Josie Taylor

A Theory of Learning for the Mobile Age

Most adults and adolescents in developed countries now own mobile phones and media devices, and for many people in developing countries a mobile phone can offer the only means of sending long distance messages. In a parallel development to the spread of personal technology, since the early 1980s schools, colleges and universities have experimented with handheld technology for learning, including classroom response systems, data probes, and handheld writing tools. Universities allow students to bring laptop computers to lectures and some schools are now providing pupils with Personal Digital Assistants and tablet computers. As personal mobile technologies for learning become more widespread, studies are starting to show evidence of the value of incorporating mobile devices in teaching and learning (McFarlane, Triggs and Yee 2008; p.7) and also substantial issues, including conflicts between informal learning with personal devices and traditional classroom education (Sharples 2007). Children are developing new skills and literacies enabled by mobile devices, such as SMS texting, moblogging (writing diaries and weblogs on mobile devices) and mobile video creation. A new generation of location-aware mobile phones will offer further possibilities, of education services and educational media matched to the learners context and interests.

Towards a task model for mobile learning: a dialectical approach

Our approach to understanding mobile learning begins by describing a dialectical approach to the development and presentation of a task model using the socio-cognitive engineering design method. This analysis synthesises relevant theoretical approaches. We then examine two field studies, which feed into the development of the task model.

Designing multimedia for learning: narrative guidance and narrative construction

Narrative is fundamental to the ways we make sense of texts ofall kinds because it provides structure and coherence, but it isdifficult to see how this works in the context of multimediainteractive learning environments (MILES). We tested our hypothesesabout the form and function of narrative in MILES by developingthree versions of material on CD-ROM which had different narrativestructures and analysed the impact of the different versions onlearner behaviour. We present a theoretical framework in which weexplain the concepts of narrative guidance and narrativeconstruction and their application to the design of MILES.

Producing guidelines for learning, teaching and tutoring in a mobile environment

We review the research on mobile learning and theories of learning in order to produce a pedagogically sound set of guidelines for learners, teachers, and policy makers who are considering adopting m-learning technology. The guidelines are not primarily intended as requirements for systems design, but they will be of use to systems designers, in alerting them to the settings in which the technology will be used and issues arising from deployment with teachers and learners. The paper offers an interpretation of the nature and utility of the guidelines, and describes a process for producing new guidelines. We propose an initial set of guidelines for deploying, managing and teaching with mobile technology.

The Development of Cognitive Flexibility: Evidence from Children’s Drawings

Karmiloff-Smith [1990] has claimed that her ‘draw a strange man’ task indicates that young children’s first successful drawings are produced by inflexible procedural representations – consistent with her Representational Redescription (RR) model. In this paper, children’s drawings of a man with a beard, ‘a strange man’ and a normal man simply interrupted, indicated that young children are able to make modifications mid-procedure in a manner inconsistent with a procedural representation. Examination of the order of production of drawing elements indicated that the sequence is not as rigid as Karmiloff-Smith had predicted. A difference in types of spontaneous modifications with age in the ‘draw a strange man’ task was replicated. However, a further task explicitly requesting all the types of modifications observed in strange-man drawings (e.g., draw a man with something missing) demonstrated that young children have the ability to make all the types modifications, even if they do not do so spontaneously. Theoretical problems with the RR model in the drawing domain are discussed, and a new model, Recursive Re-Representation, is proposed which overcomes these theoretical problems and accounts more parsimoniously for the empirical data.

Learning with computers: experiences of evaluation

Abstract At the Open University (OU), the perception of computer assisted learning (CAL) is shifting from its current position as an optional extra in a battery of course components to that of a key teaching medium. This paper presents the authors’ experiences of the evaluation of a range of current OU produced computer assisted learning materials, mainly but not exclusively in science and technology reported in terms of evaluation framework. These materials include interactive tutorial packages, simulations used largely in a support role to the main teaching and multimedia packages which are expected to carry more of the initial presentation of key ideas in the courses. The overall purpose of the evaluations was to gain insight into how computers can have an impact on learning, particularly of science and technology subjects, and to explore a portfolio of evaluation techniques to be used in the development and assessment of computer based learning materials. In this paper the techniques are discussed and illustrated with reference to a number of case studies of a range of programs used by students. Some conclusions are drawn about how the use of programs leads to the support of students’ science and technology learning.

Analysing novices analysing Prolog: what stories do novices tell themselves about Prolog?

Informal observations of Prolog learners showed that, despite being presented with correct information and models, students still tended to construct their own idiosyncratic explanations of events, and, characteristically, they defended these ‘stories’ fiercely when tutorial intervention was attempted. Although the stories were often so flawed that the students future progress was potentially hampered, it was nevertheless true that learning could not have proceeded at all without them. It seems that if we are to understand the novice Prolog programmer, we need to know about these stories, their source, and what, if anything, they have in common from one learner to another. Pain and Bundy (1987) posed the question “What stories should we tell novice Prolog programmers?” in order to teach them Prolog. In our research, we ask: “What stories do novices Prolog programmers tell themselves?” in order to learn Prolog.Observational studies undertaken showed that students used tacit knowledge of human discourse processes both to interpret the language used to communicate with the computer and to interpret the behaviour of the machine. Students did not appreciate the fundamental differences between natural discourse (as takes place amongst humans) and formal discourse (as takes place between humans and machines), and confused elements of the discourse levels. This can be an effective initial learning strategy, but unless its limitations are recognised, programs are inevitably incomplete at some level. Examples from these studies are reported here with illustrative protocol fragments.

Pulling together: keeping track of pedagogy, design and evaluation through the development of scenarios—a case study

This case study describes the multipurpose use of scenarios in a large multinational research project (MOBIlearn) whose aims are to design and develop a pedagogically sound mobile learning environment. Maintaining effective communication and design focus in large consortia is a well‐known problem (see Carroll, 2000), and we describe the role of scenarios in addressing this. Scenarios were initially used to simply envision the future system in order to inform design, but as the project progressed, the role of the scenarios grew to encompass (i) relating system design and implementation to pedagogy by providing a common frame of reference for developers and pedagogic experts; (ii) through a process of refinement, defining the evaluation strategy for the user trials; and (iii) allowing us to keep the user at the heart of the development project. Thus, scenarios helped to resolve the difficulty identified by Taylor (2004) of how to bring together the relatively high level issues of pedagogic evaluation and the more technical user‐centred system evaluation. The development of a first‐aid training scenario is used as an illustrative example.

Moving into Multimedia: Issues for Teaching and Learning

SUMMARY By looking back at the introduction of interactive video into two British primary schools a few years ago, this paper illustrates the observation that the success of an innovation in the classroom is determined as much by the conditions within which it operates as by its quality. It compares the experiences of teachers in the context of the schools and describes the issues they faced as they tried to integrate the technology into their classroom teaching. The paper then looks forward to moves into computer‐based multimedia for primary schools. It discusses important issues associated with learning via this technology, and how children will need teachers’ support if they are to make the best use of multimedia software that will arrive in their classrooms.

Facing the challenge in evaluating technology use in mobile environments

The process of developing innovative mobile approaches to informal and formal learning is challenging, not least in needing to satisfy stakeholders with diverse interests in the technology, the pedagogy and the overall system. Some approaches to evaluation may focus on examining the nature and quality of learning that occurs, while other methods may take a user‐centred approach to understand interactions with the systems. In this paper we highlight a methodology that attempts to address these two analytical issues in parallel, and to communicate the results to stakeholders. The methodology is grounded in cultural historical activity theory and is compatible with other views emerging that such evaluation can have multiple levels. The method applies task analysis to examine the conflicts that emerge when learners are interacting with technological systems in an informal learning setting. Results from a trial involving first‐aiders are used to illustrate the techniques as they were applied as part of a European project that developed a collaborative mobile learning environment. The method has been repeated in other studies and is suggested to provide a valuable tool to reflect on understanding and enable the sharing of perspectives on evaluation outcomes.