RCA 2013 - Background Paper - Complete Paper - 03.09.13 (1)

Moving Towards an Augmented Learning Paradigm:

Using Mobile Devices to enhance Student Learning Experiences

2014 DEVICE RECOMMENDATION

BACKGROUND PAPER

Prepared for the

Combined Leadership/Executive Meeting

11 September 2013

Rebecca Carter - Director of eLearning

Mobile Devices augment each and every Learners Cognitive Capabilities anytime,

anywhere, any place. Mobile Devices are therefore the vehicle by which Marcellin

College can personalise and enrich every learners individual learning experience

which, in turn, democratises the very process of Learning.

BACKGROUND PAPER CONTENTS

I

Evidence: Current Devices

and Learning?

2013 Internal Action Research

(December 2012 August 2013)

iPad/Samsung Device Trial Information provided to Staff (December 2012)

2013 Samsung Slate/iPad Trial Survey Raw Data Initial Collation (July

2013)

Staff Survey Software Use Current Device (Laptop/Tablet/iPAD) (August

2013)

iPad Trial Users Questionnaire

II

Devices: Nuts&Bolts

Device Specfications & Costings

Acer 8GB Notebook (Supply for Year 2013 Year 7 Students)

iPad

Apple TV

III

Devices: Augmented Learning?

The Case for Mobile Devices

(Learning)

Foundations: Defining Mobile Devices to enhance Learning

Foundations: A Mobile Paradigm of Learning

Content

Interaction and Assessment

Social Learning

IV

Synergies to Enable and Sustain

Augmented Learning

I. Adopting a Systemic Change Management Model to enable ICT

Innovation

II. Building and Sustaining a Professional Learning Community

Continuously Focused on Learning



I: Evidence - Current Devices and Learning?

Action Research

(December 2012 August 2013)

4

(A) iPad/Samsung Device Trial Information provided to Staff (December 2012)

Figure 1.1: Device Pilot Department Agreement

Figure 1.2: Device Pilot - Staff Agreement (Dec. 2012)

5

Figure 1.3: iPad APPs List Provided to Staff/Departments

6

(B): Summary - Samsung Slate/iPad Staff Usability Survey Results

(Reported to Leadership/Staff July-August 2013)

9

(C): Whole College Survey Software Use Current

Device (Laptop) (August 2013)

Staff Respondents: 87

FOCUS: Staff Use of College Provided Laptop

Q1: Please indicate the applications you currently use on

your college provided computer.

Windows Live Essentials

Microsoft Office Professional 2010

Adobe Creative Suite 5

Geogebra

ArcGIS Explorer

Trend Antivirus

Firefox

iTunes

Audacity

ClickView

DVD Flick

Google Chrome + proxy switcher

Google Sketchup

Google Earth

Picasa

OpenOffice 3.2.1

PDF Creator 1.1.0

Skype

Super

VLC Player 1.1.5 (Dec 4, 2010)

WinRAR

Adobe Reader 10.0

Adobe Flash 10.1.102.64

Adobe Shockwave Player 11.5.9.615

Microsoft Photostory

Microsoft Silverlight Player

Windows 7 Image Resizer

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

FoxIT Reader

Daisy Digital Planner

Quickbooks Student Edition

Synergetic

11

Q2 - Relating to Staff:

Which device will enhance your ability to deliver optimal

student learning experiences in your classrooms?*

Windows tablet

Windows laptop

iPad

Q3 - Relating to Students:

Which device do you believe optimises student

learning experiences in your classrooms?*

Windows tablet

Windows laptop

iPad

12

Q4: (For Staff Using College Laptops) - From the Apps

supplied on the Student Laptops, which do you current

use?

13

Q4: (For Staff Using Samsung Tablets) - From the Apps

supplied on the Student Laptops, which do you current

use?

Q4: (For Staff Using Samsung Tablets) Please List the

Tablet Apps (Samsung) that you use to enhance student

learning in the classroom:

-

Triptico, Quizlet, Explain Everything, Flashcards, Google

Drive, Show Me

-

Maths300

NLVM

Irfanview

TI-Nspire CAS

14

Q4: (For Staff Using iPads) Please list the Apps you

Use to Enhance Student Learning in the Classroom:

-

The students don't have iPads so it has not been possible. Nor do

the run windows 8. I mainly use online applications from Ebooks

and web interactives.

-

SKYPE , UTUBE , VLC ,LANGUAGE PERFECT

-

Linoit, twiddla,

-

Google Drive, Docs , Pages , Quiz App (AlphaHistory) ,

Dropbox , ABC iview

{Disclaimer: still learning but not sure ipad can do everything. Is

there a descent Windows tablet?}

-

Movie maker , One note , Flash card, Pinterest

-

Lino , khan academy

-

Explain everything , ITunes U , Coach my video , Pages , Tabata

pro , Hoop stats , Prezi , Fitness meter , Google drive , Drop

box , Numbers , Scan , PDF forms , Phoster , Switch ,

ColourSplash , You tube , Twitter , IBooks , Time motion ,

Touchcast Strava , Lapse it , Camera , Clock , Garmin connect

-

General: Prezi web based presentation tool , iTunesU great

list of free courses and resources , Recorder a quick way to

record class performances and then email them to

students/parents ; Google - search (voice/goggles) ; Safari - web

browser ; Quizlet good for music glossary learning and

revision ; Reference Music History: Pandora - online radio

Art AuthorityK12 collection of over 1000 major artists from

ancient times to today ; History of Jazz interactive history of

Jazz ; MyClassicalApp a great introduction to the orchestra for

junior students ; MSO Learn another great introduction to the

orchestra for middle school students ; Orchestra one of the best

apps for introducing instruments of the orchestra and analysis of

selected works with synced notation and video/audio footage

Music Notation: Notion currently one of the best notation apps

available for iPad ; Music Theory/Aural Scales and Modes

scale and mode theory/aural app ; Wolfra-

theory/aural/definitions app ; Jazz Buddy chord theory app

Theory Calculator scales, chords and interval theory/aural app

ReadRhythm rhythm reading app

Performance: iRealbook great app for teaching form and

improvisation ; Creativity: Garageband - a multi-track audio

editing app Instrumental Music Studio; Practific practice

assistant for student musicians. It makes practicing rewarding

while helping organize and automatically keep records of what

students done. It allows students to keep teachers and parents

updated with quick email reports on practice completed.

Avid Scorch- viewer and play back of Sibelius files. Great for

backing playback. ; JotNot Pro scan and email music to

students ; SoundCloud record your students and seek feedback

from teachers and other specialist musicians. Tempo Slow - good

app for slowing down backing tracks ; Metronome -

VocalWarmUp many good apps such as this exist for various

instruments ; Ensembles - APS Music great for use in

rehearsals with bands, orchestras and choirs; Cleartune - tuner

Pitch Pro virtual pitch pipe ; Percussive good mallet

percussion app ; Percussive (Latin) good Latin percussion app

-

Grammar ; plan my run

-

Explain everything,

-

Dropbox , Good reader , Pages , Keynote , Autonote , Prezi

Typography , iBooks , Dictionary , TED , Twitter , Flipboard

And more...

-

Google Earth , Google Maps , Youtube, Quakes , Dropbox

Evernote, SOPHIA, Edmodo

-

Movie maker, audacity, jing, prezi, time motion

-

I dont use apps in the classroom as I have not accessed a tablet or

ipad.

-

You tube , DVDs , powerpoint

-

Skype , Edmodo , Inspiration , Lino, Evernote

-

I am currently working with a laptop computer so have not

trialled apps in my classroom. However I have used my own

ipad and we have looked at online newspapers (my personal

subscription) as just one example. There are many apps I would

be investigating if this is the way we go.

-

Not sure if these are 'apps' but" youtube downloader, Interactive

websites (that's about all

enjoyed using promethean software previously...)

-

dragon dictation , school notes , barefoot atlas , imovie , Khan

academy

-

metronome , itunes , tuner , diary , calendar , MSO app

- current computer does not support this

15

-

whatever is available to support the task undertaking.

-

I-Tunes, Garage Band, Sound Cloud, the History of Jazz, logic

-

On laptop use

only basic things like Microsoft Office - Word, Power-point,

Went to PD last month for iPad and saw many apps

-

Aides can share ipad - I personally haven't had the chance to use

apps as yet.

-

imovie, dragon speaking audio note, sticky board, maths magic,

simplepedia, dropbox, puppet pals, edmomdo, book creator,

imoition HD

-

- Key Note , Edmodo , Entrepreneur , Marketing Forecast

-

no apps, own material

-

N/A

-

None yet but have a few downloaded and ready to go.

Use a number of Web 2.0 tools.

-

Graphing Package , TI Inspire software, Excel spreadsheet

-

I have not used apps in class

-

iMovie , You Tube , Internet

-

keynote , wikipanion , edmodo , art gallery , national gallery of

victoria , 1 point perspective

-

audacity , garage band (used in past) , google earth/live cam

inspiration (used in past) , edmodo

-

nil (at this time) with an iPad but I have used it extensively

previously.

-

the age app , photos app , safari , better health, the weather

channel , you tube , abc iview , evernote , dragon dictation

calculator , google maps , google earth , dictionary . com ,

science quiz , world documentary , Khan Academy , TED ,

Quote , Kinetic Balls 2 , audio note lite

-

I was wanting to refer to Macbook/Ipad combo.

I use Total Recall at the moment (mindmapping app) - looking

forward to seeing what applications I can use in tomorrow's

meeting!

16

(A) iPad Trial User APP Questionnaire (20.08

30.08.13)

N.B: Six (6) of the Eleven (11) Required iPad Trial Users

completed this Questionnaire. One (1) additional staff member

using his own iPad voluntarily completed the Questionnaire.

This questionnaire asks you to comment on how you have used the

iPad Apps prescribed by your 'iPad User Agreement' in December

2012 (attached) and the iPAD Apps that you may have purchased

in addition to those prescribed using the $100 iTunes card provided

to you (and your own funds).

If you did not load or use the prescribed App indicated, please

write 'NIL' in the spaces provided.

There are three (3) pages of questions:

Page 1 - Prescribed Apps: For each prescribed app that you used,

briefly explain how you used this app to improve the teaching and

learning process for your Class/Students (if an APP did NOT,

please indicate why you would NOT recommend the particular

APP).

Page 2 - Personal Choice Apps using the $100 iTunes card: For

each App you chose to purchase, please indicate the cost and how

you used this App to improve the teaching and learning process for

your Class/Students/Department (if an APP did NOT, please

indicate why you would NOT recommend this particular APP)

Page 3 - Self-Funded Personal Choice Apps: These are Apps you

may have purchased using your own funds. Again, please indicate

the cost and how each App improved the teaching and learning

process for your Class/Students/Department (if an APP did NOT,

please indicate why you would NOT recommend this APP).

As outlined in the email sent to you with the link for this

questionnaire, it would be wise to first reacquaint yourself with the

Prerequisite apps and those you purchased with the $100 College

provided iTunes card prior to commencing this quiz.

NOTE: It is estimated that the questionnaire will take you between

30-60 minutes to complete.

Q1 RESPONSES:

Did not have this app. as explained in my email I was not given an

IPAD with the trial uses, I had one 6 months before this.

Have only used it a couple of times. Used it with several different

word documents. Team sheets, extras etc. Very easy to use but

haven't needed to use

NIL

Haven't used pages

I didn't - I felt believed the College was going to use the Samsung so I

put all my learning into that computer device

Have only used it a couple of times. Used it with several different

word documents. Team sheets, extras etc. Very easy to use but

haven't needed to use

Mainly to store and share files and student files and work. Pages

seems to be the predominant conversion from files that student send

me. It is useful in how I use it with my students although I do have

problems when I am on different devices and using edmodo which is

where I might access edmodo and want to store files.

I was not part of the iPad trial but I have been using my own device in the classroom this term.i have used pages on a couple of occasions as

word processor but I have found it a bit awkward. I think it could have

other applications due its design capabilities but I haven't repent

enough time on it.I have had better success thus far using Google

Docs

Q2 RESPONSES:

Haven't used Keynote

Have not used it yet really. Have played with it a little but prefer

PREZI. Might be different if we had Apple TV

I haven't bought keynote yet but should have bought this app instead

of pages I feel.

Did have some keynote presentations but need more time to practice

and use this presentation app.

A couple of small presentations as a trial. Not really all that useful as

I used the laptop's Powerpoint in preference, as it's easier to connect

to projector.

Did not have this app on my IPAD

I didn't - I felt believed the College was going to use the Samsung so I put all my learning into that computer device

Q3 RESPONSES:

Have only used it to open excel documents sent to me. Haven't had

the need to do more than that.

Haven't used numbers

Don't have it.

I have not used numbers in the first semester with my students. I am

on leave during second semester and hope to use this app on my

return.

NIL Did not have this APP on my iPad

17

I didn't - I felt believed the College was going to use the Samsung so I put all my learning into that computer deviceve this APP on my

IPAD

Q4 RESPONSES:

I have made small videos that have been placed on the Plasma screens

around the school. Great APP, very easy to use.

Haven't used imovie

Don't have it.

I have not used imovie with my students in first semester.

Trialled using iMovie to edit footage of classroom teaching taken with

iPad. Idea was sound but implementation was tricky. Edited footage

was huge, upload options limited from iPad. Could be very useful to

create vodcast style notes

Great. Used this for one of my support students who is making a

movie. Great app and engaging.

I didn't download this app

Q5 RESPONSES:

File sharing photos and videos with both students, teachers and

parents. Very simple file sharing across all devices.

Photo sharing with students- particularly taking pics of notes on the

whiteboard

I have used this to share documents with other teachers. I use the

Dropbox feature on mconline for student to pass on their work.

I have found drop box very useful for storing photos and some files. I

have found this very user friendly and amazed at how it automatically

syncrinizes from my iphone to the drop box. I am continuing to learn

more about the drop box but have particularly found it useful for my

extra curricula activity of rugby and being able to share photos.

Extensively used to transfer info such as documents, images of notes,

assignments, etc... Each class has own dropbox folder. Platform

agnostic, so kids with non-Apple phones/tablets can still easily acces

data/images

Used this to share photos



Q6 RESPONSES:

Didn't download

Didnt

Dont have it

I have not really used GoodReader and need to learn more about

it

Top-notch PDF reader, useful to view eBooks, show solutions to

problems (from solutions documents)

Do not have this APP on my iPad

I didnt download this APP

Q7 RESPONSES:

Didnt download

Didnt

Dont have it

Yes, I have often used the Dictionary. As a personal reference, in

class on the screen and as a reference

Did not have this APP on my iPad

This is an excellent App

Q8 RESPONSES:

Didnt download

Didnt

A handy App for History and Politics classes. Used for geopolitical

analysis

I have not used this app but intend to use it in second semester for

Year 7s in Geography


I did not download this APP

Q9 RESPONSES:

Resource lots of educational videos relating to Excel, sporting

success, sporting techniques. This has been used in preparation for

classes.

for displaying videos in VCE class, for researching

Used quite often for short clips for History and politics. The only

issue is that the Internet speed and reliability always lets me down so I

usually download the clips.

Have used You tube many times.

In Business Managment when looking at Business Plans and episodes

of Ramsay Kitchen nightmares, which critically looks at restaurants as

business and how they can improve. Also the show "Mary Queen of

Shops" which is another program that studies unsuccessful business'.

Have accessed songs for meditations in year 11 R&S. In looking at

Ethics in R&S I have accessed presentations on good and evil. Year 7

studies have viewed documentaries on the Mass, catholicism and

Marists.

NIL Used for Staff reflections. Students used to inform themselves on how

to do different activities. Great visual tool for hands on learners



18

Q10 RESPONSES:

Research basketball and education forums. Stay in touch with wider

Marcellin Community

just for information gathering

Just been convinced to join. Using it to get elearning ideas and sharing

them.

Have not really used twitter except to be logged into school twitter.

NIL

Did not use



Q11 RESPONSES:

View my twitter account sometimes, not too much more than that.

Didnt

Dont have it

Have not used it

Setup with IT based RSS feeds to keep informed on current info in IT

field. Allowed for interesting topical discussions in class




Q12 RESPONSES:

Didnt download, used Face time though

Didnt

Havent Used it

Have not used Skype

NIL

Used for a student who is away from school once a week due to his

medical condition. This kept him in contact with us and with his

learning.



Q13 RESPONSES:

Have not used it, prefer PTV

Didnt

Dont have it

Have not used Metlink

NIL

Do not have this APP on my iPad



Q14 RESPONSES:

Didnt download

Didnt

Dont teach RE

Year 7 Explore and Year 11 R&S in citing references, both in class on

the board and personally.

NIL




Q15 RESPONSES:

Didnt download

Watching documentaries e.g. catalyst

Current news clips for politics

Excellent reference to past programmes. Have shown many four

corners reports to year 11 R&S. Year 11 Business Management have

also seen one four corners report, many episodes of the Gruen

Transfer.Excellent reference to past programmes. Have shown four

corners report, many episodes of the Gruen Transfer.

NIL

Used this to show some interesting clips/shows for discussion with the

students.



Q16 RESPONSES:

Tried to use by finding some good resources. Jumped into a western

Australian uni PE library but it didn't really suit me too much. Need to

spend more time here, hopefully being guided by someone with good

knowledge of library's and resources.

download professional reading and music for prezi's

Have it but unsure how to use it effectively.

i have not used iTunesU.

NIL

Did not have this APP on my IPAD



19

Q17: The Pre-requisite Apps on your 'iPad Trial User Agreement'

cost approximately $50.00. Please LIST BELOW THE APPS

YOU PURCHASED FROM THE ITUNES STORE USING THE

REMAINING FUNDS from your $100 iTunes giftcard.

In so listing, please briefly indicate HOW THE APP YOU

PURCHASED ASSISTED YOUR EFFORTS TO INVIGORATE

THE TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESSES IN YOUR

CLASSES/DEPARTMENT.

e.g. ITHOUGHTS HD ($10.49) - MINDMAPPING TOOL: Used

in all RE and History classes whenever undertaking initial

conceptual brainstorming; faciltated student ability to

collaboratively design and refine Key Inquiry Questions when APP

projected onto EWB using Apple TV or iPad VGA adaptor. Could

be used across a range of disciplines and year levels.

Teacher Response (1):

EXPLAIN EVERYTHING ($2.99)is an interactive whiteboard that

has allowed me to make small videos on topics covered in my class. I

can annotate, animate, narrate, import and export anything I like to

allow students to review material covered in class. Perfect for the

flipped classroom. AWESOME!

COACH MY VIDEO ($free) - awesome coaching APP that allows

side by side important of videos and photos. this can give immediate

visual feedback to students on technique improvements

HOOPSTATS ($5.50)- live game data collection of basketball stats.

Fantastic for analysis and improvement of training programs. has been

used for the 1st basketball program.

TIMEMOTION ($free)- Live collection of sporting performance data

for VCE PE program. Allows student to observe any game and collect

data on different movement patterns.

SKITCH ($free but think i might need to pay for better PDF features

in future) - has enable me to annotate images and documents with

ease and send these on to staff and students.

TABATTA ($2.99) -Awesome interval timer used for both PE classes

and sport training. you just set up your Work:Rest ratio and the APP

uses your music library to differentiate between the work and then the

rest intervals

SCAN ($free)QR scanner that is a bit of fun to add variety to how you

deliver your content. Have made a few Amazing Race/scavenger hunt

activities

STRAVA ($free)- has been incorporated into the VCE PE Training

programs. Fantastic run tracker APP that collects GPS data and splits

times (1km), allows groups to be formed so that everyone can monitor

progress. (data collected via any type of phone or Heart rate monitor,

analysed via APP

LAPSE IT ($1.99) -time lapse photography APP. Just a great way to

showcase some activities covered within our program.

PREZI ($free) Great interactive presenting internet based

presentation program This APP allows all PREZIs to be viewed on

an iPad

PHOSTER ($1.99) Simple program to make eye catching posters for

any part of your program.

GOOGLE DRIVE ($free) Provides simple access to google drive,

therefore great file sharing


I have mainly purchased free apps for the ipad. The only things that I

have paid for have been TED books that I have used for professional

learning and explain everything.

Explain everything is a screencast app used to create videos. It has

been used for VCE classes where short and sharp videos are useful for

introducing or summarising course material.

Teacher Response (3): I am not part of the iPad trial but Apps

I have bought and used are:

AlphaHistory French & Russian Revolution Quiz.

World Factbook

Jotnot pro.


PENULTIMATE (not sure of cost) - have been able to use this app

like I have been writing.

Used in Business Management on some business plans.

BOOK CREATOR FOR IPAD (cost not sure) - app enable user to

create a book on the topic of their choice. attempted to use this app

with a gun year 7 for the ancient civilization unit. Needed to rely on

students own resources but chose not to publish fearing uncertainty of

publishing consequences. This was confirmed following an ipad PD

that gave me the idea. I do intent to look further into this and develop

this idea.

LEGAL AND COPYRIGHT SMALL BUSINESS TOOLKIT (not

sure of cost) - a useful tool in helping Year 11 Business Management

students in working on their Business Plan assignment.

ENTREPRENEUR DAILY (not sure of cost) - very useful in

providing tips and insights into running business. Used in Year 11

Business Management in studying business success and reasons for

failure.

MONOPOLY HOTELS (not sure of cost) - a great game to get

students thinking about real estate and operating business. Used in

year 11 Business and Year 10 Prices, Money and Enterprise.

EDMODO (FREE) - I use edmodo as my chronicle and communicate

with students.

TELL IT: SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS CASE STUDY (not sure of

cost) - a useful app that looks at business' as case studies. Used once

in Year 11 Business Management.

STOCK MARKET: HOW TO INVEST (unsure of cost) -

STOCKS & STOCK MARKET NEWS (unsure of cost)

STOCK MARKET LESSONS (unsure of cost) - above apps were

used mainly by me in preparation for the stock market unit in Year 10

Prices Money and Enterprise. The stock market unit was covered

intermittently while we covered the economics unit. I need to do more

work with these apps to make them more relevant to the classroom.

20


PENULTIMATE (FREE) - NOTE TAKING TOOL

(HANDWRITING)Used to take brief notes in class (demo a solution

to a problem). Could be used across a range of disciplines and year

levels.

EVERNOTE (FREE) - NOTE TAKING TOOL Note taking app.

Allows for sync across multiple platforms. Could be used to share

data with students. Could be used across a range of disciplines and

year levels.

MYSCRIPT CALCULATOR (FREE) CALCULATOR Allows for

handwriting recognition. Useful to solve/answer simple problems

around the classroom.

TINYSCAN PRO (FREE - NORMALLY $4.99) - Scan to PDF

Useful to scan documents for storage/transfer. Could be used across a

range of disciplines and year levels.

WIFI PHOTO TRANSFER (FREE) - IMAGE TRANSFER APP

Allows access to iPad photo libraries via w-ifi from any computer

with a web browser. Easy way to get photos/videos off iPad onto

computer. Could be used across a range of disciplines and year levels.

CALENDARS+ (FREE - NORMALLY $7.49) - CALENDAR

APPKeep track of assignments etc. Nicer than the standard calendar.

Could be used across a range of disciplines and year levels.

VOICE RECORD PRO (FREE) - AUDIO RECORDER Trialed as

podcast style recorder... I now know my voice sounds lousy! Could be

used across a range of disciplines and year levels.

OUTLINE+ (FREE - NORMALLY $15.99) - ONENOTE

REPLACEMENT FOR IOS Note-taking, list making & outline tool.

Used to take meeting notes. Very powerful, lots of export options and

fully compatible with OneNote on PC

WISE (FREE 100 SCAN DEMO - OTHERWISE US$20 PER

YEAR) - AUTOMATIC GRADING APP Very_ useful marking tool

for multiple choice and true/false type quizzes & tests. Still can't

export raw data though, it's custom formatted as a .pdf report. Could

be used across a range of disciplines and year levels. _NOTE - All of

these paid apps acquired for free, were obtained as "App of the day"

type specials Woo hoo!


I did not get the voucher.I did have $50 I tunes that was refunded for.

Apps I have used....

Dragon Dictation- used for myself to take notes and jot down

ideas.USed for a number of students, where they could talk their

knowledge without written constraints and the app would write it for

them. they could then edit and send/email it to their teachers, or

themselves. This has been a great tool for dyslexic students

STICKY BOARD 2 Sticky notes- used for memos and students used

for homework

Khan Academy. Brilliant APP. Used this to teach myself some maths

so I could then support a student with their work. Also did the same

for a science unit. Also student used this app themselves to help them

with revision and understanding of their science concepts. Great for a

student who is often absent due to illness and they could use this app

to teach them the concept they missed out on.

BAREFOOT ATLAS- used with students as a tool for understanding

the world and countries. Great engaging and interactive.

MY HOMEWORK - showed this app to 2 students who were

struggling with organizing their homework. Set up for them so they

could use on their phone . It was simple and easy to use to help record

and organize their homework support.

AUSLAN tutor - USed this to support hearing impaired students in

communicating more effectively

HANGMAN- used as a tool for low spellers to motiviate and engage

them and to improve spelling techniques.

School NOTES app- used this for older secondary students ( can be

used for any student) .. THey could use this to enter notes form their

lesson, use as a calendar reminder, develop their presentations in,

develop their notes /flash cards, for presentations, or for information

recording. Great APP.

MATHS PAD- used for weak maths students. It was a great

supportive app to practice their basic maths operations. kept records

of their progress.

ASK 3- Only starting to use this and want to develop this more.

Record what we know or want to find out and share with the class and

reply with video comments,

BOOK Creator- used with 2 students . Enhanced engagement with

reading and literacy. Supported their Spelling and sentence structure .

The AGE app- able to use this to develop critical thinking from news

breaking articles /stories /editorials. Developed conversational skills

and developing oral communication and inferential comprehension .

FORMATIVE Feedback - Brilliant. USed heaps with ASD students

Being able to give visual reinforcement or feedback on how to do a

task, or read a situation. Excellent app.

JOTNOT- used to scan students work to keep electronic records


I downloaded the required apps and then some other grammar, text related apps whcih I didn't use because:I felt believed the College was

going to use the Samsung so I put all my learning into that computer

device

Q18: Use this space to list any additional APPs that you may have

purchased (in addition to those purchased using the College

provided $100 iTunes Card). Please ensure you indicate how you

used these Apps to facilitate student/class learning as per the

previous question. Haven't spent all my $100 dollars therefore all my apps are on the

previous page.

Paper- used to create mini documents for sharing

Quizlet- to create quizzes

TED Books- for professional reading

Keeper- to store passwords

Readability- document sharing and storing

Flashcards- to make concept cards

Google drive- for online sharing

Slo pro- for recording students and sharing

NIL

Nothing to add to this section.

NIL

Still going to try out some other new apps in the near future, such as

iAnnotate (mentioned above)

Generally though, there are not many genuinely useful apps in the

field of Maths education at VCE level, that would replace the

dedicated programs on the PC that I use daily (TI-Nspire CAS,

Graphmatica, TiCalc, Excel - Numbers just doesn't quite stack up,

Classpad, various Flash apps & Java applets)

Record them all in the above.

Twelve Angry Men quiz

How Grammar works

The Age

Not sure about the others

21



II: Devices Nuts & Bolts

Device Specifications & Costings

22

ACER 8GB Travelmate Notebook (Current Supply to 2013 Year 7 Students)

23

iPad (Retina Display WiFi 32GB, 64GB, APP) + Apple Care + Case/Keyboard Options

24

(I) Apple TV (with AppleCare Protection Plan):

26



III: DEVICES AUGMENTED LEARNING?

USING MOBILE DEVICES TO ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING

27

III: USING MOBILE DEVICES TO ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING

(A) Foundations: Defining Mobile Devices to Support Learning

A fundamental, global revolution on learning in primary, secondary and higher education is being sparked by the

ubiquity of mobile devices. As such, the opportunity is ripe for students, teachers and leaders to take advantage of

mobile technology to meaningfully enhance the learning experiences of all stakeholders within their learning

communities.

(a) Foundations - Understanding How Convergent Models of Mobile Devices support Learning:

Since the 1970s, the possibilities of using Mobile devices (Portable Phones, PDAs, Digital Media Players, Apple

iPods, Nintendo DS/Game Boy, Playstation Portable (PSP), Smartphones) to support Learning has been

converging as devices have begun increasingly integrating a rich set of capabilities. Today, tablets although

considered by many to be a divergence as they typically do not have cell phone voice technologies but can get data

through wireless phone networks or through Wi Fi in other cases are also converging due their form being

roughly book sized, the greater screen area allowing tablets to support rich media consumption and therefore deep

engagement for learners.

Moreover, Tablet touch screens and more intimate viewing positions makes the experience on a tablet

fundamentally different from that on a laptop at arms length, but the tablets size is less mobile and less likely to

be always with the individual, changing the nature of the interaction. For this reason, Tablets make sense for

formal learning; particularly as more cross-platform solutions become available that go beyond just media playing

to support rich interaction; both programmatic and social. Thus, the potential of Tablets to support learning is

extremely high.

At the core of Mobile Devices are platforms that use a processor coupled with memory running an operating

system in a mobile form. There have to be sensors and input devices that allow the device to communicate with

the user, and connection capabilities that allow the processor to connect to the rest of the digital world, whether

continuously or intermittently. The convergent model of Mobile Devices best suited to support learning is a

device that:

1. Has a processor and a memory on board

2. Has an operating system

3. Supports a suite of supplied or customised applications (apps) to run

4. Provides a way for the device to communicate to the user, whether audio, screen, or vibration

5. Enables the user to communicate to the device, whether audio, touchscreen, physical inputs, or a

combination

6. Possesses a way for the device to communicate to the digital world, whether though mobile phone

networks, wi-fi or occasional synchronisation via cables

7. Has ways for the device to sense the ambient environment such as with camera, microphone, or GPS

8. Has quick access, meets the requirement for instant on, and high reliability.

9. Is able to share information between devices

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(a) Mobile Device Capabilities that enhance Learning

(i) Communication - Output

The first way Mobile devices differ from Laptop, Netbook or Desktop technologies is in the way they

communicate with the user. Main mechanisms are visual, auditory, and haptic (physical feedback). In all cases,

the goal is to communicate to the user information that they are looking for. This information may be analogue,

semantic and continual or discrete.

Screens are a common way devices communicate with users. From limited black and white screens, we have

moved to screen resolutions that begin to approach those first seen on desktops, with colour and screen sizes

capable of showing movies. Screens tap into our powerful visual processing systems.

Projection is a new capability wherein devices not only present on a screen but also beam the image onto a nearby

surface, which, in turn, facilitates sharing the output. While generally known as personal devices, mobile devices

shift learners away from 1:1 learning by sharing what is being learnt amongst many.

Lights are another way devices can communicate. They can change colour, can flash, or simple toggle between on

and off status. While not a rich media, lights can provide status information.

Earphones are essentially the same as speakers but are private rather than shared.

Haptic communication is a tactile category, wherein the output comes from physical movement. A familiar

mechanism is vibration. Though it may seem inconsequential, the physical feedback (the touch of a keyboard) is

important to many learners.

(ii) Input:

By being able to communicate with (and through) Mobile Devices, we are able to deliver both mobile processing

and augmentation possibilities. There are a variety of ways we can provide input to a device, mostly centred on

Figure 1:

The Mobile Device

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digital, which means via fingers not binary data. Input typically must communicate a selection between options,

indicate a changing state, or specify a point along one dimension or two (such as screen location). A variety of

Mobile Devices have evolved to variously support these needs:

Touch Screens: Advances in sensing and user interface (UI) have allowed fingers to be effectively accurate

pointers and represent many familiar hardware devices, notably buttons, keypads, and keyboards, but use touch

sensitivity rather than dedicated mechanics.

Buttons: a simple form of input that signal a state change, or, when held according to a time function usually with

visual feedback, can indicate a point in a continuum. Coupled with visual cues, soft buttons can also convey

different meaning in different contexts, unlike fixed buttons which have a specific purpose (e.g. on-off buttons).

Keypads: an array of buttons for specialised functions. They can be specialised or have a familiar layouts (the 10

key arrangement for phone numbers or numeric data)

Keyboards: Keypads specifically for textual input, though they often support other buttons and keypads.

Track wheels or jog dials: input devices with a round wheel (iPod) that uses rotary motion to map to a continuum

of values (e.g. rolling left turns down volume). They often work in other dedicated roles as well, e.g. buttons for

up, down, forward and back.

Accelerometers: small instruments that can detect movement, providing a new way for users to communicate to

their devices. By shaking or turning a device, users can signal an action.

Voice: Sometimes a control option, voice recognition works for both direct commands and text-entry mechanism.

(iii) Sensors:

Mobile devices do not have to be totally dependent on user input to understand what context they are in.

Microcircuits have been developed that can take a wider variety of information from their environment.

o GPS: Is a geolocation approach that triangulates position using a set of orbiting satellites in known locations.

o Camera: Capable of still or video capture, they can also stream the camera image to the screen, with

additional information laid on.

o Microphones: allow devices to hear what is available in the environment as ambient information and to record

audio. A second microphone can be present, to detect and be used to cancel out ambient noise.

o Compass: capabilities allow devices to know which direction they are facing. This information can be

productively coupled with GPS systems to provide more location data and to support augmented reality.

o Accelerometers: Can be used for input from the user and can provide information about the users movements

in the broader context.

(iv) Apps

Input, output, sensing and connecting are coordinated via software running on the underlying platform via

application programming interfaces (APIs). APIs are interfaces to various features of the operating system,

including available hardware. Different platforms have different operating systems and therefore software, but

they share the fact that they have applications, can connect to and through various networks.

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Applications are needed to run on the mobile processor to support various tasks. Some are built in and are viewed

as meeting core needs. App stores have provided a broad variety of personalisation and customisation.This means

that it is through Apps that users can augment chosen capabilities by purchasing additional software from a suite

of developed software. Users might choose tools to access information in a variety of ways or perform custom

tasks. Users, such as reasonably skilled web designers, can also create their own applications.

Personal information management (PIM) involves the suite of core applications that include: notes or memos;

contacts or addresses; calendar or events; tasks or to-do-lists. These personal productivity tools support user

goals. Calculators and alarms are other examples of PIMs.

Media Viewers such as Media Players are core to most Mobile devices. They start with audio and video playback

but can also include viewing documents in few or a variety of document formats.

Media Capture whether audio or video is used for recording or text input; this includes drawing graphics on

devices.

Web browsing is a ubiquitous capability in most Mobile Devices although not all users have independent data

plans that enable 24/7 use independent of location (e.g WiFi hotspots or School WiFi networks)

Communication is the most common capability that Apps provide. While phones provide voice and text

messaging, other devices can also accommodate email and IM (instant messaging). Connections to social

networking sites are also enabled (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) which crosses the categories of IM and social

networking. Video chat, which uses additional cameras on the same side of the screen to support video

conferencing, is also increasingly available (Apples FaceTime, Skype ).

Custom Applications are the new opportunity. As developers identify niches and create applications, it is becomes

possible for users to create new forms of augmentation and customise a quiver of tools.

(v) Networking

Once upon a time, synching with a desktop was a critical step for Mobile Devices to really succeed by creating a

unified information environment via a physical cable. This meant updates were only available when the device

was set next to the computer. However, this has now changed due to networking technologies broadening the

reach and allowing more complex and useful connections between the mobile device and the world. With the

ready availability of the internet and the ability to pair almost any piece of hardware with a Mobile Device, the

opportunities now almost have now bounds.

Cloud Data Transfer and Storage: One significant example is storing information not locally on a device or

synching it to a personal computer or an organisations network but instead to servers hosted on the Cloud. As a

results, Apps are increasingly being developed that are coupled with Cloud based storage. The key advantage here

is that a user can access the same information from any device, anywhere, rather than only synched devices, and

they dont have to worry about having sufficient storage. This is not to say there are not risks (e.g. problems with

data providers losing data and privacy); however, despite such risks, many users are increasingly choosing to keep

all data in the Cloud.

Hardware Options: a variety of hardware devices exist to bring one machine to another. USB devices hold data

and transfer between machines with appropriate ports; SD and MicroSD cards can also carry data from one device

to another. Increasingly, however, the trend is to link machines without physical connections.

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Wireless Networking Technologies range from PANs (Personal Area Networks) which cover short distances (1-2

meters), LANs (Local Area networks) which are medium area networks (100-200 meters) and WANs (wide area

networks) which are essentially ubiquitous.

Personal Area Networks (Bluetooth) is another network standard that allows two devices to communicate or for

users to use peripherals such as hand-free headsets and other devices such as keyboards and other forms of input,

output and sensors.

(vi) Platforms and Processing Power

One issue that has dogged the use of Mobile Devices in education is Adobes Flash Technology. At the moment,

the mechanism to deliver rich interactions (Flash Technology or HTML 5) is largely in the hands of custom

development rather than a single cross-platform format.

Flash has been the lingua franca for web delivery of interactions based on rich graphics and flexibility of input, as

it is available in every browser. The problem has therefore existed for the performance of Flash on the weaker

processes in Mobile Devices. Battery power is the big issue, and the trade-off of performance for battery life has

meant that most Mobile Devices have not supported Falsh which, in turn, has meant much eLearning content has

not automatically been available for mobile delivery.

However, this is changing due to HTML 5 which hosts the same capabilities of Flash but without the high end

power drainage caused by Flash. As such, many Apps now used in Mobile Devices already use or export HTML

5. Moreover, mobile processors are getting more powerful that are claiming to support Flash.

(vii) Four Cs and thinking Differently to Learn

Quinn (2011) characterises Four Cs (capabilities) of Mobile Learning that hold the potential to positively

transform the way learning is experienced by all members of a learning community: Content, Compute, Capture

and Communicate.

Content deals with the ability to store, or access, content on a device. The word here means media: documents

(text or graphics); audio; and video. According to Quinn (2011), much can be accomplished by making content

available to individuals when or where they are. This content includes: Audio files or video files of direct

teaching (lectures), interviews, and documentaries, documents of a variety of types, including ePub textbooks,

chapters, and articles.

Capture deals with the individual producing content rather than simply accessing it. Individuals can capture

pictures, audio, video and create images and texts. Mobile Devices can also record location, capture images of

contexts and videos of performances and take notes on the field. All captured data can then be saved to the Cloud

or shared.

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Compute describes learners using tools such as calculators or purchased or custom Apps to compute outcomes that

humans have neither the working memory nor knowledge to calculate. This typically involves the learner entering

observed parameters such as a quantity and area and calculating a density or something more complicated.

Communicate describes the sharing of data. Mobile devices allow learners to fulfil their natural tendency to

communicate, and they support synchronous or asynchronous interaction. Increasingly the world is moving from

voice and text to live video chat and sharing the photos and videos we capture. Communications can occur with

fellow learners, teachers, experts, family, friends or anyone else internal or external to the primary learning

environment.

A significant point of departure from the learners use of a Laptop, Netbook or Desktop Computer is that a Mobile

Device makes possible a learners ability to enact the four aforementioned 4 Cs either in isolation or in

combination through a single Mobile Device. For example, communicating a captured image for collaborative

support or capturing location as a basis of customising content.

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In all cases, what is paramount in understanding the power of Mobile Devices to enhance Learning is the fact that

these Mobile Devices work to Augment our Cognitive Capabilities. That is, they provide capabilities that our

brains do not do well and vice versa.

As such, a learner who is provided with an opportunity to use a Mobile Device in their Learning journey,

irrespective of starting or endpoint, becomes a more powerful problem solver than without the portable

capabilities of Mobile Devices.

(viii) Local Context

Mobile Device capabilities are available wherever we need them and whenever we need them. In many ways,

they are no different from what we achieve with desktops or laptops or netbooks but with one significant caveat:

Mobile Devices have the unique property of being aware of the local context, via, for example, the capture of GPS

and local signals, and of doing things specific to context. This is an extremely important distinction which posits

exciting possibilities for the future of learning and the learner in the 21st century.

Context sensitivity therefore becomes an important opportunity that teachers and learners can exploit. Our

students (learners) are mobile and mobility takes them to different places. Through Mobile Devices, opportunistic

conjunctions of location and learning goals can be capitalised on. For example, a history student on his/her way to

school can capture an image of an historic building, share with his/her teacher/class which, in turn, can become an

impetus for future discussions/learning.

The other form of context which has largely been ignored is the when context, rather than the where. Mobile

Devices make it possible for us to know what our learners are doing, regardless of where they are, by their

calendar or by the application they are using. This enable teachers and peers to provide context-specific

information appropriate to the task, not the location. Moreover, if the when context is considered in terms of

application, teachers, families and peers can also provide support to a learner before, during and after a learning

experience to improve performance and personalise the learning experience via scaffolding.

****************

(ix) A Working Definition of Mobile Learning

In 2007, the eLearning Guild defined Mobile Learning in its 360 degree Mobile Learning Research Report

(Wexler et al., 2007):

Any activity that allows individuals to be more productive when consuming, interacting with, or creating

information, mediated through compact digital portable devices that an individual carries on a regular basis, has

reliable connectivity and fits easily into a pocket or purse.

This definition focuses on being more productive. However, this does not mean learners completing all their

learning on their device. This is because most Mobile Learning Apps are NOT about full courses but are instead

are about performance support and helping each individual learner in their own individual moment.

Significantly, the quick access that characterises a Mobile Device use is very much about support in the moment

rather than a one stop shop to replace more formal learning experiences. In other words, because Mobile

Devices Augment a Learners Cognitive Capabilities anytime, anywhere, any place, they provide a means to not

only enrich each learners learning experience but also personalise and democratise the very process of

Learning.

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(B) Towards A New Paradigm of Learning

To take advantage of Mobile Device Capabilities, we need to build a shared vocabulary to describe learning so

that we can most fully capitalise on the potential made possible by Mobile Devices. In addition, we also need to

recognise that what has been (and is) the status quo in many Marcellin College classrooms (and schools

everywhere around the world) was designed for industrial age efficiency rather than natural effectiveness.

Quinn (2007c) describes seven Cs of learning that complement the four Cs of Mobile Learning (Quinn, 2011).

Starting with the way we naturally learn, before schooling, consider that learning involves:

1. Choosing what is important to t us

2. Committing to this choice, with persistence

3. Creating, whether product or performance

4. Occasionally Crashing

5. Conversing with others to help us (and others) understand

6. Copying by looking at others works and performance and modelling our own on it

7. Collaborating by working with others

In this model of learning, failure plays an important role and social learning is not only accepted but encouraged:

Copying isnt bad, talking together isnt wrong, and collaborating is desired. Moreover, this social constructionist

viewpoint is neither new nor revolutionary to educators as it involves integrating the thinking of Bruner (1961)

and Vygotsky (1978) as well as many others.

Thus, future efforts to design learning are premised on the need for us to help learners understand why its

important so they choose to participate and to set expectations so they are willing to commit. In other words,

learners need to be actively creating and constructing their own learning experiences which are supported by

teachers who ensure their learners receive feedback about their success and failure, and support mechanisms

that ensure each and every learner is resources with the support they need to ultimately succeed and finally share

tasks and learning with one another.

Current /Traditional Paradigms of Learning:

In many classrooms around the globe, teachers plan for the learning of their students by referring to the Learning

Design processes described Dick, Carey & Careys (2004) systematic design of instruction and the ADDIE model

of Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation . In simple terms, this involves identifying the

learning objective and the audience by undertaking a process that:

1. Characterises the desired performance and developing the final assessment

2. Develops the learning experience that is aligned to success on that assessment

3. Evaluates and refines the learning process to ensure it achieves the proscribed learning objective

The Learning elements that underpin such paradigms of learning are described by Collins, Brown and Holum

(1991), Reigeluth and Steins (1983) elaboration theory; Kellers (1983) ARCS (attention, relevance, confidence,

satisfaction) model; Spiro, Feltovich, Jacobsen and Coulsons (1989) cognitivie flexibility theory; and Van

35

Merrienboers (1997) four component instructional design model. This translates to the following learning

elements:

o An introduction that helps learners to understand:

Why this is important emotionally and societally

What theyll be doing and able to do

Relevant Knowledge

o A concept presentation of the model that guides performance

o Examples that demonstrate how that concept is applied in a context. This includes:

An explication of underlying thinking that guides performance

A demonstration of backtracking and repair

o Practice opportunities in applying the concept to con texts:

With examples and practice contexts

With alternatives that address reliable misconceptions that learners demonstrate, and individualised

feedback

With Feedback that relates to their performance to the concept

Starting with tasks within the learners grasp and gradually progressing to the full performance

o A summary that closes the experience that:

Cognitively indicates what learners are capable of, what they are subsequently ready to explore and where

learners might find more information

Emotionally celebrating their effort and ultimate success

Central to this traditional paradigm of learning is an emphasis on cognitive skills rather than attitudinal shift or

motor performance. Other popular pedagogies reorder the aforementioned elements, so a problem based learning

approach of Barrows (1986) puts the practice first. It is also a paradigm that calls upon designed instruction

which, in turn, must recognise that the environment and resources need to be planned to succeed. This means

Learning Design (such as Backward Design or Understanding by Design) is ultimately problematic as real world,

real time learning endeavours.

However, all is not lost precisely because the aforementioned traditional Learning Framework is useful to the

future planning educator who seeks to use Mobile Devices to achieve learning in a form that goes beyond simple

knowledge retention and cognitive skills. Central to this futures-orientated project is the need for teachers to

decouple different content development efforts from the learning event to rather think about how each can be used

discretely to serve a more distributed learning model.

***************

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Towards a Future Realisation of Learning Goals

Objectives

Good learning starts with good objectives, from which we can align the practice tasks (the assessments) and then

the concepts and examples to support success. According to Quinn (2012), one of the major failures of formal

education is having objectives that are pure knowledge and not applied.

There is a distinction between knowledge and application of knowledge. As Alfred North Whitehead (1929) said,

Theoretical ideas should always find important applications within the pupils curriculum .. The problem of

keeping knowledge alive, of preventing it from becoming inert, is the central problem of all education.

Practice

In a linear order, the learners experience would start with an introduction, which suggests that this would be the

first element we would design. However, in a focused design process, we define the assessment after we specify

the objective, because we want the actual task the learner performs to be tightly coupled to the learning objective.

This increases the likelihood that the overall learning is aligned to achieve the desired outcome. The term practice

therefore is used to keep the focus on the learner developing practical and applied skills, the real key to achieving

meaningful otucomes.

In Engaging Learning: Designing eLearning Simulation Games (Quinn, 2005), the principle of aligning engaging

experiences with effective practice is explored. Next to mentored real practice, simulation games are the best

form of practice. This alignment highlighted the following elements are required to sustain student learning:

o Clear (or emerging) goals: the ultimate desired outcome of the activity should become apparent

o Appropriate Challenge: the task should be hard enough to avoid boredom but not so challenging as to be frustrating

o An integrating Story: the action should be set in a thematically coherent world

o Mearningful Link between Action and Story: what the learner does impacts the storyline

o Meaningful Link between Learner and Story: The learner has to care about the problem embodied in the world

o Active Exploration: The learner must make choices and discover the consequences, not just see the question and then

the answer

o Direct Manipulation: the learner must act on the represented world of the problem in a method as close to the real

mechanism as possible

o Appropriate feedback: the consequences of choices should be conveyed in ways that reflect how the world would

react (and ultimate should communicate via the concept of why the choice was right or wrong)

o Novelty: ideally, there is unpredictability in the outcome, or at least some unexpected components rather than linear

and deterministic outcomes.

Whilst this framework is an ideal for simulation games, it also affords us the possibility of creating better learning

practice with elements that are familiar to our students in other more familiar forms. For example: Branching

scenarios or better written multiple-choice questions can embody these principles. Irrespective, this framework

affords us to set a goal of creating a setting where learners have to make a decision that applies the concepts they

are learning in ways that solve contextualised problems and in ways that mimic how that knowledge gets applied

in the world outside the classroom.

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Alternative Pedagogies

While the traditional model of learning is introduction concept example practice summary, using Mobile

Devices make other models of learning possible. These include problem based, navigable and adaptive.

In Barrows (1986) problem-based learning, an overarching practice task is presented first, and the rest of the

elements are arranged around this task. In this situation, the problem provides much of the motivation that the

introduction normally serves and drives interest in the associated concept, examples, and relevant practices then

lead to the ability to ultimately complete the practice.

Rather than prescript the approach, an alternative in asynchronous and independent learning is to make the content

navigable so that learners can choose what aspect they wish to accomplish. While progression may be blocked to

further learning units until completion is signalled by successful execution of whatever final practice is deemed

the necessary evaluation, learners are free to choose to explore concepts and examples and to attempt practices

under their own initiative. A default sequence may also be included for those who are less confident or capable in

self-directed learning.

Another alternative is to deliver an adaptive experience, which recommends examples, concepts, or more based on

a variety of factors including knowledge of the domain, learner preferences, or even learner characteristics.

Social Learning

Learning is not (and indeed some argue cannot be) individual but instead is social. Learner-mentor interactions

are one thing, but learner-learner interactions also have valuable outcomes. Quinn (2011) argues that social

interaction leads to tighter cycles of content engagement: Negotiation of shared understanding requires revisting

the content topic under alternate possibilities to converge upon an interpretation. This can occur just by hearing

other viewpoints but also can be assigned to teams to determine a joint response to an issue, or even more

rigorously, producing a shared solution to a problem. Designing social interactions requires greater consideration

of the abilities of learners to coordinate activities, but the learning outcomes can be more beneficial. Moreover, the

ability to see other performances and internalise not only the performances but also their monitoring is a second

important opportunity. This means the most valuable role a teacher can play in an ideal learning situation is not

to present content but rather to design activity and facilitate reflection. This is because although teachers can

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present valuable information, this should not be to the exclusion of assessing individual comprehension and

guiding acquisition of the requisite thinking skills.

Learning to Learn

A final consideration for learning is the learners meta-learning, or learning to learn skills. Much is made both

principally and pragmatically of the 21st century skills: the necessary learning, thinking, and problem-solving

skills in the information era. These typically are dealt with not on an individual basis but within the context of

meaningful activity within a domain. Consequently, they serve as a layer on top of regular activity.

Performance Support

Considerations of the ways that learner performance can be supported should not be ignored. Rosett (2006)

categorises support as planners (pre or post event support) or side kicks (support for performance in the moment).

Documents can support both these needs well but performance support can also come in the form of the compute,

where calculations that are helpful in the moment but that are beyond the learners capabilities without digital

support.

*****************

All of the aforementioned provide educators with an enlightened view of learning. Understanding both the

capabilities of mobile devices and learning are of paramount importance if we are to take full advantage of mobile

opportunities to augment the student learning experience.

*****************

(B) Mobile Opportunities and Learning: Smaller Chunks, more frequently

In moving from mobile opportunities in administration to learning, we need to look at the elements of

learning: introduction, concept, example, practice. From a cognitive perspective, the primary distinction

between individuals are content consumption versus interactive knowledge and skill application.

The first C of the Four Cs of mobile capabilities of learning is content this is defined as the ability to drive

(or pull) content onto a mobile device and is THE major opportunity to improve Learning.

Content can serve several instructional purposes Introductions, concept presentations, examples and

summaries.

Content is associated with practice activities such as learning aids and performance support.

MEDIA:

Content here is defined as prepared digital materials stored as files.

These files can be documents, audio,or video in all cases, they are navigable and consumable content. These

files may be preloaded on the device, accessed via the mobile web, or downloaded or streamed on demand.

Irrespective, they are controlled only by presentation other than this, they offer no other form of interaction.

MATCHING MEDIA TO MESSAGE:

Ideally we need to match the choice of communication media to the learning goal.

39

If we need to present context, we can use images (photos) or videos.

If we want to restrict ourselves to the conceptual, we employ graphics or animation.

For linguistic communication, we use text, speech or audio.

For capturing the dynamics of relationships, contextual or conceptual, video or animation, respectively, would

be applicable, whereas for static relationships we can use images or graphics.

Diagrams and videos are both communication mechanisms that work particularly well for learning. The

conceptual relationships captured in a diagram, video or audio can be expressed in a concise way.

LECTURES:

Capturing direct teaching or lectures as delivered via audio or combined with video led to iTunes University

(Apples site for educational media files).

Individual schools can handle this within its own LMS or via its own portal equally well.

If the performance is already happening, whether in the classroom or via a webinar or virtual classroom, it can

be captured, saved and made available.

Similarly, if a textbook or relevant readings or media materials (e.g. films or interviews) are already being

used, they can then be made available for mobile access.

Teams of teachers can make narrated presentations and then make them available via audio, video or via

narrated presentations.

Direct Teaching, lectures and textbooks typically contain introductions, concepts and examples these are

easily made communicable via smartphones, laptops, tablets or ipads.

CUSTOM:

Custom mobile specific development and delivery needs to take into account the delivery environment and,

more importantly, going beyond simple convenience of access.

Any development investment should be focused on supplementing a course of study with small materials that

may reactivate or elaborate relevant materials such as additional representations of the concept.

Neilsen (2011) argues that the best learning on Mobile devices occurs because of the brevity of content.

MOBILE LEARNING COMPONENTS:

From a learning perspective, content is about the learning components of introductions, concepts, examples

and summaries. Each has unique properties.

Mobile Learning Introductions:

These open the learner emotionally as well as activate relevant cognitive components. Emotions are brought in

by drama or humour and can exaggerate the consequences positively for having the knowledge or skills or

negatively for the lack thereof. Comics, Videos, Photographs, Images and Short Prose serves this purpose.

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Mobile Learning Concepts:

Presenting concepts is about communicating the underlying idea. This may mean diagrams to capture the

relationships inherent in a core model or use animations to capture these relationships in a dynamic sense.

Prose can be paired with diagrams and/or voice overs with animations. These become rich representational

opportunities for the mobile delivery of learning.

Mobile Learning Examples:

Presenting examples is about capturing a story, telling the event starting with the initial situation, and then

unfolding how the concept was applied, step by step (including backtracking and repair when appropriate), to

yield a solution. This can be done with prose, comic book, graphic novel, comic strip, narrated slide show or

video, voice recitation on a podcast; particularly if students commute.

Mobile Learning Summaries:

Summaries ideally should be customised; but generally can recap what has been seen and point to a new

direction. An additional element to close the emotional experience could also be explored.

Mobile Learning Brevity for Content is Key:

Smaller pieces of information more frequently provides the ideal scenario not only for developing content but

also in assisting and/or improving the learners ability to learn.

CONTEXT:

Contextual opportunities for mobile learning devices include tagging the environment via

posting a weblink when at a particular location, taking a photograph or video, using GPS.

META-LEARNING:

One of the main advantages of mobile learning is the ability to access information whenever and wherever.

This can be powerful but also comes with some consequences. Teachers and learners need to remain mindful

of the sources of content and the quality of results and the ability to process information on a mobile form

factor.

Typically, mobile learning access is contextualised in the moment which may preclude reflection. Learners,

despite being more familiar with technology, cannot be assumed to possess astute information literacy (Open

Education, 2008). Providing support therefore for comprehending good information access and information

validation is therefore particularly valuable.

We also need to ensure that students are capable users of their devices and this is not left to chance.

Considering and supporting meta-learning skills is paramount to learner success both in school and beyond.

MEDIA SPECIFICS

Documents the Low Hanging Fruit for Learning

Documents are the most pervasive form of content: static text with graphics or images. From a learning

perspective, documents serve as introductions, concepts, examples, or summaries. Most online learning

content is document driven: ePubs including textbooks, readings, diagrams and more. The mobile advantage

of these is that they can be accessed anytime anywhere when other activities may be precluded.

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An important principle for creating content, specifically documents for mobile learning devices, is to separate

out how the content from how it is displayed. Well-designed web pages resize smoothly if we adjust the size

of the browser window. This principle of design for delivery on a variety of mobile devices is not only good

practice but is critically important.

Teachers should not specify fonts or sizes but allow the device to determine the bet for output.

Teachers should also consider the delivery representation in terms of the level of granularity at which content

is broken up. For Flexible, adaptive delivery, the goal is to separate individual examples from practice and

concepts (Quinn, 2000).

A rigorous tagging system should also be used so that the descriptors for the content teachers develop is

chosen pragmatically.

Developing and describing a few extra concept representations, examples, and practice at development time

initially supports reactivation over time with delivery at spaced intervals, whether mobile or desktop.

The ability to access different learning objects by description will support not only the PULL approaches by

learners who want to choose what to review or have short term need, but going forward, will also support

smart PUSH or system generated content.

An important consideration, specifically for images, is compression.

High quality images work great in print but are highly problematic on mobile devices. Overall memory of

devices is limited which impacts downloading content of large file sizes. Although mobile devices can

manage the viewing of large images via scrolling, consideration of the necessity of high quality images versus

lower quality better suited to mobile viewing is a worthwhile investment in teacher preparation time.

Documents are the proverbial low hanging fruit with little work, a teachers suite of PDFs and slide

presentations can be made available for viewing on a range of mobile devices.

Most tools that teachers use on laptop or desktop computers have output or export functions to create file

types that can be viewed on mobile devices.

Audio and Video

Audio and video is dynamic content because it can present a continual stream of content.

Both can be used to present introductions and examples.

Audio can convey concepts, but the lack of visual accompaniment may limit applicability to content with

multiple relationships; therefore, video is more likely to work for all purposes.

Examples, in particular, are highly suited to the use of dynamic media. Stories are powerful ways to

communicate the flow of problem solving, showing the application of concepts to context. The dynamic media

can be compelling whether it is a storyteller telling the story or a visual narration of the situation.

The ability to access additional examples conveniently is a powerful mobile adjunct to formal learning.

Video is a particularly powerful media, capturing our highly developed visual system, particularly when

coupled with an audio track it becomes extremely engaging. However, when done poorly, the same can

become aversive.

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Audio and Video are dynamic content, content that a learner must pay attention to so as to not lost his/her

place. A good principle of design, therefore, is providing a way to replay and give the learner access to

playback, including pause and play, moving within,

Dynamic content, like document images, however, also has trade-offs in size and quality. Mobile formats err

on the side of small size to minimise download times and costs.

ACCESSING:

Making content available for mobile device access is a two part process: 1. Create the media in a mobile

deliverable form; 2. Making the mobile content available.

Documents can be served as PDF files, web pages or raw text, via ebooks and/or e-readers.

Common Audio and Video can exist as MP3 or MP4.

Educationally speaking, Apples iTunes University is another delivery mechanism that teachers can consider.

For years to date it has been a way for schools both secondary and tertiary to archive and make accessible

audio and video recordings of lectures.

In general, conversion of documents into a variety of formats is now built into most content creation tools. In

addition, a variety of free and open-source conversion tools is available for many formats on the main

Windows and iOS platforms.

LMS:

Hosting content is the second component of mobile delivery.

The devices need a way to access content.

Accessing through the Web, via a portal, and having it downloaded is one option.

Synching it onto a device is a second.

More common is the use of a mobile interface to content and Learning Management Systems to make hosting

more automatic.

Moodle is the premier open-source LMS in Higher Education whilst other paid options are available.

FIRST STEPS:

Developing appropriate Content is the FIRST step to transform learning in education.

Step 1: To begin, teachers can start with doing an audit of their current resources to determine which can be easily

made mobile accessible.

Step 2: Thereafter, consideration of the changes that need to be made to build learning objects that suit mobile

formats so these become an automatic outcome of teacher/department/school curriculum planning for learning

needs to become second nature.

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CONTENT TYPE

INTRODUCTION

CONCEPT

EXAMPLE

SUMMARY

Document

Comic that exaggerates the

consequences of X not being

able to do Y

A diagram

A Graphic Novel version of

someone solving the

problem using the concept,

with annotation

A short reconnection of the

learning content back to the

larger context;

acknowledgement of the

learners effort and new

accomplishments and

pointers for what is next

Audio

Character X doesnt know

how to do Y, and ends up in

trouble as a direct

consequence

An eloquent presentation of

the concept

A well told story of a

problem, applying the

concept (ideally starting

with some false starts)

ending in triumph

A congratulations message

from the teacher

acknowledging effort and

the new capabilities of the

learner

Video

An introduction to the topic

by a well known expert in

the field

An animation of the

underlying concept

A documentary style story

of how the concept was

applied in a particular

situation

A video capturing the

learners new capabilities as

they play out in the real

world and connecting the

learner to the topic.

************

LEARNING INTERACTION AND ASSESSMENT

We Need to Design Opportunities for Students to make Meaningful Decisions

Practice is the core to making learning effective: that is, both retained and transferable to appropriate

situations. This requires ensuring that there are meaningful objectives and provides a very real opportunity to

impact the learning of our students.

Mobile Device Learning brings about not only convenience but also the ability to practice a particular

situation in the classroom.

For this reason, the Compute capability of the 4 Cs is critical wherein the Capture capability also plays a

crucial role

DESIGN:

The core of meaningful practice is application.

Making the choices that need to be made after the learning experience is the best preparation, and preparatory

practice is part of this path.

Whilst recitation of knowledge has its place, it is meaningful application and a focus on enabling the

possibility of decision making and therefore applying cognitive skills that characterises real performance.

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The issue for teachers has long been the balance between the knowledge that learners need to know and

application of that knowledge to solve problems. And, as all teachers know, it is easy to test the former but

much more difficult to assess the latter.

However, it is the application of knowledge that is the more important ultimate outcome and is the task that

most engages the learner.

Thus the ideal search for knowledge is driven by a realised need that develops while trying to achieve

meaningful goals. As such, the need develops for meaningful tasks.

This is where our Mobile Devices come to the fore as they provide teachers with the tools to make more

meaningful tasks and, more importantly, the ability to more flexibly deliver knowledge, meaningful tasks and

a degree of engagement otherwise hard to sustain.

Formative and Summative Assessment therefore collide in the Mobile Learning world. Learners who get

feedback on how they did and what it does (or should) mean, receive formative assessment. If a score is

recorded, it is summative. But mobile devices naturally lend themselves to making all assessment formative

and summative assessment the reserve of the penultimate task designed to indicate performance at a particular

level or standard.

PROCESSING:

Teachers need to plan for the Processing of Content that they want their students to undertake. Elements that

contribute to meaningful processing include Personalisation, Extension and Application.

Personalisation

Personalisation in this instance refers to students relating a concept to their own past or intended experience.

By applying a concept to explain things in the past or to think about the future, students begin to exercise their

individual relationship to the concept.

As such, Journal Keeping (or blogging) is a particularly valuable adjunct for teachers to consider in any

learning scenario.

Extension

The second form of processing the relationships students have to their learning is providing opportunities for

them t

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