1. The Role of Mobile Technology in Improving Staff and Student Experience in Higher Education Dr Richard Walker - University of York Mobile Government: Embracing New Technologies and Enhancing New Ways of Working Royal College of Surgeons: 21 st March 2013 Images used courtesy of Crystal Project (http://everaldo.com/crystal/) andhttp://everaldo.com/crystal/ Oxygen Icons 4.3.1 (http://www.oxygen-icons.org/)http://www.oxygen-icons.org/)

2. The current landscape of TEL across UK HE Tool201220102008 VLE100%96% Other tools: Plagiarism detection 92% - E-submission87%89%- E-assessment79%80%77% E-portfolio76%72%64% Wiki74%75%72% Blog72%74%68% Podcasting62%69% ‘Blended-learning environments are the norm; students say that these environments best support how they learn.’ (ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students, 2012) Central provision of TEL tools: 2012 UCISA TEL Survey

3. What do we mean by mobile learning? ‘any form of learning that happens when mediated through a mobile device’ (Winters, 2006) ‘a form of learning that has established the legitimacy of nomadic learners’ (Alexander, 2004) Addressing: mobile phones, smartphones, PDAs, tablet PCs, game consoles, iPods & wearable technologies…and perhaps laptop PCs, but not desktops in carts! (Traxler, 2005)

4. What are the properties of mobile learning? ‘always-on in learning, accessible to the masses, but tailored to the individual (Thomas, 2005) ‘Spontaneous, private, portable, situated, informal, bite-sized, light-weight, context aware, and perhaps soon connected, personalised and interactive’ (Traxler, 2005) Enabling learners to choose when and where they learn – offering flexibility, ubiquity of access to information, and motivating increased engagement

5. Have we reached a tipping point? Where the uptake of mobile and wireless technologies will gain a critical mass which compels institutions to adopt effective and efficient mobile learning plans and approaches? – ‘few universities have adopted widespread m-learning technologies, and in those that have, it is not clear that they are being used in pedagogically appropriate ways’. (2006 Horizon Report) Has the situation radically changed in UK HE?

6. What information is available to us on sector developments?

7. Demands on support 201220102008 Mobile technologies59%23%26% E-assessment31%23%14% Lecture capture22%16%11% Change of VLE13%8%4% Multimedia12%23%26% E-portfolio11%15%12% Source: 2012 UCISA TEL Survey

8. Challenges over next 2-3 years 201220102008 Mobile technologies26%6%5% Staff development18%36%49% E-assessment15%16%7% Legal/policy issues14%9%- Lack of support staff/relevant skills11%- Managing/meeting expectations10%5%8% Managing multimedia10%4%- Source: 2012 UCISA TEL Survey

9. Services optimised for mobile devices Service2012 Access to library services37% Access to email35% Access to course announcements31% Access to timetabling information26% Access to course materials & learning resources21% Access to personal calendars21% Access to communication tools20% Source: 2012 UCISA TEL Survey

10. Institutional support for mobile devices Mobile devices2012 iPad & iPhone73% Android69% Blackberry devices58% Other device24% Don’t know12% Not answered6% Source: 2012 UCISA TEL Survey

11. How do students use mobile learning apps? Comparative data (student polls) on Blackboard Mobile Learn App activity at NUI Galway (Flynn, 2013) & University of York (2013)

12. What types of learning could be supported? Adapted from Herrington & Herrington (2007) TheoryLearning approach BehaviouristClassroom responses systems, providing feedback on MCQs ConstructivistSimulations (use of PDAs to simulate spread of virus) SituatedJIT access to courses materials for students on placements (e.g. medical consultations) Reflection on action (e.g. capturing/analysing data; situated assessment tasks) CollaborativeRecording & sharing fieldwork data - shared analysis of big data sets. Student-authored apps as shared learning resources InteractiveInteractive lecturing (polls) Learning & teaching support iPod access to recorded lectures – ‘flipped lecture’ learning mode

13. Towards user-led education Enabling learningEnhancing learning Transformative learning Extending range of learning opportunities Active Learning and Engagement Increasing flexibility & access to learning  Nomadic & situated (context aware) learning  Facilitating discussion & peer support  Student-authored teaching resources  Student-led learning through collaboration & communities of inquiry

14. Academic engagement: key challenges Digital literacy – a new digital divide? (SPOT Report, 2010) Mobile friendly delivery: - text presentation (PDF) & formatting; video (MPEG4) and audio (MP3) - discussion management – finely focused threads Embracing the opportunities: - ‘switch’ on policy in class - developing new pedagogic models

15. Institutional challenges Investment in infrastructure: - wifi coverage & resilience; - managing data layers to expose web services (reusability & sustainability). Investment in services: - open frameworks vs. commercial middleware - native apps vs. hybrid apps (responsive design) - procurement of ‘mobile ready’ applications Support for which devices? Support for whose devices?

16. References Alexander, B. (2004). Going nomadic: Mobile learning in higher education. Educause Review, 39 (5), 28–35. Flynn, S. (2013). How do you use Mobile Learn? Blackboard@NUIGalway. http://blackboardnuigalway.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/how-do-you-use- mobile-learn/ http://blackboardnuigalway.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/how-do-you-use- mobile-learn/ Herrington, A. & Herington, J. (2007). Authentic mobile learning in higher education. In AARE 2007 International Educational Research Conference, Nov 2007, Freemantle, Western Australia. National Union of Students [NUS] (2010). Student perspectives on technology – demand, perceptions and training needs. Report to HEFCE by NUS. http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/rereports/year/2010/studpersptech/ http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/rereports/year/2010/studpersptech/ Images used courtesy of Crystal Project (http://everaldo.com/crystal/) andhttp://everaldo.com/crystal/ Oxygen Icons 4.3.1 (http://www.oxygen-icons.org/)http://www.oxygen-icons.org/)

17. References Thomas, S. (2005). Pervasive, persuasive eLearning: Modeling the pervasive learning space. Proceedings of the 3rd international conference on pervasive computing and communications workshops (PERCOMW’05) (pp. 332–336). Kauai Island, Hawaii: IEEE Computer Society. Traxler, J. (2005). Defining Mobile Learning. IADIS International Conference: Mobile Learning 2005. http://iadis.net/dl/final_uploads/200506C018.pdf http://iadis.net/dl/final_uploads/200506C018.pdf Walker, R., Voce, J., & Ahmed, J. (2012). 2012 Survey of Technology Enhanced Learning for higher education in the UK. UCISA Report. Retrieved from: http://www.ucisa.ac.uk/~/media/groups/ssg/surveys/TEL_ survey_2012_with%20Apps_final http://www.ucisa.ac.uk/~/media/groups/ssg/surveys/TEL_ survey_2012_with%20Apps_final Winters, N. (2006). What is mobile learning? In M. Sharples (Ed.). Big issues in mobile learning. Images used courtesy of Crystal Project (http://everaldo.com/crystal/) andhttp://everaldo.com/crystal/ Oxygen Icons 4.3.1 (http://www.oxygen-icons.org/)http://www.oxygen-icons.org/)

18. Questions and comments Dr Richard Walker University of York richard.walker@york.ac.uk