onsdag 16 mars 2011

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

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