GOING MOBILE:
Mobile Media Technologies and their Impact on Academic
Collaboration Beyond the Walls of the Classroom
Douglas W. Conrad
What action can I take to discover the impact of mobile media technologies on academic collaboration and communication beyond the walls of the classroom?
C Y C L E F I V E Report
PURPOSE
The purpose of this action research project was to discover the effect of mobile media technologies on the learning thought of as "informal” that happens in the spaces and times outside of the classroom. Current research has shown that the use of mobile media tools has begun to change our understanding of place. When we can communicate, collaborate and relate without the boundaries of time or space, our understanding of place or where we are grounded is altered. It is possible that this change can be leveraged by schools to incorporate the academic collaboration and knowledge building that happens beyond the walls of the classroom into the students' "formal" learning environment. The impact that mobile media technologies have in this space was the focus of this action research project.
ACTION
In this fifth cycle of action, I helped a group of professors and their students strategize and implement the use of specific mobile media technologies (iPad Mini tablets) and related software (Pages, Maps With Me, Kindle) for their academic collaboration in the field on a four month Europe semester, study abroad program. The tablets were integrated into the syllabi for the courses, encouraging student's use of these tools to capture and reflect on their learning experiences in the places they visited (Athens, Rome, Florence, London ) and bring that documentation back to the group to share and collaborate. The hypothesis was that the use of these mobile media tools would enhance the students' experience "in country" and effectively enable their communication and collaboration without regard to place or time.
In this cycle 5 action, I researched and helped implement the use of Apple iPad mini tablets for a traveling group of 35 students and professor in a Westmont College off campus, travel abroad program. Word processors were vetted, deciding upon Pages for the student writing assignments and course reflections. Students used these tools in place of books, laptops and paper journals. In each location of their course of study, students used the iPad minis to collect evidence of their learning using text, audio, sketches and photographs to describe their experiences and aid in the knowledge they were building together.
The purpose of this action research project was to discover the effect of mobile media technologies on the learning thought of as "informal” that happens in the spaces and times outside of the classroom. Current research has shown that the use of mobile media tools has begun to change our understanding of place. When we can communicate, collaborate and relate without the boundaries of time or space, our understanding of place or where we are grounded is altered. It is possible that this change can be leveraged by schools to incorporate the academic collaboration and knowledge building that happens beyond the walls of the classroom into the students' "formal" learning environment. The impact that mobile media technologies have in this space was the focus of this action research project.
ACTION
In this fifth cycle of action, I helped a group of professors and their students strategize and implement the use of specific mobile media technologies (iPad Mini tablets) and related software (Pages, Maps With Me, Kindle) for their academic collaboration in the field on a four month Europe semester, study abroad program. The tablets were integrated into the syllabi for the courses, encouraging student's use of these tools to capture and reflect on their learning experiences in the places they visited (Athens, Rome, Florence, London ) and bring that documentation back to the group to share and collaborate. The hypothesis was that the use of these mobile media tools would enhance the students' experience "in country" and effectively enable their communication and collaboration without regard to place or time.
In this cycle 5 action, I researched and helped implement the use of Apple iPad mini tablets for a traveling group of 35 students and professor in a Westmont College off campus, travel abroad program. Word processors were vetted, deciding upon Pages for the student writing assignments and course reflections. Students used these tools in place of books, laptops and paper journals. In each location of their course of study, students used the iPad minis to collect evidence of their learning using text, audio, sketches and photographs to describe their experiences and aid in the knowledge they were building together.
CYCLE RESEARCH QUESTION
If iPad mini tablets are set up for a study abroad class as their primary tools for reading, writing and collaborating, how will the use of these mobile media technologies impact academic collaboration beyond the walls of the classroom?
If iPad mini tablets are set up for a study abroad class as their primary tools for reading, writing and collaborating, how will the use of these mobile media technologies impact academic collaboration beyond the walls of the classroom?
EVIDENCE USED TO EVALUATE THE ACTION
In this fifth cycle of action, an online survey questionnaire was given to the students and professors. This set of questions was collected two months into the program. This allowed the students and professors to reach a certain level of comfortability with these new tools and their academic application. The responses from this survey poll were put into a spreadsheet and analyzed for common themes and compared to research data from previous cycles. The survey included a mix a multiple choice questions and essay questions to allow participants to fully express their thoughts and ideas from this experience in integrating these mobile media tools into their global learning environment.
EVALUATION
Academic collaboration beyond the walls of the classroom begins with a good learning plan in the classroom. Mobile media technologies and the inherent social aspect they enable, are by no means transformative in and of themselves. Too often in academia the rush to implement the latest educational tool has resulted less than desirable results. The right tool then, combined with the right plan for the pedagogy and students has been shown to be a transformative combination. This research has looked at the impacts of mobile media technologies on student learning in a residential setting, in a file work group of student teachers connected to the residential campus and now a group of traveling students and professors working independent of the residential campus. The common thread for each of these phases of this research has been this combination of strategy and experimentation. We are entering a time in our society and education in general, where the use of personal mobile media technologies is blurring the lines between the formal (work and classroom) and informal parts of our lives.
The poll responses from the students and professors in this research project, documented their experience with this technology integration. Writing, reading, researching and collaborating wherever they were on their travels allowed their academic work to not be bound to any one physical space. As a result, the students responded that there was a greater freedom to interact with and reflect upon their experiences in this culture different than their own. With a more open access to technology use, these students found that their technology use enhanced their experience "in country". The survey responses point to a similar theme seen throughout the previous cycles of this research with regard to the importance of strategic use of technology. When properly planned and implemented, academic technology can be a helpful tool in expanding student learning beyond the walls of the classroom. While mobile media technologies are simply tools and not solutions in and of themselves, this research supports the potential their inclusion can provide in formal and informal learning environments.
Students on this educational trip in the past have taken over 25 pounds of books, laptops and cameras in support of their experience "in country." On this semester abroad, the students and professors were able to pack all of their reading needs in their coat pockets. The convenient size and mobility of the iPad mini allowed students to always have their learning tools with them as they focused on immersing themselves in the country and culture where they were located. The data in this cycle report was taken from student feedback on their educational experience.
The poll responses from the students and professors in this research project, documented their experience with this technology integration. Writing, reading, researching and collaborating wherever they were on their travels allowed their academic work to not be bound to any one physical space. As a result, the students responded that there was a greater freedom to interact with and reflect upon their experiences in this culture different than their own. With a more open access to technology use, these students found that their technology use enhanced their experience "in country". The survey responses point to a similar theme seen throughout the previous cycles of this research with regard to the importance of strategic use of technology. When properly planned and implemented, academic technology can be a helpful tool in expanding student learning beyond the walls of the classroom. While mobile media technologies are simply tools and not solutions in and of themselves, this research supports the potential their inclusion can provide in formal and informal learning environments.
Students on this educational trip in the past have taken over 25 pounds of books, laptops and cameras in support of their experience "in country." On this semester abroad, the students and professors were able to pack all of their reading needs in their coat pockets. The convenient size and mobility of the iPad mini allowed students to always have their learning tools with them as they focused on immersing themselves in the country and culture where they were located. The data in this cycle report was taken from student feedback on their educational experience.
The graph above reflects both the personal use of this technology and their use as a community. The first obvious benefit of these mobile tools was their portability in comparison to the pile of books, laptops and cameras that they were replacing. Students were able to access all of their personal and course information everywhere they went.
The students in this cycle used their mobile media tools to help them connect to the world around them. Advanced map features that did not require an internet connection, journaling with pictures and video and employing feature rich apps that provide language translations on the spot were just a few of the tech tools employed in this research. The responses from this group of students show that unlike previous off campus programs who viewed technology as a distraction, mobile media technologies did have a positive impact on their learning outside of the classroom. Their experience with these tools in a culture different than their own proved that when employed strategically, mobile media technologies can aid in the "in country" experience of 21st century students.
REFLECTION
This cycle of action research took the idea of technology assisted learning outside of the classroom beyond the regular daily lives of these students to see how they interacted as members of the global community. There remains much to learn about the effects of mobile device on learning and how these devices may have an impact on the neurological functions of learning. The one thing that is clear from this research is that these technologies are becoming more a part of a mainstream academic technology in most sectors of education. As we move to a more common acceptance of mobile media technologies in our daily work and living, we will see more innovation in this field. It will be important for educators and technology stewards to look ahead and be strategic in each of their digital habitats to leverage the connectivity that students already experience outside of the classroom with these devices. I feel that this year and a half project has given me an appreciation for how difficult it is for schools and educators to make changes to existing ways of the work they do. Time is always a limiting factor in the learning curve that usually comes along with the integration of anything new. The relationship of the technology steward to the student and educator as a partnership is priceless as we move forward. I also feel a great amount of excitement and hope to see how mobile media technologies can help us blur the lines between formal and informal learning.