biiml mobifest march_2014
DESCRIPTION
To be presented at: "Ideas in Mobile Learning Symposium", 6th - 7th March 2014, Watershed, Bristol UK, Organised by Designing for Digital Learners (D4DL) Research Group. This event is supported by QR (Quality Research) funds from UWE Bristol Now closed to new submission, but we have a few places left. Register at: http://goo.gl/jVypI7 BIIML 2014 Preliminary Programme now available: http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/8540 Event link: http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2896TRANSCRIPT
Debbie Holley, Reader, Education & Technology
Anglia Ruskin University &
Sue SentanceNational Academic Coordinator for
the Network of ExcellenceBCS Academy/Computing At School
Mobile ‘comfort’ zones: overcoming barriers to enable facilitated learning in the workplace
Anglia Ruskin University Trainee Teachers
Mobiles have transformed how we communicate – it’s a new way of life
For Pachler et al (2010:3) it is now accepted that mobile devices have a number of important characteristics which make them attractive from an educational perspective, including increasing portability,
functionality, multimedia convergence, ubiquity, personal ownership, social interactivity, context sensitivity, location awareness,
connectivity and personalisation
All have a mobile phone
All use text messaging
Some have internet access via phone
Most have phone contract; some on pay as you go
Some use Facebook
Some use Twitter
Anglia Ruskin draws it trainee teachers from a wide area of the East of England; so their school placements are widely spread
They recruit a diverse range of trainees and cover a range of subjects, this study was carried out with 12 ICT trainee teachers. One trainee chose not to take part.
A student questionnaire plus tutor analysis of early written work showed:
Trainees are unused to academic writing (the PGCE course is at Masters level)Trainees are full-time on placement (limited number of days in University)Trainees feel isolated from the universityTrainees struggle to find time for readingTrainees do not reflect on their reading
Preparing for teaching in their placement school class is the focus of attention
A science class at Cornelius Vermuyden Secondary School
So – issue - how to scaffold trainee teacher engagement with their studies when they are in their placement school?
To find out if mobile technology (eg TxtTools software) could be used to support our trainees on placement.
Approach taken:
• Four key interventions ‘24 hour cycle’ • Each based around a peer review journal article
‘recommended’ reading for their assignment (Curriculum & Pedagogy)
• Tutor prompts students to reflect on article by sending initial message, students work in triads (note they are based in schools different geographic locations)
• 140 character messages are collated and sent round groups to scaffold learning during the period
• Tutor adds in new questions, refines discussions, and creates a word document for all participants at end of period
Our ‘Research Problem’
Response from initial question from tutor – usually around defining terms before building up ‘discussion via text’
Project findings: Educational benefits identified by tutor:
• Encouraged trainees to read• Encouraged trainees to reflect on the reading rather than just skim
read• Encouraged concise writing and discouraged descriptive comments• Trainees commented on each other’s comments• Compensated for lack of university sessions with trainees to a small
degree• Set the focus on their assignment• May assignments had more critical reference to literature than
January assignments
Negative points from trainee teachers: – mostly about use of this technology
• Conciseness was difficult – 160 character limit• Didn’t like the messages being anonymous• Some concerns about invasion of privacy• Wanted to see complete thread of responses• “We already have too many other things to
do”
Three emergent themes from the research:Comfort/lack of comfort with their identity as ‘technological learner’Issues of personal/ private space re arrival of SMS messagesDevelopment of emergent CoP
Framework for analysis:
a) their individual reported personal/academic crossover ‘comfort zone’ which ranges from an acceptance and embracing of the 24 hour digital world through to SMS messages only in my ‘usual’ working hours of 9-5
b) Their willingness to be a contributor in an emergent group of practice from passively reading the SMS that others read to actively wanting to co-construct knowledge with their peers (via SMS)
c) Their attitudes to technologies, ranging from willingness to experiment/ try out a new idea to rejecting a new technology (such as the mobile phone for learning purposes) in favour of more comfortable/ familiar technologies such as facebook.
Populated model showing trainee barriers
For some, cultural capital would assist:“To possess the machines [they] only need economic capital; to appropriate them and use them in accordance with their specific purpose [they] must have access to embodied cultural capital either in person or by proxy”
Bourdieu 1986
The challenge is how to develop the classroom of the future….
And it is a collaboration with our students..
Thank you for listening We would welcome
thoughts, comments for developing model
further?
ReferencesBourdieu, P. (1986). ‘The forms of capital’ (R. Nice, trans.). In J. Richardson (ed.) Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. New York: Greenwood Press.
Holley, D., Sentance, S & Bradley, C (2011). Balancing the demands of in-school placement with out-of-school study’ available electronically from http://escalate.ac.uk/8140 [accessed 10/10/2013]
Lave, J. and Wenger, E., 1991.Situated learning:legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pachler, N., Bachmair, B. and Cook, J. (2010). Mobile Learning: Structures, Agency, Practices. New York: Springer.