This article is the third in a series of five articles about scenarios for mobile learning.
These are linked to an initiative to promote and capture innovation in e-learning.
What is it?
Students can use mobile devices to capture experiences outside of the classroom, either for later review by themselves and the tutor (e.g. reflection whilst on placement), or for shared group purposes (such as data collection on field trips).
Benefits
There are a number of benefits: Students can capture information in digital formats rather than writing information in paper format and then having to type it online later. Real-time capture of student experiences should lead to better recall and more authenticity. Also if students can share such experiences more easily with teachers, then teachers can better monitor their progress and provide quicker feedback to their students.
How it can work
Students are now increasingly likely to have mobile capture devices with them. Also many places where students are on placements (such as schools and hospitals) have limited wireless access but are likely to have mobile connectivity.
Depending on the purpose and type of experience captured, there are many options for sharing back the data or information: A Blackboard survey or test can be used for students to submit answers to a series of questions (such as how a particular lesson went for trainee teachers). Google Forms can be created by students themselves, and used to collect individual and private reflections, or set up to collect shared data sets. Also, Blackboard blogs can be accessed and posted to via the mobile Blackboard app in SHUgo on selected phones.
Potential issues
The interfaces for Blackboard and Google Forms are still developing. Formal mobile app interfaces are easier to use but are not yet available for all smart phones. Also, reflective learning involves thinking about something over a period of time. So where reflection is the aim, guidance should encourage revisiting initial recorded information for a deeper reflection cycle.
Follow up on this article
- Share your own mobile learning innovation – and win £500 and a pie/cake!
- View all five scenarios (download a Word doc).
- See A Case Study of Mobile Learning in Teacher Training – MENTOR ME (Mobile Enhanced Mentoring)
