mobile learning: hype or evidenced impact for higher education applications?
TRANSCRIPT
MOBILE LEARNING: HYPE OR
EVIDENCED IMPACT FOR HIGHER
EDUCATION
APPLICATIONS?Mohamed Ally, Ph.D.
Director and Professor
Centre for Distance Education
Athabasca University
Canada
Education 2011-2021 Summit
Global challenges and perspectives of blended and distance learning
Sydney, Australia
February 2011
Presentation Outline
What is happening in mobile learning?
Why higher education needs to get involved in mobile learning?
Examples of use of mobile technology in higher education
Campus-based education Delivery Model
The learner in mobile learning
Future of mobile technology in education
Conclusion
International Association of Mobile Learning
Executive Committee
President - Agnes Kukulska-Hulme, The Open University, UK
Vice-President - Jill Attewell, Learning and Skills Network, UK
Secretary - Jocelyn Wishart, University of Bristol, UK
Treasurer - Tom Brown, Midrand Graduate Institute, South
Africa
Member - Mohamed Ally, Athabasca University, Canada
Member - Vanessa Camilleri, University of Malta, Malta
Member - Brendan Tangney, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Member - John Traxler, University of Wolverhampton, UK
International Association of Mobile Learning
Founding Directors
Mohamed Ally - Athabasca University, Canada
Jill Attewell - Learning and Skills Network, UK
Tom Brown - Midrand Graduate Institute, South Africa
Giorgio daBormida - EIGI Consulting
Caryl Oliver - caryloliver.com, Australia
Mike Sharples - University of Nottingham, UK
John Traxler - University of Wolverhampton, UK
Herman van derMerwe - North West University, South Africa
Regional and Countries Mobile
Learning Associations
Latin America
Malaysia
Arabian Gulf
Setting Standards for Mobile
Learning
Working on a ISO standards committee to set
standards for mobile learning for learners on
the move (nomadic learners)
International committee (Canada, South
Korea, Germany) that reports to a larger
committee
Mobile Learning Journals
International Journal of Interactive Mobile
Technologies
International Journal of Mobile and Blended
Learning
International Journal of Mobile Learning and
Organisation
Journals that Published Mobile
Learning Papers
American Journal of Distance Education
Distance Education
IRRODL (International Review of Research in
Open and Distance Learning)
Journal of Distance Education
British Journal of Educational Technology
Educational Technology, Research and
Development
Educational Technology & Society
Mobile Learning Conferences
Five mobile learning conferences are being
held in 2011
Many conferences, including IEEE and ACM
conferences, have mobile learning streams
The World Bank
UN Millennium Development
Goals
Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty
Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower
Women
Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality
Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other
diseases
Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for
Development
Connect the Indigenous Peoples
with Mobile Technology
Mobile technology in different
sectors
“In the pocket banking”
“A library in everyone‟s pocket”
“A doctor in everyone‟s pocket”
Are we ready for “Education in the pocket”
Are Faculty Ready for Mobile
Learning?
Corbeil et al. (2007) conducted a study where they asked students and faculty whether they are ready for mobile learning.
Of the 107 students who responded, all students owned a smart phone or cell phone and 94 percent of the students said that they are ready for mobile learning; however, only 60 percent of faculty said that they are ready for mobile learning.
Learners are ready to use mobile technology for learning but the question is “Are educators ready for mobile learning”.
Some people are predicting that mobile technology has no role in education
They will be proven wrong
We know of famous predictions in the past that were wrong. Examples include:
The „telephone‟ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.
The cinema is little more than a fad. It‟s canned drama. What audiences really want to see is flesh and blood on the stage.
Some educators, professionals and experts
are resisting the use of mobile learning
(some resisted the use of the internet in
education but students and educators cannot do
without the internet today)
Some experts are predicting that mobile
devices are not suitable for learning
We know of other predictions that were
wrong, for example
there will be a need for only 5 computers in the
world
why would anyone want a computer in the home
etc.
There is no turning back -
mobile learning can make a major
contribution to education and
society
Campus-based Education
System
Is the physical campus system set up for
learning?
The campus-based higher education system is
a complex system.
The question is why is it so complex when
learning should be learner-centered and it is
the learner who is doing the learning?
Problems on Campus-Based
Institution
If you think of a typical campus-based higher
education institution today, common problems
include: high dropout rate, high
absenteeism, vandalism, conflict between
students, conflict between faculty and
students, old infrastructure, closure because of
extreme weather conditions and break out of
contagious diseases, students and staff
safety, campus security, students or staff suing
the university because of injury, etc.
Campus-based institutions need the
infrastructure to prevent and solve these
problems. For example, health
services, security guards, building
maintenance, etc.
Operating Costs: Campus-based vs
Distance Education Institutions
The campus-based university spent 34 percent of the budget on operating costs while the distance education university spent only 15 percent on operation.
For a campus based university with total expenses of one billion dollars, 340 million is spent on operation.
The operating cost for the campus based university is more than double the operating cost for the distance education university
The infrastructure for campus-based institutions is buildings while the infrastructure for distance education is information technology.
Recent Australian Research
Recent Australian Data
Australian Study
Researchers surveyed 150 students who
dropped out from 4 Australian Universities.
Reasons for dropping out include:
Teaching staff
Course content
Life issues
Paid work commitments
Mobile Learning around the
World
Mobile technology in education
around the world
Many mobile learning projects in Europe. For
example, HandLeR, MOBILearn, Caerus, Mobi
le Learning Organiser, Myartspace, etc.
At Athabasca University there are
developments and research on the use of
mobile technology in course delivery, language
training, workplace learning, and reading by
older adults.
The first international conference on mobile
learning was held in the United Kingdom in
2002.
China
The Network Education College, which is an
online college in China, implemented online
learning where students can access learning
materials from anywhere and at anytime using
a variety of technology, including mobile
devices.
Because of the flexibility in access of learning
materials, enrolment grew from 200 to 17,000 in
seven years.
Open University of Nepal
Latin America
There are approximately between 50 and 60 millions underserved indigenous people in Latin America who have limited or no access to formal education.
Many of these people are nomads where they travel from one location to the next to make a living.
An research project was conducted to develop a mobile learning model to use mobile technologies to reach these underserved indigenous people.
Results showed that the students were able to use the devices to learn and the parents used the devices occasionally to improve their vocabulary.
United States
Educational institutions are giving students
mobile devices as standard resources required
to complete an education.
Abilene Christian University gave iPods or
iPhones to freshman students.
University of Texas at San Antonio and gave
free iPod Touches to teachers who attended a
technology training workshop.
Other Countries
Governments of countries are giving people
wireless mobile devices or portable devices for
learning.
Example of Projects at
Athabasca University
Course Delivery Using
Mobile Devices
Mobile Course Delivery
Study was directed to over 500 students in 3 different computer science courses (all are completely online and distance delivery)
Students were asked to complete a unit of study using a mobile device then complete a survey
Many students completed one or more units but only a sub-set of the students completed the survey to determine their experience with the mobile devices
Delivering to Specific Devices
Device detection had been problematic because new devices and mobile OSs and browsers were constantly coming on stream.
Created problems for the device detection scheme used to determine the mobile device:
String user_agent = request.getHeader("user-agent");
Changed to JavaScript to determine screen real estate:
if (screen.width >= 800) {
document.write('<style type=\"text/css\">…..
Stylesheet Delivery
If the screen size is >= 800, delivers the full stylesheet
If screen size < 800, delivers style sheet meant for mobile device
Multimedia Displays
Device detection also implemented for applets, flash, large graphics, etc.
Delivery of alternate graphics to mobile devices
Results
No difficulties encountered in access using mobile devices.
A variety of devices used by students:
iPaq, PalmOne Treo and Tungsten, Blackberry, Dell Axim, Pantech 3200, Motorola Razor, Samsung, UT Starcom, Toshiba Pocket PC e330, and even a PSP (Portable Sony Playstation).
A complete range of connection plans including WiFi, phone plans, and desktop synchronization.
Suitability of Using Mobile Devices to Access Learning
Materials
User Comments:
• The screen on the mobile device is very readable. I managed to finish reading an entire section while waiting for a meeting to start yesterday.•I actually really liked reading the course on the phone. • The layout was fantastic & easy to follow.
Flexibility of Mobile Learning
User Comments:
• There are many times in our busy lives where we could use our waiting time more constructively. • If I would have known how to use the device - I would have been using it all the time to review the course material.
Through this medium I am able to take the course anywhere.
Language Training
Benefits of Mobile Learning to
Learners
New Generations of Students
Online presence
Now generation
Virtual generation
Social networking
Games
Digital experts
Adapt to technology quickly
Technology is second nature
How students prefer to learn?
In groups (55%)
Doing practical things (39%)
With friends (35%)
By using computers (31%)
Alone (21%)
From teachers (19%)
Becta, 2008
Use of Mobile Technology in
Education
Uses of mobile technologies in education
include: administration of learning, monitoring
students‟ progress, providing learner
support, interactive activities to promote higher
level learning, delivery of learning
materials, use of context specific
activities, workplace learning, just-in-time
learning, and reaching the disabled.
Gaskill and Mills (2009)
Learnable Moment
Mobile learning benefits learners since they can
use mobile devices to learn in their own learning
community where situated learning, authentic
learning, context aware learning, augmented
reality mobile learning, and personalized learning
are encouraged (Traxler, 2010).
Learning will move more and more outside of the
classroom and into the learner‟s
environments, both real and virtual, thus
becoming more situated, personal, collaborative
and lifelong (Naismith et al., 2006).
Mobile Learning to Develop 21st
Century Skills
Use of mobile technology by learners will help
the learners develop 21st century skills
required by learners when they join the
workforce.
21st Century Skills Area
Communication
Project Management
Continuous Improvement
Problem Solving
Information and Communication Technology
Team Work
Personal Well-being
Leadership
Globalization
Research
Critical Thinking
Mobile Technology
Learners have multiple devices
Near Future
Future
In the future, mobile devices will look completely
difference from what they are today.
According to a recent Futurelab report, by
2020, digital technology will be embedded and
distributed in most objects.
Personal artefacts such as
keys, clothes, shoes, notebook, and newspaper
will have devices embedded within them which
can communicate with each other.
We will not be taking any devices with us, they will
exist everywhere.
Everything will be connected to everything
through network. There will no longer be any
such thing as „the internet‟, „telephone‟, „TV‟
and so forth; instead there is blanket wireless
connectivity to the network which allows
access to all communications channels even
in remote areas.
Input to and feedback from digital technologies
will become much more „natural‟ by 2020, and
we feel as though we are interacting with
things and with people, not machines, screens
and keyboards.
Conclusion
Is the use of mobile technology
„hype‟?
Ask Rory McGreal
Ask a learner who has a mobile device
but no learning materials to access
Ask young learners who have no
access to schools or libraries
Ask an unemployed young
person
Ask a female who has the mobile technology
but cannot attend school
Ask a President who got elected because of
the use of mobile technology
Young people are using mobile technology for
revolutions because of lack of jobs, no human
rights, suppression, high prices for basic
needs (education, food), etc.
Would it take a revolution by young learners to
transform education to meet their needs?
With Mobile Learning
“Education for All”
is possible
Social Justice
The concept of social justice expresses an
ideal in which all members of society are
treated fairly and have access to their fair
share of society‟s goods.
Research Needed
How to design for the unknown
How to design for learners on the move
Most effective interfaces for mobile and virtual devices
How to design information rich content for mobile delivery
What are the characteristics of mobile technology for different cultures
Interactivity on mobile devices
Intelligent learning materials
Learner-generated content for mobile learning
OER for mobile delivery
