Mobile devices as on-the-go support

For this post I would like to turn to the down-to-earth matter of actually being productive on-the-go with your favourite instagramming and podcast listening device. This will include ways of mobile device use for learning and teaching purposes on the go. I will also touch on design and media extensions standardisation because these variables unavoidably either impede or enhance one's experience with the device. 

Again, a couple of to keep in mind regarding the nature of mLearning and teaching. Activities are short in time, sporadic in pattern and typically do not require high levels of concentration. The learning can constitute supplementary activities for an online or blended course or be undertaken of learner's own accord. Learning and learning-related activities can occur either in e-learning applications, such as Blackboard Mobile, native to the student's learning environment or in numerous third-party apps. 

As an example, consider the following list Quinn (2011) offers of his learning and learning-related activities that can be performed on a mobile device and coincide with mLearning principles:

• Check my calendar for availability, and add new events to it. 

• Put in my commitments as tasks. 

• Jot down notes as things occur, and refer to notes with useful frameworks. 

• Capture or reference contact details. 

• Take pictures of events, and refer to diagrams and images I save on my device. 

• Create diagrams to capture my understanding. 

• Use a browser to look up answers to questions and find information. 

• Use a variety of applications to access information “in the moment” (such as checking train schedules). 

• Use maps and map-linked applications to find things nearby and get directions. 

• Use a variety of applications to communicate with people with Twitter, Facebook, and more. 

• Store documents to be read. 

Ones I do not use so much, whether due to the lack on my device, or my own personal preferences, include: 

• Listen to audio files or watch videos. 

• Capture audio and/or video of interviews or events. 

• Augment the view through the camera with additional information depending on where I face. 

The goal of these activities is engage with the problem at hand and later develop your thoughts on a lagers device with more conventional and perhaps convenient keyboard. They are supposed to support your performance by being available for smaller momentary needs, not substitute it. As Quinn himself points out, these activities do not include completing formal courses assignments, but they do include supplementary tasks that contribute to completing of these assignments.  Thus, Quinn's areas of mobile device usage can be summarised as: time and location management, information collection and processing, internet browsing, communication/collaboration and, to a smaller degree, knowledge creation, combining, editing, and sharing. 

Teachers and students have to do all these thing on a daily basis. Familiarity with few basic design principles for small spaces could be beneficial for data recording, editing and knowledge production. In fact, these guidelines should also be applied to materials created on desktop computers if they are to follow current trends in information presentation for digital natives. As Quinn puts it:"our existing courses are bloated. And the principles that work for mobile delivery should also be seen in practice in non-mobile courses" (2011). So, the principles are these (loosely adapted from Quinn, 2011):

• cut the word count and think about phrase layout. If bullet points, incomplete sentences, different fonts and gaps make sense, use them. 
• work with colour. Use highlights and background colours to identify relationships between items.
• when producing audio, use full sentences and do not be afraid to be repetitive, especially if it the only medium.
• for graphics and video, use simpler designs and distinguishable colours.
• use combinations of media but beware of viewer's cognitive overload 
• think of how content is going to look and be edited on different devices (Wang & Shen, 2012). Avoid rigid formats, such as PDFs, when you have control over output file extensions.

Another useful way to think about mobile content design principles is proposed by Mayer and Moreno (2005):

• Coherence: eliminate extraneous content to promote coherence.
• Signaling: cue the reader on how to process information.
• Spatial contiguity: align printed words near graphics.
• Cognitive redundancy: avoid using the same stream for printed and spoken words.
• Temporal contiguity: present narration, keyword labels and animation together.

To put it simply, less is more and combining media is better that relying on just one. If learners are exposed to materials created using these principles, they might be inclined to adapt them and continue using them outside formal education, thus spreading further good practices of content design  that simplifies workflow. 

References: 

Mayer, R. E. & Moreno, R. (2005). A cognitive theory of multimedia learning: implications for design principles. Retrieved from http://www.unm.edu/~moreno/PDFS/chi.pdf

 Quinn, C. N. (2011). Designing mLearning : Tapping into the mobile revolution for organizational performance. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. 

 Wang, M., & Shen, R. (2012). Message design for mobile learning: Learning theories, human cognition and design principles. British Journal Of Educational Technology, 43(4), 561-575.