1. Learning Bridges A role for mobile technologies in education Giasemi Vavoula g.vavoula@gmail.com with Mike Sharples, Paul Rudman, Peter Lonsdale & Julia Meek

2. Outline  Background MyArtSpace: mobile learning in museums What it is, how it works, what it does  Bridge 1: Technology – Activity  Bridge 2: Learning Spaces  Bridge 3: Contexts  Bridge 4: Technologies  Making bridges steady  Conclusions

3. MyArtSpace – What it is  Service on mobile phones for enquiry-led museum learning  Aim to make school museum visits more engaging and educational  Learning through structured enquiry, exploration, connection  Combines physical space (museum, classroom) virtual space (online store and gallery) personal space (mobile phones)  Museum test sites Urbis (Manchester) The D-Day Museum (Portsmouth) The Study Gallery of Modern Art (Poole)  About 3000 children during 2006

4. MyArtSpace – How it works 1. In the classroom: Before the lesson:  Teacher receives Teacher’s Pack and Lesson Plans During the lesson:  Class discusses ‘big question’ to explore at the museum by collecting evidence  Teacher may or may not demo MyArtSpace

5. 2. At the museum: Students are given Nokia 6680 multimedia mobile phones Use phones to ‘collect’ exhibits by typing a two-letter code Prompted to type their reason for collecting Document their experience (take pictures, record sounds, write comments) All exhibits and recordings are sent automatically to a personal web space MyArtSpace – How it works

7. 2. At the museum: Students are given Nokia 6680 multimedia mobile phones Use phones to ‘collect’ exhibits by typing a two-letter code Prompted to type their reason for collecting Document their experience (take pictures, record sounds, write comments) All exhibits and recordings are sent automatically to a personal web space MyArtSpace – How it works

8. 3.Back at school ICT lab: Personal website shows their notes, recordings, pictures, exhibits They can view others’ collections, and items provided by the museum They can create personal online galleries to show teachers and classmates, and to friends and family outside school

9. MyArtSpace – What it does bridge the children’s experiences of different contexts, media and content, leading to an integrated learning experience across formal and informal settings

10. MyArtSpace – What it does bridge the children’s experiences of different contexts, media and content, leading to an integrated learning experience across formal and informal settings

11. Bridge 1: Technology – Activity Mobility in the technology and the learning activity  For MyArtSpace: Design mobile phone application and associated web portal  AND ALSO: Design 3-stage learning experience (classroom – museum – classroom/home)  Workshops involving designers and software engineers AND ALSO teachers, LEA reps, educational consultants, museum educators: What activities do we want the students to perform? How could these activities be structured into a sound learning experience? What happens in the classroom and what in the museum? Does the same thing happen in every classroom/museum, with any teacher/students? Can the teacher customise to match her teaching style, objectives and background?  What is the template of the learning experience?  What functionality is needed?

12. Bridge 1: Technology – Activity Mobility in the technology and the learning activity  The design of the learning experience must go beyond the design of the technology, with clear purpose for the teaching and learning  Bridge needed between technology design and activity planning

13. Bridge 2: Learning Spaces Acknowledge and respect all learning spaces  Learning experience  interactions in different spaces Physical space (e.g. museum) Virtual space (e.g. web portal) Personal space (e.g. mobile phone)  How much of the experience on each space? When? Where? Danger: draw visitor’s attention on virtual space at the expense of the rich physical space  do not immerse in one space at the expense of the others!

14. Bridge 2: Learning Spaces Acknowledge and respect all learning spaces  Preparing yet another space on which students can interact and learn should be done with respect for the already available spaces.  Bridge possible between different learning spaces – but is it needed?

15. Bridge 3: Contexts Fill in the gaps between museum, classroom and home  “ Learning is a cumulative process involving connections and reinforcement among the variety of learning experiences people encounter in their lives: at home, during schooling, and out in the community and workplace” (Dierking et al. 2003)  “ making the links between school and museum learning explicit, genuine, and continuous affords real opportunities for school students to have enjoyable learning experiences in both settings.” (Griffin 2004)  Opportunity for connected learning experiences in the classroom, the museum and at home Through constructed artefacts that transfer automatically between contexts Through continuation of learning in both formal and informal contexts

16. Bridge 3: Contexts Fill in the gaps between museum, classroom and home  Learning is cumulative, and learning experiences should be connected across formal and informal contexts.  Much needed bridge between different contexts and settings is possible

17. Bridge 4: Technologies Divide and conquer  Do not digitise and ‘mobilise’ for the sake of it: Use mobile technology where it brings the most value – e.g. for data collection in the museum Then ‘bridge’ it to technologies used in other parts of the experience – e.g. the exhibits, installations and printed media in the museum, the ICT suite at school  To decide what type of technology to use where, break down experience into activities; then for each ask: What will be the location? What are the human factors? What technology is already available? What are the technical requirements for the UI? What is the cost of transition from this activity to the next one?

18. Bridge 4: Technologies Divide and conquer  Carefully select the technology (mobile or otherwise) that is most appropriate for the specific activity.  Much needed bridge between different technologies to reduce ‘technology switch’ overloads

19. Steady Bridges  ‘Aggressive’ collection: In the museum, students collect too many items, take fat too many photos and record too much audio; then … In the classroom, hard even to manipulate – much harder to interpret and use constructively. Solutions: restrict the number of items a student can collect during a visit; allow more time for the post-visit experience; etc.  Continuous evaluation and fine-tuning of the new technology with the learning practice adjustment of peripheral and contextual support, like lesson planning, IT support, and activity planning

20. Conclusions  Mobile technologies can form bridges between technologies, contexts, experiences and learning spaces.  Learner enabled not only to use new technologies, but also to perform new activities with them.  Teachers enabled not only to put lots of learning ‘stuff’ on a gadget and hand to students, but also to plan new learning experiences for them.  New tools that enable learners to perform new activities may change the way they perceive and carry out old activities; continuous evaluation and fine-tuning is therefore essential.

21. Thank you!  MyArtSpace Commisioned by: Culture Online (Dept. for Culture Media & Sport)  MyArtSpace Design and Implementation The Sea (http://the-sea.com)http://the-sea.com  MyArtSpace evaluation team Giasemi Vavoula Mike Sharples Paul Rudman Peter Lonsdale Julia Meek Questions?