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RSS- Wikimania 2009
- When Mobile audio wikis will take off?
- Demoing MobilED in GTF’08
- +358-9-4288 7140 – Taka-Töölö’s community wiki
- Local community wiki with news and classifieds
- New direction?
- Educación virtual móvil
- UNICEF UniWiki
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- Shareideas.org – mobile communications for social benefits
Dear Friends,
I think it is important to have some “metacognitive” tool aside the learning event. I suggest the use of a rubric for the students to make explicit what they intend, what they are achieving, how they are collaborating, the quality of their expert reports, the quality of their audiocastings …
If you have time, take a look at the paper “Using Rubrics to Promote THinking and Learning” from Heidi Goodrich Andrade (http://www.smallschoolsproject.org/PDFS/coho103/using_rubrics.pdf) and use a tool to create a rubric like the rubric machine from thinkinggear (
http://www.thinkinggear.com/tools/main.cfm?t_id=1). It may be interesting to involve the students in the creation of the rubric!
The use of such assessment tools will generate data for the research!
It seems a very interesting first pilot. Good luck!
Best,
Cesar
Hi Cesar,
Thank you for the link. Adele is already looking for the rubrics. I will explain in another post our plans for documenting and cathering data for the evaluation. – Teemu
Just a boring researcher’s comment: If we think to use these also for research purposes, it would be essential to add also the objectives for the sequence.
Second, maybe it is implicitely built in but could you present it also clearly: why do you use mobile tools? What is the added value? These answers should be connected to chapter 4.
Regards from Finland: sun is shining, -5C and a perfect weather for skiing,
Liisa
Fixed. I am not sure why it didn’t work out earlier, but now it works. Francois did something. So, the redirection works with the audio encyclopedia, as well.
The server attempts to cache requested articles in a form that can be rapidly transferred to a Text to Speech engine. What would happen, is that someone would request “Aids”, the server gets the redirection, downloads “AIDS”, registers “AIDS” as being the actual article, formats it, and saves it to the cache. When the server actually calls the user back, though, it looks for “Aids” (not “AIDS”) in the cache, which then (obviously) doesn’t exist.
The system now uses symbolic links in the cache to represent redirection, which works fine.
This is a problem with the MediaWiki software and the article titles that were entered into it. The MediaWiki software is case-sensitive, whereas the nature of an SMS is not necessarily so. As an example:
One group’s name (and thus an entry) is “CHC2chuck” – note that the “CHC” part is in uppercase, and the rest is in lowercase. If someone SMS’s the term “Chc2chuck”, it will NOT match, neither will “chc2chuck” or “CHC2Chuck”. Wikipedia.org has an extensive collection of redirection-related pages, which are used by the MobilEd platform to find the “lowest common denominator”; in other words, if someone SMS’s the search term “cAt” instead of “Cat”, the MobilEd platform modifies the term to “Cat”, which is then found (Wikipedia uses a standard naming convention also). The problem now arises that a search term such as “CHC2chuck” will be modified to “Chc2chuck” (by MobilEd) to fit the Wikipedia naming convention; because no redirection page exists on the local MediaWiki server, and the case is incorrect, the term will not match any of the content.
Solution: I added redirection pages to the local MediaWiki server to fit the “standard” naming convention.
Bug status: Solved.
Thanks! I tested it and it works, but I didn’t find my audio input from the online wiki?
Thought I would throw in a penny from a side not related to the technical side of things. The earphones seemed to be more effective than the speakers. This however limited the use of the phones to only one pupil in the group. This was often the learner’s first contact with a synthesised voice. They had to first get used to the toneless ness and the other “dialog” specific voice attributes. Apart from the problems getting content from the wiki “technical stuff” the general feeling was that they were getting used to the voice?
We would have to revisit our methodology and
. Create opportunities to “meet” the voice and get used to it beforehand.
. Facilitate the use of the server side technology
. Give an opportunity for learners to subtract concrete information from the wiki initially
. Try letting the pupils use their own phones with simcards in stead on the new phones.
I think we introduces to many new concepts into this one lesson.
Although the learners were VERY familiar with cell phones. They were not familiar with THAT cell phone. They became despondent because they seemed to be able to find anything concrete (for example a definition of law) as that was not what they were looking for. The very abstract natures of the topics are of cause highly relevant to the lesson but I still think this lesson should have been preceded by a “exploring” lesson. We kind of sent the kids on a very blind date. We should maybe think of arranging a coffee date with the parties concerned and act as matchmaker.
This might be very relevant when we move to less technologically integrated schools?
Just a personal thought!
Adele
Hi Adele et all,
Thank you for your comment! This is very valuable contribution.
I agree that people are very good in adapting to and getting use to (bad) technologies. People learn to survive with the technology available. As users of “modern” PC software we all know this.
However, I would like to aim to make the MobilED technology “ubiquitous” for the learners. If the first task is to “learn” to listen synthesised voice we are not getting there. Students should have a right to focus on their task of doing their study work and not to spent time to learn “new language”.
Use of the MobilED should be like switching on the lights. If the infrastructure exist and “is on” it works. This is actually why mobile phones are so popular all around the world.
There is a lot of work to do to improve the quality and the level of the audio of the MobilED service. Meraka’s people are working on with several synthesised voices including South African English and several African languages. I am sure the quality and level of audio will be much better in the next pilot.
Very good idea! The Possibilities are groing.
Since we are using the blog to ducument the pilot, I would like to expound the problems from the educators views. The pupils in a learning situation as this one will naturally have a greater willingness to forgive and try to work around problems they encounter. Obviously not all eventualities can be pre-empted. Today however I did get the feeling that some of the pupils were getting dispondent with as they tried in vain to upload their contributions. What I found very insightful was the fact that these pupils did not know how to work with the old fasioned tape recorders that we eventually used. We are truly educating the NET generation.
Would using a hands free head set with the mobile phone improve the audio quality?
With hands free head set the audio is just brilliant. We actually tried out this with students in the pilot. But using hands free in the school environment brings up other challenges; like sharing the set among your group, what are the rest of the group doing when one is listen and using the MobilED application, etc.?
I think the speaker is a better solution for group work activities in a classroom. When you gather together around the speaker there is very intimate feeling of belonging to the group. You can also discuss about the content in there, make group decisions where to navigate next, pause and plan your contribution and also make your contribution as a group.
Merkitys-Meaning does audio and video with services that support it (flickr doesn’t). So just set up your own server according to http://meaning.3xi.org/documents/Help/Setting up your own server
This is very exiting. Am I correct in understanding it will ony work on the smart phones.. The ones we used for the lesson? Does this differ significantly from nokia lifeblog?
OK did some reading. Know how it is different. Have y9ou found out about the video and sound?
Did the trip go well? Is it possible to make the presentation available here?
It was recently reported that all the computers in the computer centre of Irene Middle School was stolen over the April holiday period. This should not impact the pilot but does raise the question of safeguarding of the phones. A need to look at insuraning the kits maybe???
How was the talk received Teemu?
Could we research this possibility? At the moment I am using Nokia Liveblog but not everyone has a nokia phone. I would like to start planning an initial try with the street memory idea that we had. It would be nice to incorporate this.
We are studying this already. There are several possibilities of technology we may use for making it possible to add images, video and audio to the MobilED server. We may use the Meaning – merkitys or develop our own Python software (For developers, see eg. http://www.mobilenin.com/pys60/menu.htm).
About the matter of using Nokia or other phones: At the moment there is not one single technology to develop mobile applications that works on all different kind of mobile phones. Because Nokia is sponsoring us we will at first look for their platform, in practice Symbian OS and Nokia’s Series 60 platform.
OK so we will be specifically looking at our MobilED kit as some of the nokia phones cant support the lifeblog. It is a pity really as it works very well. I currently have two grade 6 learners logging their research for the science expo with the phones and they are very good at it. Something similar that would be able to be used on a wider variety of phones might however be more useful.
Hi, I attended Teemu’s “conference” at Bogota (If you read this, I’m the guy who talked to you soon after you finished and asked you about how much time you though it would take for technology to reach the point for making the virtual notes possible).
Teemu’s conference was stunning (at least for me). I think people received it very well, although I do have to say that after hearing about Mobiled’s projects I really felt living in a 3rd world more than never
I hope these kind of iniciatives start getting here as soon as possible.
Once again,
Great talk!
Juan,
Thank you for your kind words. In the MobilED we are actually working with schools. At the moment in South African and Finland, but in future in other countries, as well. I hope soon in Colombia.
I think the school reality is almost everywhere a bit of “3rd world reality”: lack of resources, poor infrastructure etc. Use of mobile technology – simple solutions – may have a significant contribution in there, whatever the school is in Helsinki, in rural Northern Province of South Africa or in Ciudad Bolivar in Bogotá.
What comes to the conference I have to say that it was one of the most well organized I have ever took part in (and I have been in several already). Everything from the simultaneous interpretation to the questions sessions was just brilliant. And of course, Colombian people are fantastic.
And there’s an other video describing the concept a bit better in this video:
ShedLight demo day presentation
It was filimed at the Learning Environments Research Group’s presentation at this spring’s demo day at the UIAH.
Well done…we are all rooting for you from a FREEZING South Africa!
Hi, my name is Sadia khan and i am a student at LCC, London studing MA Interactive Media. I am writing my dissertation on “Mobile learning in developing countries”
This site has been great help in presentation and the work that you all of the team has done is remarkable. I am very glad to see it all.
I wanted to know whether up till now have you tested the audio wikipedia with the general public there and if yes what were teh results. Or have the learners tried the product.
Thanks Sadia Khan
Hi Sadia Khan,
We have not yet tested the audio wikipedia with the general public. To do this we would need a partner that is willing to offer the service for the general public.
There are some costs related to the service. First at all someone must pay the calls made by the MobilED server. Also the server itself needs some maintenance.
If someone is interested in to fund a pilot where audio wikipedia is offered for the general public we are of course willing to help.
However, we have tested the audio wikipedia with three school classes in South Africa. We gathered a lot of video and other research data from the pilot and are still analysing them. The first pilot is also documented somehow in the following posts on this blog:
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=5
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=9
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=12
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=13
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=16
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=17
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=18
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=19
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=21
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=23
http://mobiled.uiah.fi/?p=24
Thank you so much Victor. We are waiting for the DVD up here in Finland.
if at all possible, could I observe one of the pilots? It would be really interesting. thank you.
Hi David, I’m sure something can be arranged. We will probably on start planning new pilots after April. In the meantime we are experimenting wiht MXit on a more informal basis.
Teemu, I would love to test the service. Can you send me info?
It is a good way to communicate. We need the same in different African countries to do Community Actions Plans with local communities.
How can we cooperate?
marja-riitta