Transcript Digital Reading Room: Present & Future

Athabasca University’s Innovation in Mobile and
Flexible Learning: From M-Library to Mobile ESL
Tony Tin, Colin Elliott & Tracey Woodburn
Athabasca
University
http://www.athabascau.ca
.

Canada’s Open University

Location: Athabasca, Alberta, Canada

More than 32,000 students

Mandate: Remove barriers for students

Leader in M-learning and M-library Research
Why advocate mobile &
flexible learning at AU?






AU students study from a distance
Quick and efficient access
Affordablility/portablility
Novelty of gadget/display
Allows individualization & self-pace
learning for students with busy lives
Supports those with special needs
What is a mobile library?
 The
idea of a mobile library
is to provide learners with
access to the university
library and to course
resources using mobile
devices
Special Features





Desktop: http://library.athabascau.ca
Mobile friendly AU Library site: Supported
device: PDA, Palmtop, Blackberry, IPAQ,
Smart phones, iPhones
The site includes mobile friendly:
 Digital Reading Room
 Digital Reference Centre
 Digital Thesis & Project Room
 Library catalogue
 Search engine
Recipient of 2006 CLA Library Research and
Development Grant award
Model adopted by UK Open University
Special Features (ctd)








Auto-detect and reformat
Learning object reuse
Easy web maintain/update
Multimedia file support
iPodcasting
Wireless library catalogue
Search
Mobile content conversion on the fly
M-library Design/Technology
From Mobile Library to Mobile
Content: Mobile ESL Project
http://eslau.ca
Overview of Project





Develop and test innovative
approaches to ESL learning using
mobile devices and a variety of
testing and practice methods
Based on best selling Penguin series
80 lessons and related interactive
exercises
Repurposed for Canadian content
Downloadable in .doc or .pdf format
Student Feedback
Students indicated that the a
good use of mobile technology
for ESL would be whenever they
have a few spare minutes
 One concern expressed was the
cost of Internet access
 Reported positive experience
with the ESL grammar course
and the use of mobile
technology in learning ESL
grammar

Results


CBC News Coverage
Honorable Mention at the 2008
CNIE Conference for Innovative use
of technologies to support Elearning
Building on the Success of the Mobile ESL Project:
Mobile Workplace English (WPE)

Provide mobile and iPhone
friendly, interactive, English
grammar lessons containing
practical, workplace specific
vocabulary and content
What is WPE? -Content


86 units with 155 interactive,
multimedia (audio and video) exercises
Vocabulary from 8 different workplace
situations:
Health and Wellness
Utilities-Oil/Gas/Mining
Trades and Labour
Food Services and Restaurants
Retail and Sales
Administration and Clerical
Hospitality and Tourism Banking and Personal Finance

http://wpeau.ca
Interactive Exercises

There are 4 types of interactive
questions:
Interactive Exercises II
Multimedia (Audio) Exercises

Five styles of interactive audio
exercises
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Audio Vocabulary list (Health and
Wellness Vocabulary)
Audio dialogue followed by text
questions (Ex. 20.2)
Multiple Choice - audio sentence then
choose text answer (Ex. 28.1)
Multiple Choice - read text then
choose audio answer (Ex. 38.3)
Audio lesson (Unit 51)
Multimedia (Video & map) Exercise

Unit 9 Ex. 9.3


Unit 74 Ex. 74.1


A short scene between a medic and an injured
worker followed by text questions (01:53)
Look at a map of a city for a lesson about
directions in a town or city
Video
Future Directions



Support different languages
(Chinese, French)
Add more audio/video content
Link to Mobile Friendly Open Access
materials


Translations, Dictionary definitions
Voice recognition

New Google iPhone app
Food for Thought

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have
these devices built into you and
powered by your body”
-Martin Cooper
inventor of the
cellphone
Further Information
Website:
Mobile Library:
http://library.athabascau.ca/
Mobile ESL
http://eslau.ca
Mobile Workplace English
http://wpeau.ca
 Publications:
M-libraries: libraries on the move to
provide virtual access
