m-learning

M-learning originated from a 3 year pan-European research and development programme, aimed at helping young adults aged 16 to 24, who were considered most at risk of social exclusion in Europe. The group consisted largely of disaffected learners who had not succeeded in the education system. They were not involved in any education or training and were unemployed, under employed, or even homeless.

What do many of these young people have in common? A mobile phone = inexpensive, portable and accessible to the majority of EU citizens.

In October 2001 the m-learning project was launched, aimed at capturing the interest of young adults, assisting them in the development of life long learning objectives. Using subjects of interest to them, be that football, music or practical help with health or learning to drive, the learning content included information and activities designed to develop their literacy and numeracy skills.

The €4.5m project was supported by the European Commission's Information Society Technologies (IST) programme within the 5th framework. The Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) coordinated the project, participant organisations included universities and commercial companies based in three EU countries - Britain, Italy and Sweden.

M-learning infrastructure includes a Learning Management System which, together with the microportal interface layer under development, will facilitate access to m-learning materials and services from a variety of mobile devices plus web and TV access. For interfacing with devices with minimum multimedia functionality, and for the benefit of learners with sensory difficulties, m-learning is developing speech-to-text, text-to-speech and SMS facilities. Support for collaborative learning and peer-to-peer interaction is also being developed. Development of the microportal layer is an iterative process informed by work with groups of young adults.