In this presentation, Torstein Rekkedal and Aleksander Dye will introduce the NKI (Norwegian Knowledge Institute) Distance Education basic philosophies of distance teaching and learning and discuss the consequences for development of a learning environment supporting mobile distance learners. For NKI it has been a major challenge to design solutions for users of mobile technology who wish to study when on the move. The solutions must be designed in ways that allow both users and non-users of mobile technology to participate in the same course. This means finding optimal solutions for distributing content and communication in courses, independent of whether the students and tutors apply mobile technology or standard PC for teaching or learning.

This presentation and the corresponding paper build on experiences from four European Union (EU) supported projects on mobile learning: From e-learning to m-learning (2000-2003), Mobile learning – the next generation of learning (2003-2005), Incorporating mobile learning into mainstream education (2005-2007) and the ongoing project, The role of mobile learning in European education (2006-2008).