Transcript
Page 1: Mobile-Enabled Language Learning Eco-System

Mobile-Enabled Language Learning Eco-System

Agnieszka (Aga) Palalas, Ed.D.George Brown College

[email protected]

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mLearn 2012HelsinkiOctober 2012

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1. Background and statement of the problem

2. Significance of the research

3. Research question

4. DBR phases and their findings

5. Outcomes of the study

6. Limitations

7. Future research

8. Conclusions

Overview

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Benchmarking Study (2005-2007)

M-learning Exploratory Study (2007-2009)

MALL Design Pilot (Jun-Aug 2009)

DBR Pilot (Sep 2009–Jan 2010)

MELLES DBR Study (Jun 2010–Dec 2011)

2005

2007

2011

Social Constructivism --> SCT --> Ecological Constructivism

2009

2010

Statement of the Problem - Evolution

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Inadequate aural skills instruction - college ESP students

Purpose: MELL educational intervention to enhance effectiveness and appeal of ESP◦ augment in-class learning

flexible contextualized communicative practice interaction with others personalized to learner preferences

◦ students’ own mobile devices◦ replicable and reusable design principles

Statement of the Problem

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Constructivism ⇨ Social Constructivism

⇨ SCT: Sociocultural Theory ⇨ Ecological Constructivism(Bruner, Davis & Sumara, Dewey, Lafford, Lam & Kramsch, Lave & Wenger, Piaget,

Proulx, Vygotsky, van Lier, von Glasersfeld, Wertsch)

Listening and language learning (Lynch, Nation & Newton, Rost)

From SLA to MALL◦ SLA: Second Language Acquisition (Chomsky, Krashen, Long, Swain)

◦ CALL: Computer-Assisted Language Learning (Warschauer, Davies, Levy)

◦ MALL: Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (Sharples, Kukulska-Hulme, Laurillard)

◦ MALL on listening (Kukulska-Hulme, Shield, Thornton & Houser)

◦ MALL design principles (Ally, Quinn, Rosell-Aguilar)

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Overview of Background Literature

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Evolution of practice◦ MELLES prototype◦ model for replication

Evolution of theory◦ MELLES design framework ◦ Ecological Constructivism

DBR application for mobile language learning environment

Research Outcomes

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MELLES =Mobile-Enabled Language Learning Eco-System

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What are the characteristics of an effective,

pedagogically-sound learning object MELLES for

students’ mobile devices, through which adult ESP

students in a community college enhance listening

skills, while expanding their learning outside the

classroom?

Research Question

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Methodology: Design-Based Research

A systematic but flexible methodology aimed to improve educational practices through iterative analysis, design, development, and implementation, based on collaboration among researchers and practitioners in real-world settings, and leading to contextually-sensitive design principles and theories. (Wang & Hannafin, 1999, p. 7)

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Methodology: DBR

• Bannan, B. (2009)• Barab, S., & Squire, K. (2004)• Brown, A. (1992)• Dede, C. (2004)• Herrington, J., McKenney, S., Reeves,

T., & Oliver, R. (2007)• Kelly, A. (2009)• Plomp, T. (2009)• Reeves, T. (2006)• Van den Akker et al (2006)• Wang, F., & Hannafin, M. J. (2005)

163+191 students

8+2 experts/

practitioners

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Informed Exploration

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Critical Elements of Effective Design:

Pedagogy PEDAGOGIC PROCEDURE - How CONTENT - What CONTEXT - When and Where ACTORS - Who

Technology FUNCTIONALITY - How TECH SOLUTION – What TECH CONTEXT - When and Where

Findings: Emerging Themes

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Findings: Emerging Theoretical Framework

Ecological Constructivism◦ Social Constructivism + Sociocultural Theory + Ecological

Linguistics + Contextual and situated learning

Interaction mediated by “cultural tools such as language and technology” (Pachler, 2009, p. 5)

Learning mediated by the context

Active learning around real-life problems

Goal-oriented real-life communicative activities

Interactivity in social contexts

Community-based communication

Scaffolding and guidance

Feedback from facilitators and peers

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Findings: Ecological Constructivism+ Contextual mobile learning (context-aware): learning activities relate to the location (physical, geographical or logical) of the actor and the context (David, Yin, & Chalon, 2009)

+ Situated learning

◦ Authentic context & social interaction (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Lave & Wenger, 1991)

◦ Access to expertise & collaboration with others (Herrington & Oliver, 1995)

+ “…metaphor of ecology attempts to capture the interconnectedness of psychological, social, and environmental process in SLA” (Lam & Kramsch, 2003, p.144)

+ Affordance: “ … a particular property of the environment that is relevant … to an active, perceiving organism in that environment” (van Lier, 2000, p. 252)

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1. Language is dynamic and contextually contingent

2. Affordances are inherent in the dynamic environment

3. Learners act on linguistic affordances in the environment

4. Learning, individual or collaborative, emerges from and through interactions – co-construing of knowledge

5. The process of collaboration enables individuals to perceive novel affordances

6. Dynamic networks of fluidly inter-linked contexts form an open system

7. Mobile technologies mediate interaction and connection over the network and with environment

8. Knowing: an evolving process enabled by acting on affordances available in the environment, in which learners operate and collaborate across dynamic networks through connections made possible by mobile technologies

Ecological Constructivism

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Enactment

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Enactment Findings: MELL Eco-System

Other speakers of English

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Enactment Findings: Gateway into MELLES Design

Prototype Testing Refinement

http://mobi-english.mobi/

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Evaluation: Local Impact

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Evaluation: Local Impact Findings

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1. Balanced combination of individual and collaborative (group work) tasks

2. Learner-generated linguistic artefacts (audio, video, photos, images)

3. Game-like real-life communicative tasks

4. Expert facilitation: scaffolding, feedback, and coordination

5. Feedback mechanism (immediate and delayed)

6. Focus on authentic listening tasks in the dynamic real-world communicative situations

Ten Essential Pedagogic Characteristics 1/2

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7. Support of self-paced individual audio tasks feeding into/preparing learners for the real-life tasks

8. Integrate all four language skills but focus on listening outcomes

9. Linguistic resources (task-related): relevant vocabulary, dictionaries, pronunciation, clear task directions and explanations, examples

10. Support of out-of-class learning with in-class (f2f) instruction and practice (a blend of in-class and out-of-class context)

Ten Essential Pedagogic Characteristics 2/2

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1. One-point access to all resources2. Exchange and communication platform3. Scalability, flexibility and adaptability of the system4. Scalable rating scheme (from artefact to learning

structures to the whole system)5. Multimedia (including text) - artefact authoring,

management and usage capabilities6. Cross platform and multi-technology support7. Integrated technology support and

tutoring/instruction8. Personalized user progress tracking capabilities

Eight Essential Technological Components

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Evolution of practice• MELLES prototype• model for replication

Evolution of theory• MELLES design framework • Ecological Constructivism

DBR application for mobile language learning environment

Findings Summary

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Interconnected elements of the MELLES learning context

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Limitations

The scope of DBR • complexity of the system - breadth• no objective measure of learning• amount of data• intensity

The role of the researcher• multifaceted• conflicting roles• threats to validity

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Future Research

In-depth examination of constituent elements

Measuring effectiveness - tests of proficiency

Actualization of the MELLES theory –

technology

Role of the teacher

Transferability of findings

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Q&A

Thank you!

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Ally, M. (2004). Designing effective learning objects for distance education. In R. McGreal (Ed.), Online education using learning objects (pp. 87 -97). London: Routledge Falmer.

Bannan, B. (2009). The Integrative Learning Design Framework: An illustrated example from the domain of instructional technology. In T. Plomp & N. Nieveen (Eds.), An introduction to educational design research (pp. 53-73). SLO: Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development.

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, S. (1989). Situated cognition and the Culture of Learning, Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.

David, B., Yin, C., & Chalon, R. (2009). Contextual mobile learning: Principles and nutritional human being case study. Proceedings from IADIS International Conference Mobile Learning 2009 (pp. 97-104). Barcelona, Spain. IADIS Press.

Hoven, D. & Palalas, A. (2011). (Re)-conceptualizing design approaches for mobile language learning. CALICO Journal, 28(3)

Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (1995). Critical characteristics of situated learning: Implications for the instructional design of multimedia. In J. Pearce & A. Ellis (Eds.), Learning with technology (pp. 235-262). Parkville, Vic: University of Melbourne. Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne95/smtu/papers/herrington.pdf

Lam, W. S. E. & Kramsch, C. (2003). The ecology of an SLA community in a computer-mediated environment. In J. Leather & J. Van Dam (Eds.), Ecology of language acquisition (pp. 141–158). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

References

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Mwanza-Simwami, D. (2009). Using activity-oriented design methods (AODM) to investigate mobile learning. In G. Vavoula, N. Pachler, & A. Kukulska-Hulme (Eds.), Researching mobile learning: Frameworks, tools and research designs (pp. 1-16). Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang AG. International Academic Publishers.

Pachler, N. (2009). Research methods in mobile and informal learning: Some issues. In G. Vavoula, N. Pachler, & A. Kukulska-Hulme (Eds.), Researching mobile learning: Frameworks, tools and research designs (pp. 1-16). Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang AG. International Academic Publishers.

Palalas, A. (2012). Design guidelines for a Mobile-Enabled Language Learning system supporting the development of ESP listening skills (Doctoral dissertation, Athabasca University). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10791/17

Palalas, A. (2011). Mobile-Assisted Language Learning: Designing for your students. In Thouësny, S. and Bradley, L. (Eds.) Second Language Teaching and Learning with Technology. Research-publishing.net: Voillans.

Plomp, T. (2009). Educational design research: An introduction. In T. Plomp & N. Nieveen (Eds.), An introduction to educational design research (pp. 9-36). SLO: Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development.

Sharples, M., Taylor, J., & Vavoula, G. (2007). Theory of learning for the Mobile age. In R. Andrews & C. Haythornthwaite (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of e-learning research (pp. 221-247). London: Sage.

References

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van Lier, L. (2000). From input to affordance: Social-interactive learning from an ecological perspective. In J. P. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning (pp. 245-259). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

van den Akker, J. (1999). Principles and Methods of Development Research. In J. van den Akker, R.M. Branch, K. Gustafson, N. Nieveen, & T. Plomp (Eds.), Design approaches and tools in education and training (pp. 1-14). Boston: Kluwer Academic.

Wang, F., & Hannafin, M. J. (2005). Design-based research and technology-enhanced learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 5-23.

References

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