1. Mobility and Successful Learning Diana G. Oblinger, Ph.D. Copyright Diana G. Oblinger, 2006. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

2. About mobility

3. Characteristics of mobile devices Embedded Ubiquitous Networked Social interaction Context awareness –Nesta Futurelab, 2005

4. Ubiquitous 80-90% of college students have mobile phones 75% of college students use text messaging most often on their mobile phones 56% of college students own a laptop 29% of US universities have full- campus wireless networks – eMarketer, 2006

5. College student use of phone features – Harris Interactive, 2005 Text messages 0 100 80 60 40 20 Play games Download ringtones Take, send photos Watch TV Percentage

6. Unique educational properties Portability: small size & weight Connectivity: connect with other devices Social interactivity: data exchange, collaboration & communication Context sensitivity: responses tailored by location, environment and time Personalization: tailor for individual needs – Nesta Futurelab, 2005

7. Options for using mobile devices Fieldwork Collect data from the field, in situ Learn in authentic contexts Using travel time Work on self-evaluation or reflections Check postings on Web During breaks Listen to podcasts Access bite-sized content Classes Rapid feedback (e.g., clickers) Participatory simulations Collaboration Connectivity from dispersed communities Information sharing – JISC, 2005

8. Benefits of mobility Choice ―Time ―Place ―Frequency Control: Increased sense of learner control Embedded: Embeds learning into everyday life; learning can fit into smaller time intervals and any location Immediate: Connectivity on location enables discover-based learning – JISC, 2005; Nesta Futurelab, 2005

9. Learners

10. Today’s learners Mobile Digital Connected Immediate Social

11. Learning preferences Rich, immersive, participatory “Learning-to-be” Peer-to-peer Visual & kinesthetic Real world

12. Time-constrained learners 87% commute 80% work – NCES, 2003; Humphries, 2004 35% of undergraduates are adult learners 31% of enrollment increases will be in adult learners

13. Informal interactions Students spend more time out of class than in it “Capture time” is particularly important for non-residential students Learning occurs through conversations, web surfing, social interactions Team projects Spontaneous interactions Mingle, share, make connections

14. Is mobility learner-centered?

15. Culture

16. Connected The Internet is a primary communication tool ―81% email friends and relatives ―70% use instant messaging to keep in touch ―56% prefer the Internet to the telephone Internet is fastest-growing ad medium – Lenhart, Simon & Graziano, 2001; Ogilvy, 2005

17. Peer-to-peer Crowd surfer Find friends with 80 feet of your location Bluetooth Exchange photos and information

18. Visual A picture is worth a thousand words Flickr: making photos available to those you want to see them Digital cameras, cell phones Mobile TV – Lomas, 2005

19. Self-service People are doing more things for themselves online ―Online banking ―Online shopping ―Learning Informal learning ―OCLC, 2004; Colley, Hodkinson & Malcolm, 2003 ―Organic ―Contextualized ―Activity and experience- based ―Self-activated, under the learner’s control ―Open-ended engagement

20. Individualized ―Lomas, 2005; Rainie, 2005; Apple, 2005; Forrester, 2005 22 million American adults have MP3 players 6 million have downloaded podcasts or Internet radio programs iTunes ―4.9 launched with over 3,000 podcast feeds on June 28 2005 ―over 1 million subscriptions within 2 days … and crashed nearly every server supplying podcast audio files to subscribers Podcasting is expected to reach 12.3 million households by 2010

21. Participatory 34 million blogs (est.) 32 million blog readers 400,000 posts per day 16,000 posts per hour —Lark, 2005

22. Alternate reality 5 hours: amount of time an 8 th grader plays video games per week 77% : By high school, the percentage of students who have played games 69% have played games since elementary school 100%: By college, nearly all students have experienced games 710 million players worldwide $10 billion: Gaming industry revenue in 2004 —Jones, 2003; Castranova, 2005

23. Does mobility fit our culture?

24. Success

25. Principles to remember Content model: Learning is not just about covering content; it is about developing competency Its not technology alone: Technology must support good pedagogy Knowledge construction: Learning is a process of knowledge construction, not knowledge absorption. Reasoning is not linear, deductive or abstract but begins from the concrete and assembles a “mosaic” Interactivity: This is a connected, interactive generation; collaboration and interaction are important learning principles – Dede, 2005; Resnick, 1998 Formal & informal: Learning can occur anywhere, anytime Situational: Learning is highly tuned to the situation in which it takes place

26. Learning theories & activities Behaviorist Drill and feedback Classroom response systems Constructivist Participatory simulations Situated learning Problem and case-based learning Context awareness Collaborative learning Mobile computer supported collaborative learning Informal & lifelong learning Support intentional & accidental learning Learning & teaching support Personal organization Support for administrative duties – Nesta Futurelab, 2005

27. Definition of success From whose perspective? ―Student ―Faculty ―IT ―Finance By what measures? ―Novelty ―Flexibility ―Access ―Convenience ―Cost

28. Student success (academic view) Challenging ideas & people –Terenzini, 2005 Active engagement with challenges Supportive environment Real-world activities Social activity Unbounded by time or place

29. Student success (student view) Control Convenience Communication Engagement In class Out of class

30. Cognitive outcomes Recall: know from memory Comprehension: understand concepts Application: use skill/knowledge in new situations Analysis: understand constituent parts, themes, organizing principles Synthesis: assemble novel whole from parts Evaluation: judgment of relative value or quality – Gardiner, 1994

31. Encourage interactivity Queries: learners pose questions Real-time responses Note-taking Predicting or hypothesizing – Schweir & Misanchunck, 1992

32. Support for active learning Capture data, on-location Contact with mentors, tutors or peers Link to communities of practice Opportunity for reflection Formative assessment for self-checking – JISC, 2005

33. Learner control Non-sequential access to information Immediacy of response Bidirectional communication Interruptibility ―Pause for reflection ―Take notes ―Repeat a segment Method of presentation Sequence in which to learn – Oblinger, 1996

34. Extending mobile functionality SMS: text messages provide essential information, enable collaboration, provide support MMS: video, audio and images can be added to text messages GPRS: supports Web browsing and IM on mobile phones Bluetooth: short-range wireless for beaming data GPS: determines location – JISC, 2005

35. Interfaces shaping learning World to the desktop: access to ―Distant experts ―Collaboration ―Mentors ―Communities of practice Alice in Wonderland, multi-user virtual environment ―Participants and avatars and artifacts interact ―Shared virtual environments Ubiquitous computing ―Wireless devices infuse resources in the real world ―Smart objects; intelligent contexts ―Dede, 2005

36. Environmental detectives Players briefed about rash of local health problems linked to the environment Provided with background information and “budget” Need to determine source of pollution by drilling sampling wells and ultimately remediate with pumping wells Work in teams representing different interests (EPA, industry, etc.) ―Klopfer & Squire, 2003

37. Elements of learning environment Disciplinary needs Assessment Experiential learning Group learning Reflection --Crawley, 2004

38. Does it lead to success?

39. Approaches

40. Learning approaches Acquiring competence Bite-sized content Mentoring through SMS Individual understanding Just-in-time access to resources Reflection through e-portfolios Group collaboration Information sharing In situ data capture Social practice Connectivity from dispersed communities Learning in authentic contexts – JISC, 2005

41. Podcasting

42. Interaction ActiveClass uses PDA’s as a complementary channel ―Questions asked ―Students more engaged ―Silent, anonymous broadcast of “aggregated conversation” ―No person-to-person communication

43. Remote data collection Capture data on location Located learners providing separate views on shared activities Disparate groups communicating a variety of collected data Real-world observation

44. Problem solving Live long and prosper Goal is to live as long as possible and reproduce Ability to survive is linked to the genome; must figure out the genetics involved Mating is by “beaming” between hand-helds

45. Questions to ask

46. 1. What outcomes are we seeking? Greater mobility Increased access Public visibility More authentic, hands-on experiences User convenience Cost avoidance

47. 2. What do stakeholders say? Students, faculty and IT as stakeholders Each has a unique perspective Input ranges from opinion to action Language and perspectives differ

48. 3. What infrastructure is required? Sustainable change Policy Finance Technology Service & support Personnel Organization

49. 4. Are all components aligned? VisionVision Service Delivery Infrastructure Technology Financial Policies Infrastructure OrganizationOrganization ProcessProcess Vision Rationale Guiding principles Leadership Service Student support Faculty support Admin & student Infrastructure Technology Policy Financial Organization Structure Leadership Decision-making Process Buy-in Communication Speed and responsiveness

50. 5. How do we know it works? Knowledge building Organizational change Decision-making Program development Infrastructure development ―Olds, 2005 Qualitative and quantitative measures

51. © 2006 All rights reserved doblinger@educause.edu