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.