W505 Mobile Learning
Stage 2 – 3: Mobile Technology for Learning and Training in Corporations
Title: Mobile Learning “Video Nuggets” at Vodafone Ireland
General information:
The large communications company Vodafone Ireland wanted to improve staff communication skills and knowledge retention in various settings. Vodafone already had already been conducting classroom based workshops for their employees as well as an e-learning program, but they wanted to expand the ease of employees to participate in these professional development activities.
Analysis
1. Learners/trainees, context, and goal
The learners in this case were employees of Vodafone Ireland. The company observed a clear need to extend learning opportunities for its employees outside of their limited exposure to live training workshops. Employees at Vodafone Ireland are often busy moving around and mobile learning seemed to offer a lot of potential for further employee training.
This training had the goal of enabling employees to take what was learned in workshops and extend it to the real working world. The company hoped employees would be able to increase retention and have more valued learning.
2. Technology
The mobile technology that most of the employees at Vodfone Ireland made use of came in the form of 3G enabled cell phones. Training videos were produced and became available for streaming or download via the company’s mobile training portal and could be accessed through employees’ phones whenever and wherever they saw a need.
3. Design solution
The videos created for this initiative were designed to act as a supplemental aid for employees who took live training workshops but who could take advantage of further independent training. These videos allowed employees the opportunity to study topics and real work simulations on the job whenever and wherever they felt the need or want to study.
Employees viewed these “Video Nuggets” for various reasons and in different situations. For example, one employee reviewed video material prior to making a sales call and others reviewed content before conducting meetings.
The company Channel Content was commissioned by Vodafone to create quality video samples and realistic video training simulations using storyboards, actors, visuals, and audio. Training videos were produced and became available for streaming or download via the company’s mobile training portal and could be accessed through employees’ phones whenever and wherever they saw a need.
4. Pedagogical underpinnings
This case employed a learning support delivery model wherein the success of the model lies in the mobility and flexibility with which learners could access material and review it on their own. Material could be watched once and then referred back to in the future whenever employees so desired it. This project also adapted the delivery of the content to not only be available on cell phones but on PCs as well via CDs and DVDs. In this way much more support was offered to employees compared to when they attended live training sessions alone.
In this case, live workshops combined with mobile access to training materials proved to be quite effective with 77% of employees stating that they felt the video content was very useful for learning and retention.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Comparing Mobile Learning at The City College of Southampton, Dewbury College, Thomas Danby College, and Bishop Burton College
W505 Mobile Learning
Stage 2 – 2: Mobile Technology in Higher Education
General information
The City College of Southampton, with the funding of the ICT Effective Practice Study, has implemented mobile learning through the use of camera phones and web publishing for its ESOL student population.
Dewsbury College, Thomas Danby College and Bishop Burton College all explored different methods for integrating mobile learning into their curriculums in an effort to provide wider access to materials and to meet learner specific needs.
Analysis
1. People
The City College of Southampton contains a wide ethnically diverse population of adult ESOL students. Both Dewsbury College and Thomas Danby College support mostly urban multicultural communities in West Yorkshire. Bishop Burton College offers a range of land-based courses and also supports vocational students. The Southampton and Thomas Danby College students share many similarities and needs while the learning agendas for students of the other two colleges differ.
2. Needs or Objectives
At Southampton, adult ESOL students needed to become motivated to learn a new language and quickly integrate into the wider communities of the college and city. At the institutional level, an equipment booking and battery charging system needed to be in place as well as pedagogical and IT support for practitioners. Teachers would need to embrace the technology and lend their support to help maximize the potential for learning through the camera phones.
For its childcare education course, Dewsbury College aimed to provide learners in outreach centers with similar access to learning resources as were available on the main college campus. Thomas Danby College also aimed to increase access to technology for its ESOL students and both colleges wanted to support learner needs by creating personalized learning programs. At Bishop Burton College, compatible mobile technology was meant to support learning activities which take place both inside and out of the classroom.
3. Solutions
Connected to the college-wide Wi-Fi network, Southampton students used O2 XDA 2s (camera phones with PDA functionality) with a variety of educational activities. Students could upload picture files and text to mediaBoards and communicate with other students online on various activities that challenged them to explore and learn about their respective localities and communities.
Dewsbury College streamlined their curriculum across technological mediums by making materials available through desktop and laptop computers also available on PDAs. At Thomas Danby College, ESOL students used PDAs to take formative assessment tests. This method of delivery gave students opportunities to learn new materials by drill while receiving immediate feedback. Learners at Bishop Burton College have used PDAs for recording, storing and interpreting data in a vocational context.
At all colleges, there was an element that using the ‘cool’ mobile devices made learning more interesting and engaging. Each college also found ways to utilize the mobile device features to suit their curriculum plans and activities. Some used the picture taking and recording functions while others used mp3 downloads to distribute content. The use of wifi internet was an important and key feature for users in all contexts.
4. Pedagogical underpinnings
The City College of Southampton seemed to place more importance on the actual interactions between students over the internet. The use of mediaboards was important and the mobile devices were seen as a way to connect students to a larger community. The use of mobile devices at the other colleges seemed to be more utilitarian. Materials were made available to give students access despite not being near the actual colleges. Danby College seemed to value more independent and interactive use of the devices and programs for its ESOL students compared to Southampton. With each college, the use of mobile technology made learning more accessible and active for users.
Stage 2 – 2: Mobile Technology in Higher Education
General information
The City College of Southampton, with the funding of the ICT Effective Practice Study, has implemented mobile learning through the use of camera phones and web publishing for its ESOL student population.
Dewsbury College, Thomas Danby College and Bishop Burton College all explored different methods for integrating mobile learning into their curriculums in an effort to provide wider access to materials and to meet learner specific needs.
Analysis
1. People
The City College of Southampton contains a wide ethnically diverse population of adult ESOL students. Both Dewsbury College and Thomas Danby College support mostly urban multicultural communities in West Yorkshire. Bishop Burton College offers a range of land-based courses and also supports vocational students. The Southampton and Thomas Danby College students share many similarities and needs while the learning agendas for students of the other two colleges differ.
2. Needs or Objectives
At Southampton, adult ESOL students needed to become motivated to learn a new language and quickly integrate into the wider communities of the college and city. At the institutional level, an equipment booking and battery charging system needed to be in place as well as pedagogical and IT support for practitioners. Teachers would need to embrace the technology and lend their support to help maximize the potential for learning through the camera phones.
For its childcare education course, Dewsbury College aimed to provide learners in outreach centers with similar access to learning resources as were available on the main college campus. Thomas Danby College also aimed to increase access to technology for its ESOL students and both colleges wanted to support learner needs by creating personalized learning programs. At Bishop Burton College, compatible mobile technology was meant to support learning activities which take place both inside and out of the classroom.
3. Solutions
Connected to the college-wide Wi-Fi network, Southampton students used O2 XDA 2s (camera phones with PDA functionality) with a variety of educational activities. Students could upload picture files and text to mediaBoards and communicate with other students online on various activities that challenged them to explore and learn about their respective localities and communities.
Dewsbury College streamlined their curriculum across technological mediums by making materials available through desktop and laptop computers also available on PDAs. At Thomas Danby College, ESOL students used PDAs to take formative assessment tests. This method of delivery gave students opportunities to learn new materials by drill while receiving immediate feedback. Learners at Bishop Burton College have used PDAs for recording, storing and interpreting data in a vocational context.
At all colleges, there was an element that using the ‘cool’ mobile devices made learning more interesting and engaging. Each college also found ways to utilize the mobile device features to suit their curriculum plans and activities. Some used the picture taking and recording functions while others used mp3 downloads to distribute content. The use of wifi internet was an important and key feature for users in all contexts.
4. Pedagogical underpinnings
The City College of Southampton seemed to place more importance on the actual interactions between students over the internet. The use of mediaboards was important and the mobile devices were seen as a way to connect students to a larger community. The use of mobile devices at the other colleges seemed to be more utilitarian. Materials were made available to give students access despite not being near the actual colleges. Danby College seemed to value more independent and interactive use of the devices and programs for its ESOL students compared to Southampton. With each college, the use of mobile technology made learning more accessible and active for users.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Case Study East Park Infants School and PDAs
W505 Mobile Learning
Stage 2 – 1: Mobile technology for classroom teaching
Title: Case Study East Park Infants School
General information
At East Park Infant School, a whole year 1(Y1) class, aged between 5-6 years was equipped with 30 handheld computers (PDAs). Though the students’ families generally had low incomes, most agreed to contracts with the school to eventually pay for ownership of the PDAs. The devices were equipped with applications for students to play, interact with, and learn from and students would be able to use them for 18 months in their primary school.
Analysis
1. Technology
The personal desktop assistants or PDAs students were issued and used run applications installed on SD cards accessed through their internet browser. The PDAs were equipped with styluses, had integrated cameras for photo taking, and were easily portable. They were not at this stage connected to the school’s wireless network or internet. Students could press various picture or icon links to access the various activities as some students were not yet able to read the text. Applications utilized included a numbers game, storyboarding game, word and matching games, and also a sketch game for simple animation drawing.
2. Learning design
Students were responsible for bring their PDAs to class fully charged, though about 3 PDAs from each class would not be adequately charged for use on average. Students learned the use of their PDAs through inputting sequences of simple instructions which achieved the required results.
Students would often move back and for between working on the PDAs and writing on printed paper in class. Ebooks were not used as they were not yet available for that level. Outside of school, students visited a canal and took pictures to report and relate their experiences to family. Students also took pictures of things such as kittens to present at school and some families used the devices to push forward into future lessons and materials.
3. Pedagogy
The various activities that were made accessible to students through using the PDAs were impressive. Students could enjoy engaging and interactive methods of learning and practicing new learning materials such as numbers and vocabulary. This learning mode would benefit more kinesthetic and hands-on learners. Learning was flexible in that some activities were could be completed on the PDAs, some on paper, and some utilizing both.
Critique
This case meets my criteria for mobile learning in that mobile devices allowed users to access learning tools and applications. Stores of knowledge such as dictionaries or other content could be accessed if downloaded onto the devices but could not be accessed through the internet. Also, collaborative learning activities could not experienced while students were outside classrooms, though the devices could assist in classroom collaborative activities.
I believe it’s a good thing that students in this case have become so familiar and comfortable with using technology devices at such a young age though I caution teachers to keep reading and writing standards consistent. Are students learning to write with spell check on? Is that a good thing because it gives students instant feedback, or will students come to rely on it and not be able to write or spell properly on their own without the help of devices?
Making the devices available to connect to each other on a wireless network could have been beneficial for students. They could have played games with or against the other students in the class and the competition may have made the activities all the more compelling. I feel the applications didn’t properly utilize the potential for collaborative interactions between students. Finally, it would have been great if student progress could be posted online and made available for their parents to track.
Stage 2 – 1: Mobile technology for classroom teaching
Title: Case Study East Park Infants School
General information
At East Park Infant School, a whole year 1(Y1) class, aged between 5-6 years was equipped with 30 handheld computers (PDAs). Though the students’ families generally had low incomes, most agreed to contracts with the school to eventually pay for ownership of the PDAs. The devices were equipped with applications for students to play, interact with, and learn from and students would be able to use them for 18 months in their primary school.
Analysis
1. Technology
The personal desktop assistants or PDAs students were issued and used run applications installed on SD cards accessed through their internet browser. The PDAs were equipped with styluses, had integrated cameras for photo taking, and were easily portable. They were not at this stage connected to the school’s wireless network or internet. Students could press various picture or icon links to access the various activities as some students were not yet able to read the text. Applications utilized included a numbers game, storyboarding game, word and matching games, and also a sketch game for simple animation drawing.
2. Learning design
Students were responsible for bring their PDAs to class fully charged, though about 3 PDAs from each class would not be adequately charged for use on average. Students learned the use of their PDAs through inputting sequences of simple instructions which achieved the required results.
Students would often move back and for between working on the PDAs and writing on printed paper in class. Ebooks were not used as they were not yet available for that level. Outside of school, students visited a canal and took pictures to report and relate their experiences to family. Students also took pictures of things such as kittens to present at school and some families used the devices to push forward into future lessons and materials.
3. Pedagogy
The various activities that were made accessible to students through using the PDAs were impressive. Students could enjoy engaging and interactive methods of learning and practicing new learning materials such as numbers and vocabulary. This learning mode would benefit more kinesthetic and hands-on learners. Learning was flexible in that some activities were could be completed on the PDAs, some on paper, and some utilizing both.
Critique
This case meets my criteria for mobile learning in that mobile devices allowed users to access learning tools and applications. Stores of knowledge such as dictionaries or other content could be accessed if downloaded onto the devices but could not be accessed through the internet. Also, collaborative learning activities could not experienced while students were outside classrooms, though the devices could assist in classroom collaborative activities.
I believe it’s a good thing that students in this case have become so familiar and comfortable with using technology devices at such a young age though I caution teachers to keep reading and writing standards consistent. Are students learning to write with spell check on? Is that a good thing because it gives students instant feedback, or will students come to rely on it and not be able to write or spell properly on their own without the help of devices?
Making the devices available to connect to each other on a wireless network could have been beneficial for students. They could have played games with or against the other students in the class and the competition may have made the activities all the more compelling. I feel the applications didn’t properly utilize the potential for collaborative interactions between students. Finally, it would have been great if student progress could be posted online and made available for their parents to track.
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