Abstract
This paper is a comparative account and analysis of three mobile Web 2.0 projects instigated within a tertiary learning environment during 2008. Following the successful instigation of a mobile Web 2.0 project in the third year of a Bachelor of Product Design course during semester one, similar projects were initiated in semester two within the first-year and second-year Bachelor of Product Design courses. A common methodology for supporting and facilitating mobile Web 2.0 projects was used for all three projects. The projects were designed to explore the potential of mobile Web 2.0 tools to enhance both the formal and informal teaching and learning environments with a focus upon mobile blogging (moblogging). A comparison of student and teaching staff feedback from each of the three projects provided a basis for identifying and illustrating critical success factors within similar m-learning scenarios. Critical success factors identified include: the importance of the pedagogical integration of the technology into the course assessment, lecturer modelling of the pedagogical use of the tools, the need for regular formative feedback from lecturers to students, and the appropriate choice of mobile devices and software to support the pedagogical model underlying the course.Keywords: mobile learning; Web 2.0; moblogging; social constructivism; action researchDOI: 10.1080/09687769.2010.494718
Highlights
The structure of the paper is as follows: beginning with an overview of the m-learning concepts underpinning the research, followed by a short summary of associated mlearning research, the project’s main research questions and an introduction to the research project
The research summarised is part of a wider research project investigating the potential of mobile Web 2.0 for enhancing tertiary education through a series of action research projects in a variety of disciplines
This paper focuses on the effect of mobile Web 2.0 upon the pedagogical development of one of these projects (Bachelor of Product Design)
Summary
The structure of the paper is as follows: beginning with an overview of the m-learning concepts underpinning the research, followed by a short summary of associated mlearning research, the project’s main research questions and an introduction to the research project. The results section comprises a comparative analysis of the participants’ activity and feedback, which is used to illustrate one of the critical pedagogical success factors that have been identified across the research projects between 2006 and 2008. How these informed subsequent m-learning project iterations in 2009 is outlined. In contrast to Sharples, Taylor, and Vavoula (2007), Laurillard (2007) emphasises the teacher’s input in mobile environments through good pedagogic design that facilities continuity between the face-to-face and remote peer learning contexts Her definition of mobile learning incorporates the critical pedagogical design input of the teacher: “M-learning, being the digital support of adaptive, investigative, communicative, collaborative, and productive learning activities in remote locations, proposes a wide variety of environments in which the teacher can operate” (Laurillard 2007, 172). A similar methodology for facilitating and supporting the m-learning scenarios was used, with a few variables between the three courses, which allows for comparative analysis of potential success factors as illustrated by the results and participant feedback from the three projects
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