10,849 research outputs found
Looking to the future: M-learning with the iPad
Might Apple’s new iPad gain unprecedented traction in education, or is just another example of the over-hyping of new devices in a time of technological determinism (Postman, 2000)? This paper explores the potential affordances and limitations of the Apple iPad in the wider context of emergent mobile learning theory, and the social and economic drivers that fuel technology development. Against the background of effective teaching and learning, the functionality offered by the iPad, and its potential uses for learning, are discussed. A critical review of the way the iPad may support learning, that draws on learning theory, contemporary articles and e-learning literature, suggests that the device may offer an exciting platform for consuming and creating content in a collaborative, interactive way. However, of greater importance is that effective, evidence-driven, innovative practices, combined with a clear-sighted assessment of the advantages and limitations of any product, should take priority over the device itself
Mobilising teacher education: a study of a professional learning community
This paper reports on a study of a community of university educators that investigated the introduction of mobile technologies into their learning and teaching. The study was conducted by a subgroup of that community. Given the ubiquity of mobile devices, members of the community felt they needed to develop expertise in mobile learning so that they could incorporate it into their teaching. They studied their own learning, supported by a critical friend who evaluated the community's functioning and activities, providing valuable feedback. Activities of this group were informed by and focused on: development of awareness of the potential of mobile devices for learning; construction of action plans within the community; and implementation of these plans. They also included investigating best-practice approaches by interviewing experts in the field, exploring the literature on mobile learning and then initiating and testing some mobile learning pedagogies in the context of their own teacher education subjects. The community met regularly to discuss emerging issues and applications. The paper shares some of the findings gained from studying the community, and discusses the challenges and constraints that were experienced. The authors conclude with recommendations for professional learning communities aiming to learn about technology-mediated teaching practices
Recommended from our members
Education in the Wild: Contextual and Location-Based Mobile Learning in Action. A Report from the STELLAR Alpine Rendez-Vous Workshop Series
Recommended from our members
Introduction to location-based mobile learning
[About the book]
The report follows on from a 2-day workshop funded by the STELLAR Network of Excellence as part of their 2009 Alpine Rendez-Vous workshop series and is edited by Elizabeth Brown with a foreword from Mike Sharples. Contributors have provided examples of innovative and exciting research projects and practical applications for mobile learning in a location-sensitive setting, including the sharing of good practice and the key findings that have resulted from this work. There is also a debate about whether location-based and contextual learning results in shallower learning strategies and a section detailing the future challenges for location-based learning
Recommended from our members
Augmenting the field experience: a student-led comparison of techniques and technologies
In this study we report on our experiences of creating and running a student fieldtrip exercise which allowed students to compare a range of approaches to the design of technologies for augmenting landscape scenes. The main study site is around Keswick in the English Lake District, Cumbria, UK, an attractive upland environment popular with tourists and walkers. The aim of the exercise for the students was to assess the effectiveness of various forms of geographic information in augmenting real landscape scenes, as mediated through a range of techniques and technologies. These techniques were: computer-generated acetate overlays showing annotated wireframe views from certain key points; a custom-designed application running on a PDA; a mediascape running on the mScape software on a GPS-enabled mobile phone; Google Earth on a tablet PC; and a head-mounted in-field Virtual Reality system. Each group of students had all five techniques available to them, and were tasked with comparing them in the context of creating a visitor guide to the area centred on the field centre. Here we summarise their findings and reflect upon some of the broader research questions emerging from the project
Mobilizing learning: mobile Web 2.0 scenarios in tertiary education
Based upon three years of mobile learning (mlearning) projects, a major implementation project has
been developed for integrating the use of mobile web 2.0 tools across a variety of departments and
courses in a tertiary education environment. A participatory action research methodology guides and
informs the project. The project is based upon an explicit social constuctivist pedagogy, focusing on
student collaboration, and the sharing and critique of student-generated content using freely available
web 2.0 services. These include blogs, social networks, location aware (geotagged) image and video
sharing, instant messaging, microblogging etc… Students and lecturers are provided with either an
appropriate smartphone and/or a 3G capable netbook to use as their own for the duration of the
project. Keys to the projects success are the level of pedagogical and technical support, and the level
of integration of the tools into the courses – including assessment and lecturer modelling of the use of
the tools. The projects are supported by an intentional community of practice model, with the
researcher taking on the role of the “technology steward”. The paper outlines three different scenarios
illustrating how this course integration is being achieved, establishing a transferable model of mobile
web 2.0 integration and implementation. The goal is to facilitate a student-centred, collaborative,
flexible, context-bridging learning environment that empowers students as content producers and
learning context generators, guided by lecturers who effectively model th
Integrating Mobile Web 2.0 within tertiary education
Based on three years of innovative pedagogical development and guided by a participatory action research
methodology, this paper outlines an approach to integrating mobile web 2.0 within a tertiary education
course, based on a social constructivist pedagogy. The goal is to facilitate a student-centred, collaborative,
flexible, context-bridging learning environment that empowers students as content producers and learning
context generators, guided by lecturers who effectively model the use of the technology. We illustrate how
the introduction of mobile web 2.0 has disrupted the underlying pedagogy of the course from a traditional
Attelier model (face-to-face apprenticeship model), and has been successfully transformed into a context
independent social constructivist model. Two mobile web 2.0 learning scenarios are outlined, including; a
sustainable house design project (involving the collaboration of four departments in three faculties and three
diverse groups of students), and the implementation of a weekly ‘nomadic studio session'. Students and
lecturers use the latest generation of smartphones to collaborate, communicate, capture and share critical and
reflective learning events. Students and lecturers use mobile friendly web 2.0 tools to create this
environment, including: blogs, social networks, location aware (geotagged) image and video sharing, instant
messaging, microblogging etc… Feedback from students and lecturers has been extremely positive
Designing electronic collaborative learning environments
Electronic collaborative learning environments for learning and working are in vogue. Designers design them according to their own constructivist interpretations of what collaborative learning is and what it should achieve. Educators employ them with different educational approaches and in diverse situations to achieve different ends. Students use them, sometimes very enthusiastically, but often in a perfunctory way. Finally, researchers study them and—as is usually the case when apples and oranges are compared—find no conclusive evidence as to whether or not they work, where they do or do not work, when they do or do not work and, most importantly, why, they do or do not work. This contribution presents an affordance framework for such collaborative learning environments; an interaction design procedure for designing, developing, and implementing them; and an educational affordance approach to the use of tasks in those environments. It also presents the results of three projects dealing with these three issues
Reflections on 3 years of mlearning implementation (2007-2009)
This paper discusses the implications of 3 years of action research mlearning projects investigating the potential of mobile web 2.0 tools to facilitate social constructivist learning environments across multiple learning contexts. Highlighted are the design framework, identified critical success factors, and implementation strategy developed from the thirteen mlearning projects undertaken between 2007 and 2009. The projects encompassed five different courses, forming five case studies spanning from one to three years of implementation and refinement.
KEYWORDS
Mlearning, web 2.0, social constructivism
- …