1. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology Social Thinking in Mobile Learning new thinking strategies for the mobile learner Agnes Kukulska-Hulme, 9 February 2007

2. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology In the context of learning… What kind of thinking is valued? What kind of thinking is valued in the information age? What kind of thinking might be valued in the mobile age? Questions

3. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology Existing frameworks for thinking Most frameworks describing the thinking processes necessary for learning…have a cognitive and affective emphasis. Few consider the social dimension. (Moseley et al., Frameworks for Thinking – A Handbook for Teaching and Learning, CUP, 2005)

4. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology Examples Bloom’s taxonomy 1956, revised 2001: remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate, create De Bono’s thinking tools, 1976-85, e.g. consider all factors, find other ways… Baron’s model of the good thinker, 1985, e.g. a good thinker seeks evidence on both sides, revises goals when necessary… Sternberg’s model of abilities as developing expertise, 2001, includes critical, creative & practical thinking

5. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology Thinking in the information age 1990s: “critical thinking is an important attribute for success in the 21 st century”  evaluate, synthesize 21 st century: “the ability to think flexibly”; “an ability to think strategically”; “scenario thinking”  adapt, create new literacies, e.g. social networking, blogging…  enact, connect distributed cognition, wisdom of crowds  embrace, capture

6. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology Beyond the information age? “… the abilities that matter most are now closer in spirit to the specialties of the right hemisphere - artistry, empathy, seeing the big picture, and pursuing the transcendent.” Daniel Pink, 2005, Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age

7. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology Today and tomorrow: the digital generation Digital pioneers Creative producers Everyday communicators Information gatherers Green & Hannon (publ. January 2007) Their Space: Education for a digital generation, Demos.

8. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology What’s special about the mobile age? Time: Perpetual contact (Katz & Aakhus, 2002) People: Smart mobs (Rheingold, 2002) Presence: interests, preferred communication Capture: personal, shareable, multiple media Performance: immediate access and application

9. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology ‘Knowing’ in the mobile age “As wearing computers becomes a more common practice… knowing will become collaborative, networked and distributed processes and performances… now is the time to start thinking seriously about possible scenarios” Lankshear & Knobel, 2003, New Literacies: Changing Knowledge and Classroom Learning, OUP, p. 167

10. deviceuser networklocations people Accessibility Familiarity Duration of use Ownership Personalisation Accessories Software Content Applications Conditions of use Reliability Speed Motivations Costs Demographics Emotions and pleasure Emergent needs Lifestyle Social acceptability Travel Continuity Linkage across contexts Pervasiveness tasks Technical support Collaboration Social networks Study activities Other tools Enhancement Extension Emergent uses Issues to consider in mobile learning (Kukulska-Hulme, 2006)

11. Some empirical evidence Research on ‘practitioner innovation’ (Kukulska-Hulme & Pettit, 2006) – what are mobile devices good for? personal activity social activity time-critical activity resources continuity opportunity

12. alternative contact presence group work sharing exchanging coordinating interviewing share-trading translation news databases presentations ebooks games social activity time-critical activity resources personal activity priorities notes reflections brainstorming record-keeping recording listening continuity opportunity

13. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology Thinking… for the mobile learner Opportunistic Investigative Incremental Resourceful Generative Persistent Contextual Playful Some possibilities: