iPAQ therefore iLEARN

Welcome to our new iPAQers!

2005-08-10T15:44:00.000+08:00

This week our project began in earnest in Perth and in Miri Malaysia--with Ethiopia to start soon!

Don't forget to check out the project website http://lsn.curtin.edu.au/hpsite/index.html which includes instructions for updating for wireless (ONLY for Bentley students--Miri and Ethiopia students' iPAQs are ready to go!)

Welcome aboard! For any technical enquires, please email Sam Hobson Samuel Hobson [samuel.hobson@student.curtin.edu.au] or Mat Higgins [mathieuhiggins@iinet.net.au]--they are waiting to help you :-)

Beverley

Great find by Matt Higgins...

2005-06-06T15:45:00.000+08:00

Matt says:
I have found a really good Avantgo channel dedicated to finding Wi-fi hotspots!!! (and the best bit is it works in perth! :D) it's called "jiwire" and finds both free hotspots and also pay hotspots... ie. free one at a cafe on Murray st called "Infusion Coffee & Tea" and it gives adresses and ph numbers etc.

The URL is http://www.jiwire.com/hotspot-locator-pda.htm

Thanks Matt--well done!

Help is on its way: 2 things

2005-05-20T08:56:00.000+08:00

Hi--thanks to all of you who came and relieved us of muffins, quiche, donuts and so on yesterday....it was a good chance to catch up. Two things from our conversation: first thanks to Matt for his post telling us that student accounts don't seem to be functioning on wireless and that Peter Hicks is looking into this; and second--a more long term solution--just came across this this morning: http://www.w3.org/2005/MWI/--the mobile web project is in full swing--they are going to work at making your mobile web experience much better!

Wireless on campus--it's happening!

2005-05-10T22:27:00.000+08:00

Hi all, by now you should have received our copious instructions on how to get yourself on to wireless on campus--please post a quick comment here to let us know your progress....success? trouble? haven't tried yet? Thanks

Free food!

2005-05-06T11:51:00.000+08:00

Ha! Knew that would get you....come to the LSN, all trial participants, and have coffee and muffins at 12noon on Thursday 19 May, and tell us how you're going with your ipaq. Many students have made exciting discoveries: software which can let you send messages via Bluetooth (I'm sure that's educational....), and all sorts of other things.... This is an infomal gettogether. If you can't make it, post to the blog and tell us what software or special quirks you've found.

And also....re: wireless for the iPAQs. We now have your accounts set up so you can access wireless on campus BUT we have since discovered that your iPAQ will have to have updated software--we are working on that right now! More (good?) news soon :-)

Back to blogging

2005-04-26T10:31:00.000+08:00

Hi all--I have just asked Seng to remove the WebCT discussion board, just because it's the blogging that I would really like you to try out and see what you think.

When we set up small group blogs for you--and that will be very soon--you will be able to post directly to your own small blog....so that will be better. In the meantime, please stick around this site.... Thanks, Beverley

2005-04-25T13:36:00.000+08:00

Hi folks--if you're in the trial, you've had the iPAQ for about a week now, and chances are you've had a good play with it. Even if your not a trialler, how about reponding to my survey down this screen a bit--just under my pic--would you buy an iPAQ to use in your study? Thanks!

2005-04-21T08:39:00.000+08:00

Hi all...Great to see you're posting, and that you are sharing tips and ideas about getting activsynch working, and even avantgo. As I mentioned on Monday, they can be tricky little devils, so keep at it. Let us know if you are managing to do anything really fabulous on the iPAQ--like watch iLectures (it can be done!), or even getting onto one of the wireless networks :-) . Here's a tip, if you're on the cafe strip in freo there is a free wireless network on most of the strip--mainly around the Merchant Tea House. If you're down there, give it a try....if you discover anymore around town, post it here!

Welcome to the trial of the HP project!

2005-04-18T13:34:00.000+08:00

Hi there, Just today we have given iPAQs to 16 to Curtin students to help us prepare for the August project. So--this is the blog we are going to use to get started during the trial. At the end of this message you'll see a 'Post a comment' link--go on, post a comment--say hello! Tell us how you are going getting your iPAQ out of its box! Beverley

2005-04-13T14:38:00.000+08:00

I am blogging this from my PDA--surely that makes this a mobile blog? ...handheld blog? wireless blog ? who knows- but it works !

podcasting for ipaqs...?

2005-04-05T15:58:00.000+08:00

Here's another thought: the iPAQ is an MP3 player. We can create and broadcast (podcast) audio files for the participants in this research programme. These audio files might be thinks like: quick sound bytes from a lecturer reminding students about course matters and so on, a summary of course material (created by students or staff); setting problems or scenarios for student projects; introductory message....it's pretty open. These files could be downloadable from the project website--and students might be able to use those as a focus for learning. This idea is to offer the audio format which is more stimulating for some learners, and also to 'cash in on' students love and use of audio files. Many have audio players (MP3 and iPods)--will they use those for learning?

And a wiki too?

2005-03-22T08:33:00.000+08:00

Just found this on elearnspace.org (my favourite new website on elearning--looks very useful):

Blogs and wikis (see http://www.wikipedia.org/) are tools that compliment each other. Whereas blogs are
more like personal journals, wikis represent the busy, chaotic, lively
discussion that is experienced in a regular classrooms. Learners build on an
extend each other's ideas...creating community-owned ideas and
beliefs.

Writing better by writing more: Blogging on the iPAQ

2005-03-21T17:19:00.000+08:00

In August 2005 we are going to involve 60 first year Business and Engineering students in our iPAQ project (they will be using HP iPAQ 5500 handheld computers) and we are going to monitor their learning in communication--particularly their writing skills.

Our students are in four diverse locations

the Business students are in Ethiopia (Africa), Karratha (north Western Australia) and Perth (capital of Western Australia)
the Engineering students are in Miri Malaysia and Perth (capital of Western Australia).

We really want our students to write more--and a good way to do that might be to have them blog as part of their participation in the project. They could blog about:

their learning experiences with blogs
their learning in their courses
their interests, questions, aims, hopes, ideas, questions--a 'think out loud' space just like this one

So each student would be involved in a group blog--say 5 students from at least two continents in each group--and each blog monitors every other blog. Depending on their study topics, each group might be asked to work collaboratively to produce a final assignment.

It would also be important to have two control groups--one group of students in the same groupings who only use desktop access to the blog; the other group who do not use blogs as part of their course experience. Then we can see if the iPAQ users--possibly because they have mobile and wireless access to their blogs--are more frequent users, as well as whether their communication skills improve more significantly than their peers without iPAQs. All the groups should use blogger.com just to keep it simple.