According to a Microsoft infographic on the Digital Buzz website, there are four billion mobile phones in use around the world. Even more intriguing is that mobile Internet usage is on course to overtake desktop Internet usage by 2014.
In addition, of those four billion mobile phone users, over 60% of them are using their devices to play games. Thanks to Google Breadcrumb, these four billion people can now create their own learning games without having any programming skills.
Google Breadcrumb is a Google Labs product that enables just about anyone to create simple text-based, mobile learning applications. With only three additions to plain text, creating a working quiz is amazingly intuitive. Breadcrumb is designed to work on any internet-enabled smart phone or computer. As a result, even those who do not own a computer can use it. As with all Google Labs applications, Google Breadcrumb is an experimental application, may contain bugs, and could even be discontinued by Google in the future.
You will need a Google account to get started, but the application is completely online and free. Creating quizzes is one of the most obvious applications but some people are using Breadcrumb to create data center troubleshooting guides or training guides. By the way, kids will enjoy creating applications, too, because there is virtually no learning curve. So, encourage the kids to create their own applications to help them study, quiz their peers, or even invent new uses for the tool.
When you have finished your application, test it by clicking on or scanning the QR code that accompanies your application.
To understand how Breadcrumb can be used, check out the quiz we created while learning Google Breadcrumb. Please share links to your projects by leaving a comment on this post.
With mobile devices gaining popularity at such a rapid pace, Google Breadcrumb encourages mobile learning through tools that anyone in the world can use.
You could also use this to build Choose Your Own Adventure type stories–or let kids build them to help them recognize (or demonstrate that they recognize) decisions characters made and think about what might happen if those decisions were made differently.
Jm,
I agree. Google Breadcrumb lends itself very well to decision-tree type applications. Create your own adventures is a cool way to engage kids, too. Thanks for sharing this idea!
What fun. I just wasted my morning playing with this. Thanks (I think): http://goo.gl/oSA2U
Jerry,
Thanks for sharing your finished Google Breadcrumb so quickly!