Mobilising Remote Student Engagement (MoRSE) using mobile and web2.0 technologies: initial perspectives

MOBILISING REMOTE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT (MoRSE) USING

MOBILE AND WEB2.0 TECHNOLOGIES: INITIAL

PERSPECTIVESMalcolm Andrew

Richard HallPeter Taylor

De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

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IADIS International Conference on Mobile Learning February 2009

The MoRSE ProjectMobilising Remote Student Engagement

• JISC-funded project: Nov 2008-Oct 2010

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http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningcapital/curriculumdelivery/morse.aspxhttp://www.jisc.ac.uk

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The MoRSE ProjectMobilising Remote Student Engagement

• JISC-funded project: Nov 2008-Oct 2010

• Investigating the use of mobile and Web2.0 technologies to enhance student engagement

• Joint venture...

• De Montfort University: students on industrial placement

• Kingston University, UK: students on geography field trips.

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The DMU focus• Students can opt for an

industrial placement inYr3

• Spend the year working in the Pharmaceutical or Cosmetic industry

• Return for final year at university

• Assessment of Yr3 has been two visits from tutor and student writes a 5000 word report at end of year.

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e-Learning during placement• Formalise use of mobile phones between tutor

and student to provide brief progress reports

• Require students to maintain an e-portfolio (e.g. Profile – www.uwe.ac.uk)

• Give students staged e-tasks throughout year

• Use podcasts to provide 2-way feedback and reflection between students & tutors

• Encourage Yr2 students to engage with Yr3 students (mentors) during their placement year.

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Benefits of MoRSE• Increase students’ contact with university

during placement; putting placement in context of curriculum; increase learning opportunities

• Enhance student/student & student/tutor dialogue; lessen any feelings of isolation

• Provide more opportunity for reflection

• Provide a more tangible record of the year, with the possible gain of a separate award(e.g. University Certificate of Professional Development).

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Project timeline• December 2008: focus group meetings with

Yr2 & Yr4 students & dialogue with employers & academic tutors

• February 2009: Survey of student IT equipment & their views about use of IT during placement

• March 2009: begin training for students & tutors on using the technologies

• July 2009: industrial placements begin

• July 2010: industrial placements end

• July-October 2010: main reporting phase.8 of 20

Year 4 student focus group comments

• More contact with university welcomed

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A Year 4 student said...

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Year 4 student focus group comments

• More contact with university welcomed

• Change from a final report to a portfolio, linked to specific, regular tasks would facilitate reflection

• Would like to develop enhanced IT skills (e.g. making podcasts)

• Would even-out the variation in experience gained by students caused by differences in size and nature of the companies.

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Year 2 student focus group comments

• Welcomed the idea of more frequent contact to support their learning

• Liked the sound of the proposed staged e-learning activities

• A few were daunted by the prospect of some of the e-learning activities (e.g. podcasting)

• Enthusiastic about using MoRSE to engage with Yr3 students on placement to help them to decide whether to do one themselves.

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Tutor/employer comments• Would provide an earlier opportunity to

intervene if a student was experiencing problems in placement

• Would increase tutor/student dialogue & so reduce importance of tutor visits to the place of employment

• Employers have concerns about confidentiality when students write about their placements

• Some tutors flagged the assessment of thee-learning activities as a potential issue.

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Student IT equipment & use

Yr 4(n=18)

Yr 2(n=32)

Mobile phone 18 30

Laptop [Netbook] 13 [0] 29 [2]

PDA 0 1

MP3 player [with recording facility] 3 [5] 7 [13]

Video iPod (or equivalent) 9 18

Stills camera (other than mobile phone) 13 19

Video camera (other than mobile phone) 3 9

Combined video/stills camera 7 10

What portable electronic equipment do they possess?

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Student IT equipment & use

% withfeature

% usingfeature

1. Making phone calls 100 98

2. SMS texting 100 98

3. Taking pictures 96 98

4. MMS texting 92 68

5. Accessing the Internet 90 44

6. Listening to music 88 95

7. Listening to radio 83 38

8. Recording lectures 65 29

9. Social networking (e.g. Facebook)

52 32

10. Listening to/watching podcasts 29 36

What features did they have & use on their mobile phones?

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Student IT equipment & use

% withfeature

% usingfeature

1. Making phone calls 100 98

2. SMS texting 100 98

3. Taking pictures 96 98

4. Listening to music 88 95

5. MMS texting 92 68

6. Accessing the Internet 90 44

7. Listening to radio 83 38

8. Listening to/watching podcasts 29 36

9. Social networking (e.g. Facebook)

52 32

10. Recording lectures 65 29

What features did they have & use on their mobile phones?

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Student IT equipment & use

All Yr 4(n=18)

Yr 4 who did

Placement

(n=11)

All Yr 2

(n=32)

Yr 2 wantingPlaceme

nt(n=17)

1. Mobile phone 14 8 25 12

2. Podcasts 6 2 19 9

3. Social networking 13 9 16 7

4. Blogs 8 6 13 10

5. An e-portfolio 9 7 12 9

6. Wikis 4 2 7 4

Other EmailBlackboard

What technologies did they feel could support their learning during placement?

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A Year 4 student’s comments on using Facebook...

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Student IT equipment & use

All Yr 4(n=18)

Yr 4 who did

Placement

(n=11)

All Yr 2

(n=32)

Yr 2 wanting

Placement

(n=17)

Possession of a mobile phone

18 11 30 17

Not interested 3 2 3 2

Somewhat interested

2 1 6 3

Interested or very interested

13 8 22 12

What did they feel about using texting during placement?

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The next steps• Finalise e-learning activities during

placement

• Identify Yr2 students who intend to undertake a placement year

• Identify compliant employers

• Provide training in the use of the chosen technologies for students and tutors

• Provide hardware/software where necessary.

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