A Proposed Research Methodology for Critically Researching Ubiquitous Learning Technologies

Ann-Louise Davidson Ph.D.Saul Carliner, Ph.D.Concordia UniversityMontreal

What are ubiquitous learning technologies, what do we know about them, how should we study their use, which fraction of their use should we study, do perceptions suffice, what bias does our research have?

Context

Mass adoption of InternetMass adoption of mobile technologies Growing adoption of social networking services on mobile technologiesGovernments and businesses collect information on usersWe know more about human behaviors than was ever known in history and...

We have facts!!!

75% of Canadian has access to Internet. 70% of Canadians has access to cell phones. 80% of teens carry a cell phone.47% of teens can text with their eyes closed.The average teen (13-17) sends 3339 text messages per month (that’s not counting the texts they receive).Females send 4050 texts per month on average. Males send 1630 texts per month on average.According to Michael Wesch:

The tree major TV networks: 60 years, 24 hours a day, 364 days a year = 1,500,000 hours of broadcasting.You Tube did it in less than 6 months without producers.Over 9000 hours of videos are uploaded every day.

But we still don’t know much about:

learning with ubiquitous technologieslearning through social media interactions

Conditions for the conceptual framework

Missing link between technology and learningStatistics are no longer sufficient to understand user experienceIssues related to methodologies

Technologies are becoming integrated to our sensesWe need holistic methods to understand the qualitative changes that occur with ubiquitous learning in people’s lives and the impact they have on their ways of socializing, on their education, on their work and on their lifestyles.

Why ubiquitous learning now and not before?Since Gutenberg, learning has been potentially ubiquitous because books are everywherem, but there is no direct link between information and knowledge or information and learning.Today, data can be posted without any editorial control.Self-promotion has become easier.Communication has no borders (inside the ambient computing environment).

Conceptual framework

Ambient computing environment

Social media

videoconferencing; blogs; wikis; email;chat

Social media users

Social media non usersBandura’s theory of self-efficacy

Conceptual framework

Ambient computing environment

Social media

Social media users

Social media non-users

f2f interactions

remote interactions

continuous task

coordination and communication

Synchronous Asynchronous

Same place

Different place

One-to-one communication vs. One-to-many communicationPrivate communication vs. public communication

What kind of learning is really going on there?

Vid-Ability: a Portable Computing Project Using Instructional Video to improve the Condition of

People Living With an Intellectual Disability

Three fundamental arguments

1. Human beings need to develop a digital awareness to thrive in the realm of ubiquitous technologies, because it is not a concrete perceptual environment.

2. Adapting technologies to the needs of special populations should only serve as a point of entry to developing functional technological competencies

3. To flourish and learn in the environment of digital technologies, human beings need to develop a strong sense of ethics

Vid-Ability research design

SurveyVideo production

iPod Usability test

Focus groups(participants)

Interviews (educators)

Improvement of videos

+++

What kind of learning went on there

Instructional videos... problem based learning videos... self advocacy videos

Learning about the technologySharing experiences with the technologySpecial interventions supported by technology

Methodologies to develop a deeper understanding should take the following factors in consideration

Researchers should: get prolonged exposure to the population they are studyingtakes notes on new forms of learning (what kind of learning is going on there?)obtain data on how the natural uses of mobile technologies can be paired with formal learninginvolve participants into the data collection to get their interpretationdesign their research socially to make it socially relevantadopt mobile technologies being studied for their own usesensure that their studies serve the population that is being investigated.

ethnography

design research

action research

Questions? Comments? Take-aways?