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M-Learning

Introduction
The application of information and communications technology to education and training, both in the corporate and public sectors is now big business on a global scale. It is however, an industry that is young and relatively immature. The rapid emergence of new technologies outpaces the ability of learning communities to apply the technological infrastructure in any systemic or sustainable fashion. E-learning communities are still grappling with significant pedagogical, cultural and business issues, which are often under-estimated by the technologists. With the history of distance learning encompassing so many different learning environments, we need to find a definition that fits in all situations. There have been many definitions put forward in modern literature. Greenberg (1998) defines contemporary distance learning as "a planned teaching/learning experience that uses a wide spectrum of technologies to reach learners at a distance and is designed to encourage learner interaction and certification of learning" (pg. 36). Teaster and Blieszner (1999) say "the term distance learning has been applied to many instructional methods; however, its primary distinction is that the teacher and the learner are separate in space and possibly time" (pg. 741). Desmond Keegan (1995) gives the most thorough definition. He says that distance education and training result from the technological separation of teacher and learner which frees the student from the necessity of traveling to "a fixed place, at a fixed time, to meet a fixed person, in order to be trained" (pg. 7). From these definitions we can see that the student and teacher are separated by space, but not necessarily by time.
Over the past couple of years, there has been widespread recognition of the need to place e-learning in the much broader context of the emerging knowledge economy. In particular, the development of infrastructure embracing both e-learning and information environments is...