Mobile learning with the Apple Watch

Probably the most hyped smartwatch ever, today was the Apple Watch's official launch date. Unless you are Beyonce you probably won't have one yet but some journalists have already been exploring the phones possibilities and the first apps have already appeared in the Appstore.

Not surprisingly, one of the first of these is a vocabulary-learning app, ivocabulary 3, which has now been updated to support the Apple Watch -

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ivocabulary-3-your-personal/id471594761?mt=8

The app can show you a slideshow of vocabulary, set a multiple-choice test and give you some diagnostics on your performance. Sadly, I too don't have an Apple Watch to test this app out but it is surely just the beginning of a stream of similar apps coming to the Apple Watch soon. Whether they are actually useful or not is another question and that is what I hope, with my research, to find out.

Welcome to Smartwatch Learning!

Hi,

thanks for dropping by. My name is Neil Davie and this blog will hopefully grow to be a collection of articles, links and thoughts on the possibilities of using smartwatches for learning purposes. I previously researched the effectiveness of learning vocabulary using a smartphone app, called quizlet, for my Masters dissertation at Edinburgh Napier University. Now that smartwatches are becoming more widespread and affordable I want to explore whether they too can be used for any kind of meaningful learning experience. This blog will be a repository for all the information I gather and for my thoughts on the subject as I delve deeper.

Please stop by again soon for new articles and links. And as a starter - here is the duolingo app in action on an Android Wear-powered smartwatch:

Hope to see you here again soon!

Cheers,

Neil