The Aims Of This Project
The profile of the typical mobile device is changing rapidly. It is estimated by 2010 that the number of people using mobile broadband connections will have increased to over half a billion. This access is being made on all types of mobile devices: mobile phones, media players, handheld games consoles, ultra portable PCs, etc.
Already one is seeing a great deal of convergence in the marketplace; while it is common to see people carrying both a mobile phone and a media player, such as an iPod, these devices are merging, with mobile phones offering gigabytes of storage for audio and video. Devices running Windows Mobile and Symbian have many of the features of laptops or desktop computers and are now being used to access the net at broadband speeds.
As a result it is now possible to envisage an audience for mobile learning content which is media rich, collaborative and always available to the user. Using established technologies such as GPS and SCORM, and developing for newer technologies such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and Mobile Positioning, training content can be developed for both context sensitive and location based delivery. Context sensitive education and training refers to training material which is directly relevant to the training situation that the learner finds themselves in. Location based education and training refers to material which is directly relevant to the location in which the students finds themselves.
Because mobile devices can be used almost anywhere, they are perfect platforms for situated learning activities, where real life is used to provide stimuli and activity for learning. An example of a situated learning activity would be studying art in a gallery instead of from an online photograph or a text book. In this scenario, the learner would be pushed information about the specific artwork they are standing in front of which would be determined by the mobile network. Handheld devices can be used in public and social settings where larger devices would be intrusive and seem out of place. Using a small device like an audio tour guide or an iPod or a mobile phone web browser is an obvious use of mobile technology; typing on a laptop computer in the same environment is not as acceptable or practical.
Mobile learning is the harnessing for education and training of the 2.5 billion mobile devices in the world today. Every student in every higher and further education institution in every EU country possesses one. The future is wireless and wireless devices are replacing wired ones in all walks of life. The European Commission has supported the development of mobile learning in Europe in 5 EU projects, 4 of them led by partners in this project.
The project focuses on the development of appropriate training/learning materials for mobile learning enhanced by context sensitive and location based delivery. This will encompass development for less qualified workers. In fact one of the major ISIT mobile learning projects funded by the EC, The m-learning project led by LSDA in the United Kingdom, focused on unemployed and unemployable youth who refused to attend education or training but who all had a mobile phone which was used for literacy, numeracy and social skills training.
The aim of this project is to avail of the latest technological developments to bring mobile learning to the next level.
The Operational and Specific Objectives addressed by this application are the development of innovative ICT-based content, services, pedagogies and practice. The basis for this is that every student in every higher education institution in every one of the 27 EU countries possesses a mobile phone, which they use constantly in every walk of life – except their education and training. This project addresses this lacuna and builds on previous EU funded mobile learning projects by using the latest technological developments to enhance the field of mobile learning and improve its learning content, technical services, pedagogical skills and student practice.
The Lifelong Learning Resolution
This project is funded by the Lifelong Learning programme.
At the Lisbon European Council in March 2000, government leaders set the EU a 10-year mission to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustained economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. Lifelong learning is a core element of this strategy, central not only to competitiveness and employability but also to social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development.
Following the adoption by the Commission on 21 November 2001 of the Communication on Making a European Area of Lifelong Learning a Reality (PDF) lifelong learning has become the guiding principle for the development of education and training policy. The Communication sets out concrete proposals that aim to make lifelong learning a reality for all.
In June 2002, the Education Council adopted a Resolution on lifelong learning (PDF) supporting the implementation of the Commission Communication.
Lifelong learning encompasses learning for personal, civic and social purposes as well as for employment-related purposes. It takes place in a variety of environments in and outside the formal education and training systems. Lifelong learning implies raising investment in people and knowledge; promoting the acquisition of basic skills, including digital literacy; and broadening opportunities for innovative, more flexible forms of learning. The aim is to provide people of all ages with equal and open access to high-quality learning opportunities, and to a variety of learning experiences, throughout Europe. Education systems have a key role to play in making this vision a reality. Indeed, the Communication stresses the need for Member States to transform formal education and training systems in order to break down barriers between different forms of learning.
EU funding of more than € 2 million is being allocated to 17 regional networks for lifelong learning, R3Ls, which have been selected with the help of independent experts from a total of 57 proposals. The projects involve 120 regions which are committed to developing advanced lifelong learning education and training strategies.
A key priority for the Commission now is the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), which the Commission formally published as a Staff Working Document on 8 July 2005.
The objective of the planned EQF is to facilitate the transfer and recognition of qualifications held by individual citizens, by linking qualifications systems at the national and sectoral levels and enabling them to relate to each other. The EQF will therefore act as a translation device and will be one of the principal European mechanisms intended to facilitate citizen mobility for work and study, alongside for example, Erasmus, the European Credit Transfer System and Europass.
