What about Android in education?
The T-mobile launch of the first Android phone (The G1) begs the question - does this already fragmented world need another mobile operating system? For me specifically how will this new OS affect those of us trying to build useful educational software?
I’ve been following Android since the first announcement last November with interest and excitement at the potential disruption that it could bring to the mobile eco-system and our niche of that eco-system. From my early assessment of Android it was clear that had the typical Computer Science led over engineering of a Google project which mean it was doing some really radical things from technical perspective. I really like how the system has been built and how they have got over the low resource problems in a much more creative way than the iPhone OS with it’s lack of background processes.
I was luckily enough to interview Rich Miner in January of this year and he gave me a picture of how seriously Google and the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) were taking the openess of Android. Not only will the OS become Open Source when it hits version 1.0, but it is open to 3rd party apps. The architecture is so open that you can supply alternate programs to manage any task on the phone. The system is so open you can override the core software that comes with the phone if you choose and replace the default dialer with another. Rich made it clear to me that all OHA members are required to keep the platform open - and to implement the core of the OS.
A core part of the power of the iPhone solution is the powerful, simple and well used distribution and payment mechanism that is iTunes. Google have tried to address the lack of an iTunes App Store with the Android marketplace - but missed the point and made it complex by involving operators in the billing - we can only hope this soon gets simplified. The G1 also comes with an unlimited internet connection so that is a match for the iPhone - we can only assume all other Android phones will also. The T-mobile G1 will also launch with an MP3 store from Amazon - one of the few competitors for iTunes - now if Amazon, OHA and operators could come up with a simplified App Marketplace - that would be interesting!
The big worry with Android is that it will quickly fragment as device manufacturers and operators fall into their old habits but Rich gave many convincing arguments as to why this would not happen. The least of which is that members of OHA have all pledged not to.
What worries me most about all the devices is that there is no easy way for consumers to understand that this phone and that phone are similar. If you get a Windows phone you know that it is windows - there will be at least a sticker or logo. Most consumers also know about the Java brand even if they don’t understand it. The iPhone brand is strong even if it is only a single phone. How will consumers know that a T-mobile G1 can run the same software as a Motorola G345 (say). The only brand on the G1 is Google not Android or OHA - will this remain on all Android phones?
Until it is clear what consumer reaction to the G1 is and we can also see how other operators take up Android a lot of these questions won’t matter. This creates a chicken and egg situation: the hope for Android phones is that they will be seen by consumers as internet and application phones in the same way that the iPhone is perceived. for this perception to be true there needs to be lots of apps that consumers talk about and use a lot that will persuade others to get a similar phone. This in turn relies on developers writing for Android which means there will have to be enough users to justify the investment in developing for a quite different platform.
What does all of this mean for education? In my opinion Android is a slow burner - it will take time until there are enough devices out there. For 15-21 year olds it might grab a big marketshare if it is cheap and or cool but so far there is little indication of either. It also lacks a non-phone companion like the iPhone which makes it a lot less appealing for schools to recommend. I cannot see Android worrying Sony or Nintendo in the same way the iPhone must currently be doing.
Standby though there are rumours that Android is really targetted at more than phones and it may become the defacto low power OS on phones, set top boxes, netbooks and many other smaller devices. If it does you can bet that Android will have a big impact on education in developed and developing economies.
Tags: android, devices, handy education, iphone, mobile-learning
01.Oct.08 
devices, education, handy education 
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Why is the iPod Touch important for education?
I was asked last week why it is that I am fixated on the iPod Touch and its use as an educatonal tool. Once I had answered this adequately it was pointed out to me that I have not explained the point well enough on this blog. So here it is…
iPod Touch 2G
iPod Touch as a mobile computing platform
The introduction of the second version of the iPod Touch OS brought with it the ability to run third party applications. The opening of the OS in this way meant that the iPod had graduated from being a media player into a mobile computer platform.
The route that the iPod has taken to become a mobile computer platform is as important as the technology that has been used. The brand of Apple was not well known outside of computer users 10 years ago - but with the the iPod it is now a household name. That the iPod is now well known is great - that it dominates the MP3 player market with 75% market share is part and parcel of this. To become a mobile computing platform with this heritage and the buzz of the Apple marketing machine means that the iPod Touch is a much more acceptable and ‘cool’ device for learning than a Windows based PDA.
The ‘cool’ competition
There are other brands that can also move into this space with more teenage credibility than Microsoft - Sony with it’s playstation brand and Nintendo with the DS. It seems that the heritage of both these companies as gaming companies does not allow them to open up their platforms to a plethora of 3rd party developers as Apple has done with the iPod Touch and Microsoft to a much greater extent with Windows Mobile. The gaming device companies have had a business model for years that involves selling devices at a loss and then making money back with licensing fees from the developers. Apple has always made a profit on every device it sells and therefore opening their platform provides an opportunity for extra income and does not risk existing income.
Sony and Nintendo have also created very targeted gaming devices with inputs and controls that are only found on gaming devices. Nintendo embraced touch and audio input prior to Apple - but the touch area is quite small. The issues for Sony and Nintendo to overcome with the physical aspects of their devices can be resolved in future models and they both still offer the best competition to Apple in terms of ‘cool’ devices.
A final characteristic of both gaming devices is that they rely on physical media to primarily distribute content. This again reflects the heritage of selling games via retail channels. Apple has been extremely lucky with the dominance of the iPod because this has also allowed Apple to become one of the largest digital content retailers with the iTunes Store.
So the iPod Touch is cool and as a mobile computing platform and it faces little ‘cool’ competition as such. Apple is getting aggressive and has inspirations for the iPod Touch to move into gaming and compete with the gaming devices rather than waiting for them to move into the mobile computing market.
The death of the PDA
There are two other types of devices that can be used for mobile computing in education - Windows based PDA devices and smartphones. The PDAs have a long heritage in mobile computing and provide a very open platform with digital delivery (however lacking a single easy retail channel to compete with the iTunes Store). The problem for PDA devices is that their market is shrinking thanks to competition from smartphones and gaming devices. For business and personal use a PDA makes little sense when a user can get a smartphone that can provide them with the same functionality and the functions of a phone.
This shrinking market means that one of the markets where non-phone devices make sense is when schools or other education institutions sponsor the use of a particular device. Non-phone devices are preferable in schools because they create no problems related to the payment of phone bills and connectivity can be more easily controlled through school WiFi connections. It is not clear if this market is big enough for it to be viable for device manufacturers to continue creating PDA devices.
The device already in the pocket
The final type of devices that offer competition to the iPod Touch as a mobile computing platform for education are the smartphones. Statistics only show the smartphone market to be increasing every year and this had led to a very competitive marketplace that is driving down costs. Smartphones are very fragmented though with many different platforms:
*Windows Mobile
*Blackberry
*Symbian (Nokia, SonyEricsson and Motorola)
*Linux
*Android (from Google autumn 2008)
All of these platforms are open (more open than the iPod Touch) and on many of the platforms are Java compatible. However there are lots of different screen sizes and input mechanisms that vary across the devices. The variations in device specifications mean that there are phones for every type of user but make it much harder to write software and some phones are just not powerful or large enough for educational content to work.
Phones are ‘cool’/desirable and already in the pockets of students - but the lack of standard configurations means that there is very little software for these devices. The lack of an ‘education standard’ makes it hard for consumers to choose devices, schools to put their weight behind particular configurations and developers to focus their support.
I am writing this article on a plane with my Nokia N810 so I feel I should also quickly mention the ‘Internet Tablet’ devices. These devices are the successors to the PDAs and are very powerful - with great off-line capabilities, a keyboard and great application distribution features. They lack however any media player credibility (they do it - but not as effortlessly as an iPod). The power & flexibility of these devices is also a flaw when compared with the simplicity & usability of the iPod for “non-geek” users.
Other ‘netbook’ computers like the Asus EEE are not pocket devices and not up for consideration.
Conclusions:The iPod Touch has the least flaws and the most advantages at the moment
The iPod Touch / iPhone platform is a single configuration of screen size and input mechanism which helps in the creation of content. The brand is also well known and understood by consumers as desirable and ‘cool’. It is easier for school to encourage the use of iPods with students and parents.
The heritage of the iPod as a media player provides compelling reasons for students to use one with or without educational content. The addition of gaming to the iPod Touch only makes the devices more compelling to students.
The iPhone is a great device for consumers who want the functionality of a smartphone but can run all the same software as an iPod Touch. The iPod Touch is great for schools who do not want to be involved in billing issues. (The media player market is more secure than that for PDA devices and a better investment for schools.)
The digital delivery platform greatly reduces the barriers for developers of niche software (such as education) to compete globally and find viable markets. This distribution method also means that operating system upgrades are applied more easily and more widely than any other mobile platform.
The iPod platform has flaws:
*Lack of keyboard input
*little competition to drive down price
*no compatibility with existing software
*A psuedo-open platform that is tightly controlled by Apple
In my opinion at the moment the advantages mean these flaws are acceptable and in some ways these flaws are a consequence of the advantages.
It has become clear to me in writing this article that to seriously compete with the iPod Touch platform would take a combination of something like Nokia, Nintendo and Amazon.
I hope this has laid out in a bit more detail why I see the iPod Touch and iPhone as being highly important as a mobile platform for education. I welcome comments and opinion to help sharpen my understanding and thoughts on the issues facing students, educators and parents in choosing and using mobile devices in education.
Tags: devices, handy education, iphone, iPod Touch
16.Sep.08 devices, education, handy education, m-learning, mobile development, mobile phones, tools, uHavePassed Comments (4)
iTouch to iPhone ratios
Just a quick note to say that I have found out from an iPhone web application game developer that up until the iPhone 3G was released that for every 3 iPhones that visited their site 1 iPod Touch visited.
Clearly this figure is in no way accurate - and only an indication - but I can’t see any reason why statistically this should not be a good sample.
This shows that either the iPod Touch players are not using the internet, are not game players or that the iPod Touch is nowhere near competing with the iPhone for market share.
I am still curious to find out the figures from outside the US - especially in teritories where the iPhone is not available.
Tags: devices, iphone, mobile phones
28.Aug.08 devices, handy education, mobile phones, tools Comment (1)
New York Times Article on iKnow initiative
Yesterday I mentioned the iKnow initiative at Freed-Hardeman University well today it is covered in more detail in the New York Times.
From the article:
The rush to distribute the devices worries some professors, who say that students are less likely to participate in class if they are multitasking. “I’m not someone who’s anti-technology, but I’m always worried that technology becomes an end in and of itself, and it replaces teaching or it replaces analysis,” said Ellen G. Millender, associate professor of classics at Reed College in Portland, Ore. (She added that she hoped to buy an iPhone for herself once prices fall.)
Tags: devices, iphone, mLearning, mobile-learning
21.Aug.08 devices, education, handy education, m-learning, mLearning, mobile development, mobile phones Comments (0)
Nokia N810 review
I’ve been using a Nokia N810 for the past week and was interested to see how a pocket sized mobile device (but not a phone) might be useful in education.
If you are unware of the N810 it is the latest in a range of devices that Nokia call internet tablets. It has a size similar to that of an iPhone, but it is not a phone at all- it can only use WiFi or bluetooth to access the internet. It also has a touch screen and GPS like the iPhone, but I think that is really where the similarity ends.
Unlike the iPhone the N810 is an open operating system and any software can be installed on it. This openess does a lot to highlight why the iPhone closed system is more suitable for consumers than it will to encourage take up of similar devices.
The device is perfect for me but I can see that it would not be suitable for all. The OS is called maemo and is a linux derivative. The interface is very friendly and it can upgrade over the air which is missing on nearly all mobile devices. The problems come with the software, which is typical of a lot of linux software in my experience in that it just about does what you want. In the week I have been using it I don’t think I have used a piece of software that has not crashed at some point.
Even the apps that come as part of the OS have crashed, and this annoying for core apps like email and the browser (a firefox derivative). Those open source apps that I have installed have worked just about but I can’t see any of them making it in a world where Apple is setting expectations.
I think at this point i should mention that I love the device and feel it is perfect for me. There are times when i want to take a phone out and times when I want the capabilities of the N810 but I am glad that I don’t always have to carry around one device with all my eggs in one basket. It can utilise the 3G connection on my phone to access the internet when there is no WiFi.
It is interesting that Google’s new mobile OS Android can already run on the N810 but in a restricted way (slow). I am not sure of the technicalities but it would be great to see Android replace maemo completly because Android seems to have a much better memory management system and philosophy.
Anyway enough of the technical stuff - how is this device useful in education? Well in short it isn’t - sure it could be shoe horned to have a place competimg against a windows PDA but in all truth without a good range of software it has little use as a school or institutions sponsored device. For an individual who finds it fits their needs then it is perfect!
If Nokia want to make it suceed they need an OS that will give developers more of a platform than one niche device and for that Android makes perfect sense.
Tags: devices, education, mobile-learning
31.Jul.08 devices, education, m-learning, mLearning Comments (2)