How many times do you hear that in a classroom, lecture hall, workshop, conference …? Increasingly so perhaps as more people start to take advantage of the fact that so many learners, colleagues, delegates, trainees, have a handy piece of communications technology in their pocket.

JISC RSC Wales have had a text wall (a text messaging service where we can receive texts from mobile phones or internet enabled devices and display them on a web page) for over a year now and we have used it as a way of collecting comments or questions during the events, workshops and forums that we run. For us it means we can offer the delegates or participants a way of feeding back to us or asking questions about things as they happen at an event … and they only need to be able to send a text from a mobile phone to do this. It is also great because we can share the feedback or the questions very easily as they come in by displaying the web page they are listed on for everyone to see. At one event we were even able to send the link to the web page (and login details) to Martin Dougiamas, who was presenting to us in Wrexham from his office in Australia, so that he could answer attendees questions as they sent them via text message to the text wall.

This year we also embarked on a series of roadshows, one of which included a session on tools and technologies that can be used to record the learners’ voice. The text wall was one of those tools and as part of the road show we offered any interested delegates the opportunity to borrow a sub account of our text wall in return for some feedback about what they used it for, how the learners (or staff) responded, what they did with the responses and whether they would consider investing in their own text messaging service like this.  A number of people took up our offer (at these and other events) and although a few were unable to actually use the text wall and some are still waiting for the right opportunity to use it, we have had some really interesting feedback as to how organisations have and will be using text walls in the future. The feedback we have had so far shows that this tool has been used in a number of different ways, some of which have worked very well and others that haven’t. Here are some of the uses:

• to gather opinion on how students rated the new library space
• as a method of renewing books in the Learning Zone
• to try and glean some feedback on learning technologies
• as a way of getting feedback about events
• to gain feedback on what residents of the community would like to see offered in the Curriculum
• for feedback on aspects of teaching
• for feedback on a new website
• as an out of school hours revision facility
• to explore possible uses with colleagues

The full feedback can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/textwalluses

Like every technology, tool or resource, text messaging services like this will have disadvantages, as well as advantages. The need to have a mobile phone or access to an internet connected device to participate, the cost of a text message or even the distraction of allowing a mobile phone in a setting where they are usually discouraged may be disadvantage enough for some people BUT we have so many tools available today to be able to communicate with each other, is seems a shame not to take advantage (as these people, who we are very grateful to, have done) of this one to engage with and find out what our learners (and teachers) are thinking.

(If you would like this blog post as an audio file please click this link or right click the link and choose to save the mp3 file. Please note: the audio file was created quite simply by pasting the text into Balabolka (one of the tools available as part of My Study Bar/EduApps) and saving as an mp3 audio file).

The term ‘augmented reality’(AR) refers to information about the real world that our senses can’t give us. But we can receive it electronically in real-time, often using internet-enabled mobile phones: a Commoncraft video gives a simple introduction to the topic.

my e-mail address!

QR (Quick Response) codes are one example of AR technology. These 2D graphics work in much the same way as bar-codes in supermarkets, and can be attached to buildings, art-works etc to provide information that can be ‘read’ by internet-enabled mobile devices with appropriate software. More information about QR codes, particularly in the context of learning resources, can be found in an RSC Wales Moodle area put together by Sam Oakley, and also a blog by Karl Drinkwater. Andrew Ramsden from the University of Bath has also recently looked at educational uses of QR codes – both those that have worked, and those that haven’t. QR codes also have important accessibility potential, and have featured in JISC Techdis HEAT projects.

 QR codes were just one of the topics covered in the presentation given by Steve Rose from the University of Exeter at the recent JISC/Escalate HE in FE conference at Warwick. He also outlined a similar process of image recognition employing MagicSymbol™ technology, but more appropriate for large display screens and/or projection. As with QR codes, a simple monochrome graphic is viewed- eg. by web-cam – and the output is a 3D image or video-sequence that may give the illusion of reality. MagicSymbols have been used to add features to toys – for example buildings growing out of piles of Lego™, and spiders on Top Trumps™ cards! They have also been used to provide information about  cars – colours, components, how they look whizzing around bends!

Layar example from http://eyetour.com

Steve also highlighted the use of AR browsers during his presentation: these are generally designed for mobile devices and create the same sort of effect as a sports results ‘ticker-tape’ on a TV screen, or data on altitude, speed etc superimposed on a pilot’s screen. They often provide location-based information eg. about  museums, restaurants, businesses. Some AR browsers, such as Kooaba, rely on image recognition, but there are also examples like Layar  which employ GPS and community-generated content. 

 iPhone applications such as ‘Nearest Tube’ (devised by Acrossair) also employ GPS, and ‘mash’ inputs from the phone’s camera, GPS and digital compass to detect the nearest tube station – this is then shown on the phone’s display. 

thanks to markstechnologynews

Because all these examples of AR increase the amount of available information, they provide considerable opportunities for teaching and learning – subject areas such as geography and tourism immediately come to mind, but all areas of study and practice could benefit. This is a rapidly developing area of technology : have you come across any other examples, and/or have suggestions about their use in education?

First, apologies to those of you reading this who don’t like to see ‘text speak’ used in this context. I admit that I am actually one of  those who generally prefer to write and punctuate text messages as I would any piece of writing but in the interests of the content of this blog post I wanted the title to be relevant and mildly engaging at the very least!

Today I wanted to share my thoughts about text messaging in an educational context … but what has prompted me to do this? Mobile phones are everywhere and although some of us use them (not just for making calls) much more than others, the fact that it is a technology that the majority of learners have and are familiar and comfortable with makes it seem like a ‘tool’ to be seriously considered to support learning, teaching and the general learner experience. My colleague Christine’s post in February about mobile phones being a blessing or a curse and my musings on the Horizon Report 2009 have already considered this topic but in response to several requests for more information about using SMS text messaging in an educational context and Christine’s most recent post where she mentioned our ‘text wall’ I wanted to say a bit more.

We (at RSC Wales) have been taking advantage of the fact that most people have mobile phones with them wherever they go by using a ‘text wall’ as a communication tool at events, workshops and staff development sessions to collect feedback and comments and to gather and then respond to questions. The main function (imo) of the xLearn text wall we are using (originally heard about through JISC TechDis) is as a tool to gather, in one easily accessible online place, text message communications. These ‘communications’ could be comments, thoughts, questions, responses to specific queries or even tasks … all things that we want to happen in a teaching and learning environment. This particular text wall can also be used to send texts to individuals or groups but this is not something we have felt the need to do to any great extent as of yet. Here is an example of the kinds of text wall communications we had with the delegates at our July 2009 event ‘Integration Learning Together’, where we used it as one way of collecting general responses to the day as well as gathering questions for Martin Dougiamas who was presenting to us (and receiving the questions directly through the text wall) live from Australia.

However, this is only one way that text messaging is being used/can be used in an educational context. A number of organisations are now using text messaging services like Edu txt or Janet txt to stay in touch with their learners … texting notices, timetables changes, etc … and interest seems to be increasing in this kind of service. In response to this interest I have gathered together some basic notes on the range of SMS/text message services that are now available for those in an education context. Here are my notes on the types of text messaging services that are currently being used within education.

I know that we all choose to use our mobile phones in different ways today and that many see mobile phones as a distraction to learning rather than as a handy tool … but I think that much as any tool generally has a primary purpose, we also eventually find other good uses for it (a ruler is to measure accurately but also to draw straight lines, track text as you read, mark the place in a book …) as we become more familiar with it. But then thinking about what I have just said, isn’t the primary purpose of a mobile phone to be able to communicate and stay in touch … and isn’t that what we want to do with our learners anyway?

This week Nielsen Online published its findings regarding mobile internet usage in the UK.

According to their research mobile internet usage increased by 25% (an increase from 5.8 to 7.3 million) between the second and third quarter of 2008. PC based internet usage grew by 3% in the same period.

Nielsen found that there is a higher concentration of younger users (aged 14-24) using mobile internet services compared to services accessed via a PC.

BBC news, Google Search, BBC Weather and Facebook are the most popular mobile sites indicating a need for fast access to resources and information.

It’s interesting to see that mobile internet usage is increasing so rapidly; Sometimes I hear the arguments that mobile internet access is prohibitively expensive or requires advanced handsets that many people do not have. All inclusive “web” deals, subsidised phones and faster mobile networks have chipped away at those arguments. Almost anyone can now have cheap and easy access to the information they want when and wherever they want it.

Many students I have talked to don’t consider their phone to be mobile technology, it’s just a part of their day to day life. A mobile is slipped into the pocket without any thought, just like putting on a pair of shoes before you go outside.

To read the full Nielsen report click here (PDF)