A research paper on how low-tech SMS can be highly effective for certain learning tasks such as teaching social English. And now, there's Whatsapp And other social-messaging platforms that can be an intermediate level between simple text messages that work on any basic phone, to sophisticated native apps that must be programmed for a specific operating system.
"As SMS is technologically And functionally very simple, it can be considered to be a relatively primitive
technology. However, viewing it from another angle, we see that SMS ranks very highly in terms of user
convenience.
Successful uptake of mobile learning strategy is more likely in the situation when "learning activities can integrate into our lives in an unobtrusive fashion". SMS can deliver information in this unobtrusive fashion more readily than other strategies.
SMS, thus, can be regarded as a practical And realistic mLearning technology for use in natural settings at present."
Explain Everything is an easy-to-use design, screencasting, and interactive whiteboard tool that lets you annotate, animate, narrate, import, and export almost anything to and from almost anywhere.
Explain Everything has been a top paid education app since its release in Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Finland.
Import PDF, PPT, DOC, XLS, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and RTF files from Evernote, Dropbox, Box, GDrive, WebDAV, Email, iTunes, and any app that allows you to open these files types using "Open In…". Export MP4 movies, PDF documents, PNG images, or XPL project files directly from your iPad.
This seems to be the granddaddy of mVideo and mAPT. But for now, from what I can see, it still works on a post-processing scale - i.e. record, and THEN annotate, not allowing you to add comments or tags in real-time. (Yet.)
But it seems like a very good source of revenue, offering educational licenses, etc.
D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. D3 helps you bring data to life using HTML, SVG and CSS. D3’s emphasis on web standards gives you the full capabilities of modern browsers without tying yourself to a proprietary framework, combining powerful visualization components and a data-driven approach to DOM manipulation.
Came across this Javascript library that can take in dynamic data from websites and convert them into all kinds of graphs and visualization maps. We could use this for our mind-maps too.
and it's free open-source!
. People are now, more than ever, voicing their opinions online to thousands of people through social media channels like Twitter – and they expect companies to respond.
What happens if the company ignores it, is ignorant to the noise or is choosing not to engage in social media? That pile of complaints only grows bigger. As social media continues to grow, this is a trend that will only continue to grow. If a business wants to make social media a part of their marketing and outreach efforts, then it’s necessary to stop talking once in a while and start listening.
Participate
It’s better to be involved so that a business can provide solutions and answers to issues that arise as opposed to being absent and letting the negative posts run their course. If a company makes a concerted effort to rectify issues in social media, then others will see that effort and reward the company with their attention, understanding and likely their loyalty.
Respond
A part of participation as mentioned above. You must respond in all instances. While it used to be easy for a company to ignore letter writing campaigns and angry words through snail mail, that’s something that can’t be done anymore. A company cannot ignore damaging accusations, especially through online interactions.
Responding doesn’t have to mean immediately giving in to people who are complaining or making demands of you.
This video inspires me that you can use this workflow to create and port graphics for iPhone3G, iphone retina, iPad, iPad2, iPad3 or whatever fast and dirty. No more tedious work, save your time.
For designers and mobile developers - Youfang and Tenee to take note.
This article was written 5 years ago. Now, we have the benefit of ubiqutious mobile chat platforms e.g. Whatsapp, which can create small focus groups to talk about a particular topic. Not only so, besides the usual text, Whatsapp also allows participants to share mobile videos taken on the spot, share their geolocations with one another, share audio recordings and of course, images.
A personal example of how I use Whatsapp for personal learning: I use Whatsapp regularly to practice reading and writing my Japanese with a few other friends, and when I make mistakes, they can quickly give me feedback in real-time. We also exchange photos of Japanese culture, food items and even on-the-spot videos from those who are in Japan. Some of us go for Japanese classes, some don't. But those who go for the classes share what they have learnt with those who haven't.
I'm not sure if this can be classified as a type of "flipped learning", but I realized that mobile chat makes an excellent real-time, yet highly personalized tool for e-learning in small group discussions. Perhaps this is one area we can consider next time as a way to do mobile learning that harnesses the social nature of us learners.
Designers love to hate skeuomorphism. It’s just decoration, they say. It’s completely useless. It will go out of style. Or as Mark Boulton, co-founder of Five Simple Steps, put it on twitter:
I really wish everyone would stop making digital things look like real things. A screen is not a drop shadowed, bevelled, wooden plank.
Yet Apple and many other software developers continue to use it heavily in some of their apps. Many hate without asking: Why? Why is Apple and so many others continuing down this path? They have all lost their sense of good design, surely. No?
Skeuomorphism is about communcating and reinforcing feelings – getting an application to become a memorable experience, not just a tool. It’s about communicating the purpose of a UI, not only the functions it enables.
An interface that is not only easy to use, but fun to use, engages the user and creates an experience where obstacles are easier to overcome, and thus an experience where the product is easier and more effortless to use. Done right, skeuomorphism can retain the simplicity and ease of use of an interface while empowering users to act.
A fascinating and visionary article written in the '70s about the DynaBook, a computer envisioned as a special educational tool to not just teach children facts, but to also make them more curious and more intentional in exploring their world and the knowledge available.
Some pundits today say that the iPad is, at long last, the realization of Kay's visionary DynaBook - more than thirty years later.
Pretty heady and visionary, this article, even today. Do read it if you have the time.
I've been thinking. If the highest level of e-learning is augmentation of existing teaching and learning capabilities, then why not investigate cloud supercomputers - the logical extrapolation of today's cloud computing.
Imagine the learning possibilities if students could easily run simulations using real-world data to investigate real-world phenomena or even social ones, to see what would happen if you tweaked certain environmental / historical conditions. Then teachers could use the various simulated outcomes as a starting point for discussion purposes - e.g. if everyone on earth had a car, what would happen to the earth's temperatures in the next few years? and then ask further questions from there using fundamental principles. Less time spent on tedious models, and more time spent observing systems interactions, may help make the next generation of
It sounds like a very high-level concept, but I think a practical example is when I used the speech-to-text convertor feature of an English dictionary app on my iPhone to help a boy learn how to pronounce words correctly. It turned a boring dictionary into a fun interactive game for him, and he learnt a few new words along the way.
Just some food for thought this holiday season. Merry Christmas!
YouTube announced a new batch of partners that were added to its Education Channel today and noted that nearly 80% of the viewership of educational content on the site came from outside the United States. Less than 70% of the site's total traffic is International, so the educational content is disproportionately viewed by global audiences.
Both YouTube and iTunes U are serving up huge quantities of educational content to a world already in the throes of a 50 year revolution in global education. In some ways they represent exactly the kind of education that a new world needs, too: learning that augments existing education and fosters life-long development of non-routine analytical and interactive skills. That's a recipe for good times.
YouTube now hosts more than 500,000 educational videos, on a wide variety of topics. The new mobile-friendly iTunes U also offers 500,000 educational resources and says that 60% of its viewership comes from outside the United States. This global consuption of US-created online educational content may be the newest chapter in a radical transformation of global education over the past 50 years. Life in this world is not like it used to be just a few decades ago, and the availability of world-class education on-demand, at almost no cost, is likely to help things change all the more as this century unfolds.
A trend began, at least in the United states, as far back as 1985: demand for "routine manual skills" has held relatively steady, demand for non-routine manual skills has plummeted. Demand for routine cognitive skills climbed through 1970, then fell. What's hot? Non-routine analytic and non-routine interactive skills.
Those are things that a good YouTube or iTunes U video about world history or global ecology can help improve, your non-routine analytic and interactive skills. More than for just economic well-being, those are skills that positively impact quality of life in many ways.
VIB is a life sciences research institute, based in Flanders, Belgium. They perform basic research with a strong focus on translating scientific results into pharmaceutical, agricultural and industrial applications. For their fifteenth anniversary, we did the entire event branding, for which we used only chalk and a huge blackboard. For this event we also designed a box with nine books in it. For the books only we made more then 200 large chalk drawings.
Branding for a life science research institute! Great layout, typography and especially the mediums used, emulating blackboard and using chalk to manually draw graphics of atoms & science related objects! Even guerilla campaigns around the compound of the venue of the conference talk! There are also wall displays & installations!
A polished site for recording, uploading and sharing audio files... it offers the ability to share audio files with social tagging on FB, Twitter and Tumblr, and also timed comments too. Seems to be getting more and more popular. Perhaps we can use its API for our Well Said app...
1. Call the IRS at +1 267 941 1099
This is a direct line to the dedicated unit in Philadelphia that deals with foreign entities (that's you) who need an EIN. Press 2 on the computerized menu to get through to an operator. While I've heard it's possible to get your EIN through some embassies and consuls, that certainly doesn't apply to all of them and this number will work for everyone. Note: they won't take a call from anyone using a "speakerphone". If you are using Skype on your laptop, have a set of headphones plugged in before you call, to avoid an undignified scramble around your apartment. Finally, while there is an online facility for doing this, foreign entities can't use that.
2. Tell them you're applying for an EIN for a foreign entity.
They may ask if you are a legal officer of the company or some such, I said that I was a sole proprietor, and the owner of the business, which satisfied them.
3. There's a 50% chance that they will tell you that you need Form SS-4
You do not want to go down this path, which requires form-filling, fees, delays, and somehow locating a fax machine. If this is what they tell you, politely end the call, and call them back. I only had to do this once, and then got someone a little more helpful.
4. Give your details
They will ask for your name, mailing address, phone number, the name of your company, and the country it was incorporated. This will involve a lot of spelling and repetition, but make sure all the details are correct.
5. They will ask if this is for compliance with withholding
Say "yes".
6. They will ask if this is for e-books
Say "yes".
7. They will give you your EIN!!!
Well,
that was quick. Right after yesterday's surprising announcement,
Sony flew its yet-to-be-released NEX-VG10 camcorder into London just in time for
today's showcase event. Naturally, we had to get our hands on this shiny baby,
and boy we were impressed. In case you missed the news, this snazzy device is
the world's first consumer HandyCam with interchangeable lens, meaning you can
share E-mount lenses with your young NEX DSLRs, or take advantage of
the abundant A-mount lenses with the help of an adapter (which will cost you
extra, mind you). Likewise, there are also hot and cold shoe mounts on the mic
shaft to cater your current camera accessories. Read on for our thoughts on the
rest of the camcorder -- we've put together a little sample clip for you at the
end as well.
There
isn't much to complain about with this $2,000 (and, sadly, possibly £2,000 for
the Brits) piece of kit in terms of appearance and ergonomics. We like being
able to hold it by either the seemingly solid body (using the strap) or the mic
shaft, and both ways provided comfortable grip without much fatigue due to the
light weight (even with the bundled lens). We were also able to quickly master
the jog-dial control next to the 3-inch screen, but for this price, we expected
a touchscreen interface as well to make life easier. As for the bundled F3.5-6.3
18-200mm lens, we found that zooming required a bit more effort than we liked,
so thankfully there's auto focus mode -- just like any ordinary camcorder -- to
save us from further wrist work with the focus ring. We must also point out that
unlike the Olympus PEN,
this Sony camcorder didn't pick up any mechanical noise from its lens auto
focussing; otherwise, this kit totally wouldn't deserve such price tag.
Of
course, what we really care about is the picture and sound quality. All is
revealed in our sample reel below (remember to enable HD playback mode), but in
brief: stunningly accurate colors, sharp 1080/60i picture, and impressive audio
sensitivity (notice how the mic was able to pick up conversations from afar; you
can also enable just the front mics to minimise background noise). You may
notice some shakiness while we were adjusting the lens -- we'll blame it on our
lack of practice from the little hands-on time we had. Regardless, the NEX-VG10
certainly lived up to our expectation, and we look forward to hear what the
filming hobbyists think of this prosumer-level camcorder when it comes out in
September.
Update: commenter
aim120 dropped us a link to Sony's own sample clip. Enjoy!
To be effective
at improving productivity and content retention, mobile learning
content must take a different form from what has gone before. and it
is content — content fit for the mobile learning purpose — that
will drive market growth.
there are two types of user for mobile learning —
the “considered” user and the “trigger” user.
The considered user
downloads and views learning material
The trigger user
responds to contextual situations that require action
know what
know-how
Mobile learning is
also best focused around “inflection points.” These are times
during the week where there is no opportunity to redo the task, and
where high performance is vital. Examples of inflection points
include issuing a verbal warning to an employee, conducting a meaty
interview, and doing a key client review.
the
idea of learning separated by an extended period of time from the
“Event,” when a person actually attempts to use the learning has
to be challenged. Few learners today want the information weeks and
even months in advance. They actually would like to have specific
top-of-mind and refresher learning “on-demand” minutes or even
seconds before they will need to use it.
Schoology is a startup that seeks to address many of the pain points of the LMS: Schoology is easy to use. It's free. It offers data portability. It encourages communication and collaboration with look and feel of contemporary social networking sites rather than the bulletin boards of circa 1996. But it isn't simply a social networking tool. Schoology provides the functionality of its big name competitors - Blackboard, Moodle.
Most LMSes isolate students in their particular courses. And once that class is over And once a student has graduated, the information contained there - notes, lessons, assignments, discussions - are lost. Schoology blends a social networking interface with learning management tools, so that teachers And students (And parents And administrators) can communicate And collaborate on academic issues.
Typical instructional design and pedagogy focus on breaking down a subject into component parts, gaining mastery of those parts, whether they are steps in a process or techniques or parts of the anatomy, and then reassembling them in the learner's mind and in practice so that the result is overall mastery of the broader subject. That may be oversimplified, but this basic approach goes back to Aristotle, at least. It's not debated in education, it's assumed that this is the best approach for learning anything, including complex processes or highly nuanced behaviors in shifting contexts.
Centola's conclusions. He studied positive changes in people's behaviors regarding health care, changes that resulted directly from placing subjects in carefully designed social networks with the goal of improving their health decisions. What he concluded was that smaller, tighter social groups had more success improving health behaviors than larger, looser social groups (ie, the typical Facebook connections). Maybe you already see what it took me a while to notice. Both of them had success. Social networks designed for a specific purpose can do something pretty amazing: They can change people's behaviors. Any educator or trainer whose goal is actually to impact both thinking and behaviors (to change lives!) rather than just getting people to pass a test or check a box, should be paying close attention. and maybe getting a little excited.Researchers in education have long known the power of social groups to alter behavior. Brown, Collins, and Duguid made this case a while back
these three went on to say that highly complex behaviors are picked up, absorbed, through relatively informal social exchange more quickly than they could be if they were "taught" in the usual break-it-down sense. We're talking about complex behaviors. Processes. Highly nuanced interpersonal interactions. Centola's study suggests to me that we now have an online tool, the social network, that is fully capable of carrying the power of culture to shape behaviors and establish norms. and it can be done on purpose.
About EFFFrom the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. When our freedoms in the networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense. EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990 - well before the Internet was on most people's radar - and continues to confront cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today. From the beginning, EFF has championed the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights.
Scrolling Long Lists
Another big problem with iPhone web apps is presenting very long lists efficiently. Digg has this problem with their stories and comments and they work around it by breaking stories into pages of ten and omitting all but the top five comments. Apple solves this problem nicely in their Mail app by loading 25 messages at a time and putting a link to get more at the end. Clicking it loads those messages and appends them to the end of the list, allowing you to use the joyous flick gesture to scroll the complete list at once. In my view, this is nicer than breaking the list up into separate pages.
iUI makes it easy for you to use this convention in your own web apps. Simply create a link with target="_replace" and iUI will load the URL it and replace the <a> with the contents of the URL. Again, the URL should not point to a complete HTML document, but only the fragment you want to replace the "Get More" link with.
For an example of incrementally loaded lists, look at the Digg demo again. Scroll to the bottom of the stories list and click on the "Get 10 More Stories..." link.
One of the issue/feature for the billboard on finLit hub project which i was discussing with Sham about earlier on. Here's a nice solution which i think we can take into consideration.
Do check out the digg demo link that I highlighted.
http://www.joehewitt.com/iui/samples/digg/#___1__
Excellent find! I also think that "get more" is a more elegant solution. Where any information exceeds a single screen in any apps CeL develops, this should be the way to go.
A phenomenographic research approach was used to gather the expressed experiences of e-learning and professional development for e-learning held by teachers and support staff from institutions across New Zealand. Five conceptions of e-learning (as tool and equipment; as a facilitator of interaction; as learning; as a reduction in distance; and as a collaborative enterprise) and four conceptions of professional development for e-learning (as training; as opening up possibilities; as collaboration; and as relevant and purposeful) were discovered.
