Part two: Informal Learning Evidence in Online Communities of Mobile Device Enthusiasts edited by Mohammad Ali (2009)

Part two: Research on Mobile learning
Informal Learning Evidence in Online Communities of Mobile Device Enthusiasts

Sant så sant att i nuläget så finns det åtskilliga användare av Smartphones och att den tekniken formligen exploderar i sin utveckling. Självklart så använder även dagens studenter sig av dessa när de ändå finns tillhands och späckade med ny teknik och program. Så bra att det då finns en studie om detta informella användandet av mobil inlärning.

INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

UNITED KINGDOM

GILL CLOUGH

ANN C. JONES

PATRICK MCANDREW

EILEEN SCANLON

Abstract
This chapter describes a study that investigated the informal learning practices  of enthusiastic mobile device owners. Informal learning is far more widespread than is often realized. Livingston (2000) pointed out that Canadian adults spend an average of fifteen hours per week on informal learning activities, more than they spend on formal learning activities. The motivation for these learning efforts generally comes from the individual, not from some outside force such as a school, university, or workplace. Therefore, in the absence of an externally imposed learning framework, informal learners will use whatever techniques, resources, and tools best suit their learning needs and personal preferences. As ownership of mobile technologies becomes increasingly widespread in the western world, it is likely that learners who have access to this technology will use it to support their informal learning efforts. This chapter presents the findings of a study into the various and innovative ways in which PDA and Smartphone users exploit mobile device functionality in their informal learning activities. The findings suggested that mobile device users deploy the mobile, connective, and collaborative capabilities of their devices in a variety of informal learning contexts, and in quite innovative ways. Trends emerged, such as the increasing importance of podcasting and audio and the use of built-in GPS, which may have implications for future studies. Informal learners identified learning activities that could be enhanced by the involvement of mobile technology, and developed methods and techniques that helped them achieve their learning goals.

Detta tycker jag är viktigt att ta i beaktning, att det gamla sättet att kommunicera kompletteras av det nya. Det ersätts alltså inte utan det skapas bara en ny dimension av att kommunicera.

Roschelle (2003) identified two forms of collaborative participation:

“the normal social participation in classroom discussion (for

example) and the new informatic participation among connected devices”

(p.262). He discovered that in the classroom setting, where the learners were

in the same physical space, the normal face-to-face social interaction was

supplemented by the wireless interaction between the connected devices. In

this context, mobile devices added a new social dimension of participation

that was not otherwise available.

Metoden de använde sig av i undersökningen var följande, ganska logiskt egentligen när man tänker efter eftersom det handlar om mobil inlärning.

Method
In order to obtain insights into ways in which experienced users use mobile

devices to support informal learning, this research needed to plug into existing

networks and communities of mobile device users. A method was required

that would capture information about participants’ informal learning practices

and experiences. PDAs and Smartphones are mobile devices and their users

may be located anywhere in the world, so a web-based survey method was

chosen. This gave access to a wide pool of participants without requiring

them to be in any specifi c geographic location.

Fördelarna var uppenbara
By circulating the questionnaire via the Web, additional advantages would

accrue. It could be accessed from anywhere in the world, at any time of

day, regardless of time-zones, and it could be publicized via email and

the Internet.

Några av deras slutsatser visar på styrkan med mobilt lärande nämligen "tiilgängligheten". Det faktum att de flesta använde sig av smartphones innebar att de alltid fanns med. Samt att kapaciteten på dagens teknik är tillräcklig för dessa ändamål.

Conclusion

The results of this study suggest that this population of mobile device users

use their devices to support a wide range of informal learning activities, both

intentional and unintentional. The portability, storage capacity, computing

power, and convenience of mobile devices emerged as determining factors

in learners’ decisions to use them to support informal learning activities. The

fact that people generally carried their devices around with them meant that

they were “on hand” to support serendipitous learning opportunities as well

as planned mobile learning activities.

Det kommer heller inte som någon överraskning för mig att eleverna utvecklade matrialet för att passa dem. Många unga idag besitter stor förmåga att genom sina självlärda (samt från kompisar lärda) kunskaper i ny teknik modifiera sina Smartphones.

A more surprising finding was the extent to which some participants

adapted their devices to suit their learning needs, writing new applications

or tailoring existing ones, and adapted how they learned to suit the functionality

available with their devices. These adaptations seem to be a step

beyond the simple process of appropriation of PDAs as workplace and learning

tools as described by Waycott (2004).

This adaptation made it easier for them to enter text into the PDA

and enabled them to fi t the use of the PDA into their every-day preferred

practice. In this study some participants went to great lengths to tailor their

use of their mobile device to fulfi l their learning goals. The participant who

combined text and audio to support his language learning invested a considerable

amount of time and effort in adapting the notes application to

support his language learning needs. The participants who downloaded material

in advance of planned visits had taken the explicit decision to use their

mobile device as a learning resource in a mobile context.

En annan sak som de nämner är också väldigt viktig att ta i beaktning, även om många idag är väldigt kunniga i ny teknik så behöver det inte automatiskt vara så. Man behöver ta reda på detta i första hand, alltså vilken nivå eleverna befinner sig på rent "teknik mässigt". Däremot så håller jag med om att vi går mot tider där snart alla vet hur hur vi ska handskas med den nya tekniken och gör det väl.

The participants in this survey were selected

because they were keen mobile device users, so this finding may not be

reflected among less enthusiastic members of the current mobile device using

population. However as mobile connected technology becomes increasingly

ubiquitous, it is likely that growing numbers of mobile device owners will

employ their devices as learning tools.




Vad är då mina slutsatser av en sådan här undersökning med vana användare av ny teknik i form av mobila apparater. Jo att jag ser det ganska uppenbart som att våra nya Smartphones som håller på att ta över marknaden idag och som ständigt förbättras (tänker på den explosionsartade utvecklingen av apps på både iPhone,  Andoid och Windows mobile) borde vara det uppenbara hjälpmedletvi borde rikta vår uppmärksamhet mot. Många  lärare har nog varit uppretade och matta av att eleverna håller på för mycket med sina mobiler men nu kanske det är dags att använda dem till något konstruktivt och bra. De har kommit för att stanna så det är bara att gilla läget och istället jobba med den nya tekniken och inte mot den.

Det är ju även uppenbart att den nya mobila tekniken och tillgängligheten via 3G och Wifi överallt gör att det redan nu är möjligt att utveckla mobilt lärande som kan fungera tillfredställande till undervisning. Att det det dessutom upplevs som något nytt fräscht och roligt av dagens studenter är ju heller inte fel.

/Helge Lundgren