Part of our workshop with Open University of China.

1. Flexible distance learning:
A snapshot of mobile learning methods
Terese Bird
Learning Technologist and SCORE Research Fellow
Beyond Distance Research Alliance
Open University of China visit to Leicester 23 Nov 2012
www.le.ac.uk

2. What will we talk about?
• The benefits of mobile
• iTunes U
• Text
• Sound
• Video
• Interactive

3. The benefits of mobile
• Personal • Bite-sized learning
• Fits into learner’s life • More peer-to-peer
• Portable • Active learning
• Immediate • Enables new learning
• Access for the isolated environments
• Allows capture • Accessibility –special needs
• Time management • Encourages reflection in
close proximity to event

4. Leicester examples

5. Criminology – one iPad per distance student

6. iTunes U

7. iTunes U
• Distribute pdf, epub, mp3, and mp4 formats
• Share with the world
• Name recognition
• Nice for handheld devices
• Windows and Mac computers
• Need to download free iTunes software

9. Special iTunes U Course – only iPads,
iPhones, iPod Touch

10. Special iTunes U Course – only iPads,
iPhones, iPod Touch

11. Special iTunes U Course – only iPads,
iPhones, iPod Touch

12. Easy to build a course using Safari

13. What format for content?
Medium Positives Negatives
Text •Speed •Flat
•Pre-existing material •Does not communicate
emotion
Image •Much communicated in •Can be misleading
a single simple package without context
Sound •More communicated by •Not seen as flashy as
voice than just words video?
•Convenient for
multitasking
•Smaller file than video
Video •Most info •Bulky and padded
communicated •Demands attention
•Great for
demonstrating skills

14. Tbird Top Tips – Overall view
• When I designed for Apple
devices, things worked nicely
on Android as well
• Dropbox is from heaven
• iTunes can be fiddly
• For downloadable items,
consider a Creative Commons
license

15. Text – ebooks!
• iBooks Author – simple easy, produces .ibook format
• Free with latest Mac OS
• Print to PDF – it’s beautiful
• If you don’t wish to stop there…
• Can take it into Adobe Acrobat Distiller and save as
Word

17. Take advantage of iBooks Author

18. Take advantage of iBooks Author
• Free with latest Mac OS
• Saves as pdf and text

19. Now make an epub
• Copy and paste the text into Pages.
• Add photos.
• Add video if you’re sure the devices can handle it
– iOS: iBooks
– Android: Kobo, Ibis Reader
• Let it flow!
• Tips: Only inline. No floating objects.

20. Calibre
• Take a Word doc
• Save as html
• Import into Calibre
• Save as epub or mobi
• Pdf to epub doesn’t really work
• Also try epubbud.com

21. Picture books!
• Just use simple pdf!!!
• Brilliant results!
• I tried everything else
• Maps, drawings

22. Handy guide to ebooks
File format What device positives negatives
pdf Everything Runs on Does not flow,
everything does not take
advantage of the
device’s power
epub Everything but Flows, takes
Kindle advantage of the
devices’s power
Open source,
somewhat
futureproof
mobi Kindle Kindle is big Kindle only
.ibooks Apple iBooks only Beautiful & easy Apple iBooks only
iPad is market
leader

23. Sound
• Why sound?
– Copyright is easier – recorded lectures
– File size is smaller
– Listeners can do something else at the same time
– No bad hair days – staff like it!
– Voice communicates more than the printed word
– Excellent, easy way to close distance

24. How?
• Audacity
• Garageband
• Window Sound Recorder
• But please save as mp3 (wma and wav are dead)
• And apps!!!...

25. Audioboo and SoundCloud
• Like YouTube for sound
• Record in browser
• Attract comments in browser
• Or simply upload
• RSS out, iTunes out  it’s like magic
• Can send these to Apple if you like
• Limited length of recordings

26. Sound threaded discussions
• Wimba Voiceboard
• Voice Thread
• Voxopop

27. Examples of use
• Audio feedback – increased marks & retention
http://www.le.ac.uk/duckling
• Voice discussions
• Audioboo – Field use – listen to teacher’s description
of a flower, student audio-records her own
comments and findings
• Student can record, using Audioboo for iPhone
(don’t use iPad app yet)

29. Sound on iTunes U
• Easy to get going
• Oxford example

30. Share your stories!
Shall we try it?

31. Video
• How many of you have made a YouTube video?

32. YouTube facts
• 10 minute limit
• Great to embed into LMS
• Comments are a mixed blessing
• Good statistics
• Use branding
• Not too easy to download the video
• Good way to convert files to mp4

33. Vimeo
• Longer video than
YouTube
• Much less junk
• Pretty much just as
easy to do
• Downloadable

34. ScreenR

35. Recorded lectures
• Record the face or just the slides?
• Streaming or download?
• Automatic enterprise, or one-by-one?
• Huge server space required, very expensive
• Screen capture software: QuickTime, Camtasia,
iShowU

36. Editing movies – keep it simple
• iMovie – free with Mac – saves as .mov, .mp4
• Windows MovieMaker – but doesn’t save as mp4
• Only go to Final Cut Express if you have to!
– Bleeped out sounds
– Fuzzed out faces
– A cut-out logo floating over the image

37. Easy interactive
• Clever Powerpoint, save as pdf
• Prezi

38. Get some helpsheets!
• http://tinyurl.com/mobi-learn-mat

39. Thank you!!!