Browsing by Subject "Mobile learning"
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Item A case study of mobile internet technology in bilingual elementary classrooms(2013-12) Wivagg, Jennifer; Liu, Min, Ed.D.Research about the use of mobile Internet technology in education is increasing, but gaps remain in the literature. This study used a case study approach to understand how teachers in a bilingual English Language Learner (ELL) classroom used iPod touch devices in a Texas public elementary school. Unlike many other studies investigating the use of mobile Internet technology in education by motivated educators and researchers, this research focuses on an initiative where apprehensive teachers were mandated to integrate mobile Internet technology. It also has a relatively rare focus on the implementation process rather than learning outcomes. Research questions were designed to explore how teachers implemented the iPod touch devices, whether the implementation encouraged informal learning, and what implementation challenges arose. Data sources consisted of qualitative interviews with students, teachers, and a school administrator as well as classroom observations and an analysis of student artifacts. Data showed that many activities resulting from the implementation of the iPod touch initiative included elements of constructivist learning and encouraged student interaction. Another finding was that giving students full-time possession of the devices did lead to students using the device outside of school, but that most of their activities involved practicing what they had learned in the classroom and not true informal learning. Overcoming teachers’ hesitancy and lack of familiarity with technology were found to be major obstacles early in the program, but findings suggested that training, support, and student enthusiasm overcame teachers’ initial reluctance. Implications of this research are that efforts to integrate mobile Internet technology with elementary-level ELLs need an active focus on informal learning to leverage the potential the devices offer. Also, successful implementation requires more than just the availability of the technology; it also requires training and support for teachers to increase their familiarity with the technology and to provide them with ideas that allow them to use the technology most effectively.Item A comparison of the effects of mobile device display size and orientation, and text segmentation on learning, cognitive load, and user perception in a higher education chemistry course(2015-05) Karam, Angela Marie; Resta, Paul E.; Liu, Min; Hughes, Joan E.; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Matthew, EastinThis study aimed to understand the relationship between mobile device screen display size (laptops and smartphones) and text segmentation (continuous text, medium text segments, and small text segments) on learning outcomes, cognitive load, and user perception. This quantitative study occurred during the spring semester of 2015. Seven hundred and seventy-one chemistry students from a higher education university completed one of nine treatments in this 3x3 research design. Data collection took place over four class periods. The study revealed that learning outcomes were not affected by the mobile screen display size or orientation, nor was working memory. However, user perception was affected by the screen display size of the device, and results indicated that participants in the sample felt laptop screens were more acceptable for accessing the digital chemistry text than smartphone screens by a small margin. The study also found that neither learning outcomes, nor working memory was affected by the text segmentation viewed. Though user perception was generally not affected by text segmentation, the study found that for perceived ease of use, participants felt medium text segments were easier to learn from than either continuous or small test segments by a small margin. No interaction affects were found between mobile devices and text segmentation. These findings challenge the findings of some earlier studies that laptops may be better for learning than smartphones because of screen size, landscape orientation is better for learning than portrait orientation in small screen mobile devices, and meaningful text segments may be better for learning than non-meaningful, non-segmented, or overly segmented text. The results of this study suggest that customizing the design to the smartphone screen (as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach) improves learning from smartphones, making them equal to learning from laptops in terms of learning outcomes and cognitive load, and in some cases, user perspective.Item Untethered Learning: A Mixed Methods Study of Mobilized Adventure Learning(2014-08) Orr, Gregg W.; Resta, Paul E.Mobile technologies now afford unprecedented opportunities, resources, and possibilities for learning. Among them, is the opportunity for students to engage in hands-on, out-of-classroom learning activities such as Adventure Learning. Since 2007, Adventure Learning has developed as an educational framework for using information and communication technologies to connect learners with expeditionary teams where video-based communication provides a sense of adventure for learners. The study was conducted in a public high school where an Environmental Science teacher used mobile learning technologies to create Adventure Learning projects where students participated both fin the classroom and as members of an “expeditionary team.” It was also intended to examine both the benefits and challenges in implementing ubiquitous mobile technologies in the field, combined with the use of student-centered pedagogies in their classrooms. The major questions of the study asked how did a teacher leverage mobilized Adventure Learning to design learning activities? And how did active participation in a mobilized Adventure Learning project affect student interest in the subject of Environmental Science? The study involved examining the ways the teacher leveraged the affordances of mobile technologies to create a hands-on, collaborative, and Adventure Learning environments outside of the classroom. The hands-on learning activities were designed to enable students to gather first-hand information related to environmental science. Subjects in the study included a high school Environmental Science teacher along with 104 participating students. Using a mixed methods approach, qualitative data were gathered through observations of learning activities, interviews and focus groups and artifacts. Quantitative data were gathered through surveys administered to the students before and after the treatment. The results indicated that, contrary to the teacher’s expectations, students indicated a preference for learning through book and lecture rather than hands-on discovery of information in both pre and post treatment surveys. Results of the study also demonstrated differences in learning preference relating to percentage of students participating in field-based, hands-on learning activities or in lecture-book classroom learning activities. Recommendations for future research and for educational practice are offered. Limitations of the study include the small sample size and short time duration of the study.