From M-Library to Mobile ESL: Athabasca University as Advocate in Mobile Learning Stella Lee Instructional Media Analyst Athabasca University.

From M-Library to Mobile ESL: Athabasca University as Advocate

in Mobile Learning

Stella LeeInstructional Media Analyst

Athabasca University

Today’s Presentation

• Introduction – Athabasca University

• Why use M-learning

• Two case studies – M-library, Mobile ESL

• Challenges and opportunities

• Questions and Discussions

About Athabasca University

• Canada’s Open University - distance learning and online learning

• Location: Athabasca, Alberta, Canada

• Learning centres in Edmonton and Calgary

• More than 32,000 students

• Individualized and self-paced studies

Mission Statement

“Athabasca University is dedicated to the removal of barriers that restrict access to, and success in, university-level studies and to increasing equality of educational opportunity for adult learners worldwide.”

http://www.athabascau.ca/

Why Use Mobile Technology in AU?

• Accessibility of audience• Instant delivery and updates• Affordablility/portablility• Novelty of gadget/display

Student Profile

• Average age 29

• Two-thirds women

• 60% of our program students were employed full-time while studying

• 36% undergraduates were visiting students

Two Case Studies at Athabasca

• M-Library: Mobile Digital Reading Room Initiative

• Mobile ESL: learning English as a Second Language Lessons for newcomers

M-Library: Mobile Digital Reading Room

What is a Mobile Library?

• The idea of a mobile library is to provide learners with access to the university library and to course resources using mobile devices

Why a Mobile Library at AU?

• AU students study from a distance

• Quick and efficient access to electronic resources and library services is essential

• Students have even more options for fitting learning into their busy lives. It allows individualization & self-pace learning

• Supports those with special needs

Special Features

• Mobile friendly AU Library site: Supported device: PDA, Palmtop, Blackberry, IPAQ, Smart phones

• The site include mobile friendly:– Digital Reading Room– Digital Reference Centre– Digital Thesis & Project Room– Library catalogue– Search engine

Special Features (ctd)

• Auto-detect and reformat

• Learning object reuse

• Easy web maintain/update

• Podcasting

• Wireless library catalogue

• Federated search

• Mobile content conversion on the fly

Design/Technology

Challenges and Opportunities

• Defining content for the M-library– Define the amount and type of information

• Design of the format – Normal website vs. mobile version– text, images, graphics, tables, location

• Separate the content from the format

• Display models– different display model and stylesheet

Further Information

• Website:

http://library.athabascau.ca/drr/

http://library.athabascau.ca/

Mobile ESL Project

Overview of Project

• Build on success of M-library project

• Develop and test innovative approaches to ESL learning using mobile devices to deliver lessons and allowing practice with feedback using a variety of testing methods

Subjects Involved in Study

The subjects involved were adult learners registered in ESL programs at:

• Edmonton Mennonite Centre for

Newcomers

• Global Community College

• Evangelical Chinese Baptist Church

Mobile Devices Used

• Mobile phones with wireless capabilities (Samsung D807x )

• Desktop access support

Content for Project• The content is based on two of the

best selling Penguin “Introductory English Grammar and Exercise” books

• Consists of 86 lessons and related interactive exercises

• Repurpose for Canadian context

• Downloadable in Word doc & Acrobat pdf format

Evaluation Methods

• The students learn the content of the lesson followed by difference practice exercises and testing techniques.

• The testing techniques used were multiple-choice, jumbled-sentence, true-false, and matching

Results . . .

Student Preference for Question Types

Student opinion poll about whether a question type is suitable for mobile devices

Multiple Choice, 75%

True/False, 93%

Matching, 18%

Word Ordering, 47%

Multiple Choice True/False Matching Word Ordering

Pre-test vs. Post-test vs. Retention

0

24

6

8

1012

14

16

1820

Te

st

sc

ore

s

1 2 3

Tests

A Comparison of the Pre-test (1), Post-test (2), and Retention Test (3)

Flexibility of LearningThe technology provides flexibility for me to learn anywhere

and at anytime

34%

56%

2%

4%

0%

4%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

No Response

Take Other Lessons Using Mobile Devices

I would like to take other lessons using mobile technology

15%

45%

21%

13%

0%

6%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

No Response

Student Feedback in General

• Reported positive experience with the ESL grammar course and the use of mobile technology in learning ESL grammar

• Liked the flexibility of anytime availability of the ESL materials

• Students indicated that the use of mobile technology for ESL would be a good supplementary medium of learning such as when waiting for an appointment or being on the bus or whenever and wherever there is some spare time

• One concern expressed was the cost of Internet access

Student Feedback in General

Suggestions for Future Delivery

• Use text-to-speech technology to improve the learning experience

• More examples to help students understand the questions better

• Use the mobile device to interact with teachers

• Larger screen size for ease of reading

Further information

• Website: http://eslau.ca

Questions and Discussions

• Contact: [email protected]

Thank you!