Archive:Mobile learning

Nintendo DS

Definitiion

• There are only few resources which shows the Mobile Learning definition, because it is new coming up idea. But we have some, Japan E-Leaning Consortium, "for the office workers who have their outsidework, or for the students to use their time in the train, the technology is expected to be used any place and any time to study."

E-learning centre in United Kingdom

• "Mobile learning is the use of learning solutions on mobile or wireless devices - and this covers a number of aspects - laptops using wireless connections; PDAs and the mobile phones."

From these two definitions, the moile learning can be said as the "the technology can be used in the step of studying at any place and in any time, by using the mobile or the wireless devices such as mobile phones or the PDAs"

The types of mobile learning

Mobile devices which are used in mobile learning can divide it in two types, PDA and mobile phones.

PDA

• PDA, in Japan, has mainly three types such as Sharp Zaurs, Palm os, and Pocket PC. As its characteristics, each interoperability is low, though its operations are easier than personal computers and uptime is earlier.

However, the diffusion ratio of PDA in the current state has bias which is overwhelmingly low compared with the mobile phone, centering around the businesspeople. Therefore, the mobile learning by PDA thought about by the current state depends on spreading conditions of PDA terminal. It is expected lower in social influences in a wide generation.

Mobile phones

• For the mobile learning using the mobile phone, there are the purveyor who hold out the E-learning and the leaner who receive the E-learning. As a result, there are advantages and disadvantages, from the both angle of the E-learning.

From the purveyor's angle

• For the purveyor, the maximum advantage of using mobile phone for mobile learning is that the adoption rate of mobile phone　is high. Without the situation of using the device, ther are　no selling expectation, although the study method is good. The high adoption rate of mobile phone, it is also becoming the reason of the purveyor's entry to the mobile learning market.

• Another advantage is the simplicity of collecting the charge. Cooperating with the mobile phone comapany, they can collect the charge with the phone rate.

• The disadvantages for the purveyors are that the mobile phones have the limit for learning beacause of its smallness of the screen and the inferiors of the communication. These points make the limit to the quality of the learning that is given. Also, the inferiors of the communication make the stop to the learning and it chooses the place, which becomes a reason of the insufficiency of donating the learning.

• Another point of disadvantage is that the systems are different by each telecommunications prividers and phone models, so the contents output cost become expensive.

From the learner's angle

• The maximum advantage of a mobile learning is height of the degree of freedom that can be studied anytime and anywhere for the learner. A lot of people can carry mobile phone when they go out and can learn at free time. As for this, the mobile phone is small size in the portable terminal, so it is convenient to carry. Also it is possible to use it anytime and anywhere even in the point that 24 hour power supply need not consider uptime by turning on. As a result, the width of user's mobile learning extends, it uses as a supplementation with study and training that uses the free time, and the lifelong learning etc. that exist are thought variously. Moreover, it can be said easy because payment is possible without spending troublesome time along with the phone rate about the charge as well as the purveyor.

• It is able to consider variously to think about the weak point on the learner side from a detailed point. First of all, because the dependancy to the mobile phone has risen by making the mobile phone in recent years multifunctional, it is not able to use other functions when being studying. And the tiredness of eyes by concentrating on a small screen for a long time while studying can be said as a body influence. The attention power to surroundings becomes loose according to the degree of the concentration and the possibility that the risk of the accident and the breach of manners increase is high.

Current characteristics are summarized in the following tables

	Advantages	Disadvantages
Purveyors	Mobile phones penetration rate is high. The charge collection is easy.	Battery slice. It is uneven to the communication situation.
Learners	It is able to learn anywhere and anytime. It is easier to carry compared with other mobile devices.	The smallness of screen makes the learning hard. Danger by too much concentration on mobile phone.