The third annual Handheld Learning Conference gets underway this week in London, bringing together almost 700 industry, government, and academic experts to explore “how the use of mobile and pervasive technologies will lead to a positive, transformational change for teaching and learning.” As John Galloway has reported in The Guardian,

“the key element in London’s recent Handheld Learning conference was not the tools but the ethos behind them. It covered more than one technology — in fact anything you can easily carry, including personal digital assistants (PDAs), iPods, tablet PCs, mobile phones, and even games consoles. These are not new technologies, and the speakers weren’t saying anything they hadn’t said several times before. However, it seems the message — that these devices can fundamentally change learning - is beginning to be heard more widely.

Even if you can’t jet off to London for this week’s conference (which takes place October 10-12th at the Central Hall Westminster) to hear Jim Knight, UK Minister for Schools and Learners; Stephen Crowne, Chief Executive for the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency; Professor Stephen Heppell, founder of Ultralab and CEO of Heppell.net; and a keynote from writer Marc Prensky, author of Digital Game-Based Learning, (not to mention a host of other presenters), you’ll be able to pick up some of the discussion at the conference’s video stream.

You might also be interested in the conference’s suggested readings, which offer a nice introduction to mobile and handheld learning, or you might dig the conference’s blog. The full conference guide is available in PDF format here.