Game Based Learning 2009

Who on earth would have thought that Nintendogs for the DS could be a great tool to drive learning in a P.2 class? People might think you were barking mad to put an entertainment title in a class! Not Anna Rossvoll. She had the germ of an idea that this crazy idea would work and work it did. Anna has worked very hard with the Consolarium to help put games based learning very much in the mainstream in Scottish schools and she continues to do this in a driven, informed and committed way. A truly excellent practitioner.

We need leaders in education who are prepared to take informed risks, leaders who can see the relevance of new ideas and technologies but who can embed them in sound principles for teaching and learning, leaders who can build relationships with teachers in order to take new ideas and practice forward. Anna Rossvoll is an example of this. She has proved to be a particular creative and dynamic colleague of the Learning and Teaching Scotland’s Consolarium initiative. An initiative that aims to take games based learning forward. She has been very influential in supporting and promoting this work but also has her own ideas. She approached the Consolarium to ask if we would support an idea she had to put Nintendogs in a P.2 class. We teased this out and agreed to fund this initiative. Anna put the equipment in two schools and worked with the teachers to help plan what they might do. It must be said, and Anna will say this too, that both teachers who were involved in the project did all the work but without her initial idea, her passion for teaching, the relationships that she has built with teachers in Aberdeenshire this initiative would never have started.

http://ltsblogs.org.uk/consolarium/2008/03/22/fantastic-learning-in-p2-via-nintendogs/

Effective use of mobile technology to promote learning with pupils that come from a less affluent background.

Dean Bank Primary School Dean Bank has been making effective use of Mobile Learning for the last three years. The school was part of Durham’s 24/7 m-learning project which partly funded a set of PDA’s. The staff and pupils immediately made very good use of the devices which go home with the pupils every night. By setting regular homework on the devices they have encouraged reluctant learners to become engaged with their work. Parents have also become more involved with their children’s learning through the use of the devices. The school has expanded the original project and now has additional class sets of devices. Pupils use the devices in school on the web with a variety of web sites and activities. In the schools last OfSTED report credit was given to the way that ICT was used to support learning. “Information and communication technology (ICT) is used very effectively throughout the school and contributes significantly to pupils’ enjoyment of learning.

Mr Davis has been at Clunbury CE School in Shropshire for four years. Over this time he has demonstrated exceptional leadership and management skills, as identified by OFSTED and particularly BECTA. His innovative and visionary thinking has made Clunbury nationally recognised for its use of ICT in enhancing learning and teaching. I feel that he is a very strong applicant for this prestigious award in recognition of all that he has achieved.

Under the leadership of Mr Davis, Clunbury school has been identified by BECTA as being the leading school in the country for our use of emerging technologies. The school has been featured by BECTA and is on their website and also the Next Generation Learning site. Videos of the school can be viewed there. Interviews and reports have been produced by The TES, Futurelab, BBC and Mr Davis and the school has recently been filmed by Teachers TV. Four years ago there was very limited use of ICT at school, it has now been revolutionised and has transformed the way pupils learn at our school.

http://clunburypupils.ethink.org.uk

The award winning Learning2Go initiative is currently the largest collaborative mobile learning project for pupils in the UK. The initiative, co-ordinated by the e-Services team of Wolverhampton City Council, shows how successfully mobile learning can be used to give students access to ‘anywhere, anytime’ learning. Learning2Go is developing new ways of delivering exciting and motivating learning both in and beyond school.

Phase 1 of the initiative began in 2003 with 120 devices in four schools. During phase 2 of the project, launched in the second half of the autumn term 2005, more than 1000 pupils and their teachers in 18 schools were involved. Phase Three began in October 2006 with an additional 1000 devices across all Key Stages. Phase Four 2008 sees a further rollout of over 1500 devices. This last phase includes devices rolled out within the "Computers for Pupils" initiative and the national MoLe Net scheme.

http://www.learning2go.org

The introduction of EDAs at Wilsden School has been a brave, pioneering move on the part of the senior managers and staff as early adopters of ubiquitous ICT access for the school’s pupils. The staff succeeded in gaining parents’ support as part of a long-term strategy of achieving 24:7 mobile learning for children at the school. In the first instance, Year 4 pupils have each been provided with an EDA device. These children will retain their device as they move through KS2. All teachers have their own device and have received training. This means that teachers receiving the pupils in Years 5 and 6 will be able to support pupils’ continued use of the hardware and software. Over the year since the device was introduced, many of the children have become expert users, sharing new found skills with each other and with staff. Children report that having the device has helped their learning in school and at home. In class, children are enthusiastic and engaged in their learning. The two teachers with responsibility for Year 4 pupils have worked together to explore the potential of the device and associated software for innovative learning and teaching. (They have developed a particularly fruitful use of Synchroneyes software to support their formative assessment of children’s learning.) The technical issues that early adopters inevitably face have been met with resolution to gain from every experience. The staff and pupils deserve congratulations and support for their brave efforts to bring the technological future to pupils at Wilsden school.

http://www.wilsden.ngfl.ac.uk/

The PIC Learning Project at Radstock School has been led by Philip Griffin with a great deal of support from his Y6 colleague Alice Lee. The project involved his class of children being given an Nokia N800 Internet Tablet for use at school and home for a year. The big idea was to use both proven and new technologies, Smartboards, Wifi Internet, Learning Platform and Handheld Devices, to improve learning. By using a remote web 2.0 solution to deliver lessons and content the learners could access information and learning opportunities both at school and at home, using either their handheld device or an ordinary desktop computer. The development of the project saw several landmark projects, such as the Newspaper Day where children collected information on their N800’s in a response to a developing scenario, before delivering an outcome on the Learning Platform using both N800 and desktop computers. This was developed collaboratively between groups of children, who also commented on the work of their peers.

http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=124697

Working with a supportive senior leadership team, Paul set out to explore opportunities for handheld learning that would utilise the students love of their mobile phones and the ability to message and bluetooth and enable a culture where the phone was left on in school rather than banned. Some students were phoneless - Paul addressed this digital divide issue by bulk purchasing a batch of preowned phones at £6.00, then hounding the networks till he persuaded one to allow the purchase of a block of tariffs that met the needs of the project.

Starting with photo-blogging, Paul's 'low-cost' approach continued to set up a dedicated photo-sharing server on the internet for students use. Pupils took pictures from trips, fieldwork etc with their phones, then used the phone to send the picture to a dedicated email account. An old desktop computer was checked the emails automatically, and used freeware to extract the attached photos and put them in a 'web album' for internet access.

Other SMS-based projects followed.... the live survey or vote, the text wall displaying pupils' ideas or work, multi-choice quizzes and tests, student voice work on school rules for Citizenship lessons. The Text Wall was adapted for work with the English Department's 'Creative Writing Group' and digital signs showing the results were installed in the main public areas around school. Old PCs around school were enabled with Bluetooth dongles- pupils use their phones to photograph or film good practice in lessons or around school, and to showcase their work.

Since the summer of 2007, Cindy has been working in a technology pilot project, with action research conducted by the University of Chichester in partnership with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and Texas Instruments. The action research is looking at the impact of using handheld learning tools on the motivation and understanding of learners. As Head of the Maths Department at Davison School in Worthing, Cindy picked a colleague to work with in her team who had very little previous experience of mathematics software or handheld tools. During the course of the project, Cindy has transformed her own practices and those of her colleague with her practical, down-to-earth approach to making the technology work for her in the classroom. Her activities are adapted to suit learners with a whole range of abilities and often include practical work alongside the use of TI-Nspire, which therefore supports the kinaesthetic as well as the visual learner. She has grasped the power of the handheld technology to explore multiple representations of a problem and this further broadens the application of her activities to a fuller spectrum of learning styles. The pilot site project formed part of NCETM’s RECME research into effective professional development and Cindy was chosen as a representative of the group. In her presentations outside the pilot site project, Cindy brought the same fresh clarity of vision to her explanations and showed considerable expertise of making her use of TI-Nspire natural and integral to her teaching style. She demonstrated to colleagues very good use of the document and file saving opportunities within the tool to inform her assessment for learning and her willingness to reflect upon her practice and refine her activities modelled good practice. Davison School has won a ‘Future Visions’ Award 2008 from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and Cindy’s pioneering work with handheld technology in the mathematics department contributed greatly to the school’s nomination.

www.davison.w-sussex.sch.uk

This team have worked together to integrate Ameo handheld computers into the secondary school curriculum - particularly in the English Department. Yr10 students are highly motivated with 80% of them using Ameos regularly in English lessons according to a recent Bristol University survey.

The nominees have worked as an innovative team forming a triangle to develop handheld technology in the secondary curriculum. Mike Treby is the Head of the English Department and he has been instrumental in integrating the use of technology into different schemes of work in Yr 10. The students have been encouraged to use their Ameos both in school and at home to produce coursework for poetry, Shakespeare, speaking and listening assigments and literature appreciation. Penny Russell is a CLC English teacher and her support was in the classroom working side by side with Mike to ensure that students could use the handhelds effectively. When Mike said that he needed a way for students to be able to contribute to class discussion by posting comments on the interactive whiteboard, Penny ensured that Phil Brown, the CLC PDA Technician was involved. Phil then designed an innovative programme, called 'TalkWall' which is web-based that enables students to record their ideas on their handhelds and then submit them. The programme also enables the teacher to categorise the student responses, and uses a 'refresh' button to enable new comments to be posted. Students who do not usually contribute to class discussions are now continuously engaged with their English lessons. Penny Russell's and Phil Brown's support has also strengthened both student and teacher confidence in the use of technology so that it has become part of their daily experience. The Bristol University report reflects that, out of 119 students, 80% agree that the device "has helped them with their learning and using it make learning more enjoyable"

www.bristolclcs.org.uk

MiLK, The Mobile Learning Kit is a new tool that helps teachers to connect students, curriculum and everyday environments using simple web and mobile technologies. It is a web-based tool that allows educators and students to design and publish event paths that lead people through places with the use of a mobile phone. Event paths consist of a number of checkpoints at which the player must SMS an answer to a question before they are directed to the next checkpoint and are posed with a new question. The interface also includes functions for player reflection and assessment. Using MiLK students can create their own learning profiles, discuss topics with other students and teachers, share ideas, photos, comments, and most importantly, design their own learning events. MiLK: - Is simple, flexible, scalable and adaptive - Extends the learning experience to include other environments locally, globally, and virtually - Promotes new and effective learning partnerships between students, teachers and families. - Offers opportunities for personalised learning - Inspires students to engage in learning - Engages students in multi-literacies - Harnesses contemporary culture and interests - Results in increased teacher confidence and professional development NEW LEARNING SPACES - EXTENDING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM MiLK is a simple tool that encourages and supports the exploration of new learning spaces. MiLK allows teachers to situate learning outside the traditional classroom, both physically and virtually. By situating learning in a real-world context, MiLK supports the creation of flexible, ever changing and relevant learning environments that support students across their formal and lifelong learning careers.

http://www.milkit.com.au

http://www.milkit.com.au/milk-videos/

Assessment is one aspect of teaching and learning where mobile devices are uniquely positioned to have a substantial and positive affect on current practice. Project e-scape demonstrates that mobile devices can be used as effective evidence capture mechanisms, providing the means to assess student capability and creative and collaboration skills in ways that would not otherwise be possible.

Despite the fact that learning activities in Design and Technology ('D&T') and other areas of the curriculum are increasingly influenced by digital technology, the final presentation of work for GCSE assessment is almost entirely paper-based, relying on print-outs of any digital work. Most teachers agree that the present assessment system at GCSE for D&T is seriously flawed and often rewards the wrong students, notably the ones that meticulously follow the rules rather than break them and come up with really exciting ideas. Project e-scape is a new approach to the assessment of creativity and design innovation at GCSE level where students use mobile digital devices to evidence their on-going work during carefully structured design tasks. Their photos, sketches, notes and audio comments are instantly uploaded into a multimedia web-based portfolio that teachers and examiners can then use to assess individual performance.

http://www.teachers.tv/video/3306
http://www.teachers.tv/video/3307
http://www.teachers.tv/video/5431

Etech Group's Studywiz Mobile is the first full learning platform interface optimised for use on Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch, giving learners full access to online learning resources, quizzes, polls, discussions, student rated galleries and more throughout their day, enabling a broader and more flexible curriculum delivery, catering for differing learning styles and ultimately leading to better learning outcomes. This innovative adaptation for Etech Group’s Studywiz clearly demonstrates a commitment to creating learning environments to meet tomorrow’s educational challenges, allowing learners who are mobile to stay connected within a safe and pedagogically aligned learning platform. Teachers and school administrators also benefit from an architecture that allows them to easily deliver differentiated resources for personalised learning and gives them mobile access to resources and student data for field trips and emergency or contingency plans.

www.studywiz.com
www.europe.studywiz.com/videos/studywiz-mobile.mov

Keith has been a huge driver for change and adoption of technology, especially mobile technology, within Joseph Priestley College and beyond. Always supportive of colleagues and quick to try out new ideas where he can see they will benefit the learners and tutors.

Over the past two and a half years, Keith has worked to change the organisational vision of Joseph Priestley College in Leeds to embrace new technologies against the background of a rapidly changing landscape in education. Rather than one specific project, this is a range of developments in m-learning benefitting teachers delivering in the workplace, helping students with learning difficulties progress into work and using m-learning to support and assess learners out on placement. Some funding for these projects has come from the college directly; there has also been further funding from MoLeNET and Learning for Living and Work. For example: in the Care Area, all learners out on placement will take an Asus eee PC with them to keep a video diary, their teachers will use a texting system to support them and will use the handwriting facility on the UMPC to fill in the workplace assessments.

As an e-learning champion since January 2006, Steve's interested in m-learning began as his class was placed in a portable cabin with no provision of technology. Students on NVQs in Activity Leadership and Coaching, Teaching, Instructing Football were also receiving excellent oral reports from employers on their placements but were poor at recording evidence of their learning. Steve began to apply the use of the mini-computers most students have in their pockets and has invested time and energy into supporting his students through his and their mobile devices. He encourages them to use their own mobile phones to capture and record evidence of their learning and work experience. He has bid for additional devices for those who do not have their own. He is not afraid to try new methods of support using these devices, including file sharing via bluetooth in order for student to have their NVQ criteria on their own devices. He shares his ideas with others, leads staff dev sessions and has been instrumental in the college\'s take up of mobile learning. He would like to develop his own teaching in terms of support through PSP or Nintendo. He has contributed to the wider learning community through a presentation at the MOLENET conference in September and a recent JISC East Midlands case study and presentation as part of the Mobile Learning Hub at the JISC E-fair. See http://moodle.rsc-em.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=52

LIFEWISE. The rise of gun and knife crime amongst young people was chosen as the powerful theme for a set of collaborative projects between South Thames College, Wandsworth City Learning Centre and students of schools across Wandsworth. These projects have also served to increase and enhance collaboration and effective partnerships across the borough. 200 young learners across the borough of Wandsworth have been equipped with smart phones that allow them to capture digital images, MP3's and videos to work on projects that reflect the main theme of tackling gun and knife crime and gang culture. South Thames College secured funding from the Learning and Skills Network (LSN) via the MoLeNET programme to examine the use of Mobile Technologies and their impact on teaching and learning. The project aimed to: - Raise the awareness and participation of young people in Wandsworth in positive action against gun and knife crime. - Enhance working relationships and collaboration between South Thames College, Wandsworth City Learning Centre and Wandsworth schools. - Stretch horizons of learning through the use of mobile technologies. - Share best practice in vocational courses.

http://www.wandsworthclc.org/gunandknife/
http://lifewise-stc.blogspot.com/

FoneFonics meets the need for an innovative solution to the current ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) problems in the UK and provides a sustainable and affordable answer to the current issues described below, which is why we think the company is a suitable nominee for this award.

FoneFonics provides high quality English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses for learner’s mobile phones and/or on cheap readily available recycled mobile phones. FoneFonics combines advanced audio/visual teaching methods with memorizing techniques to make language learning fun and effortless. The platform is ideal for learning but also unique in its social inclusion accessible to almost all learners especially those who find it hard to access traditional classroom based courses. They make sure that lessons made by the best ESOL teachers are available not just for those that can attend their classes. In this way learners can select from a range of content and levels, making the courses interesting and relevant. Not only does this increase the range and fit of lessons it is also sustainable providing not just a stop-gap initiative but the basis of a permanent innovative solution to ESOL demand that has multiplied in the last few years and is projected to increase.

www.fonefonics.com

Hairdressing Training for mobiles was the first service of its kind in the UK. It represents radically thinking about the place of mlearning in tertiary vocational learning and helps address important issues, such as the digital divide. Until Hairdressing Training was available on mobile phones then students would often have very limited access to elearning via desktop devices. Now it is available whenever and wherever students are on the devices on their pockets.

Hairdressing Training for mobiles has supplied content to several Molenet projects and is being used across the UK. It is funded by the LSC and is already raising questions about the suitability of other vocational subjects and the introduction of m-learning. There has already been feedback from students saying that when they have shown their salon managers their learning in college on their mobile devices (something that was not possible before) then it is helping the workplace understand the learning better. For the student this means improved learning and a better relationship between college and workplace.

http://htmob.mobi

Last spring ACU began extensive campus-wide research into deploying internet-enabled smartphones to support in- and out-of-class teaching and learning, assessment, media delivery, and interactions, in addition to point-of-sale transactions and other administrative tasks. Building upon the LINK 2011 whitepaper and the preliminary research of 40 faculty members, ACU will pilot the ACU Connected program this fall with over 1,000 students and faculty receiving either iPhones or iPod touches. To prepare for such a deployment, faculty and education technologists have communicated their vision through an mlearning proposal, blog, website, and student-produced film.

Thus far the beneficiaries have been faculty, at ACU and around the world, who have reconceived classroom teaching for the 21st century. This is a result of the Connected film, produced collaboratively by students, faculty, and technologists at ACU. With over 20,000 downloads, ACU feel's the film already represents a compelling case for truly mobile learning. This fall the pilot will focus on first-year students through iPhone Fellows faculty drawn from across the university. http://www.acu.edu/connected As the 2008 Horizon Report illustrates, the advent of mobile broadband promises a revolutionary new computing platform. Since last spring, ACU has had had educators, technologists, and administrators shaping a vision for ubiquitous deployment. The immediate focus on entering freshmen should certainly strengthen enrollment and retention, but we’ve been proactive in illustrating academic solutions and reflective research through our iPhone in education blog, iThinkEd, another way on-campus research is reaching a wider audience. http://www.ithinked.com One unforeseen strength of moving mobile at ACU has been putting educators and developers in the same room. Spending several months early on crafting an educational vision for these devices has paid unexpected dividends. For example, though ACU imagined the Connected film as a way to communicate their vision to potential business partners, it has encouraged faculty and students to reimagine the learning process in bold new ways and to buy into that vision earlier. When ACU began work on the Connected film, the proposed applications had a futuristic feel. However, the Web Integration and Programming Team immediately began digesting the mockups and have already developed many of the applications we envisioned, from the mobile MyACU portal ( http://acu.mobi ) to polling and quizzes through Google apps. The classroom of the future is clearly closer than we had imagined, and ACU are excited to play a part in its construction.

http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/researchers/index.html
http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/students/videos/connected.html
http://www.ithinked.com

Chris works with students with learning difficulties and those with social, behavioural and emotional difficulties. Where most colleges on the LSC-funded Learning for Living and Work projects invested in 'traditional' support equipment, Chris' work with his students led him to take a risk by buying almost one of every current 'gadget' - a strategy that I wouldn\'t have thought would work (How are you going to learn to use and support so much equipment? How can you have a focus with so much kit to use?). Not only was the project a success, it has created a whole new approach and thinking about how mobile learning projects should be rolled out in colleges.

Alison Carter is a Deputy Head of a primary school for deaf children. Recognising the powerful multimedia capabilities of the PSP, the ability to take pictures and record video and it’s easy to use functionality Alison over the last 12 months has repositioned the device from gaming to an educational tool significantly enhancing the learning outcome of the school’s pupils.

Alison’s commitment to developing the technology is illustrated by the extensive and diverse nature of their use in school. Pupils record signed vocabulary lessons for review and practice at home and whilst travelling to and from school. Pupils recording of their own signed stories that act as a scaffold for creative writing lessons. Pupils use the PSP to record family events and trips ready for showing to the rest of the class supporting signing development. School trips are recorded and copies are synced onto the devices so all pupils can share the experience with home.

Home School partnership has been key to the effective use of the PSP. All parents are invited to the school for a device familiarisation. The PSP is used as communication tool between home and school for deaf parents and as a means of developing signing skills in both hearing parents and siblings.

Alison is currently working on a library of signed bedtime stories which can be accessed using the PSP browser and RSS capability

Alison would be the first to agree that the journey has had its challenges. New pedagogy and management techniques have had to be developed. The success of the project, recognised in a number of independent evaluations, is such that the school regard the access by pupils to such a device as an entitlement and as such all pupils are now being provided with their own PSP. This new and exciting challenge consolidates the PSP as a significant and effective learning tool.

http://www.longwill.bham.sch.uk/school.htm

Innovative and creative use of mobile devices for learners with visual impairment and other difficulties.

The college started to buy Digital voice recorders and cameras both static and video about 3 years ago. They concentrated on cheap and easy to use devices which would not be missed if dropped and broken and which could be adapted for learners with visual impairments. Simple low tech adaptations included ‘bump ons’ for the record button of an MP3 player, for example. Devices are being used with a number of learners as appropriate. Some benefit from the strictly audio only, while others prefer either static or video files. Keeping information in a format that is most accessible is ideal for learners with a visual impairment. They can access the devices and the information in their preferred format, be it graphic, video or audio. Outcomes have varied. A general increase in motivation is obvious as the devices are now requested for personal use in the evenings and at the weekends. The learners are becoming more skilled at creating their own evidence and downloading it onto a pc within the learning centre. They are using digital technology to both increase their knowledge and to enhance the more traditional learning. The information contained within the devices is used on a regular basis to allow the learners to progress within their chosen vocational pathway.

www.hsbp.co.uk

In-Class Utility of a Mobile Phone to Deliver Context Specific Audio Information to Students including those with Visual Impairment.

In a science practical class a major proportion of the information a student is required to assimilate is communicated via visual media. This presents significant barriers to participation by students with visual impairment and also limits the scope for adopting self-directed, enquiry-based learning in general. Aim: The aim of this project was to test the use of 2D barcodes attached to objects that a student is interacting with and through decoding of the URL contained in the code, a request is made to a media server to play an audio file pertaining to a given object (1,2). Methods: The set up is illustrated graphically. The audio files had to be embedded as background sound in the web pages due to the lack of integration of the streaming media player in the phone’s (Nokia N80) web browser (S60 3rd Edition) (3). Evaluation: The setup was tested by a student with a visual impairment using a collection of models of human bones and joints labelled with 2D barcodes. They were very positive about the availability of information in audio format and its immediate availability on demand. They could see how such technology would enable them to become a more independent learner. However, the repeated prompts for confirmation of a network connection were a distraction. The setup was also demonstrated to small groups of students who had taken the anatomy module the previous year. Not only were they very impressed with the setup, but were enthused by the potential to enhance learning. The compact size of the media server (4) and the wireless access point means that they are readily portable and can be operated as a standalone wireless network without requiring any additional network infrastructure. Conclusion: This project has demonstrated a practical working solution of the original concept and the utility of the solution to be an enabling technology for students with visual impairment so that they can become more independent learners. Furthermore, the described approach significantly widens the scope for student-centred, enquiry based learning for all students in a wide range of learning environments.

http://www.editlib.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Reader.ViewAbstract&paper_id=29243

The Enabling Remote Activity (ERA) project provides opportunities for mobility impaired students to fully participate in fieldwork learning activities. Students with such disabilities can attend residential field trips and vicariously experience fieldwork at inaccessible field locations by working remotely with a field geologist over a rapidly deployable local wireless network. Details of the teaching approach, outcomes and technology used are available through the project wiki. The ERA project offers:

- Inclusive fieldwork teaching for students with mobility difficulties.
- An innovative, flexible, low-cost communications network for enabling remote activities.
- Guidelines and support for other institutions to adopt and develop similar accessibility solutions for themselves.

http://kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/era

This project was an innovative two phased TechDis Higher Education Assistive Technology (HEAT) project. It investigated the use of the Nintendo DS Lite mobile gaming device alongside Brain Training, Big Brain Academy and Opera Browser software packages as assistive technology tools for health and social care students. It aimed to present key findings concerning the use of a mobile gaming device within a Higher Education (HE) environment, and also looked to raise awareness of some of the educational possibilities for students and staff, including improving numeracy skills and providing mobile web access.

Based on this project (and the phase one findings), it can be recommended that utilising a similar methodology, the Nintendo DS Lite and associated packages (Brain Training and Big Brain Academy) offer a solution to help improve numeracy skills. It seems a beneficial solution; especially those students with alternative learning needs and provides a suitable way of including, motivating and assisting them. As a result of their short time using the DS Lite and associated packages, in the opinion of the students, the suggestion is that it has made a positive difference in helping to address student numeracy skill levels. This project could be simply transferred into any subject area where students are required to use and improve numeracy or potentially language skills. For example, it would be a quick and easy solution to use an English Training package and offer it as a support aid to international students requiring language tuition.

http://www.techdis.ac.uk/getheatscheme
http://andyp.edublogs.org/tag/heat/