eLearning 3.0 » Mobile Learning

Media-Rich, Flash eLearning Course running on the Google Nexus One

Lee Graham — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:57:00 +0000

This is a video demo that I created to show how easy it is to convert older Flash eLearning content so that is optimized for mobile devices. There is an actual demo towards the end that shows how smooth it runs on the Google Nexus One (running Android 2.2 FroYo and Flash Player 10.1 for Mobiles).

RESOURCES:

Authoring mobile Flash content for multiple screen sizes

Optimizing Performance for the Flash Platform

Why the Kindle Failed Higher Education

Lee Graham — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:01:49 +0000

I remember the Kindle was first announced, I thought this was the beginning of a revolution, but after getting my hands on one I remember that I really disliked the monochrome screen and lack of functionality for such a high priced device. The Kindle has proven people are love being able to read on the go.

KINDLE COST FAIL

The 6″ Kindle is $259 & the 9.7″ Kindle is $489 and Amazon boasts a 16 shades of gray, monochrome screen. Currently, you can get an iPad (9.7″ screen) that can almost replace your PC for $499. Plus, the iPad has a Kindle app for free where you can read your books in color. You tell me which is a better deal.

On top of the initial cost of the devices, you still have to pay for the eTextbooks for your Kindle.

The Seattle Times said, “At the University of Virginia, as many as 80 percent of MBA students who participated in Amazon’s pilot program said they would not recommend the Kindle DX as a classroom study aid (though more than 90 percent liked it for pleasure reading).”

KINDLE ENGAGEMENT FAIL

The current student population is part of the “entertain me” generation. They want to be engaged, as well as, entertained as they learn. Let’s face it, the typical eTextbooks are pretty much just static, plain Jane, PDFs. There is nothing about the current digital textbooks that are interactive. This engagement gap is where the future of eTextbooks and eLearning is going.

The Seattle Times also stated,”‘At Princeton University and Portland-based Reed College, a small liberal-arts institution, students praised the Kindle for its long battery life, paper savings and portability. They then complained they couldn’t scribble notes in the margins, easily highlight passages or fully appreciate color charts and graphics.”

“TO INFINITY AND BEYOND…” (Great quote from Buzz Lightyear)

Amazon was headed in the right direction when they went with a mobile reader, but students desire a more engaging learning experience. If you can deliver a better digital learning experience for eTextbooks at a reasonable price point, you can win the hearts (and minds) of thousands of students across the globe.

THE TABLET EXPERIENCE

Being the Mac Geek that I am, I bought my iPad when it first went on pre-order and it was delivered that first Saturday. Even though its expensive, it is truly a wonderful device. Take a look at the Wired Magazine iPad app released yesterday. Now imagine that being your eTextbook!

Now compare that to a typical ePub formatted eBook running on the Kindle iPad App:

I really like the Wired app because of the rich media experience and the level of engagement is 100 times better. Everywhere I go with my iPad, many are interested in it and wants to see what it can do. A little over a month ago it was a couple of college students in Starbucks. Last weekend, it was an older gentleman at the local community market. Tablets are the future of education and digital media consumption in my opinion! As this summer is get starterd, we should see a whole slew of Google Android tablets hitting the markets that will compete with Apple’s iPad. Most are priced cheaper than the iPad and can be as low as $150.

Personally, I’m looking forward to Notion Ink’s ADAM. This is for a number of reasons, but mostly because Google supports open development and freedom to use whatever tools you want to develop content and applications for their open source operating system (Android). As a part of every eLearning developer’s wish list the Notion Ink ADAM will support Adobe Flash & AIR for Android apps!

Do you have a Kindle? Do you have an iPad? What are your thoughts? Can it be that next great technological leap for education?

RESOURCES

Amazon CEO: Kindle won’t compete with iPad - http://www.macworld.com/article/151554/2010/05/amazon_kindle_ipad.html

Computex will bring Android + ARM tablets, but are they ready? - http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/05/computex-will-bring-android-arm-tablets-but-are-they-ready.ars

iPad Screenshots – http://www.flickr.com/photos/donaldleegraham/sets/72157624016518073/

Amazon.com’s Kindle fails first college test – http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2011938870_kindle24.html

eduNation Project

Lee Graham — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:05:36 +0000

There are just too many great sites, articles, blog posts and tutorials on eLearning out there!

Here are a few that I read daily:

THE PROBLEM

We don’t have enough time in each day to keep jumping from website-to-website to view all of this amazing content!

THE SOLUTION

We don’t have enough time in each day to keep jumping from website-to-website. We are working on an project called, “eduNation” that will function as an aggregator of these great sites!

More in-depth info about the project will be coming in the next couple of weeks, but we know we want it available as both iPhone Apps & iPad Apps.

PARTICIPATE

If you have a blog or podcast that you write/produce about eLearning and want to be included in our app please fill out the form below or visit this link: http://www.formstack.com/forms/trimagination-edunation

No related posts.

Will Barnes & Noble give Amazon’s Kindle a Worthy Fight?

Lee Graham — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:43:14 +0000

Quoted from PlasticLogic.com – Barnes & Noble Launches Worlds Largest eBookstore:

“Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, announced today the launch of the Barnes & Noble eBookstore (www.bn.com/ebooks), the world’s largest eBookstore, on Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), enabling customers to buy eBooks and read them on a wide range of platforms, including the iPhone and iPod touch, BlackBerry® smartphones, as well as most Windows® and Mac® laptops or full-sized desktop computers. In addition, Barnes & Noble announced that it will be the exclusive eBookstore provider on the forthcoming and much anticipated Plastic Logic eReader device.”

Click here to read the full press release…

Amazon clearly has an advantage currently in the educational realm. While B&N has 700,000+ books with the expectation of over a million within a year, the issue is that they don’t have any eTextbooks or educational section yet. Amazon already has a deal with major educational publishers (Cengage Learning, Pearson, and Wiley, etc…) to provide their traditional textbook in an eTextbook format on the Kindle.

So how does this impact the educational community? Well if you remember, Barnes & Noble (B&N) is in bed with many of the major universities in the United States, so that could mean they will have an easier time getting their eTextbooks into the classroom. So if B&N could strike a similar deal with the traditional textbook publishers they may have an advantage, but for now B&N can’t complete in the educational world yet.

But if you are looking for a new eBook platform, the smartest thing Barnes & Noble is doing is the ubiquitous platform launch – simply meaning, they are releasing across many various platform: iPhone, iPod Touch, computers (both Windows and Macs), and Plastic Logic eReader (coming in the future).

The real question to me is… Does Barnes & Noble want a piece of the $5.4 billion textbook industry? IF they do, they already have the inside track to the major universities.

Why the Kindle Failed Higher Education

My Personal eLearning Goals for 2009

Lee Graham — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:34:11 +0000

In my last post I gave you my eLearning 3.0 Wish List for 2009, and then someone asked me, “Who do you think will be the person/company to pioneer these items on your list?” That made me think for a minute and I honestly could not name a definitive source.

So I’ve decided my goal for 2009 is to try to create a working demos of each of the items on my eLearning 3.0 Wish List and post them here on this blog.

Also in 2009, you will start seeing interviews with creative and innovative people in eLearning leaders, sharing their concepts and ideas with you as well.

Your Wish List for eLearning in 2009

Lee Graham — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:04:16 +0000

I’m a member of a Google Group: TALO (Teaching And Learning Online), and one of the members posted a similar topic to the group and I thought it was very appropriate for all to consider.

So here is my Wish List for 2009:

Quality verse Quantity – I’m hoping people/companies get away from the crappy voice-over-powerpoint training and focus on more engaging and better quality eLearning.
Edutainment – I think the US military is actually doing something right… they are using video game like systems to train their troops, saving a good amount of money and time.

Air Force Uses Interactive Gaming Technology for Training

Army is to Spend $50 Million in Edutainment for Troops

Confidence-based Learning – I would like to see better testing methods rather than just quizzes/tests. People can memorize facts all day long in their short term memory and recall them, but what if we actually made them learn and apply.
Social/Collaborative Learning – as Michael mentioned web-conferencing and tools like Yammer, Twitter, Ning, Facebook, etc… I think we are going to be a very large part of eLearning over the next year. A nifty example is Supercool School… people volunteer to teach a class and then member of this Facebook app/group take the class.
Mobile eLearning – With the iPhone, Blackberrys, Android and other mobile devices becoming more popular the next logical step is to turn these into on-the-go training resources. Over the next year I think we will see more of this.
Distance Education – With the global economic downturn, I think traditional universities are going to be pushed more to eLearning/Distance Education. Distance education is more profitable than traditional methods, but the quality is much lower. So if the quality was up-to-par with classroom training I think it would be a logical and viable solution for more universities.
- Why Distance Education in a Rough Economy?

2009 is going to be an exciting year for the digital education realm.

Tell me your predictions or wish list!