In his famous commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005, Apple CEO Steve Jobs talked about some of the key elements that helped him create a dynamic new company with a pioneering vision of the future of computers: the choice to follow his own academic path during his final 18 months before dropping out of college. Essentially he created his own curriculum that combined science and art in ways that no single degree would have otherwise allowed him to do. And because he had officially dropped out, he attended these diverse classes for free. (You can see it here: Steve Jobs at Stanford)
Thoughts like these would have been prohibitive, or at least counter-intuitive 20 years ago. But with the dynamic societal changes that have taken place in the last 2 decades, such as the widespread use of the internet, the availability of massive open online courses (MOOCs), and the proliferation of powerful, personal mobile devices, the foundational concepts of education itself are beginning to change.
According to Traxler and Kukulshka-Hulme (2013), unlike 20 years ago, educators are now faced with the challenge of designing for learners equipped with mobile technologies who want more adaptable or personally engaging ways of learning. Therefore the process of design for learning itself must shift accordingly, if we are going to create activities and interactions that support current and future educational ends.
First and foremost, the definition of Mobile Learning here is simply learning with mobile devices. This is not the same thing as e-learning accessed via mobile phones, because most e-learning is designed based on the current institution-led, structured framework that is just an online version of the learning that takes place in classrooms. And accessing e-learning through a mobile device does not make it any different from accessing it via a desktop computer or being in the classroom itself.
Instead mobile learning here is defined in the context of a system of education that is designed around a mobile society, that rather lets the learner, just like Steve Jobs, choose the structure of their learning based on their own curiosity, need and pace.
The mobile society in this case is the generation of learners that have grown up with personal, internet-enabled mobile devices integrated into every aspect of their lives, including information sharing, entertainment and other interactions in both formal and informal settings. For a community like this, education that is not personalised, and is not self-directed is not only unnatural but is also incomplete.
More than merely a new curriculum therefore, the need here is for a review in the entire process for learning design. They write:
Several references have been made to the works of Pachler et al. 2010; Rasul 2011 and Potter 2011, who all highlight that in recent years much of the thinking and research into the impact and significance of social and cultural change on the nature of learning with mobile devices has been on things like the institutional policies related to mobile learning as well as the ethics issues and the evaluation methodologies; especially in the last 3 years.
Again Traxler and Kukulshka-Hulme insist that this is because most of the research in this area has been done by people exclusively in the fields of psychology, education and computer science.
However, they advocate that it is now time to review and reconsider design for mobile learning because as they say, we are at a tipping point in the relations between education and society. And as the ownership and use of digital technologies become universal, social, ubiquitous and pervasive, mobile technologies are at the heart of these changing relations.
Also considering the different commercial interests in the design of online mobile educational systems (both hardware and software), such as clickers and ipads or apps and services such as Apple's iTunes University and several educational apps in the different app stores, all selling high volumes of inexpensive educational applications direct to learners, we have now seen the birth of a form of mobile learning that simultaneously serves business ends and also delivers learning to the "long tail". This, they say, is why we can assume that the future of mobile learning will no longer be guided exclusively by research but rather by a combination of commercial sense, research, and pedagogical design expertise.
Design for Mobile Learning
They go on to summarise a set of design principles that carefully considers the relationship between design for learning that utilizes the strengths of mobile technologies, and the design of aspects of learning such as content, activities and communication in the context of technology that has become universal. They also consider the importance of physical space layout in learning design and the networking capabilities of mobile technologies.
This means that design for mobile learning then includes 3 key elements: Design (Types) for Learning (personalized, situated, authentic and informal types); Design (Aspects) of Learning (content, activities and communication); and Space Design (location-specific, immersive, augmented and collaborative forms).
Design Principles
Two main points to be considered in the understanding of the basic principles suggested by Kukulshka-Hulme and Traxler are first, that mobile technologies are everywhere, are personal, and are social and changeable, not uniform, consistent or provided by the institution. And secondly, that learners expectations in the use of their mobile devices for educational purposes may come from outside institution-led, formal or structured systems. Therefore they may be driven by motivations as diverse as personal curiosity, urgent enquiry and self-paced recreation.
On this basis they recommend and propose the following design principles:
1. Start with learners - recognise their diversity, agency and habits, including patterns of mobility and ubiquitous social interaction.
2. Design to meet learners on their terms, with their devices, in their spaces.
3. Work with learners - seek opportunities for prototyping, participation and feedback.
4. Look for added value, e.g. opportunities for contingent learning, situated learning, authentic learning, context-aware learning.
5. Design for inclusion, enabling accessibility and greater access than may be possible using desktop computers.
6. Recognise that learning activities designed by you are liable to be played out differently as learners engage with them outside the classroom.
7. Be prepared to trial and discard activities more frequently as technologies evolve.
8. Wait for the novelty to wear off before evaluating, and take account of lifestyle and environmental factors that may impact on mobile learning.
References:
Kukulska-Hulme, A and Traxler, J (2013). 'Design principles for mobile learning' in: Beetham, H and Sharpe, R (eds) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Designing for 21st Century Learning (2nd ed.). Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 244–257.
Pachler, N., Bachmair, B. and Cook, J. (2010) Mobile learning: structures, agency, practices. New York: Springer.
Potter, J. (2011) 'Creation and curatorship in new media', in K. Rummler, J. Seipold, E. Lübcke, N. Pachler and G. Attwell (eds) Mobile Learning: Crossing boundaries in convergent environments. Book of Abstracts. London Mobile Learning Group.
Rasul A. A. (2011) Cultural Factors in a Mobile Phone Adoption and Usage Model: A Case of UUM Postgraduate Students. Masters thesis, Universiti Utara Malaysia.
Thoughts like these would have been prohibitive, or at least counter-intuitive 20 years ago. But with the dynamic societal changes that have taken place in the last 2 decades, such as the widespread use of the internet, the availability of massive open online courses (MOOCs), and the proliferation of powerful, personal mobile devices, the foundational concepts of education itself are beginning to change.
According to Traxler and Kukulshka-Hulme (2013), unlike 20 years ago, educators are now faced with the challenge of designing for learners equipped with mobile technologies who want more adaptable or personally engaging ways of learning. Therefore the process of design for learning itself must shift accordingly, if we are going to create activities and interactions that support current and future educational ends.
First and foremost, the definition of Mobile Learning here is simply learning with mobile devices. This is not the same thing as e-learning accessed via mobile phones, because most e-learning is designed based on the current institution-led, structured framework that is just an online version of the learning that takes place in classrooms. And accessing e-learning through a mobile device does not make it any different from accessing it via a desktop computer or being in the classroom itself.
Instead mobile learning here is defined in the context of a system of education that is designed around a mobile society, that rather lets the learner, just like Steve Jobs, choose the structure of their learning based on their own curiosity, need and pace.
The mobile society in this case is the generation of learners that have grown up with personal, internet-enabled mobile devices integrated into every aspect of their lives, including information sharing, entertainment and other interactions in both formal and informal settings. For a community like this, education that is not personalised, and is not self-directed is not only unnatural but is also incomplete.
More than merely a new curriculum therefore, the need here is for a review in the entire process for learning design. They write:
"One reason to review the process of design is the fact that educational institutions must now appropriate personal technologies - the mobile phone, as well as social networks, immersive worlds and micro-blogging - partly due to student demand for mobile access and partly because these tools facilitate interactions that can support educational ends... Now, in attempting to appropriate personal technologies for teaching and learning, [educational institutions] must also address the more complex ways in which different individuals and their communities adopt and adapt these personal technologies. The space available for educational design becomes much more complex and fragmentary."
Several references have been made to the works of Pachler et al. 2010; Rasul 2011 and Potter 2011, who all highlight that in recent years much of the thinking and research into the impact and significance of social and cultural change on the nature of learning with mobile devices has been on things like the institutional policies related to mobile learning as well as the ethics issues and the evaluation methodologies; especially in the last 3 years.
Again Traxler and Kukulshka-Hulme insist that this is because most of the research in this area has been done by people exclusively in the fields of psychology, education and computer science.
However, they advocate that it is now time to review and reconsider design for mobile learning because as they say, we are at a tipping point in the relations between education and society. And as the ownership and use of digital technologies become universal, social, ubiquitous and pervasive, mobile technologies are at the heart of these changing relations.
Also considering the different commercial interests in the design of online mobile educational systems (both hardware and software), such as clickers and ipads or apps and services such as Apple's iTunes University and several educational apps in the different app stores, all selling high volumes of inexpensive educational applications direct to learners, we have now seen the birth of a form of mobile learning that simultaneously serves business ends and also delivers learning to the "long tail". This, they say, is why we can assume that the future of mobile learning will no longer be guided exclusively by research but rather by a combination of commercial sense, research, and pedagogical design expertise.
Design for Mobile Learning
They go on to summarise a set of design principles that carefully considers the relationship between design for learning that utilizes the strengths of mobile technologies, and the design of aspects of learning such as content, activities and communication in the context of technology that has become universal. They also consider the importance of physical space layout in learning design and the networking capabilities of mobile technologies.
This means that design for mobile learning then includes 3 key elements: Design (Types) for Learning (personalized, situated, authentic and informal types); Design (Aspects) of Learning (content, activities and communication); and Space Design (location-specific, immersive, augmented and collaborative forms).
Design Principles
Two main points to be considered in the understanding of the basic principles suggested by Kukulshka-Hulme and Traxler are first, that mobile technologies are everywhere, are personal, and are social and changeable, not uniform, consistent or provided by the institution. And secondly, that learners expectations in the use of their mobile devices for educational purposes may come from outside institution-led, formal or structured systems. Therefore they may be driven by motivations as diverse as personal curiosity, urgent enquiry and self-paced recreation.
On this basis they recommend and propose the following design principles:
1. Start with learners - recognise their diversity, agency and habits, including patterns of mobility and ubiquitous social interaction.
2. Design to meet learners on their terms, with their devices, in their spaces.
3. Work with learners - seek opportunities for prototyping, participation and feedback.
4. Look for added value, e.g. opportunities for contingent learning, situated learning, authentic learning, context-aware learning.
5. Design for inclusion, enabling accessibility and greater access than may be possible using desktop computers.
6. Recognise that learning activities designed by you are liable to be played out differently as learners engage with them outside the classroom.
7. Be prepared to trial and discard activities more frequently as technologies evolve.
8. Wait for the novelty to wear off before evaluating, and take account of lifestyle and environmental factors that may impact on mobile learning.
References:
Kukulska-Hulme, A and Traxler, J (2013). 'Design principles for mobile learning' in: Beetham, H and Sharpe, R (eds) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Designing for 21st Century Learning (2nd ed.). Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 244–257.
Pachler, N., Bachmair, B. and Cook, J. (2010) Mobile learning: structures, agency, practices. New York: Springer.
Potter, J. (2011) 'Creation and curatorship in new media', in K. Rummler, J. Seipold, E. Lübcke, N. Pachler and G. Attwell (eds) Mobile Learning: Crossing boundaries in convergent environments. Book of Abstracts. London Mobile Learning Group.
Rasul A. A. (2011) Cultural Factors in a Mobile Phone Adoption and Usage Model: A Case of UUM Postgraduate Students. Masters thesis, Universiti Utara Malaysia.
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