Month: January 2020

Reflection 2: Mobile Engagement

Katie on

Reflecting on how and what I learn, I see that I am in the driver’s seat.  Malcom Knowles’ Theory of Andragogy describes key characteristics of adult learners that the learner is:  self-directed, experienced, eager to learn, oriented to learning and motivated. (Wood, n.d)  For me, these characteristics are evident both in the learning that I choose to do for leisure activities and in the learning that I do for my career. This learning has been both formal, through organized course work, and informal, through job shadowing and other experiential activities. (Bransford, et al 2006 pg 217) This learning has also been explicit as there were clear objectives and skills that I acquired from some activities and implicit as I have learned things through my experiences that I did not set out to learn and sometimes are learned by making mistakes and recovering from the opportunity. ( Bransford, et all 2006 pg 210) In fact, sometimes it seems like the harder I try to learn something, the harder it is to learn.  As Bansford describes, “in some instances, it can be shown that “trying to learn” patterns of covariation through explicit instruction actually impedes learning, underscoring the idea that implicit and explicit forms of learning are different.” (Bransford, et al 2006 pg 211)

For me, this explains how a few things I have tried to learn were best learned after I quit focusing on the procedure and the exact how-to and began experimenting and trying it on my own.   One example is my quest to learn how to waterski.  When I was 16, a friend’s parents had a boat and they took us out.  I listened to everyone’s tips and tricks and failed miserably.  I became embarrassed and gave up. Nearly 20 years later, I finally had the opportunity to try again. After watching a variety of YouTube videos and reading step-by-step tutorials—one of which from the USA Water Ski and Wake Sports that I screenshot and took with me on the boat—I felt comfortable with the theory of how it should work.

https://www.usawaterski.org/BasicSkills/LearnToSkiBasics.pdf

It was an inexperienced crew—my fiancée was driving the boat and his daughter was my spotter.  It took us a dozen tries and finally, I was out of the water.  After I was up, skiing was second nature as I had snow skied in the past.  After getting up once, I have never had a problem getting out of the water again.  It took all of those failed attempts (and a few bruises) for my body and my mind to piece it all together.  This example also explains some of why I was motivated to learn how to ski.  For nearly half of my life, I have wanted to be a skier.  As Bransford noted, “when one is learning outside of school, it is as much about who one wants to be as what one demonstrably comes to know.” (Bransford, et al 2006 Pg 218) This also relates to how Gee described identities as I wanted to be the “kind of person” who is capable of waterskiing and that my identity was not related to my core, but rather to my “performances in society.” (Gee pg 99)

My journey to learning how to water ski leveraged the use of mobile technologies.  Early on, I relied of a small network of people and their advice to guide me.  Later, when I was successful, I used a laptop and smart phone to resource videos and tutorials.  The device allowed me to take my resources with me and provided me the ability to learn in the proper context.  As Sharples describes,

Context is a central construct of mobile learning. It is continually created by people in interaction with other people, with their surroundings and with everyday tools. Traditional classroom learning is founded on an illusion of stability of context, by setting up a fixed location with common resources, a single teacher, and an agreed curriculum which allows a semblance of common ground to be maintained from day to day. But if these are removed, a fundamental challenge is how to form islands of temporarily stable context to enable meaning making from the flow of everyday activity.

While my learning was from pieces of media and content that I discovered online, Sharples provides a list of recommendations from Naismith & Corlett, 2006:

  • Create quick and simple interactions;

  • Prepare flexible materials that can be accessed across contexts;

  • Consider special affordances of mobile devices that might add to the learner experience (e.g. the use of audio or user anonymity);

  • Use mobile technology not only to “deliver” learning but to facilitate it, making use of the facilities in current mobile devices for voice communication, note taking, photography and time management.

With all of the positive ways that mobile learning can support our learning journeys, there is potential that it can detract from learning the learning experience.  As Turkle mentions in her Colbert Report interview, “technology creates distance between us.” (Turkle 2011)  And, that results of a study, “suggest that even media meant to facilitate interaction between children are associated with unhealthy social experiences.”  (Pea 2012) It is clear to me that mobile learning is an excellent tool to support learning throughout one’s lifetime; however, it should be balanced with other types of learning experiences to minimize the distance that can be created.

Resources

Bransford, J., Stevens, R., Schwartz, D., Meltzoff, A., Pea, R., Roschelle, J., . . . Sabelli, N. (2006). Learning theories and education: Toward a decay of synergy. In P. Alexander & P. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 209–244). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. [Course E-reserves]

Gee, J. P. (2000). Identity as an analytic lens for research in education (http://ezaccess.libraries. psu.edu/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1167322) . Review of Research in Education, 25(2000- 2001), 99–125.

Pea, R., Nass, C., Meheula, L., Rance, M., Kumar, A., Bamford, H., . . . Zhou, M. (2012). M edia use, face-to-face communication, media multitasking, and social well-being among 8- to 12-year-old girls (http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1010731 032?accountid=13158) . Developmental Psychology, 48(2), 327–336.

Sharples, M., Arnedillo-Sánchez, I., Milrad, M., & Vavoula, G. (2009). Mobile learning: Sma ll devices, big issues (https://link-springer-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/content/pdf/10.1007/978-1-4020-9 827-7_14.pdf) . In N. Balacheff, S. Ludvigsen, et al. (Eds.), Technology-enhanced learning: Principles and products (pp. 233–249). Springer.

Turkle, S.  (2011). The Colbert Report Sherry Turkle [Video File].  http://www.cc.com/video-clips/kd5rmr/the-colbert-report-sherry-turkle

Wood, D. (n.d.) Andragogy:  Apreciating the Characteristics of the Adult Learner.  https://hawaii.hawaii.edu/node/495

 

Reflection 1: Unexpectedly Connected Learning

Katie on

The landscape of learning now is much different that it was 20 years ago.  Then, cell phones were just becoming smart and laptops were just starting to be affordable for the general population.  The first iPad didn’t make an appearance until 2010.  It’s amazing how much has changed in two short decades.  With this type of change, it only makes sense that how we learn has also changed to make use of such powerful devices.   As Sharples (2013) says,

One definition that captures the dual perspectives of learner mobility and learning with portable technology is the following: Any sort of learning that happens when the learner is not at a fixed, predetermined location, or learning that happens when the learner takes advantage of the learning opportunities offered by mobile technologies (O’Malley et al. 2003)

This definition is all encompassing as it tells a story about mobile learning.  It’s mobile learning if you are on your couch looking at your phone and also, if you are on a ski lift using your phone to watch a ski lesson.  Mobile learning not only brings the content to the learner but also takes the learner to the content.  The ability for one to take the content with them blurs the lines of what is and is not a classroom.  It allows us to integrate learning into our daily routines and when we have a need to learn something.  Mobile learning is the ultimate learning support tool.   Sharples (2013) states, “mobile devices are increasingly presented as tools that support transitions between episodes of learning in formal and informal settings, or simply as a means of supporting and connecting a student’s learning whether it be formal or informal.”  And, I would add that it supports not only transitions to and from learning, but also allows learning to be non-linear and on a continuum.

As a workplace learning designer, the ability to have learning literally in the hands of my learners all of the time is exciting.  From performance support perspectives, it allows us to create a knowledge base of demonstrations and procedures than can be referenced on-demand when the learner needs them.  For learning new skills, it allows the learner again, the option to choose when they would like to learn it and it also allows the learner to be active in the environment in which they will perform the task.  All of this allows for an increase in learner engagement with the content and recall as it is associated with the real environment.

Sharples (2013) also addresses may issues that arise in workplace learning and in school.  One of the biggest keys to success in using technologies to support learning is the “availability of technology, institutional support, connectivity and integration” (Sharples 2013).  Technology is not beneficial if it’s not functioning as intended if instructional designs fully rely on the technology to act as the transfer agent of the learning.  Dolan (2016) and Sharples (2013) both bring up the issue of device ownership.  Sharples discusses the benefits of individuals owning their own devices as they have a choice in what they use to learn and Dolan discusses the “BYOD (bring your own device)” in schools.  The goal of this idea is multifaceted.  It gives learners choice; however, the burden of cost shifts from the entity or organization facilitating to the learner.  And for some, this may become a barrier to learning.  Yardi (2012) shares that the socioeconomic status effects the accessibility of technology to children and those with lower scores generally share devices with their siblings or parents where those with high scores often have access to their own devices.  So, those with lower SES scores may not be able to fully engage in mobile learning as easily as those with higher scores.  It seems as though this may also be true of adults; however, the article was focused on K-12.

So, why do we care?  Why do we care if learners are connected easily with learning content?  Connectivity increases engagement by allowing us not only to receive information but also to create it.  Yardi (2016) shares examples of how mobile devices allow learners to be both “consumers and producers.”  Mobile learning allows us to design learning experiences that integrate the experience of learning into all of our environments.  It allows us to learn and allows us to teach others when and where we least expect it.

Sharples, M. (2013). Mobile learning: Research, practice and challenges (http://oro.open.ac.uk/ 37510/).  Distance Education in China, 3(5), 5–11.

Dolan, J. E. (2016). Splicing the divide: A review of research on the evolving digital divide among K–12 students. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(1), 16–37. doi: 10.1080/15391523.2015.1103147 [Course E-reserves]

Yardi, S., & Bruckman, A. (2012, May). Income, race, and class: Exploring socioeconomic differences in family technology use (https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/dev/ms-142150-2016 0602160611/content/03_lesson/images/p3041-yardi-1.pdf) . Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 3041–3050). ACM, Austin, TX.

Reflection 0: Learning in the WILD

Katie on

Greetings!

I’m looking forward to learning together this semester.  Before I get started with this week’s post, feel free to take a few moments to read About me.  My journey to a career in learning hasn’t been a straight path, but one that has helped me appreciate that learning is a journey for everyone.  Now that we know each other, let’s get going!

As a learning designer, one of my primary concerns is keeping up with my learners’ expectations of what engaging learning looks like.  To many, engaging learning is learning that meets them where they are when they need it that allows interaction or activity.  Mobile learning is a perfect complement to make learning more engaging.

Currently, the majority of my organization’s learning is facilitated through in-person courses and some eLearning modules.  In the last several years we have gradually reduced the amount of courses that are solely offered through instructor-led opportunities and converted some of those to eLearning.  For our development, we primarily use Camtasia for video and Captivate for more interactive eLearning courses. Captivate supports the use of a responsive user interface that adapts to the device that the learner is taking the course on—whether it be on a PC or a “wireless interactive learning device” aka a WILD device (Pea 2006).  Having the ability to bring the learning to learners geographically and at the time they need it most is well served by the use of mobile learning.

Like many people, when I need to learn something—maybe a DIY task that I am unfamiliar with—I google it.  And while I may have searched it on a computer in years past, I now, almost exclusively search it on my phone.  Just last weekend I patches some holes in a wall and I had my phone next to me and watched a video step by step as I was performing the task.  My phone did wind up with a little sanding dust, but, my trusty companion helped me perform the task at a higher level than without the aid.  One of my goals is to eventually make this a reality for my organization.  A reality in which my learners can use either their smart phone or a work-issued tablet to have next to them while they perform a task as an on the spot training aid.  It takes learning customization to a whole new level because the learning is happening exactly where and when it needs to.

Pea and Maldonado were very accurate in their descriptions of the possibilities of what and how WILD can be used to support learning.  They named 7 aspects to the devices:

  1. size and portability;

  2. small screen size;

  3. computing power and modular platform;

  4. communication ability through wireless and infrared beaming networks;

  5. wide range of available multipurpose applications;

  6. ready ability to synchronize and backup with other computers; and

  7. stylus driven interface.  (Pea 2006)

Really, the only area they over-estimated was the stylus.  However, one could argue that the advancement in the ability of screens to pick up a user’s fingertip in place of a stylus only helped make devices more mobile because a stylus is not required.  In some cases, like fine detailed drawing or drafting a stylus may still be preferred in today’s environment.

Recently, I have begun exploring the use of augmented and virtual reality courses to support our learners needs.  Captivate offers this ability through the use of 360 degree photos.  And the use of this type of learning seems to suit exploratory training in a variety of environments.  In workforce education, this would be excellent for safety training in which there are physical hazards and tours of spaces to explore tasks associated with those spaces just to name a few.  The best part about using augmented and virtual reality is that it allows the learner to associate the correct environment with what they learned.  Sometimes people make comments regarding how training is nothing like the real world.  Well, both of these overcome that issue quite realistically.

Another concern addressed by Pea and Maldonado that impresses me is the observation about interruption.  For all of us who have taught anyone who owns a smart phone, we know how distracting they can be.  In their observation they describe how

WILD interventions have several common design concerns, such as interruptions- determining when is it appropriate to interrupt the user with a suggestion, and how to detect when the learning intervention has been interrupted by real-world events requiring the user’s attention – as well as context. “Context” refers to the hand-held’s ability to use implicit information about its user’s whereabouts and activities.  (Pea 2006)

This conversation would be most relevant for me when I think of a WILD with a performance support system to help guide users as they are performing a task.  Or when using a device that is constantly on a person’s body, like a watch, in which excessive interaction could be counterproductive and cause a learner to disable features that may be notifying them too often.

For me, learning with the use of WILD helps overcome several issues and feedback requests that I have received in workplace learning.  Relevancy, accessibility and timing are key to the development of new knowledge.  With advancements in the ability of devices and the ability for rapid development tools to support creation of these types of learning experiences, it is clear that mobile learning will become mainstream.

Pea, R. D., & Maldonado, H. (2006). WILD for learning: Interacting through new computing devices anytime, anywhere. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (pp. 427–441). New York: Cambridge University Press.