RSCWM Learning Technologies

All New Tablet Project

2011-08-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

As we all continue to experience the government’s austerity measures, the evaluation and acquisition of new technologies can sometimes fall by the wayside. If only there was a way that learning providers could access a collection of cutting-edge pieces of technology to evaluate their relevance and suitability to support business objectives...for free?!

Well, due to the recent success of our mobile technologies project we have elected to once again provide a similar opportunity to all sectors in a new initiative, our Tablet Devices Project.

For this project we are now looking for learning providers who wish to explore a variety of popular tablets devices and to see how these might benefit their own organisation. There are six brands of tablet devices available, each with differing features and specifications. This is to offer providers the opportunity to evaluate a number of sizes, specifications, and models.

Learning providers will be able to loan a set of five different devices for a period of six weeks. During this time you are encouraged to use them with staff and learners and at the end of the period feedback your findings to us via a short survey. RSC staff will support you throughout the duration of the project and via our usual support channels and answer any queries you may have about the devices.

At the end of the period, the tablet devices must be returned to us. At that stage we hope you will be better informed as to their potential and perhaps in a position to make your own purchasing choices should you wish to do so.

Who can apply?
This initiative is open to all of our supported learning providers; all that is required is a willingness to see what tablet devices can do for you, and to complete a short survey at the end which will be used to feedback your findings.

Where can I find out more?
A wiki page has been created to offer further information about the project. Here you can find out more about the aims of the project, which devices are available, how to apply and how to gain access to a number of tools and resources to support you during your evaluation of the equipment.

Who can I speak to?
For any queries relating to this project please contact:

Theresa Welch, eLearning Advisor - Work Based Learning,
Tel: 01902 518976,
theresa.welch@rsc-wm.ac.uk

Jason Curtis, Learning Technologies & Information Officer,
Tel: 01902 518986,
jason.curtis@rsc-wm.ac.uk

Munch, Poke, Ping

2011-08-24T03:18:00.000-07:00

Vulnerable Young People, Social Media and E-Safety

I thought it was worth putting a post together based on a Guardian article entitled “Mobile phones have they made some young people more vulnerable than ever”.

The article examines the issues surrounding young vulnerable people using smart phone technologies to access and use online social media platforms.

The heart of this article is a report entitled Munch, Poke, Ping! Which focuses on vulnerable young people, social media and e-safety and was commissioned by the UK government’s Training and Development Agency (TDA) and authored by Stephen Carrick-Davies.

Many professionals working with vulnerable young people who were interviewed for the report said that for these young people, the mobile phone has become the single most important activity that gives identity, connection and a sense of community. Indeed, with the array of apps and features on smart phones, such as private message services (BlackBerry Messenger, for example), the opportunity to poke (a virtual nudge to draw attention), ping (broadcast to many) or use "munch" apps (which grab and save what's on the screen), is it any wonder that the mobile has become a young person's portable, private and personal life-support system?

In the report, it is argue that the technology no longer simply mirrors or amplifies offline interactions and communications. The new social web has changed the platform to that of an incubator; it is a place where communication is captured, aggregated, added to, morphed, changed and re-hatched as a new broadcast or ping. Those with the skill and confidence to narrate their lives online, manage their reputation, mitigate the risks and build up resilience, may well be able to survive and thrive. Those who have few supportive adults, low levels of literacy and are unsupervised and vulnerable to abuse, are far less confident and hence more at risk.

The report goes on to say that " Better training and support for staff working with vulnerable young people would help protect them from risky situations online. It is time to embed e-safety within the wider teaching of emotional, social and digital literacies. A new three Rs of literacy would help us to understand the risks, better manage online reputations and together build resilience to cope with the contradictions and opportunities of the online world".

Futher resources associated with the Munch, Poke, Ping project include:

Full findings, recomendations and resources.

Full report

It is well worth taking the time to read the Guardian article, read Munch, Poke, Ping and to check out Stephens blog.

Jason

Esafety in Discover-e 2011

2011-05-09T01:58:00.000-07:00

This year 2 day online conference is shaping up to be the best yet!
over the two days (May 17th - 18th) we have a great variety of session including:

- Esafety a Learning Providers Journey.
- Meeting your eSafety Duties.
- Tablet PCs for Remote Learning.
- Learning to Listen: Implementing Learner Voice.
- Embedding Technology into Teacher Training.
- Doing More With Less.
- Moving Centre Stage: Placing your Library at the Heart of Teaching and Learning.
- Going Green. Green ICT.

I have to admit I have a slight bias toward the first two sessions on my list (not on conference running order) as I have worked very closely with both speakers on their presentations and I know we have a real treat in-store!

To find out more about this year’s conference click me!

Wiki Crazy!

2011-03-16T07:48:00.001-07:00

It would be fair to say that over the past few weeks I have gone Wiki crazy with much of my time being devoted towards the development two eSafety wiki sites. Thankfully most of the hard work it now done and I can tell you about what I have been up to.

The first wiki out of the starting blocks is an eSafety wiki I have developed to support my role as the RSC eSafety Advisor for the West Midlands. The wiki is called eResponsibility it has been designed around the PIES model (Policy, Infrastructure, Education, Standards) and it holds lots of informative resources and is packed with lots of helpful information and guidance including sample policies and teaching resources.

The second wiki (now in the pilot stage) is a national eSafety resource designed to raise eSafety awareness and promote eResponbility within the post 16 education sector. This site contain lots of useful eSafety related information focusing on the operational and strategic eSafety considerations all learning providers need to be aware of.
Once the pilot stage is complete and final changes have been made to the site I will let you know when it is publicly available.

If you want to learn moe about this post please get in touch. jason.curtis@rsc-wm.ac.uk

Safeguarding

2011-02-14T06:31:00.000-08:00

I received a Tweet this morning from our colleagues at RSC Wales about a really interesting saferguarding article on the LSIS Excellence Gateway.
The article examines the importance of getting your safeguarding provision right and how getting it wrong can effect your organisation when under inspection.

There are lots of useful tips included in the article as well as reallife examples of inspection outcomes and links to useful rescources. If you have 5 minutes to spare this week read this article!

2011-01-25T02:26:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the opportunity to attend E-Safety Live in Dorset. I would like to say it was an enjoyable break in this idyllic county where I consumed lots of Badgers beer, seafood and ice cream!
Sadly it was a 242 mile round trip and home in time for a late dinner.

The event run by South West Grid for Learning (swgfl) focused on protecting your professional online identity. The day had a great mix of sessions including:

* Identifying the professional risks
* What is the police response?
* Every Teacher Matters
* Copyright Infringement
* Employment Law
* Data Protection
* Privacy and Defamation
* Using Social Networking Sites Professionally and Managing Risk
* Managing your Personal Privacy Settings – Your Digital Footprint
* Incident Management
* Tools and Resources.

Thing that I really found interesting about this event was it focused on the safety of professional and the institution and by listening and watch the other delegates in the room it was easy to see a large number seemed very concerned over how exposed they are online even though they consider themselves to be tech-savvy.

One slide in particular within the Managing your Personal Privacy Settings – Your Digital Footprint presentation that caught my eye shows the levels of private information available to ANYONE unless careful attention is applied to your privacy settings within Facebook. It was very worrying to see how Facebook have altered the way default privacy settings have been configured are over the past 5 years. The following diagram was produced by Matt Mckeon http://mattmckeon.com/facebook-privacy/ depicts this change. This is well worth including in any eSafety training session you run for staff, students or the SMT?

I have to say I really got a lot out of the day and I now have access to all of the resources used on the day! If you want to find out more please get in touch Jason.curtis@rsc-wm.ac.uk .

Before signing off I have to mention 360 degrees safe. It is an online tool designed by swgfl which provides a user friendly and interactive means for learning providers to review their eSafety provision and to develop an action plan to bring about improvements. The tool is currently free of charge to learning providers on completion of a simple registration process. Although the tool was originally designed for the schools sector swgfl will allow post 16 learning providers from across the country to utilise the tool.

Further eSafety information is available on the RSC WM WIKI for those that are interested.

Mobile Phone App to help spot paedophiles.

2011-01-24T01:19:00.000-08:00

I came across this news item today and thought it might be worth a mention.

Isis Forensics http://www.isis-forensics.com/ have developed a tool after parental concerns over children accessing sites on their mobiles. Although the App has been received positively a number of child protection groups warn against complacency.

As yet I can't work out if the App has been released or which platforms it will be available on.

"The team behind Child Defence say the app can analyse language to generate an age profile, identifying potential paedophiles".
BBC. (2011). Researchers launch mobile device 'to spot paedophiles'. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-12249172. Last accessed 24th Jan 2011. google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);

Thinking lateraly I can see this App being of benefit to learning providers who educate and care for vunerable learners.

Change of Direction?

2011-01-21T05:38:00.000-08:00

More and more of my time is now being devoted to eSafety, this being the safe and responsible use of technology.

It is sometimes presented as primarily a child protection issue. While children, young people and vulnerable adults do need support to keep themselves safe online the risks associated with the use of technology are not confined to them. e-Safety issues may also affect adults – for example, the mismanagement of personal data, and risks of financial scams, identity theft and cyberbullying. This will be particularly relevant for those adults who are new to using technology.

As the two main areas of my role (Learning Technologies and eSafety) are so closely linked I am going to use this blog for both areas. I aim to increase the number of posts each month with a mix of useful text, video and poscasts. My first full post will be next week, watch this space.....

The iPad first impressions

2010-02-02T02:14:00.000-08:00

Over the last few days there has been a lot said about the new product from Apple, the iPad. Admittedly most if it is very positive, however I have one or two reservations about this device: Flash media files are not supported, the user feedback (or lack there of)from the virtual keyboard my be an issue for some users (so you need to buy an external keyboard) and for me the biggest let down is the lacking ability to have multiple apps open at one time. These points are where I think Googles much taked about future equivalent may win a greater slice of market sales for this particular type of device.

I am not alone is my opion this article from the Telegraph reflects my concerns, is a great article that makes a lot of sence.

I can see the future computing in education moving over time towards these types of devices as the mainstream and this only means great things for the learner as long as we dont forget those learners who's' disabilities may find touch sensitive interfaces an issue.

Google could be developing its own rival to the Apple iPad

2010-02-02T01:55:00.000-08:00

Google could be developing its own rival to the Apple iPad, after an engineer at the search company posted a video online showing a mock-up of the Chrome operating system running on a tablet computer .

The video – posted to the Chromium website, home of the open source project being Google's Chrome web browser and operating system – shows a mock-up of a possible tablet user interface. It shows how both sides of a single, large screen could be used simultaneously to carry out computing tasks, such as writing emails and searching the web.
Although Chromium is not an official Google website, the concept video has been put together by Glen Murphy, one of Google's Chrome OS designers. Google is also reportedly in discussions with Taiwanese consumer electronics giant HTC about making a touch-screen tablet computer. HTC already makes many of the mobile phones that run Google's Android operating system, and designed and built Google's own-brand handset, the Nexus One.
Documents uploaded to the Chromium site suggest that tablet devices running Chrome OS will need a screen of between 5in and 10in, and will have an optimised touch user interface to enable users to easily manipulate programs and software on-screen.
It could also support multi-touch gestures, such as dragging motions to scan up and down pages and documents. The device could be used in portrait and landscape modes, with a "dock" of program icons that could be hidden to free up more space on the screen.
Apple last week unveiled the iPad, a touch-screen tablet-style computer similar in look and feel to a large iPod touch. The device earned mixed reviews from technology and industry experts, who criticised the iPad for its inability to multi-task and lack of Flash support, though many also said that the iPad would kick-start a trend for tablet-style devices.
Several other consumer electronics companies, including HP, are thought to be working on their own tablet-style computers.

Google is phasing out support for Internet Explorer 6

2010-02-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

Search and advertising giant Google is phasing out support for Internet Explorer 6 in its cloud services, starting with Google Docs and Google Sites, from 1 March.
Google announced in a blog post on Friday that from the beginning of March, certain key functionality in Google Docs and Google Sites "would not work properly" with IE6 and older versions of other browsers.
"Please take the time to switch your organisation to the most up-to-date browsers available," said Rajen Sheth, Google Apps senior product manager, in the blog post.
The company is urging Google Apps users to move to IE7, Firefox 3.0, Chrome 4.0 or Safari 3.0, or more recent versions of those browsers. Net Applications put IE6's share of the general browser market in January at about 20 percent, bettered only by IE8 at 22 percent. In April, Forrester Research found that 60 percent of enterprises used IE6 as their default browser.
Google has not specified precisely which Apps functionalities in older browsers will be affected. However, the company said it wants to support HTML 5, the latest version of markup language HTML, which is not supported by older browsers.
"Older browsers were not designed to handle new web-based applications, which means they don't support modern web technologies like HTML 5 and advanced JavaScript processing," a Google spokesperson said. "For example, IE6 doesn't support HTML 5, and IE6 and [Firefox 2] do not process JavaScript nearly as efficiently as newer versions of IE and FF."
The dropping of support means Google will not fix issues specific to older browsers and will not develop new features for them. However, users will still be able to access Google Docs and Sites using the software.
"With Google Docs, we plan on continuing to support view-only mode in IE6, and we will still support viewing of Google Sites in IE6," the company's spokesperson said.
Goggle's phasing out of support for IE6 has nothing to do with the recent security problems Google encountered through IE6 use, according to the spokesperson.
"No, this was already planned and is being done so we can continue using the latest web technologies to bring new, innovative features to our users," the spokesperson said. "We're following other companies that have done the same, like Twitter, Facebook and Microsoft for Office Web Apps."
Earlier this month, Microsoft admitted that Chinese attacks on Google and other companies had exploited a hole in IE6, which was also present in IE7 and IE8.
At the time, the flaw did not have a patch, leading the French and German governments to recommend that users update to the later versions of IE, or switch browsers.
The UK government urged users to update their browsers, but said that switching browsers was unnecessary. Various government departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department of Health (DoH) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) use IE6 on all desktop and laptop computers.
The DoH issued advice to its users on 21 January saying they should upgrade to IE7. "It is recommended that organisations still using Internet Explorer 6 on the affected platforms upgrade to Internet Explorer 7," it said, in email advice seen by ZDNet UK. Internet Explorer 7 has gone through an internal accreditation process, said the DoH, and as a result has been verified to work correctly within the central NHS system, known as the NHS Spine.
Microsoft released an out-of-band patch for the IE zero-day on 21

A computer aimed at the 60+

2009-11-11T04:57:00.000-08:00

A new computer aimed at people aged over 60 who are unfamiliar with PCs and the internet has been unveiled. The simplified desktop - called SimplicITy - has just six buttons directing users to basic tasks such as e-mail and chat. The computer comes pre-loaded with 17 video tutorials from television presenter Valerie Singleton. More than 6 million people over the age of 65 have never used the internet, according to government figures.

Now I can see this being of great interest to Specialist Colleges, Work Based Learning Providers and the Adult and Community Learning Sector due to its simple interface, Open Source operating System and applications.

I have contacted the manufacture of this product to see if it will available to other markets other than the 60+. We will have to wait and see want happens.

To find out more watch the BBC video. Sorry the video can not be embeded.

Is the answer right under our noses? What are the alternatives?

2009-11-10T04:15:00.000-08:00

Being a bit of a gadget addict I watch the Gadget Show on Channel FIVE. Although this show presents a number of products each week that don’t necessarily have an appropriate use in education from time to time they come up trumps! For example in the past the presenters have demonstrated gadgets like the iPhone, iPod Touch, the Flip and Busbi cameras, and a number of really useful online tools with candid reviews of each item.
My point is that sometimes we need to look for alternative sources of information in places where educationalists wouldn’t normally consider. Why not spend 12 minutes watching BBC Click over a cup of coffee or surf through the Gadget Show website?

Two brilliant free service websites mentioned recently on the Gadget Show were:

AlternativeTo helps you find the alternative software for your computer or mobile phone.
Rather than search numerous sites looking for alternative or free software just use this one site.

You can search for alternative solutions by operating system or by the product you want to replace. I ran a quick search to find an alternate to Power Point and AlternativeTo gave me eight options.

youconvertit helps you convert media file formats i.e. documents, images, audio, video and units of measurement into your required format without buying or installing anything on your PC.

It is important to note that youconvertit doesn’t support Microsoft Office 2007 formats (.docx, pptx, xlsx etc) at the moment. Still this is a really useful tool, which is free with no registration required, simple to use and fast!

To use youconverit simply select your preferred option from the tabs at the top of the screen browse to the file or URL you wish to convert, select your preferred output file format and add your email address. Then wait for an email which contains a link to download your converted file.

If converting from text document to an mp3 file is something you need to do in a hurry and for free why not try http://www.robobraille.org/Text-to-Speech. Fantastic!!!

Using the iPod Touch for Teaching

2009-11-06T07:17:00.000-08:00

I shared a link with a colleague recently to a site call Learning in Hand its shows how the iPod Touch and iPhone can be used for teaching/training - It’s a great site, with lots of useful, ideas, and applications for using an iPod touch or iPhone in education.

It’s written by Tony Vincent, a technology specialist who uses the site to share his passion for new technologies). Tony was one of the best speakers during Handheld Learning 2009.

If the iPod isn’t your cup of tea Tony’s site also examines the way Podcasting, PDAs and Netbooks can also have a big impact on teaching/training/learning.

The Impact of Mobile Technologies - MoleNet phase 1

2009-11-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

I spotted this interesting publication whilst at the Leading Innovation: Embracing Technology Conference at the National Exhibition Centre.

“The Impact of Mobile Technologies” publication produced by the LSN, examines the impact of mobile technologies on the processes of teaching, learning and also looks at how the application of mobile technologies affected attainment, retention and classroom discipline.

Molenet one involved approximately 10,000 learners and 2,000 staff, spread across 32 mobile learning projects. Valuable lessons from each project were feedback to Molenet and are shared within this publication.

In many cases projects used mobile devices for gathering and presenting evidence through e-portfolios. The report offers useful tips and examples from each project evaluation.

The complete publication can be downloaded without registering (for free) from the LSN website or you can request a hard copy by emailing molenet@lsnlearning.org.uk

Google Chrome

2008-09-09T01:18:00.000-07:00

Google Chrome is a web browser built with open source code that is developed by Google. The primary design goals were improvements in security, speed, and stability compared to existing browsers.

First impressions of the new browser are positive, with lots of clever time saving functions built in. Will Google Chrome take over from IE or Firefox only time will tell. To take a closer look at the new web browser watch the video embedded into this post.

JISC Legal - Web 2.0 Senior Managers Workshops - Liability and Law

2008-09-05T04:14:00.000-07:00

The online booking forms are now available for the JISC Legal - Web 2.0 Senior Managers Workshops
Liability and Law in association with Maclay Murray & Spens LLP http://www.mms.co.uk/.

The content of these concise events is directed at those individuals who are making strategic decisions
with regard to Web 2.0. The aim is to provide sufficient knowledge of the legal risks associated with
Web 2.0 use at institutions to enable senior managers to be able to assess whether the legal safeguards
which they already have in place are sufficient to withstand the new demands of Web 2.0. With a number
of legal measures in place an institution will be better protected should difficulties arise.

Dates and Venues

London (HE) - Regent's College Conference Centre - 22 Sep 2008
Birmingham (FE) - Jury's Inn Hotel - 06 Oct 2008
Glasgow (FE) - The Teacher Building - 13 Oct 2008
Manchester (FE) - Manchester Conference Centre - 20 Oct 2008
London (FE) Regent's College Conference Centre - 27 Oct 2008

In addition to the information sessions each delegate will receive a “Web 2.0 Legal Toolkit”
a set of publications specifically written to support the content of the event.
Please encourage your senior managers to represent your institution at the event in your region
http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/events.htm.

Areas of law which will be addressed include:

liability for content, defamation, publications of obscene and illegal materials
bullying, harassment, stalking
privacy and data protection
copyright, moral rights, and database right
discrimination against those with disabilities.

Maclay Murray & Spens LLP
JISC Legal is delighted to be able to have the assistance of Maclay Murray & Spens LLP
http://www.mms.co.uk/ in the delivery of this workshop.
Gillian Cordall and Alison Bryce will be analysing and advising on the legal risks and
opportunities which Web 2.0 create.

Further details of the event together with the programme and online booking form are available here
http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/events.htm.

Micro-blogging

2008-09-02T01:55:00.000-07:00

I have just come across Read Write Web in my search for information about Micro-blogging there is a great article that briefly describes Micro-blogging and which looks at the top 10 sites. I hope you find this article of interest.

Papershow

2008-09-01T06:16:00.001-07:00

We’ve been trialling a new presentation aid called Papershow in the office. Its a hardware and software combination which is comprised of a bluetooth pen and a USB stick.

Essentially, you write on the special Papershow pad with the bluetooth pen, using the icons located on the pad to select the required drawing options, the results are then displayed on the computer monitor and consequently on whatever projector you have. When you have finished with a page of notes or PowerPoint slides, you simply save or print the results. Video Clip.

Put simply Papershow can substitute for a whiteboard or flip chart, making it easy to share results after the event. This functionality will be familiar to those who have electronic whiteboards, but this new technology is much cheaper and can be used wherever you can take a laptop, making it ultra mobile.

We have found Papershow simple to set up and use, and the pen and paper are as responsive as any graphics tablet and the work range between the USB stick and pen means you can easy pass it around the classroom. If you want freeform, handwritten notes and graphics that you can share electronically this is well worth a second look.

Starter packs contain a USB stick, bluetooth pen,batteries and an A4 pad. Packs will be available to purchase as from mid September and will cost £117.49 inc VAT.

Why Wiki?

2008-09-01T04:16:00.000-07:00

Are you unsure what a Wiki is?

Are you unsure whether a Wiki is a suitable tool to use and unaware if its potential benefits?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions then examine the link embedded into each question. Although the information found by visiting these links isn’t a definitive answer to these questions they will act as a starting point.

To find out whether a Wiki is for you go to www.wetpaint.com. WetPaint.com is a free Wiki website that allows the user create a simple Wiki in three easy steps (other websites are available).

Is Google the only real option? - Rather than working harder try working smarter!

2008-09-01T04:05:00.000-07:00

Rather than working harder try working smarter! Rather than using one search engine to source the information you require why not use two at once and may be help the environment at the same time?

Try the links below to find out more. Here are some Google variations and alternatives:

>> Gahooyoogle
Split-screen results from Google and Yahoo

>> Blackle
Energy efficient Google variant

>> Dogpile
Combines search results from Google, Yahoo, Live, Ask and others

>> Icerocket
Extra features including archived versions of search results, thumbnail previews, expandable quick view panels and more

>> Sputtr
Create your personal custom search page

>> Technorati
Blog, Web, image search

ASUS Eee PC

2008-09-01T04:02:00.000-07:00

The Eee PC is easy to use with its intuitive graphical user interface, opening up a brave new world, maximising social networking opportunities for those potential uses who find the typical Graphical User Interface (GUI) intimidating. The Eee pc also features a host of tools to facilitate student homework including Open Office.
The ASUS Eee PC with its 7″ compact size and weighing, less than 1 kg and Wifi connectivity keeps you truly mobile.

Although the Eee can not act as the everyday workhorse it is still a potential solution for cost effective collaborative working practices whilst on the move. With the its Operating System (OS) being Linux bases and the office package being Open Office licensing issues are not a problem. To learn more about this go to http://eeepc.asus.com/global/product.htm

Build your own mobile learning device?

2008-09-01T03:35:00.000-07:00

I thought this item on the BBC Click website sounded like a brilliant idea. Basically the user selects a series of components for example a digital camera, an LCD screen, a GPS unit and clicks them together to create a handheld device that can geocode the image taken. Although this innovative product is still in the embryonic stage additional components are being developed and it will not be long before it hits the high street!

This could potentially provide learning providers with the opportunity to customise handheld devices to meet the specific needs of its learners, additional components can be purchased as and when required to create new devices without the need to purchase completely new devices each time a new need is identified .

I hope you will agree this idea has great potential for the future.

That's a wrap!

2008-09-01T03:07:00.000-07:00

For those collaborative assignments or evidence gathering elements of a subject module video capture can prove to be invaluable. However the cost, potential damage or loss and required skills to operate this equipment can prevent it being embedded into the curriculum.
I have just found two simple to use, inexpensive products for the budding Steve Spielberg’s amongst us that are on a tight budget.

The disgo and busbi digital video camcorders range in price from £29.99 inc vat and £39.99 for the basic models respectfully to £69.99 inc vat for the (plus) models.
They are easy to use and provide a reasonable end product and are ideal for the majority of activities, not sure take a look. After reading a number of online reviews and watching a few demonstrations on YouTube, for example from David Sudgen a well respected member of the Mobile Learning community I can see that these tools have great potential.