Everyday technology enables more flexible training

Individuals and organisations are embracing smartphones as they look for more ways to mobilise their lives and businesses.*

So what makes a smartphone anything more than an ordinary phone?

• Smartphones allow you to access your emails, contacts and appointments anywhere and anytime.
   
• Smartphones have more advanced features, ie a large, high resolution screen, more memory, and a fast processor.

• Smartphones allow you to run hundreds of thousands of applications in practically any category you can think of.

Taking advantage of the fact that a large number of learners, teachers and trainers now own a smartphone and are comfortable using smartphone technology, vocational education and training (VET) providers across Australia are exploring new ways to incorporate these devices into teaching, training and assessment.

The Australian Flexible Learning Framework’s (Framework) Queensland Toolbox Champion, Sandra Lawrence, explained that using smartphones in this way can make teaching and training more flexible, engaging and immediate.

“These technologies are opening up new ways for practitioners to share information and interact with learners,” Ms Lawrence said.  

“Smartphones present an exciting opportunity to deliver mobile tools such as e-books, augmented reality and e-assessment applications to learners. Practitioners can send and receive large amounts of information while out in the field, streamlining the training and assessing process; meanwhile learners can access resources and tools and interact with their teachers and trainers beyond the physical classroom.”

This year, the Framework is helping the VET system to incorporate smartphones into teaching and training with
E-learning Innovations funding and support.  

Skills Institute in Tasmania is managing two projects focused on using smartphones to benefit learners and assessors in the mining and transport and logistics industries.

Traditionally, assessors in these industries carry large amounts of documentation when they travel to assess learners in the field. These projects aim to streamline the assessment process, by converting this documentation to iPhone compatible formats. iPhones will provide quick and easy access to assessment tools and store evidence such as video, images and job task sheets that assessors can upload straight to teachers and trainers.

The iQTImPlayer, an advanced version of the QTImPlayer developed for iPhones, is being used as the delivery platform for iPhone resources in these projects.

This shift from a paper-based system will make travelling long distances to assess geographically dispersed learners easier for assessors, by allowing them to leave bulky files and laptops at home. The ability to upload information directly to teachers and trainers also removes the requirement to enter assessment data into a learning management system (LMS) once the assessor is back in the office.

Scripture Union Queensland is responding to the growing prevalence of smartphones among learners by testing the accessibility and functionality of their LMS (Moodle) on different mobile platforms.

Scripture Union began the process of embedding e-learning in 2009. With E-learning Innovations funding and support, they implemented a blended learning approach combining face-to-face and online training (eg learning objects, wikis, and video streaming) for learners in the youth work industry.

Scripture Union’s current project is altering this web-based content to be smartphone compatible, allowing learners to access training anywhere and anytime.

With barely a week passing without a powerful new handset being launched on to the market, and with new applications constantly being released, the smartphone looks set to continue to revolutionise the delivery of education and training.

Stay tuned to Flex e-News and flexiblelearning.net.au for updates on how the Framework is adopting and embedding these new technologies.

Find out more about new technologies in education and training.

* During the first half of 2009, the Australian smartphone market increased by 29% compared to the same period in 2008.
Source: Softpedia, Smartphone market sees 29% increase in Australia, http://news.softpedia.com/news/Smartphone-Market-Sees-29-Increase-in-Australia-124186.shtml

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Published on 22/07/2010