1. Researching Informal and Mobile Learning: Leveraging the Right Resources Mark van ‘t Hooft Kent State University Research Center for Educational Technology Kent, OH, USA mvanthoo@kent.edu MIL-RM Workshop, 14 Dec 2007, WLE, London, UK

2. 2 Learning contexts are increasingly –volatile and flexible –connected (Roush, 2005) –augmented (Price, 2007) –customized (Sharples et al., 2006; Walker, 2006) 1. Rethinking Research

3. 3 Changing nature of learning means: –process and (or over) product. –that if learning changes, learning research (methods and strategies) should change as well. –considering how to leverage mobile tools for this research. 1. Rethinking Research

4. 4 2. Reconsidering the Questions We Ask We need to ask the right questions…

5. 5 2. Reconsidering the Questions We Ask or fear the “no significant difference” (Oblinger & Hawkins, 2006)

6. 6 3. Adjusting Research Methods and Strategies Avoid the hobbled horse race & trivial treatment (Tinker, 2007)

7. 7 4. Using Mobile Technologies to Capture Mobile Data What information is of most worth? How do we most effectively use digital tools to gather this data? To what extent should learners be involved in the research design?

8. 8 5. An Example Frequency 1550 (Waag Society)

9. 9 5.1 Reconsidering Research Questions Different questions to consider: How does learning of history change when learning while mobile as opposed to learning in more traditional settings? How do learners assimilate their learning of Amsterdam’s history into their own lives?”

10. 10 5.2 Adjusting Research Methods and Strategies Could use “traditional” data sources augmented with spatial, user, learner, and connectivity data (and use the latter to structure the former) (Zhang, 2002)

11. 11 5.3 Leveraging Mobile Technology Mobile devices have the capability to collect various data types and them send to a remote database for storage and subsequent retrieval for analysis.

12. 12 6. Issues and Challenges Access v. privacy Ownership of data: whose is it, really? Control over the research setting

13. 13 7. Conclusion Leveraging mobile devices for learning research goes way beyond choosing the right tool.

14. http://www.rcet.org