According to Maria Cristina Brugnoli of Telecom Italia Learning Services, technological trends strongly favour the spread of mobile learning. However, at the moment the current offering of mobile learning services is extremely weak.

This is how the new MOBIlearn Newsletter starts. A bit later in "Towards a Task Model for Mobile Learning" it is stated:

The new emphasis in education is on supporting the learner, in collaboration with peers and teachers, through a lifetime of education, both within and outside the classroom. There is a natural alliance between learning as a lifelong activity and personal mobile technology, so that it is becoming feasible to equip learners with powerful tools to support their learning in many contexts over long periods of time.

I do believe that the magic tool we are all searching for is already here: it's the mobile enabled weblog. The weblog is so far the only thing which is personal and if you want to support learning in many contexts over long periods of time, the tool must be personal. It is impossible to have something which is too strongly tied to a school or university as people will leave schools and universities one day.

At the same time, however, the success of mobile learning will depend to a significant extent on synergies with non-learning services like logon services, navigation services, payment services - many of which are likely to be provided by telecommunications. This means that mobile learning content service providers need to work closely with the mobile telecom operators.

This already happened, see - attention self promotion - KAYWA mobile on Orange.


Mobility, Mobile Learning and Future Markets
For more information contact Maria Cristina Brugnoli, Telecom Italia Learning Services S.p.A.
Email: UE001864@guest.telecomitalia.it

MOBIlearn User Trial at the Uffizi Gallery
For more information contact Elena Murelli
Email: elena.murelli@unicatt.it

Mobilearn Newsletter, 6th Issue (PDF)
I made this local copy, because the letter is not available on the MobiLearn Site itself yet.