Graham Brown-Martin
Founder of Handheld Learning
Formed in 2004
Professor Stephen Heppell
Mission - every child with a personal computing and communication device within 5 years
to make learning prsonal and universally acceptable
this is achievable using low cost cnsumer technologies and innovative web programming plus a little pixie dust
forum community, conference, and created redhalo (web 2.0 storage for digital learning content)
The technologies
2012 death of the desktop computer as we know it
2012 laptops on death row
New kinds of home entertainment and handheld devices
The future is mobile!
Theme of personalised learning
New school buildings have been new glass and steel victorian buildings, still rows of desks and someone at front writing on a (digital) board and ticking curriculum boxes
OLPC Brazil, LIbya, Uruguay, Nigeria, Rwanda commited to over 1 million devices each (not intel, not windows, which is making companies pay attention)
Learning is no longer a classroom-only activity, not restricted to a school building
Mori Poll of 11-21 age group - 97 percent of girls and 92 percent of boys owned a mobile phone.
25 prcent of 7-10 year olds have a 3G phone. Nicolodeon supply 3G content to this age group.
Technology is embedded in many childrens lives
Marc Prentsky
" todays students are no longer the people our education system was designed to teach"
Data bandwidth increasing, costs decreasing online storage costs decreasing. Changes being driven by consumer technology.
HDTV needs 12 mbps bandwidth
Users can access their files everywhere using online storage.
Yahoo now has unlimited online storage, Media Max is 25Gb free. Hard disk die, tempting to have all photos and mp3s online.
Public perception of risk of wifi - panorama program used leading questions and biases reporting
How do we provide personalised learning and universal access?
Do we instead mean more of the same but with new devices and "classroom management systems"
RedHalo
vital to use open standards - so kids in P1 can still read docs in 12 years, and in case company goes bust.
Secure storage, distribution and management of digital learning content.
Interfaces for 3rd party apps.
Its not the devices that are mobile, its the learner - aim is kids using laptop at school, mobile on bus, DS at home, but with same content. Teachers and parents have access as well as kids.
Pricing
Standard edition free (1Gb of storage) from July 07
Pro version 35 pounds p.a. includes free software and teacher training.
Pro server 25 pounds p.a.
giving away free storage, but get a distribution method for small educational publishers
Summary
Think learning while mobile not mobile learning
Think above the level of a single device
keep to open standards
think beyond the classroom as well as within it
seek architecbures of partication
...and don't panic
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