Graham Brown-Martin is the founder of Handheld Learning, which focuses on using mobile technologies to make learning personal and universally accessible. The document discusses issues of identity, ownership, and mobility in digital learning. It argues that confirmed online identities can create a safer internet, learners should own what they produce and the evidence of their learning, and ownership implies rights of access and mobility so learners can take their work with them.

1. identity, ownership &
mobility
presented by graham brown-martin
founder, handheld learning
graham@handheldlearning.co.uk

2. who?
formed in 2004
schools & higher education sector
run a large annual conference (800+ delegates)
run active online community
ideas incubation lab in cambridge
owned by a group of consumer electronics
veterans and education specialists
personal background in education and
entertainment technology

3. mission
vision - every child with a personal computing
and communication device within 5 years
mission - to make learning personal and
universally accessible
we believe that this mission is achievable using
low cost consumer technologies and innovative
web programming*
*plus a little pixie dust

4. serious games in schools
general outlook poor
learners often have better technology at home
that is banned at school
educational software developers rarely make
good games
current pedagogy doesn’t embrace the learning
gained using entertainment technologies
outbreaks of research projects using mobile,
game console and ipod technologies
visit http://ltsblogs.org.uk/consolarium/

5. “today’s students are no longer the people our
educational system was designed to teach”
marc prensky

10. identity

11. identity
cyber-bullying, stalking and other harassment is
prevalent on the Internet and mobile devices.
over 2 million cases in the UK
difficult to police, especially cross-border
access via confirmed identity, supported by ISP’s
may create a safer internet
sites and users not confirmed drop into a cyber-
ghetto
far fetched?

12. identity
confirmed online identity is evolving out of:
social networking systems
online collaborative gaming systems
single sign-on technologies
auto-biographical history
protective environments for the young
savvy users

13. ownership

14. ownership
who owns your learning?
who owns the evidence of your learning?
what is the status of digital work?

15. why is it important?
ownership is the principle that learners should own
what they produce
ownership is at the heart of constructivism* where
the learner is at the centre of their learning
experience
ownership gives learners a sense of responsibility and
control leading to an increase in motivation
ownership of evidence builds an autobiography of self
as learner, establishing identity and value
There can be little doubt that a learners digital work
should hold as much value than any other.
*jean piaget et al

16. games and constructivism
“video games teach children what computers are
beginning to teach adults, that some forms of learning
are fast paced, immensely compelling and rewarding”
Seymour Papert

18. mobility

19. mobility
ownership implies rights of access and mobility
current digital learning systems present
challenges to the mobility of learners work
there are few methods for learners to take their
digitally evidenced learning experiences with
them, e.g. if they change/leave school
the mobile learning community has been
focussed on devices and improved access to
learning but not owned learning in a full sense

20. bits rather atoms*
mobile learning is not about gadgets
learning while mobile, 24/7, anywhere, anything
it’s about the digital bits that enable and evidence
learning while providing a sustainable
autobiographical memory
unless the bits are mobile and interoperable their
currency is diminished
importantly, if they can’t keep them so will their
value to the learner
*Nicholas Negroponte

21. thank you
graham brown-martin
graham@handheldlearning.co.uk
www.handheldlearning.co.uk
www.handheldlearning2008.com