In February 2011, I wrote a brief overview of the mobile learning industry in Canada. Since that time, I have become more aware of other mobile learning initiatives in Canada, especially being part of the “Taking Ontario Mobile” (TOM) project at the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU). Being a Canadian, I am interested in how the mobile learning is progressing in my home country. Here is an updated version of my previous post:
Blogs and Websites
The Mobile Learner – Rob de Lorenzo’s blog about mobile learning in the school system. Rob is a vice-principal in Toronto
Mobile Learning Edge – website to support my book of the same name
MobileLearning Canada – resources on mobile learning in Canada and beyond
Mobile Syrup - mobile news and reviews for Canadians
Hardware Vendors
Research in Motion (RIM) – Blackberry
Psion – ruggedized mobile devices
Software Vendors
Desire2Learn – 2GO Mobile Web for Mobile Learning - Kitchener, ON
MindShare Learning - has a series of podcasts and other resources for mobile learning aimed at the school systems in Canada
Operitel (now OpenText) -LearnFlex Mobile - Peterborough, ON
RIM – Chalk Pushcast - Waterloo, ON
Spongelab Interactive - developer of mobile learning materials for the school system
Consultants
Kevin Taylor - Mobile Device Insight – Toronto, ON - great technical expertise on mobile devices
Lidia Varbanova, PhD. – Montreal, QC
Gary Woodill, Ed.D. – Cobourg, ON
Research and Education
Athabasca University is a world leader in mobile learning research, under the leadership of Dr. Mohammad Ally. The Mobile English as a Second Language project is a good example of their work. Doctoral student Aga Palalas is working with Dr. Ally on a survey of mobile learning in Canada. Aga is also a mobile learning specialist at George Brown College in Toronto.
The Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU) has the “Taking Ontario Mobile” (TOM) project, which is researching the state of mobile computing, including mobile learning, and its prospects in Ontario.
Prof. Earl Woodruff at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, in collaboration with the Media Lab at MIT, has worked with graduate students for a number of years on programs for school children using Palm Pilots.
Deirdre Bonnycastle, clinical teaching development coordinator at the University of Saskatchewan has created a course for medical students using mobile devices.
The Mobile Experience Innovation Centre is a not-for-profit association that supports design leadership, experience innovation and applied research in Canada’s mobile and wireless industries. It works with OCADU on the Taking Ontario Mobile project, and other mobile initiatives.
Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) both on the same campus in Oshawa, Ontario, provide a mobile learning environment and resources on campus. UOIT also has several researchers involved with studies of mobile learning.
The Laurier University School of Business & Economics has engaged its 100 full-time Waterloo, Ontario, MBA students in an innovative one-year mobile e-learning pilot.
Dr. K. Balasubramanian, Education Specialist, Agriculture and Livelihoods, Commonwealth of Learning, in Vancouver, BC. is working with the University of British Columbia on a Learning Management System (LMS) and Learning Content Management System “for audio and voicemail based learning”. It is called the Learning through Interactive Voice Educational System (LIVES) and is aimed at helping farmers in developing countries.
The Mobile Learning consortium is comprised of post secondary institutes — Seneca College and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) — and educational publishing and technology companies. Members include: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, a leader in providing electronic and print information to the educational and business markets; Bell Mobility, a division of Bell Canada and Canadas leading wireless provider; Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, one of the worlds largest management and IT consulting firms; BlackBoard Inc., the leading provider of Internet infrastructure software for e-education; Hewlett-Packard, a leading global provider of technology products, solutions and services; and Avaya, a global leader and innovator in enterprise communications serving customers who require superior communications to power their business.
The Centre for Mobile Education and Research (CMER) is housed within the Department of Computing and Information Science at the University of Guelph. The mission of CMER is to engage in leading edge applied research to develop state-of-the-art applications and services to facilitate and enhance mobile education and learning, and to provide leadership in integrating mobile devices into the computer science curriculum. This mission will be fulfilled in a variety of ways including, cutting edge research projects that have been completed or are in progress, research partnerships, and technology transfer. The research carried out in CMER has real and immediate applications in mobile education and learning.
Publications
Ally, M. and Laughton, S. (2006). M-Learning in Canada. Online paper, University of Toronto.
Woodill, Gary (2010). The Mobile Learning Edge. New York and Toronto: McGraw-Hill.
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