mLearning in the organizational innovation process

Mobile devices have connected seven billion users across the world (Sanou, 2015) reaching areas that go beyond the electrical grid (Nique and Smertnik, 2015). The ubiquity of mobile devices has created an advantage for organizations to leverage hardware compatible with reaching their target audiences. A strategic response is necessary to address the complexity of employing mobile technology for mobile learning (mLearning) in order to reach it’s full potential as a new learning medium (Peters, 2009). The purpose of this research study was to explore the process by which an organization adopted and engaged in an mLearning initiative. Built on Rogers (2003) diffusion of innovation research, the case study reports on the contextual factors within the organization and department that informed the mLearning adoption process. The researcher gathered observational data over one-year through active participant- observation within an organization’s technology solutions department. Serving as an instructional designer and gathering data as an academic researcher in the same setting allowed the researcher to gain an intimate view of the adoption process. To collect meaningful data the author used Activity Theory as a critical analysis lens and employed a research framework based on the stages of organizational adoption to understand the data in a longitudinal manner. The findings of this study suggest that the initial adoption of mLearning in the organization studied did not reach sustainable implementation because 1) no clear champion for mLearning existed and; 2) an untested mLearning product was heavily relied upon even though it was being developed in parallel to the mLearning implementation efforts. Interest in mLearning at the organization continued, outside departments desired an mLearning learning management system (LMS) to deliver content as soon as possible. Yet the organization simply was not prepared to accommodate due to delays in the mLearning product development. Keywords: Diffusion of Innovation, Technology Adoption, Activity Theory, Mobile Learnin

Innovative Continuing Education for Maternal and Newborn Health Workers in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Feasibility Study

Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation is to explore strategies to improve maternal and newborn health workers’ clinical competence and performance, particularly among nurses and midwives, in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), through innovative continuing educational approaches using priority evidence-based content. A feasibility trial with one such learning approach was implemented with maternal and newborn health providers in a hard-to-reach setting of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in order to test one possible response to the continued high maternal and neonatal mortality in that country. The study contributes to the knowledge base on provision of critical continuing education to maternal and newborn health workers in hard-to-reach settings and to the global effort underway to address excess maternal and neonatal mortality in LMICs. Problems/Aims: Health worker clinical performance is often inadequate in developing countries. Substandard delivery and emergency obstetric care (EmOC) in health facilities has been widely documented as a major cause of maternal mortality in health facilities globally. Similarly, studies show that quality gaps are leading to higher rates of neonatal mortality in facility births. A basic strategy for improving health worker practice and strengthening clinical performance is through the promotion of continuing education (CE). However, there are many challenges to organizing CE opportunities for healthcare workers in hard-to-reach LMIC settings. The aims of this research were 1) to explore potential approaches to continuing education for maternal and newborn health workers in LMICs by examining the approaches that are currently available worldwide and 2) evaluating one concrete approach using a mobile phone mLearning app. We examined the feasibility and acceptability of the use of mLearning with facility-based maternal and neonatal health workers in one hard-to-reach setting of the DRC. We also evaluated the use of mLearning for a preliminary impact on facility-based health worker Basic Emergency Obstetric & Neonatal Care (BEmONC) self-confidence and clinical knowledge, and on select maternal and newborn outcome trends (as a proxy for evaluating improved health worker clinical behavior/performance). We also sought to refine intervention delivery in the DRC and strengthen study procedures required to conduct a robust future largescale trial. Design including theoretical basis: This study design is comprised of two literature reviews on the topic and a feasibility study using a convergent parallel mixed methods and community-engaged pilot cluster-randomized trial design. Our theoretical basis is comprised of complementary theoretical approaches: (1) Benjamin Bloom’s Theory of Mastery-Learning and Taxonomy of Educational Objectives; (2) Kirkpatrick’s Model of training evaluation; and (3) The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Findings: Our literature reviews on CE approaches for facility-based maternal and newborn health workers in low-income countries revealed that conventional and simulation training using varied teaching methodologies can improve provider knowledge, skills, clinical practice, and patient outcomes. However, results are variable and there is limited evidence overall, with minimal use of robust study designs and validated measurement instruments, that document the association between CE and long-term effectiveness of the interventions with improved patient outcomes. Other creative interventions are being piloted in eHealth / eLearning including mobile phone learning applications (mLearning) and these have shown encouraging results in overcoming some key challenges in providing health workers with evidence-based learning in more remote settings. mLearning was found to be feasible and acceptable to health workers and key stakeholders in the DRC. A trial of one recent mLearning evidence-based app, the Safe Delivery App, increased health worker knowledge and self-confidence on the management of obstetric and newborn emergencies 3 months after introduction and indicated preliminary encouraging impacts on health workers’ practices in BEmONC. Conclusion: eLearning and mLearning show promise for improving maternal and newborn health worker practice and reducing mortality in low-and middle-income countries, particularly for health workers in more remote settings, where the challenge of maternal and neonatal mortality and quality assurance of emergency obstetric and neonatal care is greatest. Factors such as health worker motivation and self-efficacy, as well as the physical and policy environment, emphasized by Bloom and the TDF, are essential in improving practice and should be considered, along with cost, in designing scalable and comprehensive maternal and neonatal mortality programs for improved outcomes

MASELTOV Deliverable D7.1.1: Incidental Learning Framework

This is the first steps towards creating an ‘Incidental learning framework’, and it is a work in progress. It is intended that the Incidental learning framework will facilitate the creation of technology rich learning opportunities for immigrants within cities. The framework will be a descriptive mechanism that permits analysis, a generative tool to support software system design, and it will facilitate the communication of learning design ideas both visually and textually. The framework focuses on incidental learning i.e. learning that is spontaneous and unplanned, in the knowledge domains of interest to the MASELTOV project including health care, culture, and language and information access. However, it provides links and triggers to structured and reflective learning to back up and deepen learning that happens incidentally. This document describes the initial version of the Incidental Learning Framework, presents a few examples of its use, and describes some conclusions and recommendations for work towards the next version of the framework including • Using the framework to develop it, • Extending the literature review, • Gathering evidence about immigrants day-to-day lives, • Running design workshop(s) using the framework

Mobile Learning: location, collaboration and scaffolding inquiry

Critiques of mobile learning pedagogy are concerned with whether such approaches are technology led. This chapter discusses how the particular features of mobile learning can be harnessed to provide new learning opportunities in relation to collaboration, inquiry and location-based learning. Technology supported inquiry learning is a situation rich with possibilities for collaboration. In particular, mobile learning offers new possibilities for scaffolding collaboration together with its other better-known features such as scaffolding the transfer between settings and making learning relevant by making use of the possibilities of location-based learning. These features are considered as part of mobile learning models, in particular mobile collaborative learning models

An Exploration of How Health Professionals Create eHealth and mHealth Education Interventions

The purpose of this study was to explore how health education professionals create ehealth and mhealth education interventions. Three research questions led this qualitative study. The first research question focused on the use of learning theories, instructional models, and instructional design models. The second research question focused on the use of elearning and mlearning design principles. The third research question focused on the use of health behavior theories and models. Twelve health professionals selected for their involvement in the creation of ehealth and mhealth education interventions participated in this study. The themes emerging from the research questions showed a variability in how the participants used education theories and models, principles of elearning and mlearning design, and health behavior and health education theories and models to create ehealth and mhealth interventions. On education theories and models, the participants used elements of instructional design (i.e., analysis, design, evaluation) but did not use any specific instructional design model. Moreover, they invested efforts in creating instructional strategies that reflected instructional models of different learning theories but did not specify particular models or theories. Four themes emerged on the instructional strategies they used in the interventions: (1) connections to behaviorist approaches to learning, (2) connections to cognitivist approaches to learning, (3) connections to constructivist approaches to learning, and (4) unspecified learning theories. On the use of elearning design principles, seven patterns emerged: (1) interaction, (2) learner control, (3) provision of help, (4) use of multimedia, (5) engagement, (6) user friendliness, and (7) visual appeal. On the use of health behavior theories and models, three themes emerged (1) no use of health behavior theory or model, (2) use of a mix of health behavior theories or models, and (3) use of a particular health behavior theory or model. The variability of the findings and the resulting themes suggested implications for practice and further research. These implications concern all health professionals creating ehealth and mhealth interventions as well as scholars in the field of instructional design and health education and heath behavior. The implications and limitations of the study were also discussed

The WYRED Project: A Technological Platform for a Generative Research and Dialogue about Youth Perspectives and Interests in Digital Society

European Commision (EC). Funding H2020/CSA. Project Code: 72706

The WYRED project: A Technological Platform for a generative research and dialogue about youth perspectives and interests in digital society

García-Peñalvo, F. J. (2016). The WYRED Project: A Technological Platform for a Generative Research and Dialogue about Youth Perspectives and Interests in Digital Society. Journal of Information Technology Research, 9(4), vi-x

Mobile Learning for Just-In-Time Knowledge Acquisition at the Science Museum Group

The Science Museum Group (SMG) Service Desk team in the United Kingdom (UK) faces the challenges of Service Level Agreement (SLA) breaches. Furthermore, the museum sector suffers significant reductions in funding made by a major sponsor in the UK. Thus, ICT Service desk staff are required to manage incidents and other demands with minimal resources. To address this problem, this paper recommends serving just-in-time knowledge in the form of knowledge articles that are also responsive to mobile devices to service users. This offering could reduce ICT support calls, increase productivity for both service desk staffs and the service user. Moreover, it presents an opportunity to develop functional technical knowledge among non-ICT SMG staff. The use of knowledge articles log files and ICT incident report log files were used to find out which staff are more likely to read knowledge articles or report ICT incidents for the purpose of targeting those staff with the just-in-time knowledge articles. As with any technological change, challenges are pervasive in technological adoption. This study uses the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model to explain the determinants of mLearning adoption at SMG. The current study makes an original contribution to theory and practice by broadening the body of knowledge pertaining to understanding the factors contributing to mLearning adoption and its potential use for just-in-time knowledge acquisition for staff in a UK Museum context. The results from this study indicate that the UTAUT constructs Performance expectancy, Effort expectancy, Social influence and Facilitating conditions are all significant determinants of behavioural intention to use mLearning. Surprisingly, the newly proposed construct, Self-determined learning was not a significant determinant of behaviour intentions. Further examination found age and gender moderate the relationship between the UTAUT constructs. These findings present several beneficial implications for mLearning research and practice at SMG and in a wider context. For example, to inform a broader set of technical adoption research and strategy