Conceptualising mLearning literacy

Research into the educational application of mobile technologies has increased dramatically in recent years. Much has been written about mobile learning and its various pedagogical practices and issues as well as the theoretical frameworks that have been developed to underpin the studies in the reports. However, little has been written about the literacy associated with learning with mobile devices and whether there is a place for its development in education. This conceptual paper seeks to explore mLearning literacy, the digital literacy associated with learning with mobile devices, and asks the question: What is mLearning literacy and what are its implications for educators? In the paper, the author will argue that fundamental to learning with mobile devices is the need to develop the associated digital literacy in students. The author proposes that being mLearning literate would empower students to learn more independently and more safely when using mobile devices and their applications. Copyright © 2013, IGI Global

Get yourself connected: conceptualising the role of digital technologies in Norwegian career guidance

This report outlines the role of digital technologies in the provision of career guidance. It was commissioned by the c ommittee on career guidance which is advising the Norwegian Government following a review of the countries skills system by the OECD. In this report we argue that career guidance and online career guidance in particular can support the development of Norwa y’s skills system to help meet the economic challenges that it faces.The expert committee advising Norway’s Career Guidance Initiativ

Challenges for conceptualising EU MOOC for vulnerable learner groups

This exploratory paper picks up elements from the European Commission’s educational vision and philosophy behind Opening up Education, the resulting initiative of the OpenupEd.eu MOOC platform, and takes this as a starting point to look at potential challenges for developing MOOCs that include vulnerable learner groups. In order to align the future conceptualization of MOOCs with the vision and philosophy of Europe, potential tensions of contemporary and future education are listed. The current dichotomy of xMOOC and cMOOC are used to mark some of the unexplored MOOC territory. Practical answers to contemporary, ICT-supported educational challenges are provided as options to fuel the debate. The challenges and options for future online education initiatives are based on insights and ideas of international scholars and researchers reflecting on potential barriers for learners and online education. This paper aims to stimulate discussion of the potential for new educational technologies to ensure social inclusion for virtual and physical vulnerable learner groups

Learning with Mobile Devices

The concept of learning with small portable computers was developed by Alan Kay in 1972. Since that early conception, scholars, such as Traxler, Sharples, and Soloway are the pioneering scholars who paved the way to a better understanding of the philosophical, pedagogical, and conceptual underpinnings of mobile learning today. In this chapter, an overview is provided to explicate the initial foundations of the emerging field of mobile learning (mlearning). Next, current scientific knowledge is delineated with explicit references to the early scholars. This chapter concludes with a preview of the future research directions in mobile learning

Mobile Learning

In 1972, Alan Kay developed the concept of a handheld multimedia computer that was intended as a mobile device for learning. Since that early conception, scholars, such as Traxler, Sharples, and Soloway are the pioneering scholars who have paved the way to a better understanding of the philosophical, pedagogical, and conceptual underpinnings of mobile learning today. In this article, an overview is provided to explicate the initial foundations of this emerging field. Next, current scientific knowledge is delineated with explicit references to the early scholars. This article concludes with a preview of the future research directions in mobile learning. </jats:p

Quality in MOOCs: Surveying the Terrain

The purpose of this review is to identify quality measures and to highlight some of the tensions surrounding notions of quality, as well as the need for new ways of thinking about and approaching quality in MOOCs. It draws on the literature on both MOOCs and quality in education more generally in order to provide a framework for thinking about quality and the different variables and questions that must be considered when conceptualising quality in MOOCs. The review adopts a relativist approach, positioning quality as a measure for a specific purpose. The review draws upon Biggs’s (1993) 3P model to explore notions and dimensions of quality in relation to MOOCs — presage, process and product variables — which correspond to an input–environment–output model. The review brings together literature examining how quality should be interpreted and assessed in MOOCs at a more general and theoretical level, as well as empirical research studies that explore how these ideas about quality can be operationalised, including the measures and instruments that can be employed. What emerges from the literature are the complexities involved in interpreting and measuring quality in MOOCs and the importance of both context and perspective to discussions of quality