Managing and integrating into other ICT infrastructure.

“Doing a hard reset, well that is just really easy you know!” said one young learner when asked what were the essential skills for being a “Good” m-leaner. The simple fact is, that in providing these young learners with a sophisticated handheld computer 24/7, the learning2Go project has unleashed their ICT capability in a way that traditional lessons in the ICT suite never could. The learners have had to acquire new 21st century skills such as : synchronising their data to their user area on the schools network, closing down running programmes to conserve battery, connecting to the internet wirelessly, bluetoothing files to your mate, and coming to school with a full battery charge(The 21st century equivalent of making sure your pencil is always sharp!) Another key factor in the project success has been the ability to connect the devices to the Interactive whiteboard and projector, both for teacher demonstration in the introductory part of the lesson and for learner presentation during the plenary. Space prevents a longer review of applications but each visit to a school brings more ideas, such as one boy aged 10 who has set up an RSS news feed to his device for receiving news updates wirelessly – “Just because I can!” He is now becoming interested in current affairs!

 

Involvement in a Mobile Learning Project will place extra demands on the current level of technical support that the establishment has. Quite simply, putting a class set of 30 devices into a single form entry primary schools using the current standard 1: 8 pupil computer ratio, will almost double the number of computers in the school!

One of the main technical aspects that will have to be dealt with is the wireless connectivity on the schools site. In order to get the maximum benefits from the Handhelds, learners need to be connected to a robust and reliable wireless LAN. The Learning2Go project is currently using the slightly more expensive Cisco Systems.   All aspects of technical support and specifications of the Pocket Loox 720 are included in the Wolverhampton e-services technical support guide.   To download, go to the download section of this website.