Mobile Learning 101

+Mobile Learning....what is mobile learning? Well with times advancing the way they are, it is evidently the education for today's future. According to Wikipedia this is the definition of mobile learning:

The term m-learning or "mobile learning", has different meanings for different communities, covering a range of use scenarios including e-learning, educational technologyand distance education, that focuses on learning with mobile devices. Mobile learning is defined as "learning across multiple contexts, through social and content interactions, using personal electronic devices”

-Source

Basically it's learning that not a whole lot of individuals have done.  I personally; my senior year of high school completed a lot of my classwork via my cell phone. I didn't even have a smart phone back than. I have also completed MANY classes at +Ultimate Medical Academy on my cell phone.So why is this such a vital subject for me? A teacher told me "Generally students who take classes via their cell phone don't succeed." I am here to tell you, that that is completely untrue. I admit that yes, it is a lot more difficult taking classes with my cell phone being the main source of everything pretty much. BUT IT IS POSSIBLE. You just need to prepare yourself. Whether you're taking your classes at the college, at your local high school. full time on your mobile device, or just part of the time via your mobile device; it is always good to prepare yourself. I literally just hopped on in so I want to help anyone I can.

1. Know Your Platform

There is a huge range of learning platforms these days and it's pretty important you know what platform your school takes. Theres a huge variety such as +Desire2Learn , +Moodle , and +Blackboard Inc.. My school personally takes Blackboard; but my junior year before I left my school we just incorporated Desire2Learn and they are all very much similar. Depending on your school and how much is distance learning it holds all of your assignments, information of where you are in the term, and most importantly your grades. Once you know the platform your school uses, you have the basic foundation for success in mobile learning.

2. Know Your Device

Just like it's vital to know your platform it's also vital to know your device. Will you be working with a Windows Phone, an Android, or and Iphone? Or a tablet version of these devices? If you are aware of your device you'll also be aware of whether there is an app that supports your learning platform. BUT TAKE NOTE: just because there isn't an app for a particular platform doesn't mean you cannot access it through your mobile web. I got a +Windows Phone for example, which doesn't support a Blackboard app (yet) but I still access all of my schools information.

Windows Phone: There is no known platforms to my knowledge but I use Internet Explorer to access my Blackboard.

Android: Just a few platforms available on Google Play...there is probably more but you are gonna have to search for them to see if they are available.

Blackboard

Moodle

Desire2Learn

3. Know/Keep Up on Your Work

Keep in mind that completing assignments takes a little bit longer when you're working with the mobile platform. What can take you 20 minutes to type on a regular laptop, can take you two plus hours if you're typing it up on your phone. Give yourself extra time and always make sure that you SPELL EVERYTHING CORRECTLY AND YOU DON'T USE TEXT SLANG. This is school work not your own personal conversation with one of your friends. For essays and what not WP8 users are pretty lucky because +Office365Support is built inside the phone so you already have microsoft word and everything. For the android platform, odds are you need to download an app in order to type up your essays in the .doc format. I've tested a lot of office apps on the android platform and my favorite one personally is +Kingsoft Office. I'll include links below to my top 3 favorite office apps on the android platform. Basically...give yourself a little extra time and don't fall behind. It is much harder to catch up when you fall behind in your work.

Kingsoft Office FREE

Olive Office Premium

POLARIS Office

4. Back Up All of Your Work!

I can't say enough times...be sure to back up all of your school work! Don't delete it until your class is over! I have to retake a class right now and I'm so grateful I saved all the work that I did. Now, you have many options like +Google Drive and +Dropbox. Those two personally didn't work for me, the best cloud service in my opinion (and it hasn't given me any problems yet) is +SkyDrive. My  uncle +Sean Wise apparently had recommended this cloud in a presentation. It has yet to let me down and the reason I have to retake this class is issues with dropbox and google drive...Skydrive has given me no issues and I bet it will work for you as well.

Click the Picture to Download on your PC

Click Here for the SkyDrive WebApp

Click Here to Download SkyDrive for WP8

Click Here to Download SkyDrive from Google Play

5. Other Things to Keep in Mind...

Attending Class

You can attend class on your phone using a platform like +Blackboard Collaborate @ Boise State University, but you can sometimes make the choice: do you want to just have the visual portion of the lesson or do you want to be able to actually talk to the teacher? My best advice would be to do it both ways and choose which way is more helpful (Remember you get the 1888 number with your class URL). Blackboard collaborate and +WebEx is the two platforms my school uses, they are very useful and neat once you explore them a little bit.

Blackboard Collaborate for Android

Cisco Webex Meetings for WP8

Still have questions? Well ask away so I can update this article...it will be updated and more tips and tricks come to me. Happy learning everyone :)