Ubiquitous learning and the quest for the perfect education PC

Transcription

1 Ubiquitous learning and the quest for the perfect education PC By Tom French, Director Customer Communications EMEA Marketing Division, Toshiba WAnt to learn more? Visit Toshiba s the future of education webpage Find out more about the ideal education PC, discover new products and get information about essential mobile learning options. what s inside Transforming the learning experience The road to ubiquity Beyond technology the ubiquitous learning experience What is the perfect education PC for today and tomorrow? WHEN MARC WEISER DEFINED the term ubiquitous computing in 1991, he wrote The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it. Weiser envisioned a world in which technology seamlessly blends into our everyday lives and becomes the universally accepted norm. Since 1991, we have come a long way towards achieving this vision of ubiquity. Think of the rise of the internet, the advent of mobile computing and the mainstream integration of wireless capabilities to name but a few achievements. Thanks to notebooks with integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and even 3G capabilities, we can connect to the internet or exchange data on the move without the hassle of cables. Though there are still challenges in many developing countries and emerging markets, increasingly, computing is an everyday part of life for today s students. For these digital natives (to borrow a term from Marc Prensky), who grow up in a world where the internet and digital media are pervasive, going online and computer-aided learning are intuitive. That said, I believe that we are only now on the cusp of realising the vision of ubiquitous computing. After all, the word ubiquitous means present everywhere or in several places simultaneously. This is only possible when we can take advantage of seamless roaming internet connectivity anytime, anywhere. How are we going to achieve this vision? What impact will this have on the learning experience? feature Ubiquitous learning By Tom French, Director Customer Communications EMEA Marketing Division, Toshiba

2 Transforming the learning experience We can begin by discussing the three fundamental transformations that are already taking place in the learning experience and looking at how these changes will accelerate in the coming years. 1. The classroom is on the move. Today, we have COWs or Classrooms on Wheels. Toshiba and Sanako have been very active in providing this solution, which consists of a trolley filled with notebooks that can be moved throughout the school and shared by many teachers and students. Sanako s software enables students to easily share learning resources and participate in group or one-to-one learning while Toshiba delivers on the promise of a mobile wireless or wired network education solution that is highly cost-effective....students will be able to integrate real-world learning experiences and web-based learning resources for a much richer educational experience. 2. The classroom is the world. Thanks to the internet and distance learning, students are now often geographically dispersed. Whether through informal online chats or in virtual classroom environments, students now talk to one another around the world and across time zones. Coming together, they exchange ideas and collaborate in a learning environment that is present everywhere and available anytime. So now a student in India can exchange information about his or her country and culture with a student in England. The classroom is composed of students from around the world, allowing new local and global interchanges. 3. The world is becoming the classroom. Learning is no longer confined to the classroom. Due to the increasing availability of digital learning content and e-texts, most learning materials and even many library resources are accessible via the internet. Today, with a wireless-enabled notebook, students can learn in different locations: at hotspots, at home or at across a networked campus environment. Communicating with one another online or via , student-teacher and student dialogues take place outside of the classroom. More than this, new wireless technologies are about to free students and teachers from the confines of the classroom and make anytime, anywhere learning a reality. With online access to information and learning resources on the move, students will be able to integrate real-world learning experiences and web-based learning resources for a much richer educational experience. 2

3 ...three wireless technologies... will be tremendously important for this newworld learning experience. For example, when students go on a field trip today, they take digital photos and write short texts about what they have learned. Then, they go back to school where they upload and share what they have learned. Imagine what how much richer and more interesting this learning experience would be if students could access online information, participate in online learning, upload assignments and contribute to a blog or student website while on the move and out in the field. A whole new world of real and virtual educational experiences would come together for a more integrated learning experience. This is what I mean when I say the world is becoming a classroom. The road to ubiquity To truly achieve this vision of the world as a classroom, pervasive access to high-speed networking is essential. In the next two years, we are going to see the introduction of three wireless technologies that will be tremendously important for this new-world learning experience. 1. UWB (Ultra-wide band) technology UWB will be particularly important for one-to-one and group learning in the classroom or on the move. Wireless transfers at data rates from 100 Mbps to over 2 Gbps will make it easy to stream video or other rich media content. In the classroom or on field trips, this is an ideal technology for spontaneously sharing digital resources and learning materials n wireless networking standard n will enable new levels of interactivity as wireless data rates speed up tremendously. Following the approval of the draft specification in 2007, the technology is likely to find its way into notebooks. When n is finally ratified, we can expect to see raw data rates of up to 600 Mbps. With n, high-quality video conferencing over the internet or virtual classroom lectures will project an incredible sense of immediacy. Students will be able to access these dynamic virtual classroom learning experiences on the move, enjoying greater flexibility when it comes to when and where they learn. 3. WiMax the last mile WiMax will enable ubiquitous learning opportunities. Often referred to as a last-mile solution, WiMax (802.16) will provide wireless broadband-speed connectivity over distances of up to 50 kilometres. For campus-wide or city-wide access to online learning resources or wireless access in remote or rural areas, Toshiba is participating in trials of this technology in Japan as part of a government initiative to deliver mobile high-speed broadband throughout the country by 2010.

4 Beyond technology: the ubiquitous learning experience What impact will these technologies have for the learning experience? I predict that we will see a learning experience that is... Richer and more immediate: Voice and video over IP are already possible, but with faster speeds, the quality and richness of this experience will increase tremendously for an incredibly rich learning and collaborative learning experience with access to new kinds of multimedia content. Highly personalised and more interactive: Seamless, mobile video communications between student and teacher or students will enable a more personal and interactive learning experience. With wireless technologies as a medium for education, students gain the new media literacy skills they need for a world where communications are truly ubiquitous. Highly differentiated: Today, in virtual learning environments, students can work individually or in groups, enabling them to learn at the right pace and level. Self-directed or participative learning strategies are possible. With the new wireless technologies I have mentioned, we will see this experience become more pervasive and mobile. Participative: Participating in wikis, group work or real-time discussions online makes it easy for students to actively participate in the learning process. Imagine how this participation will increase with pervasive high-speed wireless computing. Seamless: Seamless, real-time access to information on the move is possible with existing 3G technologies, but often at a pricepoint that does not meet the needs of the education market. The wireless technologies of UWB, n and WiMax are cost-effective alternatives that make sense for ubiquitous learning. Oriented to the future: With wireless technologies as a medium for education, students gain the new media literacy skills they need for a world where communications are truly ubiquitous. The ubiquitous learning experience will prove to be a highly symbiotic process, an interweaving of the local and global, the personal and shared learning experience.

5 ...students and educators are looking for a cost-effective, high-quality notebook that is tough enough to withstand the rough and tumble life of ubiquitous learning. What is the perfect education PC for today and tomorrow? We ve looked at the underlying technologies transforming the learning experience. Now let s look at educational tools, namely, the education PC. To enable ubiquitous learning, the education platform must fulfil three fundamental requirements: affordability, mobility and durability. In short, students and educators are looking for a cost-effective, high-quality notebook that is tough enough to withstand the rough and tumble life of ubiquitous learning. Drilling down, here are some of the most important specifications to consider when choosing an education PC: 12.1 display: this smaller form factor is ideal for the learner who carries his/her notebook in a schoolbag Wireless and wired networking: essential for internet connectivity Integrated high-quality speakers, a webcam and Bluetooth headset: take advantage of streaming multimedia content and costefficient video calls Fingerprint Reader: secure login is something that benefits both students and schools or learning institutions Digital inking capabilities: tablet computing capabilities enable students to take notes intuitively and jot down mathematical or scientific formulae during a lecture or lesson Looking to the future, technologies will be deployed to provide students and learners alike with a richer, more collaborative and more ubiquitous educational experience. Technology will be everywhere and yet fade to the background as an enabling presence. This final step will see us achieve Weiser s vision of profound technologies that disappear to become part of our lifelong learning experience. Sources Marc Weiser, The Computer for the Twenty-First Century, Scientific American, September 1991: Marc Prensky, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part I, On the Horizon, NCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001: 1, Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf Toshiba Europe GmbH. While Toshiba has made every effort at the time of publication to ensure the accuracy of the information provided herein, product specifications, configurations, prices, system/component/options availability are all subject to change without notice. For the most up-to-date product information about your computer, or to stay current with the various computer software or hardware options, visit Toshiba s Web site