Moodle4iPhone project some thoughts

Moodle4iPhone

Julian Ridden demoed a web based Moodle site for iPhone, they have called it Moodle4iPhone Project. It's not just all about iPhone, they have one for Android phone as well.


What I was expecting from the session.

Well I was expecting to see an iPhone platform that takes Moodle into mLearning territory. Unfortunately Moodle4iPhone is replicating all what Moodle on a computer would do. What I really found disappointing was the start of the session where the presented stated mobile phones are for assessing content and information. It was as if the only purpose mobiles could be used for was for transmitting content to students who are sitting idol somewhere doing nothing :-(

Delivering content to students who are some where out there doing nothing is a good idea but can we call it learning? For me learning is a result of someones experience and the experience will result in user generated content. Moodle4iPhone offers features that are present on Moodle like forum (you can reply to the forum) and almost all activity that can be found on a standard Moodle install.

What's missing from Moodle4iPhone

I still think this is a opportunity lost if we are just trying to re-create something that is doable on Moodle through the computer. To make Moodle a true mLearning system we need to leverage on things that are offered to us while using a mobile phone rather than just seeing it as a delivery tool. Things like geotagging, video, pictures and audio now offer users to create rich content at a touch. Why not use these to allow students on Moodle to create and share their experience with their network. We have to remember that learning doesn't happen in classrooms only, it's about capturing these moments and mobile phones make it easy. There is a touch of authenticity to a persons learning experience. The term Ubiquitous learners comes about whenever we talk about eLearning, the ability to capture a thought or take a snapshot of something interesting is a part of learning.

In my opinion Moodle4iPhone totally misses the strength of mLearning altogether. It renders itself to a teacher driven learning environment.