LEVERAGING TRENDS IN ELEARNING

Leveraging Trends in eLearning to Better Serve Students & Clients

Dolores Alexander, Laura Davis and Michael Weissenfluh University of Colorado Denver - Fall 2012

Overview
ACK, the Australian College of Kuwait has had impressive growth to date. Its services have expanded as has its corporate client list. ACK serves more students each year than the previous year and is now opening wide the doors of its Foundation Program to allow access to all members of Kuwait society. Part of ACKs success is undoubtedly due to its mission to provide education and training by enabling human potential within a culture of care. By staying up to date, and using all the tools at our service, ACK can continue to be a leading training provider in Kuwait. We propose that ACK consider two tools that are emerging in the industries of training and education. One tool, mobile learning, or mLearning, is already getting into full swing. The other tool, gesture based computing, is just a couple years into the future but could have a profound impact on our training programs. The time to begin planning for the use of these tools is now.

mLearning
What is mlearning? Generally speaking, it is education and training that uses a mobile device. Although laptops are portable, we usually dont carry laptops around with us so they are generally not considered to be an mLearning device. Tablets? There is debate over whether tablets such as the iPad should be considered as mLearning devices or whether they constitute a new category, tLearning. Since most students at ACK do own a tablet and a smartphone, we will consider the use of both of these devices as being important tools at our disposal. This proposal considers the use of tablet learning as mobile learning only when its used in a mobile way. Otherwise, it wouldnt be mlearning, it would just be elearning. As Quinn states (2012b), If your mobile solution isnt doing something unique because of where (or when) you are, if its not doing something unique to the context, its not mlearning. Using a tablet like a laptop is not mlearning. If youre using it to solve problems in your location, to access information you need here and now, its mobile, whether pocketable or not. Thats what

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mlearning is, and its mostly about performance support, or contextualized learning augmentation... Why use mLearning? Mobile phone technology has been adopted more quickly and reached market saturation more quickly than any other technology in history. According to Clark Quinn (2012c), a respected thought leader in mLearning, As I mentioned in my bit on the general stage at mLearnCon, mobile is the fastest-growing giant industry in history (quoting Tomi Anon), reaching a billion dollars in the shortest time ever. This growth has been paralleled for mlearning as well. Im seeing signs everywhere... In a 2010 report by Ambient Research, they asserted that, the worldwide market for Mobile Learning products and services reached $3.2 Billion in 2010. The five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 22.7% and revenues will reach $9.1 billion by 2015. In the last few years, there has been a noticeable shift from distributed learning to proximity or Locationbased Learning: learning experiences situated where learners are located. This type of Mobile Learning on location is in the "market creation" phase, which is characterized by modest revenues and strong growth. The following infographics are from Sarah Kesslers Mashable.com (2011). They show how pervasive mobile phone usage is and how important it has become to us.

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Clearly, if everyone already has these devices, their use is increasing, they access the web, and they allow for personalization, why not incorporate their use into our business model? How should it be used? What makes mLearning special is that it can bring personalized information to the user right when they need it. Imagine two technicians who work for the same company. Each one is in the field, trouble shooting a repair call and needs extra help. The first technician is very experienced, the second is not. If both technicians have profiles created back at the mobile learning site, and they text in for help, they can automatically be given different responses based on their profiles. The more experienced tech might simply need to know if certain parts are available so he can decide which path to take in dealing with the repair. The other tech might need a checklist to help him trouble shoot to make sure he has fully analyzed the problem.

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Pocketable devices for mlearning are usually used for shorter messages and are unique in their capability of providing location, time, and context. If a tablet is used for mlearning, then video can be incorporated but video is generally not the best choice for use on pocketable devices. Clark Quinn (2012a) suggests that it is not wise to try to provide a course on a mobile device. He suggests some important things to keep in mind when designing a mobile solution for your clients training needs include: ...While it might be about augmenting a course, its more likely to be access to information and people, as well as computational support. Mobile learning is really mobile performance support and mobile social. The third key phrase emphasizes taking a strategic approach: Wheres the business need? Here were emphasizing the where and the business. Whats important is thinking about meeting real business needs, with metrics and everything. What do the folks who are performing away from their desks need? What small thing could you be doing that would make that activity have a much more positive impact on the bottom line? The fourth phrase is specifically focused on design: Whats the least I can do for you? Its not about doing everything you can, but instead focusing on the minimal impact to get folks back into the workflow. Mobile is about the 20% of the features that will meet 80% of the need... Do you have a mobile solution? ...if a vendor ...doesnt have a mobile solution, I reckon its a deal-breaker... Another excellent use for mLearning is through teaching games. These are games that could be designed by corporate training as an attractive, effective learning solution to solve training needs and ease the traffic on departments such as IT and HR. Marcus Boyes, a prominent elearning expert, listed 24 benefits of mobile learning including: convenience, relevance, learner control, good use of lag time (e.g travel time, waiting time), fits many learning styles, improves social learning, encourages reflection, easy evidence collection, supported decision making, speedier remediation, easily digestible learning, improved learner confidence, heightened engagement, great for induction, can be tracked via WiFi, cost-effective build, big data tracking, context sensitive, and personalized. The following are some specific examples for how ACK can use mlearning in our classes right now. Our English foundation students can use their mobile phones to record conversations in English, take photos of signs in English, post to wikis, blogs, and twitter in English, participate in a quest using clues texted by their instructor, take video or photos that illustrate events they participate in that they later describe in English, play games in English, work together via twitter or blog posts to understand a poem or reading.

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Business students can use their phones in class to do web searches on marketing techniques, quarterly reports, and a comparison of business websites. They can enhance their understanding of topics in class by collaboratively learning on a blog, wiki, or twitter exchange. They can use their phones to take comparative photos of advertisements, business locations, and QR codes. Digital student work can be fed into an eportfolio. Engineering students can use their phones to take comparative photos in the field, practice trouble shooting in the field with information from their phones, collaborate on assignments, gather information from thought leaders via blogs and tweets, and records notes on engineering problems or solutions that they encounter outside of ACK. Our corporate training department can design mlearning solutions for business clients who need support for their employees while theyre on the job. Mobiles can also be used for formative assessments. Students can text answers to questions while theyre doing a project, allowing the instructor to see how well theyre comprehending concepts. A clicker app allows students to use their cell phones as clickers to answer questions, letting the instructor understand what concepts need additional review. Issues to be aware of and to plan for include implementation, design across platforms, limitations of small screen size, integration with our LMS, training of staff, classroom management, and costs associated with development. Some studies have shown that attention and retention are negatively affected by small screen size. When designing mLearning, the designer must be careful to know the technical needs of the end user, which devices to design for, or whether to design across all devices. In addition, designing an app that uses geolocation, camera integration, social media, and interactivity is a complex and time-consuming task (Clark, 2012b). Using mobile phones in a classroom that had prior banned the use of mobile phones does take some classroom management. Initially, the technology can be as disruptive as it is useful (Drury, 2012) but with proper implementation and planning, it can quickly become a very useful aid. Looking forward, we can plan for delivering training that has the flexibility to be used in a variety of situations and contexts, by a variety of people and at a variety of times. By focusing on content, tagging it, describing it, and locating it for our clients just when they need it, ACK can position itself as a leader in the training industry in the Middle East. This is called having a focus on content architecture (Quinn, 2012a) and allows for a smarter training solution.

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Below is a visual of the development of mobile learning including future trends. It even includes the term nomophobia, i.e. the fear of being out of mobile phone contact, which shows just how dependent many are on their mobile phones. In the future section of this graph, we can see gesture control language as an upcoming use. Gesture based computing is another area that ACK might consider adding to its business plan.

Return on Investment
According to elearning expert, Marcus Boyes (2011), ...mobile learning is cheaper than booking the resources required for face-to-face training or supplying laptops and other computing devices for elearning. And it can be easily pushed out to learners personal devices. Apps such as Angry Birds, which has been downloaded over 12 million times, can be highly profitable for the developer.

LEVERAGING TRENDS IN ELEARNING Gesture-based computing

An exciting trend that ACK might consider adding to its business model is gesture-based computing. Elearning has evolved over recent years from the more formal face to face classroom education. This is in part because of the expansion of computer use and handheld mobile devices. The future of elearning seems promising. The New Media Consortium notes the following. Gesture-based computing is changing the ways that we interact with computers, both physically and mechanically. As such, it is at once transformative and disruptive. Researchers and developers are gaining a sense of the cognitive and cultural dimensions of gesture-based communicating, and the full realization of the potential of gesture-based computing within higher education will require intensive interdisciplinary collaborations and innovative thinking about the very nature of teaching, learning, and communicating. The New Media Consortium (2012) also reports that gesture-based computing is among the top six emerging technology trends with a time-toadopt horizon of 4 to 5 years. Let us examine what gesture-based computing is, why it is gaining momentum, where it is used, how it is affecting elearning and examine any implications or risk it might raise. Based on our findings, we will look at return on investment (ROI) and explore areas where gesture-based computing can be beneficial to ACK. What is gesture-based computing? The New Media Consortium (NMC) describes this as alternative forms of input devices that allow computers to recognize and interpret natural physical gestures as a means of control and allow users to engage in virtual activities with motions and movements similar to what they would use in the real world, manipulating content intuitively. Gestures may take the form of touching, swiping with hands, pointing with finger body movement, voice and facial expression. As such, the control of devices are no longer limited to the use of a mouse, joystick or keyboard. Gesture based computing is dominating the gaming industry and heading towards eLearning. The New Media Consortium notes that gesture based computing and the other trends observed are occurring because of the realities of the time, both in the sphere of higher education and in the world

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at large. Historically, the times and current needs of a society often determine the direction and use of technology. As such, the NMC has identified these key drivers of educational technology adoption in order of rank. 1. People expect to be able to work, learn and study whenever and wherever they want to. 2. The technologies we use are increasingly cloud-based, and our notions of IT support are decentralized. 3. The world of work is increasingly collaborative, driving changes in the way student projects are structured. 4. The abundance of resources and relationships made easily accessible via the internet is increasingly challenging us to revisit our roles as educators. 5. Education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning and collaborative models. 6. There is a new emphasis in the classroom on more challenge-based and active learning. These dynamics, working in tandem with advancement in technology and social media are changing how learning takes place. So where is gesture based computing taking place? Gesture based computing currently dominates the gaming industry and is now gaining momentum in education and electronics. The ability to virtually interact with a device in a personal way is mentally stimulating, motivating and provides a fun experience. In gaming, this can be seen with the Wii and the use of the Wiimote for gesture recognition. Another example is Microsoft Kinect that uses gestures and spoken commands to control the device. The NMC notes that, these systems recognize and interpret patterns in gross motor movements, including body movements and facial expressions. Players can jump, dance, point, and move and their actions catalyze the actions that take place on the screen. In the field of education, and elearning in particular, this can be seen, for example, with the development of programs like the Apple iBook Author. This App allow books to be written that encompass rich graphics, movies, photo galleries, math expressions, animations, and more. Instructors can create interactive material that can be manipulated with hand gestures on an iPad. (Apple, 2012). Click on this link to observe the motivation that gesture-based computing can generate. http://www.youtube.com/embed/nO_rW1KIMlM

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The implications for eLearning are broad. The NMC reported that, Devices that encourage users to touch them, move, or otherwise use play as a means to explore are particularly intriguing to schools. Such devices, which currently are primarily illustrated by Android and Apple Smartphones and tablets, the Microsoft surface and Prometheans ActivPanel, the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect Systems, open up a wide range of uses for learners. Gesture-enabled devices aid collaboration, sharing, and group interactions. Some areas where gesture-based computing are being used include Art, Fashion Design and Music. So far, not much has been done in the area of adult education and eLearning. A problem that gesture-based computing can run into might be the barrier of gesture miss-interpretation with different cultures. We recently discovered ConcurrentTechCorp (2012), a non-profit research and development company that is currently exploring a number of potential applications in the area of learning and human performance. ConcurrentTechCorp is carrying out its simulation and learning research with two types of technology; gesture-based computing and brain computer interfaces. The application being used to produce this is the Microsoft Kinect. The time for mainstream adoption is 5 to 10 years. Future applications being researched are as follows.

Table 1 - Applications with mainstream adoption of 5-10 years Application Neurofeedback Adaptive Peak Performance Trainer (APPT) Neurostimulation Description Practice generating the state of mind most beneficial to their sport, art or desired behavior Real-time analyses of EEG and heart rate to provide automated feedback of trainees psychophysiological state in relation to an expertise profile Modulation of the nervous system and electrically activate neurons in the body - including sight and sound

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Application Thought Pattern Recognition Gesture-Based Avatar Training

10
Description

Mental state identification to deliver dynamically adaptive training, gauge operator readiness. Train avatar by recording realistic human behaviour instead of via code. Intelligent reaction of avatars, avatars that be in a realistic way through gestures and body language - kinesics Operators in sterile and/or hostiile environments who cannot use their hands

Touch Free Interfaces

An important factor to note, according to ConcurrentTechCorp, is that gesture-based computing and brain computer interface technologies are: Affordable: systems are <$1000 Supported: Open source ecosystem Mature: Available commercially Intuitive: Low cost human capital requirements

Return on investment can be attractive for gesture based computing because it uses commercially available technology. Based on the report from ConcurrentTechCorp regarding the cost of resources for these technologies, the ROI from its use could be high. ACK students could use gesture-based computing to practice any type of engineering or mechanical activity virtually. It would require some initial development time, a kinect box and a laptop. Eventually, this could reduce ACKs equipment expense while attracting more students with the up to date technology. Since ACK specializes in training mechanics, oil and gas engineers and civil engineers, gesture-based computing can be used in the design of control systems for automated operations and for training personel on the move. Avatars can be used for simulated instructions when on the go. For example, using the Microsoft Kinect Application or iBooks can be created with course materials and stored on the Cloud. When engineers have need for a particular resource, they can access it easily on an iPad and access all the media interactivity that it affords.

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Though gesture-based computing is gaining ground in gaming, its use in eLearning is somewhat stunted. However, as ConcurrentTechCorp revealed, research work is being conducted with gesture-based computing and brain computer interfaces. Though the adoption may be several years away, the broad range of usage with gesture based learning, the value it brings to eLearning and where and who is being impacted, we can predict that the world will continue to see sustained use of this type of learning. For ACK to become a leader in using these technologies, and to develop new training skills with them, we might start with a pilot program to develop corporate training and to experiment in a small number of classes. If successful, the pilot program could be developed into an ongoing program.

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Ally, M. (editor) 2009. Mobile Learning Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training Ambient Insight Research. (2010) The Worldwide Market for Mobile Learning Products and Services: 2010-2015 Forecast and Analysis Apple, Inc. (2012). Interactive magic in every book. Retrieved from: http://www.apple.com/education/ibooks-textbooks/gallery.html A Nascent Market Surges - The Emergence of Lucrative Mobile Learning Value Added Services (VAS). Retrieved from http://www.ambientinsight.com/Reports/MobileLearning.aspx Boyes, M. (2011, December 17). ELn Insights. 24 benefits of mobile learning [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://insights.elearningnetwork.org/?p=507 Clark, D. (2012, January 26). Donald Clark Plan B. M-learning - be careful a7-point primer. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2012/01/m-learning-be-careful-7point-primer.html ConcurrentTechCorp (2012). Simulation & learning using gesture-based computing & brain computer interfaces. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPyybhOntAU Drury, E. (2012, September 10). Mobile phones in the classroom: Teachers share their tips. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/2012/sep/10/mobilephones-classroom-teaching Gundotra, V. (2010, February 25). Barcelona: Mobile First [Web log comment]. http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/02/barcelonamobile-first.html Jackson, S. (2012, April 20). The magic of going mobile: Augmented reality, design thiinking and the power of place [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/the-magic-ofgoing-mobile-augmented-reality-design-thinking-power-place/

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Kessler, S. (2011, March 23). Mobile by the numbers [Infographic] [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/03/23/mobileby-the-numbers-infogrpahic/ Kinect Education. (2011). The whole-person learner: kinecting the gaps in education. Retrieved from: http://www.kinecteducation.com/blog/2011/12/06/the-whole-personlearner-kinecting-the-gaps-in-education/ Marcinek, A. (2012, October 5). Dispelling the myths about 1:1 environments [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/dispelling-one-to-one-myths-andrewmarcinek Quinn, C. (2012, June 20). 5 Phrases to make mobile work. [WEb log comment]. Retrieved from http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=2754 Quinn, C. (2012, July 30). Content Systems: Next Generation Opportunities. In Learning Solutions Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/976/ Quinn, C. (2012, August 28). The tablet proposition. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=2851 Quinn, C. (2012, September 7). mLearning signs of growth: Now Asia [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=2862 Quinn, C. (2012, November 14). Extending the tablet proposition [Web lob comment]. Retrieved from http://blog.learnlets.com/?cat=3 Stead, G. (2012, October 2). Moblearn: An agent for change. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://moblearn.blogspot.com/2012/10/toptips-for-mlearning-wisdom-of-crowd.html Stimpson, K. (2011, October 27). Tips for educators: Online, blended, and mobile learning. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://tips4blended.posterous.com/8-ways-to-jumpstart-mobilelearning-in-your-c The New Media Consortium. (2012). Horizon report: 2012 Higher Education. Retrieved from: http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2012-horizon-report-HE.pdf