Assimilate or Accommodate?:The Need to Rethink Current Use of the Term ‘Mobile Learning’

Mobile devices are now ubiquitous in many areas of the globe and used for all kinds of communication modes in all walks of life, notably for learning as well as for entertainment. So what exactly do we understand by mobile learning? For a decade now, as mobile devices are found in an ever wider range of learning situations and contexts, mobile learning researchers have sought to define (Sharples, Taylor and Vavoula, 2007; Wexler et al., 2008) and redefine (Crompton, 2013) mobile learning in a way that is meaningful within this increasing range. However, the need to categorise educational applications of mobile technologies has become a progressively more complex challenge (Park, 2011), also including the classroom as a pedagogical context for mobile learning. However, Sharples and colleagues’ (2007) original definition of mobile learning emphasised the assumption that, for learning to be mobile, learners must be continually on the move which is clearly not the case for students using mobile devices in class. Yet the mobile learning research community continues to try to assimilate these instances into their understanding of mobile learning. Is it not now time to create a new concept reserving the original term ‘mobile learning’ for mobile technology supported learning opportunities that involve the learners physically moving between contexts

Personal Digital Assistants – teachers prefer the personal

This paper will present the results of a small-scale project, funded by the UK Teacher Development Agency, where 13 teachers and 3 trainee teachers in one secondary school science department were given handhelds (Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs) with cameras and internet access for the academic year. The aims were: • to build capacity - enabling trainee teachers to share their mlearning practice; • to enable school based associate tutors to join the elearning community linked to the initial teacher training course and • to encourage reflective practice amongst trainee teachers by enabling access anytime and anywhere to blogs for recording their teaching experiences. However, initial indications are that not all these aims succeeded. The handhelds were viewed as personal devices rather than enabling access to a community of practice. Nearly all participants praised the personal information management functions of the devices but the teachers did not use the handhelds to access the course virtual learning environment and students did so only rarely. Email and SMS (texting) for both personal reasons and work within the school related context were more popular. Most popular were the multiple methods of recording available on the handheld: video, audio and written notes. Teachers used them to record observations on each others’ lessons, students’ work, student behaviour and trainees’ progress in teaching. Whilst the concept of blogging did not appeal and was not used by the trainee teachers, they did record personal reflections on their teaching in Word. Finally, there were clear signs that the handhelds were taken out of the participants’ pockets or bags to be used only when relevant and then replaced. This was perceived as a distinct advantage compared to desktop or even laptop based computers in the classroom with handhelds affording technology at a teacher’s side and not in their face.Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol United Kingdo

Internet safety issues in English schools

This paper arises from an Audit of Internet Safety Practices in English Schools, a research survey sponsored by the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) and carried out in the summer term, 2002 (Becta, 2002)

Exploring How Creating Stop-Motion Animations Supports Student Teachers in Learning to Teach Science

This article reports on an exploration of teaching and learning through creating rudimentary stop-motion animations set up to identify how learning opportunities involving stop-motion animations can support student learning and science teacher education. Participants were student teachers, volunteers representing both secondary and primary school teacher training courses, from three universities in England. Their discussions while making an animation themselves were recorded. Six of the secondary trainees were later interviewed after having taught using animation during placement in school. Thematic analysis of the content of the recordings and interviews showed that the student teachers view the opportunities that making an animation creates for peer discussion as the most likely to promote learning. Modeling was also seen as beneficial, though no one particular activity or stage in animation creation stood out as being more effective than another. It is the holistic process of representing and re-representing one's scientific knowledge in different modes that made animation creation appear to be so useful in bringing about and supporting learning. With respect to teacher education, the student science teachers reported that making animations themselves supported them in thinking through the process of how, as teachers, they would need to communicate the underpinning science to others