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Learning Bridges
A role for mobile technologies in education
Giasemi [email protected]
withMike Sharples, Paul Rudman, Peter Lonsdale & Julia Meek
Outline Background
MyArtSpace: mobile learning in museums What it is, how it works, what it does
Bridge 1: Technology – Activity Bridge 2: Learning Spaces Bridge 3: Contexts Bridge 4: Technologies Making bridges steady Conclusions
MyArtSpace – What it is Service on mobile phones for
enquiry-led museum learning Aim to make school museum visits
more engaging and educational Learning through structured enquiry,
exploration, connection Combines
physical space (museum, classroom) virtual space (online store and
gallery) personal space (mobile phones)
Museum test sites Urbis (Manchester) The D-Day Museum (Portsmouth) The Study Gallery of Modern Art
(Poole) About 3000 children during 2006
MyArtSpace – How it works1. In the classroom:
Before the lesson: Teacher receives Teacher’s Pack and Lesson
Plans During the lesson:
Class discusses ‘big question’ to explore at the museum by collecting evidence
Teacher may or may not demo MyArtSpace
2. At the museum: Students are given Nokia 6680
multimedia mobile phones Use phones to ‘collect’ exhibits by
typing a two-letter code Prompted to type their reason for
collecting Document their experience (take
pictures, record sounds, write comments)
All exhibits and recordings are sent automatically to a personal web space
MyArtSpace – How it works
Wire, thread, fabric, acrylic paint and mosaic on a wood construction in cloud
Cloud Factory
Wire, thread, fabric, acrylic paint and mosaic on a wood construction in cloud
Cloud Factory
2. At the museum: Students are given Nokia 6680
multimedia mobile phones Use phones to ‘collect’ exhibits by
typing a two-letter code Prompted to type their reason for
collecting Document their experience (take
pictures, record sounds, write comments)
All exhibits and recordings are sent automatically to a personal web space
MyArtSpace – How it works
MyArtSpace – How it works
3. Back at school ICT lab: Personal website shows their
notes, recordings, pictures, exhibits
They can view others’ collections, and items provided by the museum
They can create personal online galleries to show teachers and classmates, and to friends and family outside school
MyArtSpace – What it does
bridge the children’s experiences of different contexts, media and content, leading to an integrated learning experience across formal and informal settings
MyArtSpace – What it does
bridge the children’s experiences of different contexts, media and content, leading to an integrated learning experience across formal and informal settings
Bridge 1: Technology – ActivityMobility in the technology and the learning activity For MyArtSpace:
Design mobile phone application and associated web portal AND ALSO:
Design 3-stage learning experience (classroom – museum – classroom/home)
Workshops involving designers and software engineers AND ALSO teachers, LEA reps, educational consultants, museum educators: What activities do we want the students to perform? How could these activities be structured into a sound learning
experience? What happens in the classroom and what in the museum? Does the same thing happen in every classroom/museum, with
any teacher/students? Can the teacher customise to match her teaching style, objectives and background?
What is the template of the learning experience? What functionality is needed?
Bridge 1: Technology – ActivityMobility in the technology and the learning activity
The design of the learning experience must go beyond the design of the technology, with clear purpose for the teaching and learning
Bridge needed between technology design and activity planning
Bridge 2: Learning SpacesAcknowledge and respect all learning spaces
Learning experience interactions in different spaces Physical space (e.g. museum) Virtual space (e.g. web portal) Personal space (e.g. mobile phone)
How much of the experience on each space? When? Where? Danger: draw visitor’s attention on virtual
space at the expense of the rich physical space do not immerse in one space at the expense of the others!
Bridge 2: Learning SpacesAcknowledge and respect all learning spaces
Preparing yet another space on which students can interact and learn should be done with respect for the already available spaces.
Bridge possible between different learning spaces – but is it needed?
Bridge 3: ContextsFill in the gaps between museum, classroom and home “Learning is a cumulative process involving connections
and reinforcement among the variety of learning experiences people encounter in their lives: at home, during schooling, and out in the community and workplace” (Dierking et al. 2003)
“making the links between school and museum learning explicit, genuine, and continuous affords real opportunities for school students to have enjoyable learning experiences in both settings.” (Griffin 2004)
Opportunity for connected learning experiences in the classroom, the museum and at home Through constructed artefacts that transfer automatically
between contexts Through continuation of learning in both formal and informal
contexts
Bridge 3: ContextsFill in the gaps between museum, classroom and home
Learning is cumulative, and learning experiences should be connected across formal and informal contexts.
Much needed bridge between different contexts and settings is possible
Bridge 4: TechnologiesDivide and conquer Do not digitise and ‘mobilise’ for the sake of it:
Use mobile technology where it brings the most value – e.g. for data collection in the museum
Then ‘bridge’ it to technologies used in other parts of the experience – e.g. the exhibits, installations and printed media in the museum, the ICT suite at school
To decide what type of technology to use where, break down experience into activities; then for each ask: What will be the location? What are the human factors? What technology is already available? What are the technical requirements for the UI? What is the cost of transition from this activity to the
next one?
Bridge 4: TechnologiesDivide and conquer
Carefully select the technology (mobile or otherwise) that is most appropriate for the specific activity.
Much needed bridge between different technologies to reduce ‘technology switch’ overloads
Steady Bridges ‘Aggressive’ collection:
In the museum, students collect too many items, take fat too many photos and record too much audio; then …
In the classroom, hard even to manipulate – much harder to interpret and use constructively.
Solutions: restrict the number of items a student can collect during a visit; allow more time for the post-visit experience; etc.
Continuous evaluation and fine-tuning of the new technology with the learning practice adjustment of peripheral and contextual support, like
lesson planning, IT support, and activity planning
Conclusions Mobile technologies can form bridges between
technologies, contexts, experiences and learning spaces.
Learner enabled not only to use new technologies, but also to perform new activities with them.
Teachers enabled not only to put lots of learning ‘stuff’ on a gadget and hand to students, but also to plan new learning experiences for them.
New tools that enable learners to perform new activities may change the way they perceive and carry out old activities; continuous evaluation and fine-tuning is therefore essential.