mLearning in the 21st Century

Most people are familiar with the term eLearning, which refers to online learning. There is a new term emerging that will soon be on everyone's lips - mLearning. mLearning refers to the delivery of educational content on portable devices. Portable devices? I'm referring to SmartPhones, PDAs (a.k.a., the Pocket PC), PALMs, Blackberries, Treos and PDA Phones. These devices are becoming increasing sophisticated and appeal to minimalists. Less is more! Be concise! Be selective in your content.

mLearning provides the perfect delivery tool for JIT (just in time) teaching. Imagine having content, reminders, assignments, updates and discussion questions sent directly to your portable device. Like the AOL announcement "you have mail" soon, you will soon hear devices echoing "you have an assignment" ... let's just hope that this doesn't cause the device to self-destruct in 60 seconds.

For more information about mLearning, check out these websites:

Learning on the Move - by Robin Good

http://www.mcgrawhill.ca/college/mlearning/

mLearning: Mobile, Wireless, In-Your-Pocket Learning - by Clark Quinn