration is responsive to students’ needs and interests remain
at its core. Another hidden outcome of the project arises in the context of the
“reusability” of the resources which is now receiving some considerable attention
in educational technology research (D. Hernández-Leo et al., 2005).
There is further evidence that working with students to self-publish on the
Web also provides them with a better understanding of how to evaluate and
use other usergenerated content resources in learning. Moreover, as the flow of
user-generated content continues to grow, developing an awareness of how to
evaluate content will continue to be a critical information literacy skill.
This suggests an even greater need for widespread dissemination of the
projects achievement and need for projects like this in years to come. Overall,
the NCI mLearning experiment promoted and encouraged student-centered,
discovery-based, group learning orchestrated via collaboration. Additionally, it
helped improve the motivation of both lecturers and students by widening the
traditional avenues of communication and encouraging participation.

mLEARNING TOOLS AND APPLICATIONS

Looking toward the future, it’s becoming increasingly evident that the next
frontier of learning will take place in the mobile space. Already, teachers are using
podcasting as a means to distribute content, provide customized on-demand
opportunities for learning and collaboration.
The rapid adoption of wireless, mobile, and other handheld computing devices
will require educators to begin designing mLearning courses for delivery on
multiple wireless, mobile, or other portable Web-enabled devices (video iPod,
PSP, Palm).

BuddyBuzz

BuddyBuzz is an application that allows users to quickly read text on a mobile

phone using a variation of the rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) interface.
Instead of presenting large chunks of content on a mobile phone screen,
BuddyBuzz shows one word at a time, creating an interface which allows users
to read and comprehend text on mobiles. Users are able to control delivery via
the arrow keys on the mobile phone to speed up, slow down, or repeat text.
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 21

Developed in the Persuasive Technology Labs at Stanford University,

BuddyBuzz delivers customized content directly to a mobile phone. Currently
BuddyBuzz delivers mostly news (Reuters, CNET) and content from several
leading Weblogs. But what makes BuddyBuzz unique is its ability to predict and
deliver content users will find relevant and/or interesting based on their previous
ratings. Because BuddyBuzz is mobile-based technology, it allows students to
have anytime, anywhere, customized, on-demand learning opportunities.
BuddyBuzz has several mLearning applications, including the ability to serve
as a content delivery system. Instructors can upload articles directly to their
BuzzBox and then share them with students in their BuddyBuzz community.
Students can rate the articles from the instructor, and have BuddyBuzz fine
tune future content to meet their needs. In this manner, BuddyBuzz is utilized
as a techno-constructivist learning tool to support student’s intrinsic interests,
motivations, and learning goals.
As mobile technologies and mLearning become more ubiquitous, applications
like BuddyBuzz, which provide opportunities for instructors to distribute content
via mobile phones, may well indeed provide a huge opportunity toward bridging
the digital divide in education.

Mobile Blogging: RAMBLE, Yahoo!, and Google

RAMBLE (Remote Authoring of Mobile Blogs for Learning Environments), a
project of Oxford University, is investigating how students use handheld devices
to reflect on their learning experiences and provide feedback on lectures, tutorials,
practicals, and student life.
Google’s Blogger Mobile allows users to send photos and text directly to their
blog via their mobile phone. In addition, Blogger Mobile has audio capabilities.
AudioBlogger lets users call Blogger and leave an audio message that is posted
to your blog as an MP3 file.
One of the key benefits of Yahoo! 360, in terms of educational blogging, is
that it provides the user with the ability to manage who can view their personal
information based, in part, on user-defined criteria. In other words, the user
controls who has access to any and all parts of the content on their blog. Yahoo!
360 also allows users to upload content and photographs via their mobile phone,
or via Yahoo Instant Messenger.

FlickrEdu: Mobile Photo Social Networking

While not originally developed as an education tool, Flickr and other mobile
social networking technologies have the ability to play an important part in
student motivation, retention, and learning, especially in distributed learning
environments.
Sharing photos is an inherently social activity and Flickr is the first Web-based
photo hosting service to successfully translate this experience into the online
22 / FISHER AND BAIRD

space. The key element that makes Flickr so unique is that active exploration
and community are interwoven as main components of the design.
Flickr, a Yahoo! company, is important because its ease-of-use allows students
to keep their focus on acquiring new skills, building on existing knowledge
while at the same time developing writing, software, and strengthening social
ties within their learning circle. This is especially important in geographically
dispersed learning communities, where students may have limited face-to-face
time to build a support network with their peers.
One of the unique features of Flickr is the ability of users to use their camera
phones to take and upload pictures directly to their photoblog. Since most students
already have access to a camera phone enabled cell phone, students can integrate
Flickr into a mLearning activity. For example, students can use their camera
phone on a field trip to take pictures, and easily post them to their own Flickr
photoblog. Later, students can write about their experiences on the field trip,
reflect, and share their thoughts with their learning community (Baird, 2005).
Flickr holds great potential as part of a multi-faceted approach that blends
constructivist learning theory and mobile technologies in the curriculum. To be
sure, Flickr and other mobile social media cannot, and should not, replace face-
to-face communication between teachers and students; rather, it should be used as
one of many digital tools that, when skillfully integrated into the curriculum, has
the potential to open lines of dialogue, communication, and learning.

PSP, Video iPod, and Mobile Devices

A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation noted that 55% of American
teenagers had access to a portable gaming device. In fact, other studies from the
United Kingdom indicate that more young people have a Sony PSP than a
handheld computer. Among its many features, the Sony PSP has an integrated
multimedia player, video and audio capabilities, an e-book reading application,
and an HTML compatible browser capability with WI-FI. In light of the high
adoption of mobile gaming devices, instructors need to leverage the adoption of
mobile gaming devices as an opportunity to aggregate educational content and
provide active, authentic learning opportunities for students.
In like manner, the video-enhanced Apple iPod provides yet another oppor-
tunity for instructors to distribute both audio and video content to students. This
will provide students with the ability to learn on-demand based on their own
learning styles.
Content downloaded from Google’s Video Search can be downloaded in
either a video iPod or Sony PSP compatible file. This makes it even easier for
instructors to aggregate video-based content for use on mobile devices. In
addition, Google Video and YouTube provide users with the HTML snippet
required to easily embed video into a course blog, which in turn may be viewed
by students on a Web-enabled mobile device.
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 23

CONCLUSIONS
Students no longer want to be passive recipients of information, but to be joint
participants in the creation of knowledge with their instructor and peers. This
new digital pedagogy occurs when the instructor creates expectations for their
active participation and holds students to those expectations.
The ways in which youth use the Web has also changed, from a static experi-
ence to a more active experience. An entire generation has now grown up building
their own context, community, and user-generated content around community-
based learning environments.
This architecture of participation model equips the learner for the information
age and allows them to take advantage of their talents and abilities with the tools
they grew up with in their formative years. We believe this approach to dialog,
reflection, content delivery, and collaboration could apply to most courses.
The use of mobile technologies is growing and represents the next great frontier
for learning. Increasingly we will continue to see academic and corporate research
invest, design, and launch new mobile applications, many of which can be used
in learning context.
At the 2006 International Consumer Electronic Show, Yahoo! CEO Terry
Semel outlined the explosive growth of Web-based and mobile technology.
According to Semel (2006), there are 900 million personal computers in the world.
But this number pales in comparison to the 2 billion mobile phones currently
being used in the world.
Even more astounding is how mobile devices are increasingly being used as
the primary way in which people connect to the Internet. In fact, Semel notes that
50% of the Internet users outside the United States will most likely never use a
personal computer to connect to the Internet. Rather, they will access information,
community, and create content on the Internet via a mobile device.
In order to create a better learning environment for the digital learning styles
of the Net Generation, there is a need to use strategies and methods that support
authentic uses of technology to support and foster motivation, collaboration, and
interaction. The use of mobile devices is directly connected with the personal
experiences and authentic use of technology students bring to the classroom

mLEARNING RESOURCES
Table 8 provides a listing of mLearning resources and Table 9 an mLearning
glossary.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank David O’Loughlin for creation and use of
the Virtual Graffiti tool.
 Table 8. mLearning Resources

Digital learning experience

Mobile platform Features attributes URL

Flickr Online Community, moblog, Interactive, Collaborative, http://www.flickr.com

photo sharing. On-Demand
24 / FISHER AND BAIRD

ShoZu Camera phone, On-Demand http://www.shozu.com/portal/

video/photo sharing.

BuddyBuzz Mobile phone content delivery, Learner Centered, Authentic, http://buddybuzz.net/rel/Web/index.htm

reading community. On-Demand, Collaborative

RAMBLE Students use handheld devices to Situated, Learner Centered, http://ramble.oucs.ox.ac.uk/

reflect on their learning Authentic, On-Demand,
experiences and provide feedback Collaborative
on lectures, tutorials, etc.

Virtual Graffiti Send text messages, photos, and Collaborative, Interactive, http://www.vgraffiti.com/
video via their mobile phone. Authentic

AmbieSense Mobile delivery of notes, Authentic, Interactive http://www.ambiesense.com

articles, quizzes. Learner Centered

TivoToGo Synchronize and download content Learner Centered, Authentic, http://www.tivo.com/

to iPod and PSP mobile devices. On-Demand
Blogger Mobile Audio and text-based blogging. On-Demand, Interactive, http://www.blogger.com/mobile-start.g
Collaborative

Yahoo! 360 Weblog, mobile photo sharing via Interactive, Authentic, http://360.yahoo.com/
Flickr, and mobile Yahoo IM. On-Demand

Yahoo! Go Wide variety of mobile products Interactive, Authentic, http://www.go.yahoo.com/

integrated to user Yahoo! account. Collaborative, On-Demand

Blip.tv Users can take video on mobile Interactive, Authentic, http://blip.tv/

phone then send it to their blog On-Demand, Collaborative
(movblog).

SparksNotes Student study guides delivered via Authentic, On-Demand, http://www.sparknotes.com/mobile/

Mobile mobile phone (SMS) or via Interactive, Learner Centered
audio for use on iPod.

iPod/MP3 Delivery of content via audio, Interactive, Learner Centered, http://www.apple.com/ipod/

video, and/or text-based formats. Authentic, Collaborative,
On-Demand

Sony PSP Multimedia player, video and audio Authentic, On-Demand, http://www.yourpsp.com/psp/locale.html
capabilities, an e-book reading Interactive, Learner Centered
application, and an HTML
MAKING mLEARNING WORK

compatible browser.
/ 25
 Table 8. (Cont'd.)

Digital learning experience

Mobile platform Features attributes URL

Box.net RSS feeds for groups, share Collaborative, On-Demand, http://www.box.net/

photos, and files too big for Authentic
26 / FISHER AND BAIRD

e-mail.

Access documents, photos, and

files from any mobile device with
a Web browser.

YouTube Video community; allows user to Authentic, On-Demand, http://www.youtube.com/

upload user-generated content Learner Centered
SelfCastTv onto the Web and view on video http://www.selfcasttv.com/Selfcast/goto
iPod, mobile phone, or PSP. home.do

Students can also form groups,

receive peer feedback, and
subscribe to specific video feeds.

Provides user community

feedback and HTML snippet to
embed in other social software
content.
Google Video Video community; allows user Authentic, On-Demand, http://video.google.com/
to upload user-generated content Learner Centered
onto the Web. Commercial
video also available.

Video available for download in

PSP, iPod, or desktop computer
formats. Provides HTML snippet
to embed video in other user
generated content.
MAKING mLEARNING WORK
/ 27
28 / FISHER AND BAIRD

Table 9. mLearning Glossary

Term Definition

•Social Software Social software enables people to connect or collaborate

through computer-mediated communication (wiki,
weblog, podcasts) and form online communities.

•Blog A blog, short for "weblog," is a Web site in which the

author writes their opinions, impressions, etc., so as to
make them public and receive reactions and comments
about them.

•Moblog A site for posting blog content from a mobile device,

(mobile + blog) usually a cellular phone. Most often refers to photo
sharing via a camera phone.

•Vlog (video + blog) A weblog using video as its primary presentation format.

•SMS (Short Written messages that you can send through a mobile
Message Service) phone.

•PSP (Play Station Mobile version of the Sony PlayStation gaming system.
Portable) PSP has WiFi and browser connectivity.

•Palm A handheld portable device or personal digital assistant.

•Social Networks A term used to describe virtual or online communities of

shared practice.

•Web 2.0 Web 2.0 generally refers to a second generation of

services available on the Web that lets people collaborate
and share information online.

•Instant Instant messaging is the act of instantly communicating

Messaging (IM) between two or more people over a network such as
the Web.

•Text Messaging (IM) Another term used to describe SMS.

•Really Simple Really Simple Syndication feeds provide Web content or

Syndication summaries of Web content together with links to the full
(RSS) versions of the content.

RSS is used by news Websites, weblogs, and podcasting

to synch and deliver content.
Source: Adapted from Wikipedia and Wiktionary (2006).
 MAKING mLEARNING WORK / 29

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Direct reprint requests to:

Dr. Mercedes Fisher
National College of Ireland
School of Informatics
co/5724 N. Lake Drive
Whitefish Bay, WI 53217
e-mail: Mercedes.fisher@gmail.com