MOBIlearn - A Model For Interoperability

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1 101 Towards Personal, Mobile & Location Based Learning Content Management Fabrizio Cardinali, Giunti Labs November 20 & 21, 2008 Produced by Designing and Managing Mobile Learning

2 An Open Abstract Framework for Modeling Interoperability of Mobile Learning Services 1. Introduction: developing a mobile-oriented system as an instantiation of an open framework The activities described in the following sections have been carried out by GIUNTI Interactive Labs within the framework of the MOBIlearn project. MOBIlearn is a 30-month, 8 MEURO, Research and Development (RTD) project co-funded by the European Commission (DG Information Society D/3-Education and Training), under the contract IST , within the Information Society Technologies (IST) programme of the Fifth Framework Programme of RTD. The participation of US partners (MIT and Stanford) is funded by US National Science Foundation (NSF), and its implementing arrangement between the European Commission and the NSF, specifically addressing co-operative activities in the field of e-learning. The participation of AU partners is funded by AU Department of Education, Science and Training. A key objective of the MOBIlearn Project, which is coordinated by GIUNTI Interactive Labs, is to improve the knowledge level of individuals by developing learning processes that are both time-efficient as well as being cost-effective. It is focusing on three representative groups: workers - to enable them to meet their job requirements and to update their knowledge continually; citizens as members of a culture, to improve their learning experience while visiting a cultural city and its museums and citizens as family members who need to have simple medical information for everyday needs. Four scenarios have been identified by the project for testing out the learning processes: Executive MBA students taking a qualification course at a university based on their actual professional experience, Beginner students trying to familiarize with their new university, Visitors of a museum motivated by various interests People interested in refreshing their fitness to provide first medical aid. A prototypical learning support system is developed and will be tested with Nokia 6600 smartphones, HP IPaq 1550 PDA and Tablet PCs using wireless LAN and GPRS networks. However, new devices and methods of communication are emerging all the time and existing ones over time are starting to become more viable in a learning context as costs go down. Therefore, in order to ensure future proofing the MOBIlearn project is developing an architecture that is not dependent upon one type of device or communication system. Taking the scenarios as a starting point the project has identified a number of components or services that will be required by the various types of users mobile learners, tutors, moderators, learning content authors and administrators. The top-level components and their associated services have been identified like the: Mobile Device this could be a PDA, mobile phone, tablet PC, wearable PC or a laptop computer with an associated service.

3 Portal the central unique access point to services for the user. Associated services include those for authentication, authorization, billing, content delivery logging-in, user registration, a change of quality or an adaptive user interface service. Content involving services for the management of content or learning objects and related features involving content creation and management, annotation, rendering, tracking, customization and personalization, information filtering and test creation and management services. Content and User involving the management of user profiles Location and Navigation This could include a geographical information management service, indoor or outdoor positioning services. Collaboration and Communication - representing the umbrella of services related to collaboration and communications between two or more persons, either in a synchronous manner or asynchronously and independent of the data nature, such as text, pictures, graphics, voice, video or applications. It also provides the session and user management functions for collaborative sessions. Context this provides a means of gathering, maintaining, and processing a store of context data in order to produce recommendations (in the form of a ranked list) from the currently available content and options. Data can be gathered from other services, including automated data input such as sensors, manual input from the user, and generalised preferences. Multimedia Delivery involving the delivery of content and annotations Remote involving the remote control of applications and devices General - This could include a digital repository management, information package creation and management, seamless roaming or vocabulary creation and management services. 2. Open Mobile Access Abstract Framework Each of these component services requires software tools to be developed and to enable them to interoperate with other service components, some of which could come from other suppliers. In order to drive forward developments towards interoperability the MOBIlearn Project is developing an Open Mobile Access Abstract Framework (OMAF). This framework is implemented within the project in a service based architecture. The service based approach does not only enable single re-usable services to be used on different mobile applications, also outside the project. It moreover provides opportunities for third parties to offer new implementations of the services identified in the MOBIlearn architecture, thus opening up a possibility to gradually improve the MOBIlearn system. Even more, it is possible to recombine the MOBIlearn services and to augment them by others, thus realising other kinds of applications. Currently the MOBIlearn system of services is implemented as a prototype which undergoes technical testing. In developing the MOBIlearn Open Mobile Access Abstract Framework a Unified Modelling Language (UML) methodology was adopted with the internal communication system completely XML-based. On the basis of this Abstract Framework concept, a goal is set to create specifications of the different services, according to the 'open architecture' approach. OMAF will help also to exploit reusability of software according to the object oriented software development approach.

4 Besides the aforementioned benefits of the MOBIlearn OMAF for the further exploitation and development of the system and of its components it has turned out during the project that it has also concrete advantages for the implementation of the system. The service based approach facilitates: Reuse of existing software Concurrent development of software components by different partners Maintenance and improvement of the prototypical system since services can reside on the servers of the partners which implement them. the transition from the design of the service based architecture to the implementation of the component services in an object oriented design. The development of tools to analyze the behaviour of the system already in an early stage of the design, especially to detect possible deadlocks and to derive time constraints that have to be met by the implemented services. The portal service adapts the system interface to the mobile device of the user. Content presentation, content selection and navigation are adapted using other services. Not surprisingly, the first trials revealed specific demands on the user interface. As an example we just mention the increased demand for audio and graphic presentation for devices with small screen size. A discussion of these experiences goes beyond the topic of this paper and will be provided after the end of the user trials. 4. Industrial relevance and potential business plans The work and investigation carried ahead allowed to identify a number of important socio-economic and technological trends of relevance to future mobile learning services, giving more significance to the innovation effort fostered by the MOBIlearn project. In the medium term (3-10 years), increased fuel prices and global political instability could halt (or at least slow down) the secular trend to increased physical mobility, which began far ago with the Industrial Revolution. This tendency is likely to have negative repercussions for the tourist industry and for business and academic travel sectors of key importance for mobile learning. Micro-mobility (e.g. on campuses, within offices, in hospitals) will be unaffected by these trends. Support for this kind of micromobility is likely to be a key source of demand for mobile learning services In the longer run, a gradual increase can be expected in the demand for teleworking (e-work). Teleworkers will be an important market for future mobile learning services. Generally speaking, technological trends strongly favor the spread of mobile learning. The explosive success of mobile telephony (which has been especially strong on European

5 markets) creates a massive potential user base. The gradual replacement of current generation mobile telephones with converged devices will provide this user base with the kind of devices they need to effectively access mobile learning services. The rapid spread of Wi-Fi technology, and the prospect of even more powerful WLAN technologies in the near future, will lead to rapidly falling telecommunications costs, eliminating the last major technological obstacle to the uptake of mobile learning services. Mobile learning is already an important market for PDAs (especially in the USA), and is likely to generate significant demand for the next generation of converged devices. This implies that device manufacturers can play an important role in promoting the new services. Mobile learning requires low cost telecommunications. This implies it is more likely to be based on Wi-Fi networks installed in campuses and offices, then on operator-managed services like UMTS. At the same time, however, the success of mobile learning will depend to a significant extent on synergies with non-learning services (e.g. logon services, navigation services, payment services) many of which are likely to be provided by telecommunications operators. The trial implementation and deployment for the 4 chosen scenarios allowed to clearly identify a set of sellable products and services, that can better highlight the business potential coming out of the MOBIlearn concept: Basic mobile learning package: This is the basic package of products and services required by users who wish to use a mobile learning service for an extended period of time. In the University and Business School scenarios these will include a full set of learning and interaction services. Optionally it might include additional services provided by third parties (e.g. local museums, local government) who have signed agreements with the main service provider. In the early stages of mobile learning when converged devices are likely to be rare, the basic package might also include the device. Later, when the majority of potential users already own a device, this will be less common. Educational Value added services: an educational Value Added Service is an educational service which adds value to a mobile device or to another mobile service. A typical example is services supporting school and university students (e.g. special tutoring or counseling services), or providing training for adult learners (e.g. language training, IT training, other forms of Vocational and Educational Training). Value added services (generic): these are services which have no specific educational value but which are likely to facilitate use (and uptake) of mobile learning services. The MOBIlearn scenarioes include some of these services: o Universal logon: This is a service allowing users of multiple mobile services to use a single, secure logon and authentication service for all services. o Navigator and location-based information services: These are services helping users to navigate to a target location and/or providing locationdependent information (e.g. information on a specific painting in the Art Gallery scenario ),. Mobile Learning Content: content development for mobile learning is a highly specialized business. This is especially the case for services sold to non-captive target populations (e.g. visitors in the Art Gallery scenario). Many organizations offering mobile learning to their users will outsource this work to third party Content Development Houses. Devices: future mobile learning services will be based on generic devices which are not specifically designed for mobile learning (in the short term largely PDA s, in

6 the medium-long term converged devices ). In the early stages of mobile learning devices may be sold as part of the basic mobile learning package. In later stages the majority of devices will be bought by users for other purposes and only subsequently used for mobile learning. Public telecommunications services: current 2G and 3G telecommunications services are ill-adapted to the needs of mobile learning, which will depend, to a large extent on Wi-Fi and successor technologies. This implies that telecommunications operators will be able to bill relatively little traffic to end-users. However, they may generate significant revenues by supplying connectivity to ASP companies managing mobile learning services on behalf of their customers. For Further Information: Dr. Ing. Giancarlo Bo, PhD GIUNTI Interactive Labs S.r.l. Via Portobello, Abbazia dell Annunziata Sestri Levante Phone: Fax: g.bo@giuntilabs.it