The concept of m-Learning has been well established. But are we really prepared for the outburst that it can create? We are really at the fringe and there is much more beyond creation of beneficial content. Let us explore the immense new possibilities this can open up.



Mobile Culture

A new culture has been in formation ever since the mobile device was introduced. The device itself has been upgraded continuously and from an ordinary communicator has become something unrecognizable form its humble origins. This has thrown up new usages and new ways of action and thought.

Let us first look at the user. Imagine the old student in the public lab hooding over his/her desktop browsing away for information and piecing together information and collaborating with class over content. In today's environment the same student is now carrying a mobile device on which content is streamed at intervals and he is able to immediately Google across to find a particular meaning or context to continue his quest. The best part is he is neither bound to his desktop nor to his class. His area of operation has widened considerably and he is no longer restricted by such mundane elements as time and space. He may well sit in the cafeteria and, across coffee and bagel, attend his class. This m-learning may well be directed at a small group or at a larger class, all dispersed over space and still engage in a common project. He may well be straddling across and still glued to his mobile is in sync.

This is truly the return of the nomad. With data streaming in wherever the recipient is he is able to research his area of interest on the World Wide Web spread across space. Research is now on the fly in motion. When the effort is collaborative the team is in all probability working in different spaces.

M-Learning

With bio-Wap facilities data now flows with the aid of the camera and video streaming of content adds richness and offers new depths of understanding. Imagine looking at a plant, sending its picture over to others and getting information

Where is the pedagogical connection in this cyberculture? If we are able to harness this then we would have truly raised the level of m-learning and it will be as useful as other learning methodologies.

A new Information Literacy is on the horizon. Social softwares like Meetup have been introduced and have created a swarming attitude. If this swarming can be extended to learning then a giant stride would have been made. The big question is the instructor also ready to join this swarm? This can play the role of a building block? Can the institutions use this opportunity and build upon it in a structured way?

The Future of m-Learning

There is an explosion in information and it is beyond the boundary of Places. It is available everywhere. Interactive web is creating new thresholds by the hour. Questions are now posed and posted literally at others' doors and answers come from most unexpected quarters. Collaborators become groups and they turn into swarms. There is a contributory mood in the swarm.

There is a new philosophy in the offing. The human layer of the earth has now become a vast downloadable, searchable, writable surface. This is augmented reality in practice. With new mobile usability and capabilities the physical world is moving into digital spaces for first hand learning. The nomadic swarms are already invading the campus and the time has come for the teachers and the institutions to rise up to the occasion and change the face of pedagogy.