Deployment Of Mobile Technologies Research Articles

Let us explain everything: pupils’ perspectives of the affordances of mobile technology during primary science inquiry

This three-year longitudinal case study focused on the deployment of mobile technology in the form of tablet computers (iPads), during Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE). The research took place in a larger than average primary school in the West Midlands, UK, which showed a strong commitment to Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) resulting in iPads being used as an integral learning tool, across the entire curriculum. During the research, pupils in Upper Key Stage Two (10–11 year olds) were observed taking part in science weeks which consisted of intense periods of science inquiry, much of which was child-led. The impact of the embedded use of iPads was monitored by scrutinising pupils’ work in the form of multimedia presentations and experimental reports. Pupils’ learning behaviours and attitudes to mobile technology were explored through observations and paired interviews. The embedded use of iPads during IBSE was shown to increase science knowledge acquisition and support scientific literacy, recording of processes and aid understanding of working scientifically. Furthermore, iPads were shown to afford opportunities for personalisation of scientific learning experiences and foster collaboration at several levels, factors which were highly valued by the pupils. The outcomes of this study can be used to further inform the refinement of m-learning strategies in primary science and illuminate opportunities for developing the practice of science pedagogues.

Gesture in speaking tasks beyond the classroom: An exploration of the multimodal negotiation of meaning via Skype videoconferencing on mobile devices

This qualitative study attempts to explicate the role of gestures formed with learners’ hands and technology during second language speaking tasks via Skype videoconferencing tools, accessed on mobile devices. The theory of negotiation of meaning according to the Varonis and Gass model of non-understandings (1985) underpins the study. Data was collected from ten intermediate English language learners via recordings of their task-based interactions and stimulated recall interviews. The study found that gestures support forms of negotiation through affording participants a range of visual and embodied clues which operate in close conjunction with their language use. Findings suggest that gestures play a role in the establishment of joint attention and negotiation of vocabulary; and they are exploited to appeal for assistance and scaffold interlocutors. In some instances, gestures also potentially confuse learners. The deployment of mobile technologies was found to transform and mediate gestures in complex ways. Learners also experience challenges in their co-ordination of multimodal talk from beyond the classroom.

LTE networking: extending the reach for sensors in mHealth applications

ABSTRACTSensor and electronic‐health networks are widely utilized at home and in industry/research applications. In a local sense, a sensor‐to‐sensor network can have a range of a few meters to a couple of hundred meters (ZigBee Pro can extend this range up to 2000 m). With the deployment of mobile technology in the healthcare space (mobile‐Health ‘m‐Health’) and using cellular coverage, the range can virtually be unbounded. However, supporting bounded delay (end‐to‐end delay), class of service, and quality of service for critical sensor‐mHealth applications may become challenging. This challenge can be alarmingly extended when thousands of users run their sensor‐mHealth applications simultaneously and depend on limited coverage of the cell tower to transmit their health‐related data across. In this paper we will discuss how the 3rd Generation Partnership Project–Long Term Evolution networks can address such aggregation issues, and discuss the challenges and provide recommendations.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Investigating the Effects of Distractions and Task Complexity on Knowledge Worker Productivity in the Context of Mobile Computing Environments

Mobile wireless computing is changing the way in which people work, allowing work to occur in a broad range of environments on tasks that previously required fixed location-based, networked computing environments. Along with this greater work flexibility, it is also likely that these mobile work environments contain various types of distractions that could potentially affect the task performance of knowledge workers. Drawing on distraction-conflict theory, this research proposes a model of knowledge worker task performance within the context of a mobile wireless work environment. To test this model, a controlled laboratory experiment was conducted that contrasted task complexity and distraction levels on the task performance of individuals within a mobile wireless environment. Results indicate that regardless of task complexity, productivity losses will occur under both lower and higher levels of distraction. The implications of these results for future research and for the deployment of mobile technologies within organizations are discussed.