The ShowMe app has just become available through the iTunes app store. ShowMe lets you create audio-narrated whiteboard diagrams. The diagrams can be uploaded to the ShowMe site (after you have registered at their site). The diagram can be uploaded as either a public or private drawing. A private drawing can be shared with others by giving them the URL to the drawing. Public drawings can be searched at the ShowMe site. From the web site, the drawing can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, email, or embeded in your web site or blog.
You may want to consider getting a stylus. You can read reviews by clicking on the links in this post.
When you open the app (which works only in landscape view), the toolbar shown below appears. In addition to drawing and erasing, images can be imported from your Photo library on your iPad.
Screencasts could be viewed by students for reviewing material covered in class.
If each student or group of students had an iPad, they could be assigned to create a screencast on a particular topic, which then be viewed by the teacher and other students in the class (either at the ShowMe web site or at the class’s web site).
Although most people can type faster than they can write, some may have a difficult time with the keyboard on the iPad and would prefer to hand write their notes. If you want to convert your hand-written notes to text, try WritePad.
In the January 28, 2010 issue of Academic Impressions, the article “Considering Mobile Learning for Your Institution” discusses what institutions should consider when determining if they want to get involved in mobile learning. Judy Brown, founder and former director of the University of Wisconsin system’s Academic ADL Co-Lab, provides some insights when considering a mobile learning initiative.
The first question to ask is “will the learners be consumers of content, producers of content, or both?”
Mobile devices can be used not only for consuming information but can also be used for creating information as well. The keyboard of devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch allow limited keyboarding but the new iPad with its larger built-in keyboard and optional keyboard attachment should allow students to more easily create text.
The key thing to consider when considering uses of mobile devices is portability. While a laptop can do many of the things a mobile device can do, a portable device makes it much easier to accomplish these things. Here are a few examples of things that could be done with a mobile device:
Create a personal wiki with VoodooPad and export to your iPod Touch or iPhone (Mac only)
Getting Started Brown suggests that when you getting started considering implementing a mobile learning initiative, you should invite both “believers” and “non-believers” in order to provide an ongoing discussion about both opportunities as well as challenges. She also suggests that institutions begin with a pilot project or two. And institutions should provide as much support as possible to the faculty involved in the pilot project.
Decisions to Make
Define Your Objectives – Brown suggests you ask why you want a mobile learning initiative and how you will know if you have reached your goals?
Define Your Audience – Who are the learners who will be involved in the mobile learning initiative. How will they be supported? Who is responsible for oversight and day-to-day operations of the mobile learning initiative?
Faculty Development – Who is responsible for training and supporting faculty in the appropriate use of mobile devices in the educational process? Further Thoughts One of things that I’m afraid most college courses don’t do is develop a community of learners. Rather, students come to class, listen to a lecture and engage in some class discussion, and do homework. Although the class time provides an opportunity for discussion, this may be limited depending on the size of the class. And each class is typically only 50 minutes long. Will all students get their questions answered? Maybe or maybe not, depending on the complexity of the subject matter. If the class involves expressing opinions, will everyone have a chance to express their opinion? Maybe not if the class size is large and/or the topic has many facets to it. But if learning can be extended beyond the classroom, learning can become richer. Yes, learning occurs when a student reads his or her textbook and completes homework assignments but this activities are largely done individually. And a textbook doesn’t provide any interactivity (or at least not very much). And a textbook only provides a linear explanation of a topic while a mobile device could allow a learner to access a variety of sources that could be compiled and organized by each individual learner. Tools such as Evernote (which works with both browsers and mobile devices) would allow learners to easily collect and modify information from Web sources, and even add voice annotations.
This article points out that although mobile learning is a topic of interest among educators, very few have implemented it on their campus. Judy Brown, the founder and former director of the University of Wisconsin system’s Academic ADL Co-Lab offers some suggestions and factors to consider if a college is considering mobile learning.
She suggests asking if you want students to be consumers of content, creators of content, or both.
Of course, three devices that can enhance the mobile learning experience are the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad. To get ideas of how to implement the iPod Touch (and the iPad) into education, here are a few sites:
