E-learning joins the iPhone app race
26/02/2010
Gaining nearly a fifth of the total global smartphone market in just two and half years, Apple’s iPhone has cemented itself as a leader in mobile devices.
And it seems to have an application for just about anything. Want to search through a list of more than 650 cheeses online, or download an alarm clock that analyses your sleep patterns? How about an exercise database which provides videos and instructions to get you fit?
Naturally, the question arises for teachers and trainers: is the iPhone just a bit of fun, or can it be used for real teaching and learning?
Training provider William Angliss Institute, in partnership with hotel-giant Rydges, set out to find some answers in their 2009 E-learning Innovations project.
As part of their training for a Certificate III in Cookery, new apprentices at Rydges go through a skills recognition audit which includes a workplace assessment of practical skills and results in the development of a gap training plan. The task was to see if the heavily paper-based assessment process could be performed by assessors using an iPhone application.
William Angliss worked with a number of assessors to develop a wish list of functionality for the set-up, content and reporting of the application. They found that people with experience in iPhone application development in Australia were rare, but that online forums provided a wealth of information to assist with their research phase.
William Angliss’ iPhone application was developed by an external consultant and consisted of a database driven website which allowed the creation of assessment questions and the allocation of a learner to an assessor. A native application (installed on the device) was developed, called ‘Connecta’, which is a free download from the iTunes store. The native application enables the iPhone camera function to be triggered from the ‘Connecta’ webpage, where images are compressed, resized and submitted back to the web server as supporting evidence.
During development William Angliss encountered a number of problems, such as copyright, licensing and gaining final publication approval from Apple. All of these development issues are documented in the Connecta iPhone assessment tool project development website.
Project Manager, Michael Frost, said the success of the iPhone application for assessment means they will look to roll it out further in 2010.
“We’ve developed an e-assessment tool that can be used across any industry to conduct assessments in the field and capture and submit evidence of competence,” he said.
“The iPhone process is simple and does not require any complex procedures making it easy to use by assessors. It’s a matter of logging in, selecting the learner from the list to be assessed, ticking the multiple choice and true/false questions, capturing any supporting images and sending the information to the web server.
“Through this project we’ve shown our clients that we intend to be at the forefront when it comes to using technology in training, and this has further strengthened the confidence our clients have in us to deliver.
“And we’ve seen a real increase in demand for e-learning. We’re in the final stages of completing an online induction package for the Mantra Group, and this will be deployed to their 3,000 plus staff across Australia. We’re also working on an OHS resource for young migrant workers and online resources for Jetstar.
“The E-learning Innovations project was an excellent learning curve for the team and one I would recommend to any RTO looking to get involved in e-learning.”
E-learning Innovations projects are funded and supported by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework. Funding for the 2010 E-learning Innovations projects is open until 2 March. Visit http://flexiblelearning.net.au/innovations for more information. You can also read the full William Angliss case study.
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