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Like your comment about how the iPads don't become the focus of the learning. That's a thought that's been on my mind recently - the importance of the perception of "seamlessness" in tech usage. That's probably one of the most important reasons a technology gets adapted - no matter how cumbersome it seems at first (e.g. learning how to drive a car) - because the normal usage of the technology doesn't hinder the intended task at hand. (That's why once you learn to ride a bike, you don't think so much about the bicycle itself as you think about moving faster.) Think Donald Norman in "The Design of Everyday Things" has a term for this: affordability. So I guess, my thought on the usage of the iPad (and any new tech at hand): The learning of the new tech need not be intuitive. But the everyday usage has to seamlessly flow with the given task at hand - so that the tool and the user become "one" with the task. (Just like how a user fumbles with a pair of chopsticks at first, but once he masters it, his chopsticks "become" part of his fingers.) Then such seamless technologies get seamlessly adopted as "cognitive-multipliers".

"Designing meaningful and engaging lessons (for any form of delivery, including eLearning) is a task that every good instructional designer seeks to master. Teaching lower-school students is a privilege that quickly makes you realize that the approach you take when conveying an idea is just as important as the idea itself. An approach that I have found most successful is threefold: Be clear and concise Use visuals Excite the imagination. Since migrating over to the "adult learning" spectrum, I've found this strategy to be just as applicable."

Tan, Hu, Wong, Wettasinghe (2003) on Information Technology and Singapore Education, Instructional Framework, Instructional Strategies (Direct Instruction, SDL, Group Work, Computer-Mediated Communication, Constructivist Learning, Learning through Experience) Computer As an Administrative Tool - Blackboard ! Computer As a Presentation Tool - from PPT to Prezi? Computer As a Tutor - engage the learners in higher order thinking Computer As a Cognitive Tool - mindtools Conclusion: To successfully integrate IT into teaching and learning in schools is a challenging task that hinges on a lot of factors, including effective teacher training. Darling-Hammond (1994) describes the new paradigm of teacher learning as a place in which opportunities are provided for "learning by teaching, learning by doing and learning by collaborating." In our attempt to avoid reducing such training into teaching of discrete IT skills, or merely talking about it through lectures, we presented an approach that modeled various pedagogies, including direct instruction, self-directed learning, group work, computer-mediated communication, and constructivist learning. We also provided a holistic technology-enhanced environment, for the trainees to experience the use of the computer as an administrative tool, as a presentation tool, as a tutor, and as a cognitive tool. These strategies are built upon theories and studies of learning, as well as the use of IT in education. The results of the trainees' evaluation of the module indicated a generally positive reaction to the module and the perception that the instructional objectives have been achieved. These are encouraging indicators of the effectiveness of our instructional strategies, which we will build upon for further improvement in the subsequent delivery of the module.

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."

One of the greatest (and most untapped) powers of e-learning is its ability to offer relevant and immediate _feedback_ on the go while you do your daily tasks e.g. web-surfing. This tool is a perfect example of such learning.

mobile application design that developers should keep in mind: Users will not tolerate mobile apps that are perceived as slow to open or operate. Speed is even more important for apps than it is for websites on a computer. Users are often accessing these apps when they have only a few minutes of downtime, and so speed is paramount. Apps do not allow multi-tasking the way that browsers on a computer do, so users require instant gratification. Simplicity of functionality and organization are key to good mobile app design. Mobile apps should be linear in design-this is distinct from a typical website approach that offers multiple paths and options. Apps present you with menus, you do what you need to do, and you move out. Mobile app users do not want to be overwhelmed by too many choices and distractions when they are trying to access a feature. People want fewer choices in mobile, because if you put too many choices in mobile, users will give up.

Nice read on mobile userability on the whole page. Advises and consideration into the UX experience before even jumping into development. one of the key to quality experience for our app users.

After viewing the video, I understand better of what is Self-directed learning (SDL) and collaborative learning (CoL) means.

in CoL, perhaps the tasks have to be such that students are inter-dependent on each other. This would then promotes interaction amongst students. A simple task would end up in a divide and conquer as shared by Dr Cheah.

Staying focused on a task is hard can be hard in this digital world with your Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and surfing Web, email eating up your time. If you like you can read up on applying Pomodoro technique to get the best out of the situation. Get the free PDF here.:)

A story on how a college student used Evernote which helped his workflow of how he studied and tips on how using Evernote helped him get organized and focused on tasks. 

Thanks for making my life easy! ;)

Springpad is a free application that makes it quick and easy to take notes and save anything you want to remember - from tasks and lists to products, places, movies, recipes and more. Everything you save is automatically organized and enhanced with useful information for instant access on the web and on your phone. 

Students can easily download a document from Edmodo, use it in another app (like a PDF annotation app) and then upload it again onto Edmodo to submit it as an 'assignment'. This solves the whole 'work-flow' problem that many teachers faced upon the introduction of iPads into the classroom. Worksheets, handouts, task sheets, graphic organizers, anything you want the students to work on, just upload it into your library, add it to a folder that you share with the students or attach it to a post, then they access it and open it in another app. Once they have finished, they need to upload it into their 'backpacks' and then submit it as an attachment to an 'assignment' that you posted.

Stephen Downes very alternative thinking on alternative assessment: Helping others, being cooperative, and contributing to public good.

Smart phone everywhere. Now, smart watch is coming..... Slick, thin and ergonomic, i'm Watch is made to be part of you. And it's always with you by all means: phone, web, music, radio, organizer, photo, video, and whatever App you may come up with. Born for multi-tasking exploit, i'm Watch is so fast and simple to use that everything else will be left behind, likely on your car backseat.

A few cool UI designs for mobile like 7, 12, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21

#21 is really good! We might consider something like this for our m-learn (video) app.