Entries Tagged as 'wireless communications'
In a sign that mobile computing in schools is becoming slowly ubiquitous, at least as far as entering the ‘experimental’ phase of the Innovation cycle (see http://ceit.uq.edu.au/pages/content/ceit-approach for more info on this cycle), a school in my own backyard (Brisbane, Australia) has become the first in the world to give its students an Android phone.
While there are many such trials occurring with PDAs and non-connected devices, I know of only one other k-12 trial where the students actually have fully connectable smartphones. Very interesting…
via tweetie
Posted via web from Jonathan Nalder’s posterous
Tags: mobile/miniaturisation · uLearning · wireless communications
Tags: Connectivism · Future · cloud computing · mobile/miniaturisation · uLearning · wireless communications
I’m not a fan of Amazon’s Kindle eBook Reader. Not only is it not available in my country, but I feel the days of paying over US$350 for a device that only does one thing are long gone. Having said that, as en educator and former libary worker, I can see several direct eduational applications, especially with the just announced Kindle 2 having the ability to read out its content. Read a detailed overview (via Appleinsider).
Why I’m writing about it however is more because of what the Kindle 2’s other features don’t do – they don’t sync with a PC or laptop. Just as Google’s Android mobile operating system gets all its contact and calendar data directly from the cloud, so too does the Kindle 2 interface via 3G connection only with a home eBook site, or with other Kindle eReaders. This is the future of mobile, wireless devices and why they are leading towards a true ubiquitous, everware future. Even small mobile devices now have the ability to connect wirelessly to all the information etc they need to be fully functioning.
Are education departments setting up such networks to unleash the power of having this kind of computing available 24/7 from any location?
Tags: cloud computing · mobile/miniaturisation · wireless communications
Not to start any disputes as to which Smartphone is better because several modern platforms are now capable of the feat I’m about to report, but can your phone do this?
Can it: ”Look for files on your remote home or office computer and download those files to your device or e-mail them to a friend or colleague. ’
ReachMyFile‘ provides easy, secure, instant access to remote files over cellular (3G, EDGE) and Wi-Fi networks”. In other words, can you browse you home computer and access, download, email etc its files? THIS is what the mobile, wireless, cloud computing, everywhere or ubiquitous computing is all about. Local storage capacity becomes a non-issue with this kind of capability.
For Education, there a few implications. Firstly, in the coming years it may mean closed, safe school networks can be easily bypassed by students ‘beaming’ in their own files. But secondly, and on a positive note, it means that no assignment or homework can be left at home!
Posted via email from Jonathan’s posterous
Tags: Connectivism · Future · mobile/miniaturisation · wireless communications
Well, the long 5 year wait for originators of handheld devices with mass-appeal Palm to UPDATE its operating system has finally arrived. Seriously my 5-year old NZ90 Clie runs basically the same OS as the latest Centro smartphone from Palm. In that time Palm has just kept up with the times by morphing from PDAs to ok Qwerty-keyboard smartphones. BUT in that time we’ve had iPhones and the Android OS and multi-touch and web2.0 etc etc.
Now Palm has announced the ‘pre’ with a large touchscreen, sliding qwerty-keyboard, gorgeous rounded design, AND a new OS known as WebOS. See more here at Engadget’s report: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/08/palm-pre-in-depth-impressions-video-and-huge-hands-on-gallery/
Needless to say with Android, iPhone apps and now WebOS in the mix, Educators now have three modern, capable platforms to utilize for moving learning into the 21st century. More to come when WebOS actually hits the streets (sometime in the next 5 months apparently).
Posted via email from Jonathan’s posterous
Tags: mobile/miniaturisation · wireless communications
