Debbie Holley, Reader, Education & Technology

Anglia Ruskin University &

Sue SentanceNational Academic Coordinator for

the Network of ExcellenceBCS Academy/Computing At School

Mobile ‘comfort’ zones: overcoming barriers to enable facilitated learning in the workplace

Anglia Ruskin University Trainee Teachers

Mobiles have transformed how we communicate – it’s a new way of life

For Pachler et al (2010:3) it is now accepted that mobile devices have a number of important characteristics which make them attractive from an educational perspective, including increasing portability,

functionality, multimedia convergence, ubiquity, personal ownership, social interactivity, context sensitivity, location awareness,

connectivity and personalisation

All have a mobile phone

All use text messaging

Some have internet access via phone

Most have phone contract; some on pay as you go

Some use Facebook

Some use Twitter

Anglia Ruskin draws it trainee teachers from a wide area of the East of England; so their school placements are widely spread

They recruit a diverse range of trainees and cover a range of subjects, this study was carried out with 12 ICT trainee teachers. One trainee chose not to take part.

A student questionnaire plus tutor analysis of early written work showed:

Trainees are unused to academic writing (the PGCE course is at Masters level)Trainees are full-time on placement (limited number of days in University)Trainees feel isolated from the universityTrainees struggle to find time for readingTrainees do not reflect on their reading

Preparing for teaching in their placement school class is the focus of attention

A science class at Cornelius Vermuyden Secondary School

So – issue - how to scaffold trainee teacher engagement with their studies when they are in their placement school?

To find out if mobile technology (eg TxtTools software) could be used to support our trainees on placement.

Approach taken:

• Four key interventions ‘24 hour cycle’ • Each based around a peer review journal article

‘recommended’ reading for their assignment (Curriculum & Pedagogy)

• Tutor prompts students to reflect on article by sending initial message, students work in triads (note they are based in schools different geographic locations)

• 140 character messages are collated and sent round groups to scaffold learning during the period

• Tutor adds in new questions, refines discussions, and creates a word document for all participants at end of period

Our ‘Research Problem’

Response from initial question from tutor – usually around defining terms before building up ‘discussion via text’

Project findings: Educational benefits identified by tutor:

• Encouraged trainees to read• Encouraged trainees to reflect on the reading rather than just skim

read• Encouraged concise writing and discouraged descriptive comments• Trainees commented on each other’s comments• Compensated for lack of university sessions with trainees to a small

degree• Set the focus on their assignment• May assignments had more critical reference to literature than

January assignments

Negative points from trainee teachers: – mostly about use of this technology

• Conciseness was difficult – 160 character limit• Didn’t like the messages being anonymous• Some concerns about invasion of privacy• Wanted to see complete thread of responses• “We already have too many other things to

do”

Three emergent themes from the research:Comfort/lack of comfort with their identity as ‘technological learner’Issues of personal/ private space re arrival of SMS messagesDevelopment of emergent CoP

Framework for analysis:

a) their individual reported personal/academic crossover ‘comfort zone’ which ranges from an acceptance and embracing of the 24 hour digital world through to SMS messages only in my ‘usual’ working hours of 9-5

b) Their willingness to be a contributor in an emergent group of practice from passively reading the SMS that others read to actively wanting to co-construct knowledge with their peers (via SMS)

c) Their attitudes to technologies, ranging from willingness to experiment/ try out a new idea to rejecting a new technology (such as the mobile phone for learning purposes) in favour of more comfortable/ familiar technologies such as facebook.

Populated model showing trainee barriers

For some, cultural capital would assist:“To possess the machines [they] only need economic capital; to appropriate them and use them in accordance with their specific purpose [they] must have access to embodied cultural capital either in person or by proxy”

Bourdieu 1986

The challenge is how to develop the classroom of the future….

And it is a collaboration with our students..

Thank you for listening We would welcome

thoughts, comments for developing model

further?

ReferencesBourdieu, P. (1986). ‘The forms of capital’ (R. Nice, trans.). In J. Richardson (ed.) Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. New York: Greenwood Press.

Holley, D., Sentance, S & Bradley, C (2011). Balancing the demands of in-school placement with out-of-school study’ available electronically from http://escalate.ac.uk/8140 [accessed 10/10/2013]

Lave, J. and Wenger, E., 1991.Situated learning:legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Pachler, N., Bachmair, B. and Cook, J. (2010). Mobile Learning: Structures, Agency, Practices. New York: Springer.