In M-Learning via the iPhone 1, I started to investigate the characteristics of mobile learning by going back to basics, specifically looking at the technological and conceptual foundations of this domain: training, instruction, education and learning. Today, I’m going to begin in earnest by telling you a story about a book – a wholly remarkable book in fact, that was first conceived nearly forty years ago.
Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin. And Remember…
Image may be NSFW.
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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the most successful book every written. A handy electronic reference book, its chief selling points are the words ‘Don’t Panic’ written in large friendly letters on the cover, and that it’s cheaper than its closest competitor, the Encyclopedia Galactica. The Guide’s reporters travel the length and breadth of the Milky Way, drinking heavily, going to lots of parties and generally having a great time. Their experiences, which include everything from how to mix the greatest cocktail in the galaxy to life on Earth (“mostly harmless”) is then passed on via the SubEtha net to every copy of the Guide, giving people the opportunity to misinterpret the inaccurate copy. Much of the guide’s content is plagiarized from the back of cereal packets, and some of it is just made up. Its most useful advice concerns towels.
Now I’m not going to labor the point about blogging (without the wild parties, sad to say), Wikipedia, and the SubEtha / world wide web “net” but here’s a description of the Guide itself:
…A device that looked rather like a largish electronic calculator. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.This had… a screen about four inches square on which any one of a million “pages” could be summoned at a moment’s notice. It looked insanely complicated, and this was one of the reasons why the snug plastic cover it fitted into had the words DON’T PANIC printed on it in large friendly letters. …The reason why it was published in the form of a micro sub meson electronic component is that if it were printed in normal book form, an interstellar hitchhiker would require several inconveniently large buildings to carry it around in.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (pp.26-27)
Sound familiar? Of course it does.
Image may be NSFW.
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Man seeks Nokia charger for his retro cell phone
That was 30 years ago. Back in the future, we can say that the we live at a time where the socio-cultural, economic and technical foundations exist to change the way that we acquire learning and knowledge in as profound a way as the introduction of printing in Western Europe in the 15th Century. We can now potentially carry our knowledge with us without “several inconveniently large buildings” to carry it around in. The current generation of portable digital devices (including smart phones, PDAs, and media players) is that they can support a digitally-mediated, connected learning environment, providing a convenience of instant access to a range of people and resources, as well as the ability to process data in a way that wasn’t possible even five years ago.
Next time: The altogether more prosaic task of describing the characteristics of E-Learning as I understand them, and a context for M-Learning.
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References:
Adams, D. (1979) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (pp.26-27) London: Pan Paperbacks
“Don’t Panic” image Courtesy British Broadcasting Corporation
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