A Day of Mobile Computing

Well here I am having spent a whole day using nothing but mobile technology and now feeding back by doing my blog on my smartphone. So, what did I do and how did it go. I obviously used it for standard phone calls and texts and also email. I was quite impressed with how well large emails such as my church newsletter came out and how clear the pictures were. This was certainly not the case on my previous Nokia. I was also able to access and complete surveys to which I had been invited. These were a tad fiddly at times but doable.

To try and ramp it up a bit I did some tasks which were not possible on my previous smartphone. Internet banking was a breeze as was ordering from amazon. However, it can soon become a bit frustrating having to make screens bigger and move through areas of the screen when accessing the Internet. My first hitch came when trying to send a book which I was sending to an amazon customer. I had to go to my PC to print the documentation. The only other problem I encountered was with Google analytics as I could not actually see my analysis. It wouldn't let me move to that part of the page. This surprised me as I thought the HTC Desire had a Google operating system. Oh well.

Documents were easily accessed and edited using QuickOffice and this worked well. You tube was fast and clear and I was very impressed with the size of the screen.. However, music was provided using my Ipod touch as my music collection is on this. I suppose this could be classed as mobile computing as well.  I do use spotify  on my main computer but I couldn't do this on my phone as I didn't want to pay the subscription. I could however, use you tube to access music so it was not a complete disaster in this area.  One last point, I thought initially that battery power would be a problem but this was not the case. I still have plenty of battery power left. All in all I would say it was a very successful day but I wouldn't want to do it every day.

Sent from my HTC

Blogging from my HTC Desire

I am sure you are all aware that blogging is becoming more and more popular everywhere you go in the world. Most students are now expected to take part in Blogs and many will be assessed on these. Anything we can use to make this easier for students is surely to be welcomed.

In order to research this I am writing this blog using my HTC Desire smartphone.I have had my HTC Desire for a few weeks now and have been slowly testing all its capabilities. So far I am pretty impressed and would highly recommend it. But, I am most interested in how I can use it to support learning in my Students.

I have found this to be a quick and enjoyable experience and in fact easier than I could have imagined. It is flexible and allows me to blog from anywhere. The fact I am doing this from my sitting room is immaterial. I will be going to Cambodia later this year and I will be Blogging from there and including pictures in my blog all done from the same type of mobile phone that my students all have. Long live Blogging and long live mobile phones, may they continue in harmony for many years to come.

As an addendum to this blog I have realised now that Blogs seem a lot longer on a mobile device than when they appear in print. This may be something to warn students about if they are expected to produce a certain length of blog for an assessment or as part of coursework. I am thoroughly enjoying learning about this and discovering everything I can do with both blogs and mobile technology

Sent from my HTC

IPAD Fever

In all the run up to the launch of the Ipad I was a fairly staunch supporter of the what a waste of time and money camp. I believed that it would only play to a niche market, and anyone would need to be mad to pay out money for one. I believed it was both too big to be of any use, and at the same time to small to be of any real benefit. My Ipod Touch, netbook and phone were all I needed in the way of mobile technology.

That was until I go my hands on one, which proved how wrong one girl can be. I have to confess I have only used one in the apple store, but I found myself playing with it for quite some time. My verdict, the IPAD is phenomenal. The first thing I noticed was that the images are pin sharp and knocks everything else I have seen into a cocked hat. The peed of Internet access was outstanding, and I got onto web pages very quickly. You tube works extremely well and the large screen size means that videos can be seen properly. I obviously could not download apps as the device wasn't mine, but there were a number of apps to play with. These worked very well, and I found myself moving from app to app just to see how they worked.

The screen reorientates itself very quickly when turned and I found the keyboard to be extremely easy to use especialy in landscape.

Now comes the biggest revelation, which I have to say rocked my world the most. I am an avid, and very passionate book lover, and hate ebooks with a vengeance, as I say on my other bookaholic blog. I was very sceptical when I looked at the ebook reader on the IPAD, but was blown away. This is the nearest thing to reading a real book I have found. The print was easy to read, and the fact you could turn the pages sold it for me. I also like the way that books are displayed in your bookcase. However, before you think I am completely converted to this, I am also very aware that your book reading might be interrupted at a crucial point by the lack of batter power. Also, although there are a large number of books to choose from this is still not as good as the printed version. In all fairness to apple though, Amazon are also allowing you to download from their ebook collection in an IPAD friendly version, which means that the choice is extended.

Overall, I can say, as you have probably gathered, I am an IPAD convert. I want one. Would it completely replace my Ipod Touch. No. It is a bit too big to use to listen to music regularly. What has this got to do with education? Absolutely nothing, but I was testing it out on my weekend off and in the apple store. Funnily enough the store wasn't that interested in the education side of things, but hey, I was enjoying myself. As they say, all work and no play makes Wendy a very dull girl.

More Mobile Madness - To infinity and Back

Well maybe not infinity, but as close as I can get. When I finished thinking about Mobile Computing yesterday, I had this nagging feeling that I wasn't quite finished. I was sure there was more I needed to explore. So, does mobile computing mean we are free to roam away from our desks. The Jury is still out on that one, but there are apps out there which can make this a much easier proposition. Also, let us remember we are not all work, but do have lives away from education. I am sure you are all more than on top of what apps are available socially. Even my 8 year old niece can find and download social apps. However, here are some which I believe crosses over into both

10 Smartphone Apps to Help Get You Ahead

As you will see these are aimed at the American market so us Brits will need to be cautious as to what will be useful in a British context. Another App which I have recently downloaded to my Ipod Touch is Nibipedia.This is a mashup between wikipedia and YouTube. It is an educational tool which allows you to search through a number of carefully vetted YouTube Videos. I did a quick search using, Anatomy, Paediatrics and Teaching Methods and was impressed by the speed with which it took me to appropriate videos.

Nibipedia

This is also a testimony to the usefulness of social networking and the power of twitter. This came via a tweet from @NMHS_Principal on twitter. Through Twitter and Facebook we all have access to numerous resources which we may never have heard of previously.

It is funny how a blog can start in one direction and your thoughts take you in another. My main idea when starting this post was to talk about the online resources available through an institutions library. I used Ebrary and although I did get through to some excellent books, I found it to be a bit slow at present even via wifi. Ebrary is a brilliant resource when used on a desktop but to be truly mobile will need to be a bit speedier, for me anyway. Still, it does allow you access when away from your desk and not wanting to carry a laptop or netbook around, so still a useful resource. I will certainly be using it in the future.

Skype is another useful resource which is found on most mobile phones. This allows not only for free mobile calls, but also video calls. Skype can be used for tutorials or video conferencing when circumstances dictate that you need to be in another part of the country. Most students now have smartphones, and I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has used skype on their mobiles in this way.

So, having looked at mobile computing, am I willing to throw away my netbook. Not quite yet, but who knows what will happen in the future. Does anyone feel differently?

Mobile Madness

With the sun shining so brightly in the UK my thoughts have turned to mobile computing and how we can move away from the shackles of the desktop computer. Now it is obvious that laptops and net books free you from your desk. The beauty of these is that they have full functionality, would presumably have all the relevant software loaded, can have all your documents loaded and using mobile broadband have always on broadband. However, regardless of how small these are, they are still relatively bulky, so it is true mobile computing I am considering today. How can we use Smartphones to support us as lecturers, and how can we best advise students on how they can use them to support their learning whilst on the go?

Smartphones have many obvious features to support mobile working such as calendars, push email, and always on Internet access. In fact with most mobile providers allowing unlimited data packages the Internet is permanently at our fingertips. Oh, and let us not forget that our smartphone can also be used as a phone. I think many of us forget this when deciding on which smartphone to purchase. Not that I am going to advise on that, as personal preference and your own research should make this decision for you.

I feel the most important thing which gives mobiles their versatility and usefulness are the apps which can be downloaded for the 4 main OS types. Although these are more plentiful for the IPhone, many others such as blackberry and symbian are rapidly catching up. The app which I am going to talk about today and which I ahve found most useful is Quickoffice or Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite to give it it's correct name. This useful tool allows you to view, edit and create Microsoft Office Documents such as Word (Quickword)  and Excel (Quicksheet) on your smartphone, or in my case my IPod touch. It also allows you to view PowerPoint presentations. I have found Qucikoffice to be easy to use. Viewing, even large, files is a joy. To zoom in or out you use the 2 finger pich and Qucikoffice will keep your document in ratio therefore no scrolling to see whole lines. The real beauty of Quickoffice, however, is the abilty to link seamlessly with cloud storage such as MobileMe, MobileME Shared, Google and Drop Box. I was able to set up  alink to my MobileMe account in seconds and it immediately became a folder in Qucikoffice. I was working on my theses in Minutes from initial set up to finding, opening and working on the document. A more detailed overview of Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite can be found by clicking below:

Overview

One of the other obvious, but extremely useful features of Smartphones is the ability to take pictures and videos and share these with others through sites such as Flikr, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. These can provide photologs of student work, be inserted into word documents or PowerPoint presentations, record stages of a project amongst many others. Smartphones can also be used to share ideas and information through sites such as facebook, twitter, my space Bebo, LinkedIn, and YouTube amongst others. I am not going to go further into these today as I have covered these in previous blogs.

Finally, I started this blog before the email with this link appeared in my Inbox. Great minds think alike

Death of the Desk

As always I would welcome your comments on how this could be developed further. I am learning a lot from the your ideas. The power of our shared knowledge is, as always, greater than our individual response.

LinkedIn - Going Deeper with Groups

I have spent the last day thinking about LinkedIn and what other uses it could have in Education. In the course of exploring it further I have discovered Groups, which I feel has untold potential for Education for both students and faculty.

Although the most obvious benefit of Groups is searching for contacts and jobs, I feel that this is not in fact the most important. The most important benefit is from using the discussion boards which are a part of every group in LinkedIn. This allows students and faculty to discuss relevant topics with like minded peers and professionals from every corner of the globe. A wide range of industry related, professional topics are covered within these discussion boards and forums. Even if students do not post to the discussion, they will be able to read about what those in the industry are saying and what the important professional topics are in their chosen area. As they become more confident students should be encouraged to join in the discussions thus building up a presence on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn imposes a limit of 50 groups of which you can be a member, after which you will need to leave one group in order to join another. Therefore it is important to be discriminating in which groups to join. This encourages students to think carefully about the importance and usefulness of the groups they join. This is an important skill which can be transferred to their chosen career.

LinkedIn Answers is also something which could be extremely useful to students. This gives them the ability to both ask and answer questions in their chosen field. This allows them to develop a professional approach and to find expert answers in areas where they feel they need extra input. It also allows them to network with colleagues and get known in their chosen field. However, there is a caveat to this. Students should be advised to use it wisely and to think about what they are posting in this area. LinkedIn is a professional social networking site and should be used appropriately.

LinkedIn: Worth or Waste

Over the past few days I have been thinking about LinkedIn and whether it can be a useful tool in an education context. Now I am sure that it can be a useful tool for those wanting to link with other professionals, but how could it be used to support my students or support learning. I have to be honest with you and say that I have been a member of LinkedIn for many months but have not yet done much with it. Now that I am exploring it once more, I am hoping that it will be like my approach to twitter and I will have that Ahha moment and discover how useful it can be.

Firstly, the most obvious use by students is to build up a network of professionals to support their future career. The earlier they start this the better as it can lead to internships, part time jobs and future jobs. Whilst they are doing this they can also see the bigger picture about what is happening within their chosen profession. They will also be able to develop the ability to portray themselves in the best and most professional light.

However, as well as the more overt learning outlined above, I believe there is also some measure of covert learning. Students will, on the whole, be used to Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, amongst others. These are mainly informal networks, which can also be used in a formal setting. LinkedIn is designed to use a much more professional and formal approach to networking. Students will learn how to use appropriate language and style of writing, and to conduct themselves in a professional manner. Students can also use their network of contacts to ask for advice as well as for introductions to others. They will also learn how to conduct business correctly in that they should not just build up a network for the sake of it, but approach contacts for a specific reason. The fact that students will be using this site in a professional manner will allow them to develop skills in professional presentation and using a professional approach.

I have enjoyed thinking about how LinkedIn could be used in an educational context. These are my initial thoughts and I would welcome comments and further ideas from anyone reading this blog. If we share information we can all learn together.