Category Archives: psp

psp

GPS for the PSP

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The Playstation Portable (PSP) is as you may guess from the name usually used for playing games. However it has other tricks up its sleeve including so I read the possibility of GPS.

PSP

The PSP as well as playing games can play audio, show pictures and play video. It also has wireless capability and a somewhat simplistic but usable browser.

I have seen the PSP camera which allows you to take video and photographs, but was interested to read about the GPS capability.

The ability to use GPS on your PSP opens up a range of learning scenarios involving maps, GPS and images.

Despite not having a stylus input and text entry is not easy, I still feel that the PSP has real potential as a device for mobile learning. There is nothing to stop a learner using other tools such as pen and paper in conjunction with a PSP as part of their learning activity.

apple, audio, ipod touch, nokia, psp, video

BBC Review Four Wifi Media Players

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The BBC has published a review of four of the top wifi capable media players currently on the market.

The Sony PSP, the Nokia N800, the Archos 605wifi and (of course) the Apple iPod touch.

Gadget lovers are spoilt for choice when it comes to portable media players, with an increasing number offering web access through wi-fi connections. We take a look at four different players – Sony’s PSP Slim, Archos 605wifi, Nokia’s N800 and the Apple iPod touch – and assess their strengths and weaknesses in different categories.

Their winner, well it’s only fair that you check out the article, but it doesn’t surprise me.

m-learning, mobile, psp

“Please switch on your mobiles”

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The Guardian has an interesting article on how educational institutions are using mobile phones to enhance, support and deliver learning.

They were banned as a distraction in lectures and seminars, but now colleges and universities are exploiting them as learning platforms. Mobiles that double up as internet platforms and iPods and MP3 players that can download hefty video or audio files mean students own what is in effect a portable learning tool. Digital mobility is drawing in students through distance learning, outreach or aids for special needs. What’s more, the use of technology can be highly motivating, adding value and content in opening up entirely new teaching scenarios.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a passion for the use of mobile devices to support learning. I lean towards the use of portable entertainment devices as opposed to the use of PDAs. By this I mean using mobile phones, iPods, PSPs rather than the business orientated PDA (such as an iPAQ).

The PDA has many greater advantages over entertainment devices in terms of what it can deliver especially in terms of text entry and interactivity. For me though one of the key issues of any mobile device is how personal it is to the user. If you don’t own a device or even know you are going to have it for a long time, why would you use it on a regular basis or even keep it charged.

Handing out mobile devices in a classroom also seems illogical to me, why give all students a PDA when a laptop trolley (or even moving to a computer suite) would give a similar (or better) experience.

Though being on a field trip a PDA (or an UMPC) would certainly be a better choice over a traditional (heavy) laptop, more so with features such as GPS.

I also see that the mobile device as only one part of the learning design, the learning activity would not be solely delivered via a mobile device. It would be used in conjunction with non-mobile delivery and assessment.It’s also about choice.

Allowing learners to choose how, where and when they access learning has an impact on their learning compared to been dictated where and when they can learn.

As the article demonstrates I am  not alone in seeing the benefits of mobile learning.

jisc, psp

Are you ready to play?

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I dragged myself from my PSP to wonder if playing games is such a waste of time…

PSP

Today I still walk around and ask students to stop playing games on the computers in the Library.

Some students tell me that they are undertaking a course in Computer Games Design at which point I throw them out…

The JISC have recently published a guide on using gaming for learning.

Since the earliest times, games have been used to support training and learning objectives. With the development of computers and more recently the Internet, there has been increased interest in how leisure games and simulations can be used to support learning.

A newly-published report Learning in Immersive Worlds: a review of game-based learning explores the increased attention being paid to games to support learning objectives, presenting the findings of a literature review and a set of case studies of game-based learning from everyday practice contexts.

The JISC-commissioned report finds that computer games could have an important role to play in learning but that for learning to take place, games must be related to learning outcomes and be relevant to real world contexts of practice. Factors that influence learner motivation include, the report suggests, the player’s sense of challenge, the realism of the game, opportunities to explore or discover new information and learner control.

A copy of the full report of Learning in Immersive Worlds: a review of game-based learning is available with other guides from the JISC website. It makes for interesting reading.