Mobile Learner Support

Having completed a talk on a range of mobile-related topics and work delivered, underway or in the proposal stages at the OU – for the IET Technology Coffee Morning series – here’s a slightly amended replay to incorporate demos and overlay prompt slides.

Since chaptering the podcast feed isn’t working as I’d hoped, please use the timecodes below to help find something of specific interest ['scrub' around using the playhead/slider below the video]
UPDATE: The timecodes below are also now hyperlinked to the appropriate segment on the IET YouTube channel as an alternate:
00:01:40 Overview
00:03:27 Student Usage [incl. background/context]
00:16:13 Student survey ’09
00:19:57 Mobile VLE beta [VLE1 on Moodle 1.9 - current, incl. staff demo via goo.gl/TMcPF]
00:26:07 Student survey ’10
00:34:17 Mobile-optimisation: VLE2 [incl. live demos using mobile emulators]
00:50:48 Mobile support [covering some proposals before wider release/publicity]
00:59:07 Mobile coordination [practitioner info, strategy, mobile-friendliness, improved interfaces]
01:08:06 Mobile web applications and third-parties [reflection on OU web-based approach]
01:12:03 Mobile apps & resources [outline of ePub eBook work]
01:14:40 Mobile exposure [proposal for OU Home mobile]

You may also find the prompt slides useful to identify an area of interest [via goo.gl/yjAkT]:

In the last 4 posts, I have given an overview of new features and enhancements along with some rationale as part of the move from mobile-optimising Moodle 1.9 to 2.1 at the OU. There are a select number of modules that have now migrated to OU VLE2 in the October/November presentation period and more will follow through to February 2012 and beyond. Currently our students will continue on the same basis as before when using mobile – that is on an (open) beta trial with opportunities for feedback and some further enhancements due in December.

In parallel, work continues on proposals to better unify the OU mobile presence from the top down, which will be discussed in the upcoming IET Tech talk, but also mocked up in outline using Google Sites – all subject to approval. Part of this will be to offer commonly-accessible guidance and provide self-help where possible for novices and less familiar users of the (OU) mobile web – again an approach expected to be trialled in early 2012.

Other features of mobile delivery include the extensive work now underway in providing better solutions to ‘long-form’ content previously available only in print. Early prototyping using Structured Content materials in OpenLearn have yielded a range of more interactive and enhanced eBooks in the ePub format [currently implemented for iBooks, with Kindle on its way]. This is a precursor to being able to provide similar materials to students, accessed through OU VLE2 – with some early trialling underway in the OU Business School, Faculty of Business & Law.

Another shorter post to be followed up with more detail at a later point… In this v2 of the Mobile VLE, we also intended to offer greater support for quizzes or interactive computer marked assignments, along with whatever integration was feasible with OU eAssessment tools.

In the first release, support for the more common web form-type quiz activties has been mobile optimised – which includes multiple choice, list selections and simple text box answers – as shown in the screenshots below:

In addition, support for questions involving multimedia are also possible through use of HTML5 media players:

As noted elsewhere, keeping parity between desktop and mobile views is important and so this has been rendered to mobile as well (including indicators on completion and correct/incorrect answers). Where question types aren’t currently supported, students receive a note to prompt completion when next at a desktop:

At this present time, drag-and-drop activity support is being worked on, along with rich text answers and those using scientific/maths notation, and the advice currently is that formative quizzes can be carried out while mobile, but students may prefer to conduct timed or summative assessment on more consistent desktop connections and browsers.

Only a short post on this set of features for now, but in the interests of maintaining the ability for students to keep on top of their studies, we have optimised as much as is feasible for the Forum, Wiki and Blog tools. However, in evaluating the v1 beta, we found that the plain-text entry form we needed to use gave rise to some potential issues particularly with the wiki, where small errors in adding to or amending the code view could have [detrimental] impact on a group activity. As such we’re still reviewing the best approach.

In the OU ForumNG tool, optimisation also includes being able to collapse and expand messages or threads in addition to replying and posting [with appropriate permissions]:

The OU wiki has been optimised to show a read-only view at present, and will be reviewed alongside other features added at a later date:

The OU blog has also been optimised and comments can be added to existing posts, with the ability to add [rich text] posts again under review at this time:

Going forward, we are also watching with particular interest how apps such as the official Moodle app can be used to enable devices to capture rich media and upload directly to a user filespace for embedding in the collaborative tools. Similarly, the great mobile-optimisation work done by Google on Docs [rich text editing] in particular may be of benefit as we integrate this further with the VLE.

In line with the OU push to implement more of the curriculum narrative, scaffolding, signposting and activities online – rather than solely relying on a mixed blend of physical artefacts – the central study planner is a key route through a module. As mentioned in the previous post, this is carried through to the mobile view and in adopting Moodle 2.1 we are now using sub-pages to better structure what was essentially flat navigation [albeit with some inventive workarounds involving 'stealthing'] to a number of assets.

At the same time, while resource pages and PDFs of printed material remain, much of the OU resources have moved to being implemented according to structured content methods – which give rise to many outputs – web content being the main one available on the VLE. [Alternative formats are increasingly available, with personal preferences now simplifying the range of options]
Mobile optimisation of structured content is demonstrated in the screenshots below, with the ability to access the contents page for navigation:

Where possible, some of the more complex layouts including images, tables and sidenotes have been reflowed to better fit the smaller [default portrait] screen of a mobile device. Also similar to the desktop view, the document also indicates what section you last read [and this is carried through to whatever browser you use]:

At this time, some of the interactives, in particular Flash assets, may not work on some devices, but work is now underway to implement HTML5 versions of much of our rich media, including audiovisual clips. An additional feature that can be turned on by the curriculum team is to link (unfamiliar) words in text to the glossary, which has also been optimised in the mobile view. The glossary can also be accessed independently if made available as a resource.

Further to previous blog posts [1][2][3], the new version of our Moodle 2.1-based VLE (or OU VLE2) has been designed with a mobile-optimised view or render in parallel from the beginning. Module websites were released on VLE2 in the last few weeks, and students are already starting to engage with the new implementation, with good feedback so far.

To give a better context, here’s a sample of a demonstration workspace, using examples as if it was a student account viewing the site (hence the full 3 column view) on a desktop – note that the current week is week 4 (offscreen):

On a current, popular handheld mobile (touchscreen) device the same site looks as shown, with 3 columns aligned into a single optimised view covering key aspects of the site with updates, learning materials and activities:

This particular view is optimised for higher-end mobiles, expected to become mainstream over the course of the staged migration cycle to the new VLE2. In particular, students arrive at an enhanced overview or ‘launchpad’ page containing updates on news items and notifying any unread forum messages, followed by the narrative and activities for the current week of study [week 4 highlighted above]. Students can then go to other pages on the new tabbed view to explore prior and future weeks in the study planner, all of their forums and any resources placed alongside for common access throughout the study period. The following screenshots are from an actual live module [D171 : Introduction to counselling]:

At any point, if the user determines that their mobile device is capable, or they prefer for other reasons – they can switch to a desktop view of the site instead (and switch back). Additional features to note are that the student can use the tick-boxes to keep track between devices/interfaces and that if they personalise with a note against any week this is also visible on mobiles.

For lower-end phones, such as ‘feature phones’ and some smartphones, depending on capabilities a different [and more read-only] view of the module site is available through a version of the launchpad similar to that available on VLE1 (or Mobile VLE v1 – beta).

Tablets are catered for in that the desktop experience is shown, but with the option for users to switch to a mobile view if they prefer. It should be noted that some of the interactive tools such as Elluminate will not work (nor will Flash, depending on device and the installation of plugins/apps).

As mentioned previously, the redesign has followed positive student feedback on the current Mobile VLE v1 beta and surveyed responses, to maintain quick access to enable them to keep on top of their studies. This was validated by usability testing and will now provide a common framework for faculties and curriculum teams to build on more mobile-specific activities as appropriate.

It’s been a while, and a lot of development work has been going on with Moodle 2.x, alongside preparatory work for a more holistic mobile presence and support provision in recent months. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be providing more detail on the mobile optimisation work that Stewart Nixon and Anthony Forth in particular have been doing for the just-released new version of the Mobile VLE.

For OU staff there will also be an overview screencast [as part of Online Learning Systems pages for mobile] showing some of the new features, in addition to being able to view the current implementation. Further detail and the wider context will be covered in an IET Technology talk later in November.

Watch this space…

I’m currently in the process of specifying what has received broad support in principle and perhaps is proving difficult to articulate in formal documentation, so I’m putting this out as background. Perhaps of wider interest to colleagues attempting something similar?

Short version: simple support microsite shell structure needed that reduces number of clicks/taps by embedding rather than crosslinking into other site hierarchy. Content hosted in other areas. Mobile optimised, using key generic guidance, self-help and peer support for specifics. Community self-sustaining via forums.

Given that the OU is a large organisation, one thing we’re told we do well is student support, whether mediated face-to-face, over the phone or via the numerous websites and detailed ‘how-to’ guides, we try to cater for all types within our student body. The case becomes stronger of course when introducing something new.

One of the drawbacks of this is that there are then many different teams or siloed parts of the organisation that provide material, some so similar as to duplicate content and/or purpose. There has been a good effort to centralise core advice so that yet further (dated) versioning doesn’t creep in at a subject level. Immediate colleagues and myself have probably been a little bit closer to this diversity than the average member of staff or student, most recently in my case for building up Google Apps at the OU.

What I’ve aimed for in the past is a good level of interconnectivity and crosslinking between resources and better delineating where something fits in the spectrum of support. From a mobile user experience point of view, the ‘transaction cost’ of clicking (or tapping) through to multiple websites is an additional key issue for some, not least due to timely download and impact on data allowances and cost for some larger website templates. Of course things should ‘just work’ on mobile too, and where possible should be convergent (or aggregated).

Coupled with the ‘standard’ support aspects of introducing a new tool or method of access is how much can be provided by the OU – generically, and how much needs to be customised, not just by use case but sometimes by platforms/devices. This is why it would be helpful to respond to the student survey that indicated that a degree of self-help and peer support would be possible to add in to the mix for mobile.

So… from what I’ve been able to evaluate, we need a microsite – basically a shell that:

• hangs off whatever new top-level mobile access point we have
• is optimised for mobile web delivery
• includes key information (particularly for novices) on cost, roaming etc.
• covers specific OU official, generic guidance
• provides for self-help approaches via an existing help and FAQ system
• connects other mobile learners to discuss and help with device specifics from a peer-to-peer standpoint
• is ready before wider publicity and release of new mobile options (!)
• once established, can self-sustain to continue to be current and responsive with minor structural changes/upkeep

Unfortunately the OU doesn’t (yet) have a single technology that will allow for the range of activity outlined, drawing in multiple sources while providing a community or peer-support angle. The range of content or guidance is fairly simple and can be allocated or to some existing areas (my crude characterisation below):

• Key information to know: mobile data costs, travelling abroad (roaming), use of WiFi, apps & mobile/desktop web [ PC4Study - context & rationale]
• Official support for: Mobile VLE view of course materials, use of eBooks, audiovisuals, interactives [ Online Computing Guide - feature list & 'how-to' ]
• Self-help for common queries and generic advice [ Help & FAQs ]
• Peer support for device-specifics, escalating key requirements [ VLE forums ]

In all of this it’s not really where some of these features are located, more that there is a good, easily accessible overview rather than relying on search coverage and accurate queries/metadata. Contextual help will also be available of course, though slightly different from the popups and ‘tooltips’ used on desktops.

Whether this is a microsite, shell, launchpad or whatever I’d hope that for mobile support at least we can improve on a site that just links off left, right and centre. Embedding, feeding and consuming web services would be ideal in this scenario.

I’ll keep you posted as to how we get on!

A quick post on this today, to be followed up with more detail once confirmed.

Mobile VLE v2 (for OU VLE2 = Moodle 2.x)
Development work on this has been proceeding at a very good pace, where pre-existing modules and themes are available. Some of the recent alterations to design work naturally rising from implementation are due to management of space on screen. In particular some tweaking has been made to the study planner view to improve any redundant spacing – remembering of course that the amount of content per block is flexible. Similarly, the ForumNG improvements have meant that the indenting of threads (which are an issue for some) have needed a re-think on mobile, which will be achieved by indicating the position in the thread by preceding bullets e.g.
. Original
.. Reply to original
… Reply to reply
.. 2nd Reply to original
etc.

Mainstreaming – support
Before any publicity or announcements are made on mobile support for our learning systems, we’d like to get a microsite up and running so that there is a blend of official guidance, but also self-help materials and embedded FAQs. In particular however, our students surveyed indicated a willingness to peer support on device specifics, so an unmoderated (but alertable) forum tool will be trialled for this purpose. I’m hoping that this work will be able to be developed before July for use over Summer 2011 and beyond.

Since I’ve recently been asked to update our current benchmarking against other learning systems from a mobile perspective, a few points have come home to me, even with a number of approaches having been underway for some time now.

In reviewing the current offerings available from Blackboard and the Moodle community there seems to be a distinct drive to support selected individual tools or activity modules. This is not completely compatible with an online distance learning environment that we need to support here, where increasing proportions of learning design, scaffolding and signposting are placed online as the suggested student pathway through curriculum material. Where previously there was a larger emphasis on guidance through course texts and in face-to-face sessions, both our desktop and mobile access need to provide some sort of consistency in packaging all this together – ideally in regular manageable chunks.

Hence, we surveyed students not only to explore which features should be prioritised but also how to assist them in organising and keep on top of their studies. The core design for the new VLE2 [OU Moodle 2.x] is not radically different from the previous emphasis on the Study Planner, but this time both desktop and mobile views have been designed alongside rather than as a bolt-on.

Internally, there has been quite a bit of debate around whether to provide apps or mobile web implementations to support the learning activity, and given our range of users the mobile web came out as the more supportable and updatable option across a range of platforms. That’s not to say that there is no place for an app – as students told us: an easier sign in process, better media and resource handling (including contributions) are attractive, and some sort of ‘shell’ app might be a useful alignment with proposed work coming out of Moodle HQ.

The app or mobile web debate is also particularly pertinent for student-oriented services – which are more easily identified on campus-based institutions. Irrespective of the route taken, the major task still revolves around making the underlying data more available, feedable and consumable by different technologies. Distance learning institutions have some comparable sources of information even if there isn’t a relevant campus map or list of student activities onsite (see data.open). In some work undertaken by colleagues last year it did look as if at one point US institutions in particular were keen on mobile apps to deliver services, while those HEIs that had worked on this in the UK delivered via the mobile web, but this picture is changing.

Aside from the immediacy of cached information and better geolocation methods, the main benefits of apps in this case seem to be in the smaller amount of data that needs to be transferred to fill a predefined template, rather than load a whole environment. Of course any changes then to the data structure would have to be pushed as a notification to upgrade (for each platform) rather than immediately updated across the board.

In the OU, our Library Services have been ahead of the curve on this one for some time, making use of website traffic information and an earlier mobile service to enhance the next stage of development. What we need to do now is have a much better mobile entry point for enquirers as well as enhance that for current students. This again will be done via the mobile web, though there is some prototyping of consuming the same web services through apps already.

The main point to take forward in mainstreaming mobile learner support will be to inform novices about the potential data costs so that they can sort out a better mobile package if needed (or use WiFi only). Generic support is also the intention, with an aim to provide spaces for peer support and self-help for device specifics. Once we have released the basic provision as a ‘student entitlement’ across the board, then work can resume on finding more curriculum-specific approaches to tailor and optimise further.