Mobile learning: Hype or evidenced impact for higher education applications?

MOBILE LEARNING: HYPE OR

EVIDENCED IMPACT FOR HIGHER

EDUCATION

APPLICATIONS?Mohamed Ally, Ph.D.

Director and Professor

Centre for Distance Education

Athabasca University

Canada

[email protected]

Education 2011-2021 Summit

Global challenges and perspectives of blended and distance learning

Sydney, Australia

February 2011

Presentation Outline

What is happening in mobile learning?

Why higher education needs to get involved in mobile learning?

Examples of use of mobile technology in higher education

Campus-based education Delivery Model

The learner in mobile learning

Future of mobile technology in education

Conclusion

International Association of Mobile Learning

Executive Committee

President - Agnes Kukulska-Hulme, The Open University, UK

Vice-President - Jill Attewell, Learning and Skills Network, UK

Secretary - Jocelyn Wishart, University of Bristol, UK

Treasurer - Tom Brown, Midrand Graduate Institute, South

Africa

Member - Mohamed Ally, Athabasca University, Canada

Member - Vanessa Camilleri, University of Malta, Malta

Member - Brendan Tangney, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Member - John Traxler, University of Wolverhampton, UK

International Association of Mobile Learning

Founding Directors

Mohamed Ally - Athabasca University, Canada

Jill Attewell - Learning and Skills Network, UK

Tom Brown - Midrand Graduate Institute, South Africa

Giorgio daBormida - EIGI Consulting

Caryl Oliver - caryloliver.com, Australia

Mike Sharples - University of Nottingham, UK

John Traxler - University of Wolverhampton, UK

Herman van derMerwe - North West University, South Africa

Regional and Countries Mobile

Learning Associations

Latin America

Malaysia

Arabian Gulf

Setting Standards for Mobile

Learning

Working on a ISO standards committee to set

standards for mobile learning for learners on

the move (nomadic learners)

International committee (Canada, South

Korea, Germany) that reports to a larger

committee

Mobile Learning Journals

International Journal of Interactive Mobile

Technologies

International Journal of Mobile and Blended

Learning

International Journal of Mobile Learning and

Organisation

Journals that Published Mobile

Learning Papers

American Journal of Distance Education

Distance Education

IRRODL (International Review of Research in

Open and Distance Learning)

Journal of Distance Education

British Journal of Educational Technology

Educational Technology, Research and

Development

Educational Technology & Society

Mobile Learning Conferences

Five mobile learning conferences are being

held in 2011

Many conferences, including IEEE and ACM

conferences, have mobile learning streams

The World Bank

UN Millennium Development

Goals

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower

Women

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other

diseases

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for

Development

Connect the Indigenous Peoples

with Mobile Technology

Mobile technology in different

sectors

“In the pocket banking”

“A library in everyone‟s pocket”

“A doctor in everyone‟s pocket”

Are we ready for “Education in the pocket”

Are Faculty Ready for Mobile

Learning?

Corbeil et al. (2007) conducted a study where they asked students and faculty whether they are ready for mobile learning.

Of the 107 students who responded, all students owned a smart phone or cell phone and 94 percent of the students said that they are ready for mobile learning; however, only 60 percent of faculty said that they are ready for mobile learning.

Learners are ready to use mobile technology for learning but the question is “Are educators ready for mobile learning”.

Some people are predicting that mobile technology has no role in education

They will be proven wrong

We know of famous predictions in the past that were wrong. Examples include:

The „telephone‟ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.

The cinema is little more than a fad. It‟s canned drama. What audiences really want to see is flesh and blood on the stage.

Some educators, professionals and experts

are resisting the use of mobile learning

(some resisted the use of the internet in

education but students and educators cannot do

without the internet today)

Some experts are predicting that mobile

devices are not suitable for learning

We know of other predictions that were

wrong, for example

there will be a need for only 5 computers in the

world

why would anyone want a computer in the home

etc.

There is no turning back -

mobile learning can make a major

contribution to education and

society

Campus-based Education

System

Is the physical campus system set up for

learning?

The campus-based higher education system is

a complex system.

The question is why is it so complex when

learning should be learner-centered and it is

the learner who is doing the learning?

Problems on Campus-Based

Institution

If you think of a typical campus-based higher

education institution today, common problems

include: high dropout rate, high

absenteeism, vandalism, conflict between

students, conflict between faculty and

students, old infrastructure, closure because of

extreme weather conditions and break out of

contagious diseases, students and staff

safety, campus security, students or staff suing

the university because of injury, etc.

Campus-based institutions need the

infrastructure to prevent and solve these

problems. For example, health

services, security guards, building

maintenance, etc.

Operating Costs: Campus-based vs

Distance Education Institutions

The campus-based university spent 34 percent of the budget on operating costs while the distance education university spent only 15 percent on operation.

For a campus based university with total expenses of one billion dollars, 340 million is spent on operation.

The operating cost for the campus based university is more than double the operating cost for the distance education university

The infrastructure for campus-based institutions is buildings while the infrastructure for distance education is information technology.

Recent Australian Research

Recent Australian Data

Australian Study

Researchers surveyed 150 students who

dropped out from 4 Australian Universities.

Reasons for dropping out include:

Teaching staff

Course content

Life issues

Paid work commitments

Mobile Learning around the

World

Mobile technology in education

around the world

Many mobile learning projects in Europe. For

example, HandLeR, MOBILearn, Caerus, Mobi

le Learning Organiser, Myartspace, etc.

At Athabasca University there are

developments and research on the use of

mobile technology in course delivery, language

training, workplace learning, and reading by

older adults.

The first international conference on mobile

learning was held in the United Kingdom in

2002.

China

The Network Education College, which is an

online college in China, implemented online

learning where students can access learning

materials from anywhere and at anytime using

a variety of technology, including mobile

devices.

Because of the flexibility in access of learning

materials, enrolment grew from 200 to 17,000 in

seven years.

Open University of Nepal

Latin America

There are approximately between 50 and 60 millions underserved indigenous people in Latin America who have limited or no access to formal education.

Many of these people are nomads where they travel from one location to the next to make a living.

An research project was conducted to develop a mobile learning model to use mobile technologies to reach these underserved indigenous people.

Results showed that the students were able to use the devices to learn and the parents used the devices occasionally to improve their vocabulary.

United States

Educational institutions are giving students

mobile devices as standard resources required

to complete an education.

Abilene Christian University gave iPods or

iPhones to freshman students.

University of Texas at San Antonio and gave

free iPod Touches to teachers who attended a

technology training workshop.

Other Countries

Governments of countries are giving people

wireless mobile devices or portable devices for

learning.

Example of Projects at

Athabasca University

Course Delivery Using

Mobile Devices

Mobile Course Delivery

Study was directed to over 500 students in 3 different computer science courses (all are completely online and distance delivery)

Students were asked to complete a unit of study using a mobile device then complete a survey

Many students completed one or more units but only a sub-set of the students completed the survey to determine their experience with the mobile devices

Delivering to Specific Devices

Device detection had been problematic because new devices and mobile OSs and browsers were constantly coming on stream.

Created problems for the device detection scheme used to determine the mobile device:

String user_agent = request.getHeader("user-agent");

Changed to JavaScript to determine screen real estate:

if (screen.width >= 800) {

document.write('<style type=\"text/css\">…..

Stylesheet Delivery

If the screen size is >= 800, delivers the full stylesheet

If screen size < 800, delivers style sheet meant for mobile device

Multimedia Displays

Device detection also implemented for applets, flash, large graphics, etc.

Delivery of alternate graphics to mobile devices

Results

No difficulties encountered in access using mobile devices.

A variety of devices used by students:

iPaq, PalmOne Treo and Tungsten, Blackberry, Dell Axim, Pantech 3200, Motorola Razor, Samsung, UT Starcom, Toshiba Pocket PC e330, and even a PSP (Portable Sony Playstation).

A complete range of connection plans including WiFi, phone plans, and desktop synchronization.

Suitability of Using Mobile Devices to Access Learning

Materials

User Comments:

• The screen on the mobile device is very readable. I managed to finish reading an entire section while waiting for a meeting to start yesterday.•I actually really liked reading the course on the phone. • The layout was fantastic & easy to follow.

Flexibility of Mobile Learning

User Comments:

• There are many times in our busy lives where we could use our waiting time more constructively. • If I would have known how to use the device - I would have been using it all the time to review the course material.

Through this medium I am able to take the course anywhere.

Language Training

Benefits of Mobile Learning to

Learners

New Generations of Students

Online presence

Now generation

Virtual generation

Social networking

Games

Digital experts

Adapt to technology quickly

Technology is second nature

How students prefer to learn?

In groups (55%)

Doing practical things (39%)

With friends (35%)

By using computers (31%)

Alone (21%)

From teachers (19%)

Becta, 2008

Use of Mobile Technology in

Education

Uses of mobile technologies in education

include: administration of learning, monitoring

students‟ progress, providing learner

support, interactive activities to promote higher

level learning, delivery of learning

materials, use of context specific

activities, workplace learning, just-in-time

learning, and reaching the disabled.

Gaskill and Mills (2009)

Learnable Moment

Mobile learning benefits learners since they can

use mobile devices to learn in their own learning

community where situated learning, authentic

learning, context aware learning, augmented

reality mobile learning, and personalized learning

are encouraged (Traxler, 2010).

Learning will move more and more outside of the

classroom and into the learner‟s

environments, both real and virtual, thus

becoming more situated, personal, collaborative

and lifelong (Naismith et al., 2006).

Mobile Learning to Develop 21st

Century Skills

Use of mobile technology by learners will help

the learners develop 21st century skills

required by learners when they join the

workforce.

21st Century Skills Area

Communication

Project Management

Continuous Improvement

Problem Solving

Information and Communication Technology

Team Work

Personal Well-being

Leadership

Globalization

Research

Critical Thinking

Mobile Technology

Learners have multiple devices

Near Future

Future

In the future, mobile devices will look completely

difference from what they are today.

According to a recent Futurelab report, by

2020, digital technology will be embedded and

distributed in most objects.

Personal artefacts such as

keys, clothes, shoes, notebook, and newspaper

will have devices embedded within them which

can communicate with each other.

We will not be taking any devices with us, they will

exist everywhere.

Everything will be connected to everything

through network. There will no longer be any

such thing as „the internet‟, „telephone‟, „TV‟

and so forth; instead there is blanket wireless

connectivity to the network which allows

access to all communications channels even

in remote areas.

Input to and feedback from digital technologies

will become much more „natural‟ by 2020, and

we feel as though we are interacting with

things and with people, not machines, screens

and keyboards.

Conclusion

Is the use of mobile technology

„hype‟?

Ask Rory McGreal

Ask a learner who has a mobile device

but no learning materials to access

Ask young learners who have no

access to schools or libraries

Ask an unemployed young

person

Ask a female who has the mobile technology

but cannot attend school

Ask a President who got elected because of

the use of mobile technology

Young people are using mobile technology for

revolutions because of lack of jobs, no human

rights, suppression, high prices for basic

needs (education, food), etc.

Would it take a revolution by young learners to

transform education to meet their needs?

With Mobile Learning

“Education for All”

is possible

Social Justice

The concept of social justice expresses an

ideal in which all members of society are

treated fairly and have access to their fair

share of society‟s goods.

Research Needed

How to design for the unknown

How to design for learners on the move

Most effective interfaces for mobile and virtual devices

How to design information rich content for mobile delivery

What are the characteristics of mobile technology for different cultures

Interactivity on mobile devices

Intelligent learning materials

Learner-generated content for mobile learning

OER for mobile delivery

Thank you

Dr. Mohamed Ally

Director and Professor

Athabasca University

Canada

[email protected]