Handheld Learning 2008, Tips for a Great Conference
October 7, 2008 by Mark van 't Hooft
Dear Delegate,
We are looking forward to welcoming you next week to Handheld Learning 2008. This years conference is the biggest yet with a phenomenal line-up of speakers and participants.
To help you get the best out of the 3 days we are sending you this newsletter containing some useful tips.
Download and view the conference programme
The programme provides you with details of what’s happening where and who’s speaking along with their biographies. Further details of the talks can be found online
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As we are not running a seat reservation system for breakouts this year we recommend that if you’d like to attend a particular session you get there in good time to take your seat.
Download the programme here
Bring your Nintendo DS with you!
Those delegates who registered early will have received their Nintendo DS or will be collecting it from the venue on Monday 13th. Please bring it to the conference fully charged as we hope that you will use it during the conference sessions to interact with fellow delegates using the built in Pictochat system.
For more information about using Pictochat please go here
Also please bring your Brain Training game so you can play with other delegates during the breaks and social meetings!
Bring your mobile phone and twitter!
Interact with fellow delegates using your mobile phone and Twitter. For more information about using Twitter at the conference please visit here
Use your mobile phone to ask questions
During the conference sessions in the main room (Port Tun) we will be using a system provided by Txttools to allow questions to be sent to the session chairs via SMS. Simply precede your message with HHL and then send your question to 88020.
Messages are sent at standard network rates.
Review the delegate list and make connections
A partial delegate list can be seen here
Collect your delegate materials on Monday 13th October
Beat the crush and collect your delegate materials at the venue on Monday 13th October. Doors open at 11:00 am and there is lots to do including:
Exhibition
Next Generation Learning Showcase
Learners Y Factor with Johnny Ball
Pecha Kucha for 21st Century Learners
The Pecha Kucha session is hosted by Dan Sutch from Futurelab and your participation is invited. Please contact Dan here to get your slot.
A cash bar selling refreshments and sandwiches will be available throughout the day.
For delegates arriving on Tuesday or Wednesday, doors open at 08:30 for collection of delegate materials and check-in.
Directions to the venue may be found here
Hear Lord Puttnam’s Closing Keynote
Lord David Puttnam will be delivering the closing keynote, which is not to be missed, at 16:15 on Wednesday 15th.
Our legendary prize draw follows where amazing prizes will be won including Vye laptops, RM minibooks, Nintendo Wii, Sony PS3, Nokia Internet Tablets, games from Slitherine and much more!
Come to the Handheld Learning Awards Party!
Celebrate with your fellow innovators and join in the fun.
The awards party is free to attend and starts with a drinks reception at 19:00 with awards at 20:30. There will be live music and videogame tournaments with great opportunities to network and socialise until 23:00. Light snacks will be served during the evening.
More information about the party may be found here
We trust that you will find these tips useful and we wish you a safe and pleasant journey to the conference.
See you next week!
3rd WLE Mobile Learning Symposium: Mobile Learning Cultures across Education, Work and Leisure
October 7, 2008 by Mark van 't Hooft
Via Norbert Pachler. I contributed to this workshop last year even though I wasn’t able to attend. Should be well worth it again.
The Centre for Work-based Learning and Education (WLE), at the Institute of Education, London, in conjunction with the London Mobile Learning Group (LMLG), will hold the
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3rd WLE Mobile Learning Symposium: Mobile Learning Cultures across Education, Work and Leisure
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on 27 March 2009 at the WLE Centre, IOE London, UK.
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The symposium aims to address different audiences, with a focus on education professionals and practitioners from school, further, higher and adult education as well as clinical settings, work and leisure. It will focus on mobile learning theory and practice in education, work and leisure and will address the following themes: „Learning across contexts“, „Cultural approaches to mobile learning“ and „Status quo, visions and conjectures“. Interdisciplinary approaches and thematic crossovers, both in theory and practice, are particularly welcome. Work in progress and international contributions are encouraged.
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Registration for the symposium is free but numbers are limited. Priority will be given to authors of accepted abstracts.
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Important dates:
-Â Â Â Â Â 1 October 2008: First call for expressions of interest and extended abstracts.
-Â Â Â Â Â 3 November 2008: Second call for expressions of interest and extended abstracts.
-Â Â Â Â Â 30 January 2009 - 27 February 2009: Registration.
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Further dates and detailed information about the Symposium is available in the attached flyer as well as on the symposium website at http://symposium.londonmobilelearning.net.
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Dr. Norbert Pachler (WLE Centre, IOE London, UK)
Judith Seipold M.A. (University of Kassel, Germany / Associate at the WLE Centre, IOE London, UK)
Dr. Giasemi Vavoula (Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester, UK)
Prof. Agnes Kukulska-Hulme (Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, UK)
Image Credit: London Mobile Learning Group:
http://www.londonmobilelearning.net/images/WLE-logo_225×141px.jpg
Carnival of the Mobilists #144
October 6, 2008 by Mark van 't Hooft
All the way from Israel this week comes the 144th installment of the Carnival of the Mobilists. Some amazing posts this week. My favorite has to be Rudy De Waele’s review of the South Korean mobile market. I’ll be in the U.K. and Taiwan later this month and hope to be able to make similar observations.
Image Credit: Carnival of the Mobilists, Logo:
http://www.mobili.st/images/cotm-button.jpg
Handheld Learning 2008 Program Now Live
October 1, 2008 by Mark van 't Hooft
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The program for the Handheld Learning 2008 Conference is now live, with an impressive line-up of speakers and events. I’ve only been able to skim it so far, but it looks great! Make sure to go back and visit from time to time as the program is still being updated.
I’m looking forward to participating again this year, and it’s less than two weeks away. I’ll be doing one presentation on a mobile phone project we’ve been working on and will chair the research strand on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Image Credit: Handheld Learning,
http://www.handheldlearning2008.com/media/guide-cover.jpg
Carnival of the Mobilists #143
September 29, 2008 by Mark van 't Hooft
Even though the Dow Jones dropped 778 points and stocks like Apple and Google took some solid hits today, the Carnival of the Mobilists just keeps on going. This week’s edition is hosted on the Smartphones Show.Â
Image Credit: Carnival of the Mobilists, Logo:
http://www.mobili.st/images/cotm-button.jpg
Another Update on the Handheld Learning Conference: Awards Finalists
September 25, 2008 by Mark van 't Hooft
Finalists Now Announced!
Fasttrack to awards page hereDear Colleague
Vote now!
The Judges have reviewed the nominations and have decided on the Finalists. Now it is up to you to decide the winners.
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You may cast your vote via standard rate (or international standard rate if using non-UK operator) SMS txt message. Voting closes on Thursday October 9th at midnight GMT.We are pleased to announce that the main sponsor for the Awards is:
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Award categories have been kindly sponsored by:
Come to the Party!
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Monday 13th October, The Brewery, London, 19:00 - 23:00The party is a celebration of people and innovation in new learning and teaching practice. Attendance is FREE to all Handheld Learning Conference delegates, finalists and their guests.
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Rather than a dreary dinner jacket dinner affair (after all, there is no dinner!) the evening promises to be highly entertaining and enjoyable featuring:
- Live Blues and Jazz Jam (bring your talent!)
- Drinks reception (lashings of ginger beer)
- Cash bar (take it easy!)
- Videogame tournaments (how old is your brain?)
- Socialising & networking (work it baby!)And…
The presentation of the awards with Johnny Ball as MC.
Unassigned seating is available for those tired of dancing but there is a limited number of tables that may be reserved (small fee involved) along with drinks pre-ordering for those wishing to celebrate in style and make sure they are near the stage. For information on this option click here
We look forward to seeing you at the party!
The Handheld Learning Team (meet us)
Meet the Handheld Learning Award Judges (here)
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Image Credits: http://handheldlearning2008.com
Update on Handheld Learning 2008
September 23, 2008 by Mark van 't Hooft
Getting closer! I’ll be presenting of some of the work with mobile phones we’ve been doing at Kent State as well as coordinating the research strand. From the folks at Handheld Learning:
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Countdown to Handheld Learning
Register now!
Dear Colleague
Great news about one of the fastest growing conference’s for new learning and teaching practice. Nearly 800 delegates have now registered and we have less than 100 places left. Please register now if you haven’t already and save £50. Final block bookings are also being taken, click here for more information.
The conference programme has been updated and features an unprecedented, not to be missed, line-up of world renowned thought leaders, innovators and key practitioners over a breath-taking three days. Without doubt this is the most ambitious programme we have ever compiled. Please take a look here.
We are pleased to announce that Disney and Studywiz are supporting the event as main sponsors:
Cindy Rose, Senior VP, Disney Interactive Media Group will be presenting in the “Virtual Worlds & Social Networks” session and Geoff Elwood, CEO, Etech / Studywiz will present in the “New Learning Horizons” discussion.
O2 are hosting an interactive workshop titled “Engaged, Inspired Mobile Learners” featuring presentations from Dr Mike Short, Dr David Whyley, Kirsty Tonks, Sandra Taylor and Richard Barkey.
Promethean are hosting the “Emerging Technologies and New Practices” sessions in the Promethean Pavilion, chaired by Mark Robinson, featuring a range of presentations and workshops from practitioners working at the leading edge.
As part of this years debut research strand, Stuart Anderson, senior engineer, Apple UK will be running an important one hour workshop for those developing applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
In addition to the conference there is the largest exhibition devoted to the use of mobile technologies for learning featuring the leading players in this sector. Please see here.
For those unable to join the full conference please note that the Handheld Learning Festival - powered by Next Generation Learning on Monday 13th October is FREE to attend and participate in. There’s a lot going on including:
Next Generation Learning Showcase
Learners Y Factor with Johnny Ball
Pecha Kucha for 21st Century Educators
Learners & Practitioners Zone
Exhibition
And in the evening we have the FREE to attend Handheld Learning Awards for Innovation (tables may be reserved, click here for more information).
We very much look forward to seeing you at this years conference!
The Handheld Learning Team (meet us)
The Advisory Group (meet us)
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Carnival of the Mobilists #142
September 22, 2008 by Mark van 't Hooft
Hosted this week by entrepreneur Ofir Leitner at Next Generation Mobile Content, the Carnival is brimming with posts about the latest mobile ideas and projects.
Image Credit: Carnival of the Mobilists, Logo:
http://www.mobili.st/images/cotm-button.jpg
Regulating Content on/in Student Owned Tools: Where Do We Draw the Line?
September 21, 2008 by Mark van 't HooftÂ
Regulation of content on student-owned digital tools (whether hardware or online) by school authorities has been an ongoing debate for a while now (see for example this post  or this article I wrote about a year and a half ago). Where do we draw the line? The issue has become even stickier when it comes to student-created content outside of school that has nothing to do with learning, but could be considered immoral, illegal, or unethical. Often, this content will make its way to students, teachers, and/or administrators and have substantial consequences, such as in the case of a student in North Carolina who was suspended for 10 days for posting an altered picture of his school’s assistant principal on MySpace (Student Press Law Center); or a 2005 incident in which school officials of the Northside School District in San Antonio, TX considered holding MySpace responsible for unrest caused at a high school after several students posted threatening messages on the Web site.
Now this discussion has become even more heated with regards to the use of student-owned mobile phones for learning. According to a post by Tony Twiss on the Upwardly Mobile Blog:
Something that a number of students involved in focus groups I have conducted has been students questioning whether or not their phones would become regulated if they were to be used for school. They are talking about the personal content on their phones - and while none have specifically mentioned pornography, an example of offensive content such as racist images was given.
So - debates about what is and isn’t acceptable on a person’s private property that is being used for school will really start to heat up as the walls come down and cellphones creep in to schools. However, I think this is healthy.
Obviously this debate will not be limited to mobile phones as more digital tools make their way into schools, especially web-based ones.
Image Credit: “Librarian completely disregarding his own “no mobiles” sign”, from hugovk’s photostream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hugovk/10983383/
Mobile Learning 2009 in Barcelona
September 18, 2008 by Mark van 't HooftOver the past three years Mobile and Social technologies have featured strongly in the Horizon Report series which examines emerging technologies likely to have an impact on teaching, learning. Mobile devices have progressed from an adoption projection of two to three years in 2006, to a much more imminent adoption prediction trajectory of a year or less in 2008. Whether earlier the educational value of mobile technologies was thought to be delivery of content to people’s devices, the emphasis now has clearing changed to focus on their capabilities that enable users creating and sharing content.  Â
The ‘former audience’ combines traditional activities such as searching, reading, watching and listening, with producing, commenting, sharing, and classifying its own content. New genres of filmmaking and photography where the message gains ground over the form are developing. The proliferation of user-created content is fuelled by the wide availability of at-hand mundane technology such as mobile telephones, and the wider broadcasting outlets. These are mainly web-based however increasingly user-created content such as videos of breaking news stories feature in traditional broadcasting channels as for instance television.
The IADIS Mobile Learning 2009 International Conference seeks to provide a forum for the discussion and presentation of mobile learning research. In particular, but not exclusively, we aim to explore the transition from content consumer to content creator in experiences that take advantage of the learning opportunities this provides.
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