m-Learning

m-Learning was a €4.5m 3 year pan-European research and development programme supported by the European Commission's Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme within the 5th Framework. The project started on 1st October 2001 and ended 30th September 2004.

The overall project was coordinated by the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA). Participant organisations included universities and commercial companies based in three EU countries - Britain, Italy and Sweden.

m-Learning developed prototype products and services which delivered information and learning experiences via technologies that are inexpensive, portable and accessible to the majority of EU citizens.

The m-Learning target audience includes young adults aged 16 to 24, who are unemployed, under-employed and/or homeless and who are not currently taking part in education or training. The products and services were designed to capture the interest of the young adults and to assist them in the development of life long learning objectives. Learning themes therefore focused on themes such as football and music, with 'bite-sized' learning modules designed to develop aspects of literacy and numeracy.

The m-Learning infrastructure includes a Learning Management System which, together with mPortal, the microportal interface layer developed by Ultralab, facilitates access via a variety of mobile devices to m-Learning materials and services. Support for collaborative learning and peer-to-peer interaction was also developed by Ultralab. mPortal development was an iterative process informed by work with groups of young adults, who were recruited as co-researchers.

For more information please visit the m-learning project website or contact Project Leader Alice Mitchell at Ultralab.