ipads in distance learning: learning design, digital literacy, transformation
DESCRIPTION
This presentation was given at ALT-C2013 on 10 September 2013 in Nottingham UKTRANSCRIPT
www.le.ac.uk
iPads in distance learning: learning design, digital literacy, transformation
Terese BirdLearning Technologist & SCORE Research FellowInstitute of Learning InnovationUniversity of Leicester
Transformations Photo by DG Jones on Flickr
What shall we talk about?• The distance learning courses using iPads
– Description– Learning Design– Digital Literacy
• Big questions:– can learning on-the-go and in short bursts
constitute deep learning?– Is it feasible to study and engage in academic
research using an electronic device rather than paper resources?
– Can mobile devices facilitate collaboration to the benefit of the learner?
– Can we assume or require a certain level of digital literacy on the part of students in order for mobile learning to be effective?
• Conclusions and future plans
Photo by Barbara Willli on Flickr
Peacekeeper-student’s coffee break during long-range patrol
Two MA distance learning coursesJISC Places: http://www.le.ac.uk/places-mlearn
Course Learning Design
Student Location
Number of students
Course material
iPad instructionDigital Literacy
CriminologySecurity, Conflict, & International Development
Group 1st attended 7Cs Learning Design workshophttp://tinyurl.com/yf2mwcj
Conflict zones (Iraq, Sudan, Nigeria)
18 per cohort,2 intakes per year
Professional course app, Blackboard, Amazon books (vouchers)
Helpsheet:How to download course app, top 10 apps to use
Education International Education
One Education academic did all
Anywhere (Canada, Korea)
10 Instructor-created ebook, Bbd
Email instructions to get ebook
http://www.olds.ac.uk
http://tinyurl.com/7cs-toolkit
• Criminology iPad app http://tinyurl.com/qg8zlfw
• Education ebook – free Apple iBooks Author http://tinyurl.com/pstkkyd
‘Top Ten Apps’• Goodreader or iAnnotate PDF for reading and annotating pdf documents
now Notability• Twitter• Pages – word processing opens Word documents and saves back as Word
documents• Dropbox– 2GB of free storage space in the cloud. • Evernote– take notes on iPad or any computer, save them in ‘the cloud’.• Instapaper– saves websites so they can be read offline.• Audiotorium– records sounds and allows you to takes notes.Kindle app –
lets you purchase ebooks from Amazon and read them on your iPad.• iTunes U app– use great, free learning resources from iTunes U, keep
them organised.• Blackboard Mobile Learn– provides access to the University’s Virtual
Learning Environment.---------• YouTube – free video worldwide• iBooks – free e-book reading app, supports multimedia in ebooks• Podcasts – free app to organise and play audio files• Skype• iBrainstorm
Academic use of mobile device
• electronic reading and note-taking (pdf, epub)
• sharing resources with others, curating, discussing (Twitter)
• word-processing on device
• working with cloud storage
• web reading offline
• capturing live event by sound plus notes
• consuming, collecting, storing multimedia learning material
• Connecting with VLE
• videoconferencing with other students and tutors
• brain-storming, spider-diagramming
“Digital literacy is the ability to understand and use information in multiple formats form a wide range of sources when it is
presented via computers.” (Gilster, 1997)
Koole’s FRAME Model (Koole, 2009)
Skype
Goodreader, iTunes U
Mobile Digital Literacy
Student feedback – Criminology (Nie, Bird, Beck, Hayes, & Conole, 2013)
Very use-ful 67%
Useful 25%
Not useful 8%
Usefulness of iPad
Very useful UsefulNot useful
Everyday 50%
A couple of times a week 42%
A few times a month 8%
Frequency of using iPad and app
EverydayA couple of times a weekA few times a month
Transformation of distance learning
• Being in the military I needed a course I could study literally anywhere.
• The innovation of Leicester in taking distance learning forward into the 21st Century made it an
obvious choice.
• “For me, the course app is suitable based on the nature of my job which demands me to always be on the move. Print could be very bulky for me to move.”
Student comments
Can learning on-the-go be deep?
• In one classic 1978 experiment, psychologists found that college students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms — one windowless and cluttered, the other modern, with a view on a courtyard — did far better on a test than students who studied the words twice, in the same room. Later studies have confirmed the finding, for a variety of topics. (Smith, Glenberg, & Bjork, 1978)
Can learning on-the-go be deep?
• ‘Spacing’ study is more effective than ‘massed’ study (Kornell, Castel, Eich, & Bjork, 2010)
Is it feasible to study and engage in academic research using an electronic device rather than paper resources?
Is “The course App is easily accessed, it is pre-structured and organised. I find it a logical progression and a great guide to complete a unit by using the course app. If it was not available I would use the blackboard as opposed to print, again as it is easier to access view. I travel quite a lot for work making the use of iPad ideal.”
“I much prefer reading from paper than from computers. App is no 2 because it is so immediate and easy to use.” feasible to study and engage in academic research using an electronic device rather than paper resources?
Can mobile devices encourage collaboration to the benefit of the learner? Koole’s FRAME Model (Koole, 2009)
Can we assume or require a certain level of digital literacy on the part of students in order for mobile learning to be effective?
It’s best not to.
But not necessary to reinvent the wheel…. refer them to Apple instructions where possible.
Conclusion: Successful digital literacy prompts
• How to get started with iPad
• Apple instructions
• What to do if something breaks
• ‘Top apps to try’ AND WHAT DO THEY DO
• From learning design, build in interaction and model this – discussion boards, Twitter, Skype
• Discuss apps with each other
The way forward
• Criminology – every distance learning programme in Criminology will use iPad and apps from 2014
• Education – will continue to use iPads and “we have big plans”
• Medicine – One iPad per Medical First Year – we produced a new Top Apps for Med Students
References• Gilster, P. (1997). digital literacy (1st ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
• JISC. (2011). Mobile Learning infokit / Home. Retrieved August 22, 2012, from https://mobilelearninginfokit.pbworks.com/w/page/41122430/Home
• Koole, M. L. (2009). A Model for Framing Mobile Learning. In M. Ally (Ed.), Mobile Learning: Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training (pp. 25–50). Edmonton.
• Kornell, N., Castel, A. D., Eich, T. S., & Bjork, R. a. (2010). Spacing as the friend of both memory and induction in young and older adults. Psychology and aging, 25(2), 498–503. doi:10.1037/a0017807
• Nie, M., Armellini, A., Witthaus, G., & Barkland, K. (2010). Delivering University Curricula: Knowledge, Learning and INnovation Gains — University of Leicester. Leicester. Retrieved from http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/beyond-distance-research-alliance/projects/duckling
• Nie, M., Bird, T., Beck, A., Hayes, N., & Conole, G. (2013). Adding Mobility to Distance Learning. Leicester.
• Smith, S. M., & Glenberg, A. (1978). Environmental context and human memory, 6(1972), 342–353.