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Using Short Message Services (SMS) for exam preparation

Dick Ng’ambiand

Angie KnaggsUniversity of Cape Town

South Africa

IADIS International Conference on Mobile Learning, 11-13 April 2008, Algarve, Portugal

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Outline

• Introduction• Case Study Description• Technology Mediated Actions• DFAQ tool used by students• Observations• Conclusion

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Introduction• To exploit existing technological literacies

among students • To use existing tools to manage

complexity within constraints of time, space and distance

• √ To facilitate knowledge sharing and consultation for cognitive and affective student support

• To effectively use real-world ubiquitous tools i.e. mobile phones

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Case Study

Institutional LMS used on campus

Integration of On/Off campus learning

Texting used for cognitive / affective support

Time to learn in isolation Exam

Preparation week

Texting as Social Practice (not seen as ed.)

Too busy to learn for exams

Cognitive /Affective support

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On-Campus Affective Peer Support

7On-Campus Cognitive Tutor/Peer Support

8A Cognitive / Affective Knowledge Resource

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Technology Mediated Actions

• Technology mediated action means two things: technology as a medium and technology as a tool. – media view of mobile phones allow

information seekers to communicate with information givers

– tools view is that information seeking is a part of human activity and a mobile phone is used whenever a need arises for which consultation is required

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• Course code identified forum – e.g. Fam1001.

• SMS course code to 31642• Access course news / notices from virtual

notice board• All incoming messages wait in a queue,

and automatically emails course convener• Any member of class can respond• Responses sent back via SMS

Dynamic Frequently Asked Questions (DFAQ) tool

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Student uses DFAQ: an anonymous consultation tool

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Observations• Twenty-five SMSes were posted into the system during

the semester constituting approximately 4 months. • Observed that system was under-utilised during term

time • So we wanted to find out why. Questionnaire was given

to students:– Did you use the SMS system?

• Yes/No– If yes, how often?

• Once/2-4 times/More than 5 times– If not, why?

• Cost/Difficult Technology/Complicated process– Comments

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Term Time: Positive feedback

• Very good, convenient system for our age group.

• It’s awesome! Helped a lot!• Never really had a reason to, but I think

it’s a good system that should remain in use.

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Term Time: Negative feedback

• I haven’t had airtime so it’s no 1’s fault really.

• I AM BROKE.• Too Expensive .• Airtime is a rare commodity.

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Exam Prep Time

• 75% of the total number of SMSes were received. This is an increase of almost 200% as compared to messages sent during term time

• Students viewed SMS as a necessary medium through which they could receive help

NB: Were students suddenly able to afford the cost of SMSes?

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• Term time concerns were. – students had no need to use the system and – they were concerned about the cost. – Observation:

• Once study week had begun, the students’ circumstances changed and their interest in the system peaked.

• As value of messages sent increased, cost became insignificant. Exam prep questions had high stakes and negated the cost of sending SMSes.

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Conclusion 1/2

• There were fewer SMS mediated interactions in the DFAQ environment during the semester but use of SMS increased when students were off campus.

• Circumstances created opportunities for using mobile phones not only to consult with the teaching staff but with fellow students.

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• Students described the use of SMS during the examination preparation period as “cool”.

• Questions asked during the preparation week were both about seeking to understand content as much as about anxiety.

• SMS did support students during examination preparation

• Further work will explore whether use of mobile phones impacts on examination performance.

Conclusion 2/2

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Questions / Discussion

Contact:

Dr. Dick Ng’ambiDick.Ngambi@uct.ac.za

Centre for Educational TechnologyUniversity of Cape Town