Seminar 3: Mobile and handheld technologies

21 April 2004, Bristol

The key question considered in this seminar was: what does educational research have to offer in the design and development of mobile learning systems, and is a task-centred approach to evaluate mobile learning appropriate?

Outcomes

Dr Lydia Plowman, University of Stirling

Mobile and handheld technologies

The seminar considered how mobile technologies (MT) influence identities and present us with new ways of making meaning. The day's presentations and discussions centred on different ways MTs have been designed, integrated and implemented to mediate our relationships, our education and our participation in society at large in terms of access, privacy and sense of ownership.

The key question was what does educational research have to offer in the design and development of mobile learning systems and whether a task-centred approach to evaluate mobile learning is appropriate. The key characteristic of MTs reiterated in the seminar, particularly that of PDAs, is ubiquity or ubiquitous computing. Though ubiquity may be considered desirable it seems to translate to a mere transition from text to audio in terms of its pedagogical value.

Ubiquity is believed to lead to further individualisation and the creation and maintenance of both distant and complex relationships that intermingles the real and the virtual.

Issues and questions under consideration

The main outcomes of the discussions among members of the breakout groups were:

In terms of issues:

• divide between the 'haves' and 'have nots', plus those who may possibly not want to use particular technologies
• technical literacy
• the ubiquity of technology must be accessed according to the needs of those directly involved in its use (eg question around what is desirable: face-to-face or online meetings?)
• new ways of communicating arise in response to things like SMS (eg communication 'boundaries' or 'spaces' and 'time' are particularly changing and possibly disappearing)
• role of public organisations (such as BBC) in educating children about the issues involved in living their lives online
• issues of privacy (eg protecting students' identity, filtering, supervision, education)
• the nature of online identities - multiple and transient
• parental concern and the need for reassurance
• digital citizenship and appropriate behaviour
• issues on assessment: pressure on students and teachers to do as well as possible in any assessment; feasibility of formative assessment to be automated, even partially; difference between scaffolding with notes and fully scripted answers; differences in expectations with regard to interaction and immediate feedback (explicit or implicit) when using a voice-based system rather than a written assessment
• management of the distribution of the use of MTs
• the economics of the deployment of MTs (eg PDAs) in schools.

In terms of questions:

• how do mobile technologies link to the wider community - to encourage socially constructed knowledge through interaction?
• how can individualised and independent learning technologies be shared?
• how can the process of use be captured when evaluating mobile technologies?
• how can the increased flow of information into the home and to individuals through MTs be best used to access its potential?
• how can mobile technologies be harnessed so that they aid real reflection on action - ie if MTs allow users to access wider learning areas how can reflection upon these real experiences be encouraged?
• MT allows easy sharing of facts - what is the best way of constructing a frame in which learners interact with facts?
• how does the use of MT affect pedagogy - time and place of learning, role of teacher as director rather than leader?
• with increased control of learning that comes with the opportunities provided by MTs - what is the place of accountability of the teacher/LEA/provider?
• how can the privileging of information to one user benefit collaboration?
• what is the most appropriate mechanism for dialogue between teacher and learner - the technology that the student is most familiar with other?
• what is the effect of screen size on usability - for reading and writing? how can this be investigated, looking at monitor, PDA and mobile phone screen size? are screen sizes interchangeable or do users have preferences? are these preferences set or developed? is screen size preference adopted to particular use or to particular user?
• how can MTs best be used to allow access to preferred learning styles (in terms of time, action, place and speed of working)?
• what are the key differences to learning between using MT and similar software applications on the desktop?
• what considerations must be viewed in relation to data protection and personal information protection in an environment on accessible information?
• what are the small technical problems and how can these be addressed on a wider scale?

The future:

• MTs (eg PDAs) may or may not replace PCs in education (one consideration is the portability and space issues of desktop PCs in the classroom)
• MTs (eg PDAs) as knowledge containers
• potential for dynamically created questions using VoiceXML, rather than simple pre-recorded questions
• more individuality
• technology should become more integral - at the moment you can pass exams and never touch a computer
• hopefully a re-writing of exams - current assessment methods are no longer realistic
• focus should be on all ages rather than just on school students
• teachers are no longer the gatekeeper (development of different kinds of relationships may be possible). However, this was said three decades ago about PCs
• a mixed mode (that is, to cater for different learning styles, etc) - already claimed before
• more money will be spent as education is perceived to be a brave new world full of digital natives and failing lectures (despite the lack of proof).

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