Podcasts from the World Conference on Mobile Learning

mLearn 2005 was the fourth world conference on mobile learning. It was held October 25 to 28, 2005 in Cape Town, South Africa. The event shares research and provides networking opportunities for educators, technologists, and researchers from around the globe. The conference organizers have posted podcasts from the keynote and invited speakers. I've listed the individual presentations below.

I particularly enjoyed listening to the recording of Elliot Soloway and Cathleen Norris' presentation. These two energetic speakers give the case for using handhelds in education. Then they share examples from GoKnow's Handheld Learning Environment. The audio is very clear and and I have recorded some notable quotes from their podcast.

Elliot Soloway & Cathleen Norris - 53 minutes - Listen
Using handheld computers in the classroom: Concrete Visions

"Do you share your computer with five other people?" -Soloway

"We have to pay for excessive functionality. What we need for students is task-appropriate technology." -Norris

"For students, what we are looking for is the simplest device to accomplish the tasks they need." -Norris

"The keyboard is absolutely essential. Children will use a keyboard and a stylus exactly the way an adult uses a keyboard and mouse." -Norris

"Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow did some research and they discovered that it took between three and five years for teachers to become comfortable with technology. What we're seeing with handhelds is that it takes half the time. Actually, in the second year, they're ok, they get it. The questions is why." -Soloway (Listen to the podcast to hear Elliot's explanation.)

"Forget that you are trying to mimic the desktop on a cell phone or handheld. Think about education differently. That's the challenge." -Soloway

Desmond Keegan - 40 minutes - Listen
The incorporation of mobile learning into mainstream education and training

Stan Trollip - 47 minutes- Listen
The giant leap towards mLearning innovations vs the small steps of lessons learnt

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