In this book review Dr. Michael Thomas provides a detailed summary of the latest tools, concepts, limitations and trends in mLearning proffered in David Metcalf’s mLearning: Mobile Learning and Performance in the Palm of your Hand.

Dr. Michael Thomas has been Associate Professor at Nagoya University of Commerce and Business Administration (NUCB) since 2002. Prior to Japan, he taught at universities in the UK and Germany, primarily at the University of Heidelberg. He is the author of The Reception of Derrida: Translation and Transformation (Palgrave Macmillan 2006). His main research interests are in the language-literature interface and learning technologies for applied linguistics, and he is currently completing a book on Mobile Learning and Language Education. Michael serves on the Learning Technologies committee of the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) and is editor of their publication CALL Review.

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Book Review: mLearning: Mobile Learning and Performance in the Palm of your Hand by David Metcalf.

A great deal of excitement has recently propelled mobile learning or mLearning to the forefront of instructional technology. Much of this enthusiasm is based on the ubiquity of the mobile phone. In fact market analysts predict that by 2008, there will be more than 100 million mobile devices in the world (Metcalf 2006:103) and over 3 billion mobile phone subscribers (Nokia 2005). One potential problem with this scenario, however, is that the availability of a technology primarily designed for purposes other than learning, may not be as amenable to enhancing learning outcomes as is so often believed.

Mobile learning refers to the use of small, portable hand-held devices (personal digital assistants or PDAs, smart phones, laptops) that usually operate in a wireless environment, and have a connection to the Internet. Current projects including digital audio players (such as Apple’s iPods) could also be considered mLearning, though they have as yet no wireless capability. These devices promote the use of ‘anytime, anywhere’ learning, allowing users to transcend the limitations of the traditional presence-based classroom, and to fit learning into their daily lives, whenever they have the time or the inclination.

A number of projects have already been sponsored in the field by national governments and the European Commission in particular, the aim being to support lifelong learning initiatives. The United Nations, through its recently concluded World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) conferences, also gave mLearning a central place in its strategy to bridge the digital divide and spread learning among disadvantaged groups, communities and nations.

While there is an increasing amount of journalistic comment on mobile learning on the Internet, the first scholarly book on the subject – Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers (Kukulska-Hulme and Traxler 2005) – provides a combination of essays and case studies aimed at outlining an academic context and legitimacy for this emerging area of research. A growing body of literature also exists as a result of the yearly mLearn conferences. Kukulska-Hulme and Traxler (2005) are concerned with describing the task of navigating from mLearning’s first to second phase: from a concern with small-scale research projects to a pedagogical concern with learning outcomes. Metcalf’s mLearning: Mobile Learning and Performance in the Palm of your Hand, the second book on mLearning to appear, is still very much concerned with phase 1, and aimed more at the corporate sector and general reader.

While it does not boast the same rigorous engagement with secondary literature or detailed case studies as Kukulska-Hulme and Traxler (2005), it nevertheless provides the general reader with the opportunity to acquire an overview of the main aspects of mLearning in one or two sittings at most. Of the book’s eleven chapters, almost all of them are relatively short, the exception being Chapters 4, 5 and 6, which introduce a number of case studies in three areas: sales, services, and business processes and performance.

The first three chapters provide an overview of the potential of mobile learning, a review of the main technology and devices, and what the author calls the mLearning ‘value proposition’. This term relates to a shift from training to a ‘performance support orientation’, a mode characterized by short-burst learning within a constructivist learning environment.

The short case studies in Chapters 4, 5 and 6 give some indication of existing projects using PDAs and smart phones. Chapter 4 presents information about the Vodaphone Academy WAP Performance Modules, and 3Com University’s use of a Palm for mobile learning. The case studies in Chapter 5 examine the Wireless e-Learning IP Troubleshooting Field Guide for the Palm VII and Valero’s Mobile Procedure Access. Chapter 6 presents brief case studies on ALLTELL, QUALCOMM, Inc., Nokia Quality WAP Modules for Methods and Tools, and Unilever mLearning.

Chapter 7 examines the design principles that must be considered for wireless development in an instructional context. ‘Anytime, anywhere’ learning emphasises the self-directed and communicative aspects of learning. There are also a number of operational constraints, concerning for example, screen size, information volume, and the time-sensitive pressures of being mobile. Based on a number of projects, design teams should consider using modules that are short; offer structured information; have easy navigation and familiarity; and present reusable content. Metcalf identifies the use of the ‘inverted pyramid’ principle to structure information according to the notion of ‘performance orientation’ rather than ‘exhaustive information’ (2006:82-3). The pyramidal structure, based on a principle similar to stacks of interconnected minicards, means users can use a familiar system of hyperlinks to gain access to information, each time at an increasingly higher level. Information for the screens was visualised using a 3 x 5 inch (8 x 13 cm) index card, cut into quarters. In addition to these measures, the chapter discusses the centrality of using mobile devices to enhance connectivity and collaboration. The personalisation of mobile devices with key user information, combined with the development of location awareness technology, make them powerful instruments for instant information access.

Chapter 8 describes the current multimedia potential of mobile devices. In particular it focuses on an overview of the most prominent authoring tools for developing multimedia on a mobile platform including HTML, WAP, Lectora, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Mobile SDK, Palm WCA, Java BREW/J2ME, RIM Blackberry Java Tools and Macromedia Flash. Common modes of delivery are also briefly summarised, for example, Flash Lite, Pocket Internet Explorer (PIE), Microsoft Windows Media Player, Audible, and Vector Graphics.

Chapter 9 discusses how companies can combine learning and performance to provide mobile-based services, especially in the area of Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Solutions are discussed for one of the major problems that current mobile technologies present, namely, their inability to deal with large amounts of data. Another focus is the potential offered by mobile devices with location-awareness, particularly when integrated into business processes such as quality inspection or reviewing inventoried items via wireless devices with next generation RFID (Radio Frequency IDentifier).

Chapter 10 presents examples of two of the main trends in mobile learning: sychronisation and voice-based access to data content. Sychronisation refers to the ability to have the same data available both locally (desktop) and while ‘on-the-go’ (mobile device). The ability to combine these features will be central to making mobile devices as powerful as desktops in the years ahead. Similarly, while voice and data used to be separated, a case is made for the development of next generation mobile devices to integrate them, therefore enabling more effective data transmission.

In conclusion, Chapter 11 presents a range of mLearning implications for next generation technologies. The most prominent examples are: location-aware learning, augmented reality, mobile collaboration, mobile gaming and simulation, and expert location. The background to many of these developments will be new attitudes that enable the integration of mLearning in peoples’ professional and working lives. In addition, a survey is presented relating to the potential of eBooks using mobile devices, developments in handtop computing, wearable computers, iPods, and mobile gaming.

The book is surely correct to argue that a fundamental shift in learning and therefore teaching styles has to take place in order to fully exploit the new mobile technologies in instructional contexts. While the book has evident deficiencies – no consistent use of references, quotations not identified by page number, at times a rather inadequate layout – its 157 pages present a timely overview for trainers in the corporate sector, precisely because of its appeal to the generalist rather than the specialist.

Metcalf, D. S. 2006, mLearning: Mobile Learning and Performance in the Palm of your Hand, Amherst, Massachusetts, HRD Press Inc. $19.95 (paperback), pp. viii + 157. ISBN: 0-87425-906-1.

Reviewed by Michael Thomas, Associate Professor, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business, Japan.

Useful Links

mLearn Conferences http://www.mlearn2006.org

United Nations World Summit on Information Society http://www.itu.int/wsis/

References

Kukulska-Hulme, A. & Traxler, J. (eds), 2005, Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers, Routledge, London and New York.

Nokia 2005, ‘Nokia Capital Market Days 2005: Nokia defines strategy and targets for continued profitable growth’. Retrieved 28 March 2006 from http://press.nokia.com/PR/200512/1023902_5.html