mlearn 2011 conference keynote

Innovation in Mobile Learning: An International Perspective

Mike SharplesInstitute of Educational

TechnologyThe Open University, UK

10th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning

We are all connected by

A global economic crisis

A worldwide market for technology, culture and education

The Worldwide Web

And the need to educate and empower people for the 21st century

• ¼ of the population of China is learning English (300 million people)

• In the next 5 years all Chinese schools will teach English in kindergarten

• All state employees younger than 40 will be required to master 1,000 English phrases

• “ Numerous obstacles stand in the way of China’s quest, including a shortage of good English teachers and the country’s test-oriented education system”

• 1 billion people in China use mobile phones (67% of the population) of which 100 million are smartphones

• 21st century education opportunity: smartphones for language learning

Source: Indianapolis Business Journal, “Report from China”, March 2011

International Mobile Learning collaboration – smartphones for language learning

Sharp Labs EuropeUniversity of NottinghamTokushima University, Japan

Incidental second language learning

E-book

Readstory for

vocabulary

Mobile game

Practise sentence

construction

Personal vocabulary

Rehearse vocabulary

list

Selected words

Gamewords

Missingwords

Elmo Mark 2 for smartphones

Research question

Are there differences in the learning of English vocabulary through reading novels, depending on the mode of mobile interaction?

Three modes of interaction• Paper book• e-book reader with English

dictionary• ‘ELMO’: e-book reader with

enhanced software, including adaptive user modelling and additional interactivity

E-book

Elmo adaptive system

Paper book

Participants

• 39 students (24 female, 15 male) aged 15-17 at a Japanese high school

• 3 comparison groups balanced in terms of English vocabulary and gender

Crossover designCycle A

The Hound of the

Baskervilles

Cycle BThe Thirty-nine Steps

Cycle C Little Women

Wk1

Wk2

Wk3

Wk4

Wk5

Wk6

GpA

ELMO e-book book

GpB

e-book book ELMO

GpC

book ELMO e-book

Su

rvey a

nd

focu

s g

rou

ps

Post

-test

th

ree

Post

-test

on

e

Post

-test

tw

o

Base

-lin

e t

est

The study

• Pre-test: test of specific vocabulary from the three novels

• Two weeks to read a novel – students could decide how much, when and where

• Discussion of novel allowed, but no swapping• No school implications of results• Post-test: the same words as in pre-test

(scored out of 30)

The results Adaptive handheld learning device

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

Pre Post

Voca

bu

lary

sco

re

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

Pre Post

Adaptive

Book

Voca

bu

lary

sco

re

Comparison with paper book

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

Pre Post

AdaptiveEbookBook

Comparison with e-book

Voca

bu

lary

sco

re

Log dataid book

pages read

dictionary lookups

1 39_Steps 8 110 39_Steps 1 117 39_Steps 12 318 39_Steps 1 034 39_Steps 3 011 39_Steps 13 712 39_Steps 2 115 39_Steps 4 02 39_Steps 3 10

20 39_Steps 7 121 39_Steps 1 024 39_Steps 1 025 39_Steps 8 026 39_Steps 5 027 39_Steps 2 1028 39_Steps 8 129 39_Steps 15 23 39_Steps 1 2

31 39_Steps 1 032 39_Steps 5 037 39_Steps 1 238 39_Steps 3 14 39_Steps 3 8

41 39_Steps 1 243 39_Steps 28 244 39_Steps 10 6

id bookPages read

Dictionary lookups

1 Little_Women 7 108 Little_Women 1 011 Little_Women 16 1316 Little_Women 3 017 Little_Women 9 119 Little_Women 4 222 Little_Women 1 124 Little_Women 1 225 Little_Women 1 028 Little_Women 4 23 Little_Women 1 0

30 Little_Women 4 031 Little_Women 2 032 Little_Women 1 034 Little_Women 1 035 Little_Women 2 036 Little_Women 1 039 Little_Women 2 040 Little_Women 3 042 Little_Women 5 444 Little_Women 2 05 Little_Women 1 19 Little_Women 1 1

• “Made my eyes tired, so I recommend ‘paper book’”

• “It is good to write down whatever I want on ‘paper book’”

• “I do not want to bring another device with me other than my mobile phone to read novels”

• “Many say that if a small and light device with a satisfactory English-Japanese dictionary, smooth scrolling, less charging is possible, then Adaptive Device would be best” (Teacher)

Interview data

Conclusions

• The study was carefully set up and rigorously conducted

• It didn’t show any particular technology to be effective in enhancing incidental learning of English vocabulary

• The technology wasn’t engaging• The books were too difficult and boring• Since the work was not assessed there was

no external motivation• Japanese teenagers have little or no free

time in the evenings

Elmo Mk3 for Android device

Product launch by Sharp in Autumn 2011

• International collaboration• Iterative design• Comparative evaluation

But we are divided by

National and cultural differences

• Education system• Curriculum• Government education

policy• Access to higher education• Traditional teaching

methods• Cultural expectations and

inhibitions• Motivation of young people

to engage in schooling• Computers in schools

• Access to powerful personal technology

• Relations between formal and non-formal learning

• Opportunity for field trips and cultural visits

• Modes of travel to school or work

• Adult education and workplace training (e.g. apprenticeships)

• Work-life balance

• After-school activities

• Leisure and play

Africa M4D (mobile learning for development)

Focus on access,emerging contexts, basic technologies

United States Anytime, anywhere learningCorporate training

Focus on delivery, relevance

US/Taiwan/Singapore 1to1 learning Focus on personalised learning in classrooms and field trips

Europe Contextual learning, Connected learning

Focus on context, community, connecting formal and informal learning

Singapore Seamless learning Focus on continuity

Canada/Australia/UK Personalised distance education

Focus on learning design, open content, standards

Japan Ubiquitous learning Focus on availability and embedding in everyday world

Africa M4D (mobile learning for development)

Focus on access,emerging contexts, basic technologies

United States Anytime, anywhere learningCorporate training

Focus on delivery, relevance

US/Taiwan/Singapore 1to1 learning Focus on personalised learning in classrooms and field trips

Europe Contextual learning, Connected learning

Focus on context, community, connecting formal and informal learning

Singapore Seamless learning Focus on continuity

Canada/Australia/UK Personalised distance education

Focus on learning design, open content, standards

Japan Ubiquitous learning Focus on availability and embedding in everyday world

Relevance

Context

Continuity

PersonalisationLearning Design

Embedding

Community

Access

Relevance

Context

Continuity

PersonalisationLearning Design

Embedding

Community

Access

Context

In a context

“that which weaves

together”

Source: Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

“that which surrounds us”

Creating a context

Context as a ‘shell’ that surrounds the human user of technology

Context created by the constructive interaction between people and technology

Source: Dourish, P. (2004) What we talk about when we talk about context. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 8 (1): 19-30.

Computer User

Context

Learning in context

Data filtering and integration

Data filtering and integration

Nottingham Castle museum

CAGE system

• Navigation in a conceptual space through physical movement

• Location-based content delivery

• Ultrasound tracking system

• Context awareness:– which painting?– how long?– been there before?

Creating context

Learning as situated social interaction and knowledge construction

An interaction view of context• Context is a dynamic and

historical process• to enable appropriate action

(learning)• constructed through interaction

between people, settings, technologies, objects and activities

Relevance

Context

Continuity

PersonalisationLearning Design

Embedding

Community

Access

Relevance

Context

Continuity

PersonalisationLearning Design

Embedding

Community

Access

Anytime anywhere learning

Relevance

Context

Continuity

PersonalisationLearning Design

Embedding

Community

Access

Seamlesslearning

Relevance

Context

Continuity

PersonalisationLearning Design

Embedding

Community

Access

Ubiquitous learning

Relevance

Context

Continuity

PersonalisationLearning Design

Embedding

Community

Access

Connected learning

Global mobile learning

Relevance

Context

Continuity

PersonalisationLearning Design

Embedding

Community

Access