1. University Duisburg-Essen, GermanyWMUTE 2006 PDAs as Input Devices in Brainstorming and Creative Discussions Lars Bollen, Guillermo Juarez, Micha Westermann, H. Ulrich Hoppe University Duisburg-Essen, Germany Institute for Computer Science and Interactive Systems

2. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info2 / 21 Agenda Functional Assignments Technical Issues Mobile Notes Scenarios First Experiences

3. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info3 / 21 Functional Assignment Does it make sense to replicate every software on a PDA? -> concept of Functional Assignment

4. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info4 / 21 Functional Assignment heterogenous devices in learning scenarios heterogenous learning tasks and teaching modes -> Different devices afford different functions (and vice versa!)

5. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info5 / 21 Functional Asssignment whiteboard TabletPC desktop PC PDA smartphone data gathering textual input shared visual focus modeling ?...

6. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info6 / 21 -> Mobile Notes framework and application to support discussions with mobile devices using PDAs only as input devices for textual contributions leaving moderation / arranging with the teachers desktop PC leaving a shared visualisation with the classrooms video projection

7. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info7 / 21 System OverviewDatabase Freestyler Clients All the communication is buffered in a database

8. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info8 / 21 Benefits of Buffered Communication asynchronous/ quasi-synchronous messaging persistent storage robust easy to replace posterior analysis

9. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info9 / 21 Problems with Mobile Devices Implicit slow CPU memory limited input methods screen size Derived from Market no standards heterogenous devices lack of tools

10. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info10 / 21 Our Approach create abstraction layer on top of every platform standard programming language VM/compiler for every arquitecture tools for rapid development OpenEmbedded linux metadistribution GNU Classpath: open source java libraries free Java VM's

11. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info11 / 21 Architecture

12. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info12 / 21 Mobile Notes

13. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info13 / 21 Mobile Notes

14. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info14 / 21 Mobile Notes -different input modes: -text, handwritten notes, votings -states of contributions: -active (can be linked) / non-active (cannot be linked) -link contributions: -neutral, pro, contra, question

15. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info15 / 21 Mobile Notes moderation (optional) -teacher / moderator can collect contributions for later usage / evaluation / filtering

16. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info16 / 21 Scenarios Brainstorming –moderator creates an initial topic to be referenced –oarticipants can freely brainstorm without being influenced / disturbed / hindered –Moderator can select and group contributions for further discussions

17. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info17 / 21 Scenarios Teacher presentation –teacher prepares presentation and opens some topics for discussion –comments / questions are available for later usage –teacher does not get interrupted –comments do not get lost

18. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info18 / 21 Scenarios Test questions –easily pose questions to students at end of lessons (using the voting tool) –honest answers for certain questions are more likely when anonymous –question can be reused as a starting point in next lesson

19. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info19 / 21 First Experiences Big Issues in Mobile Learning Workshop, Nottingham, UK, June 2006

20. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info20 / 21 First Experiences used in seminars in University Duisburg-Essen –useful for certain kinds of scenarios –very useful for brainstorming –less useful for discussions usage of handwritten notes depends on content and personal preferences general usability is high; students without experience in PDA usage performed well

21. University Duisburg-Essenbollen@collide.info21 / 21 Outlook technical changes –implement PDA application in C# to adress even more devices (e.g. WinCE smartphones) –change in middleware (SQLSpaces instead of MySQL database) outdoor scenarios empirical evaluation