Learners and mobile devices - a community of practice case study

Abstract

As part of a national project “Learners and mobile devices”, the Faculty of Education at The University of Auckland are exploring ways in which mobile learning technology and social media can be used effectively to enhance student learning and achievement. Within our practitioner-researcher community of practice, we aim to attain deep learning outcomes by using mobile learning to support authentic learning, increase student and teacher motivation, facilitate meaningful student engagement and interaction, ease effective feedback loops, and enhance achievement in our courses. We are four lecturers working collaboratively with a learning designer and technology steward, who have set up our community of practice based on Cochrane’s (2014) critical success factors for mobile learning. We have collaborated together on Junior Commerce and Technology Education Primary, to be followed in Summer School and Semester 1, 2015 with Secondary Practicum, Digital Enhancement and Media for Education respectively. Using a design-based research methodology, with emphasis on the pedagogically sound integration of mobile devices, tools and applications into our courses, we have found students and teachers to be excited about new ways of teaching and learning. While the effort and time we are spending researching and exploring mobile learning is considerable, we are beginning to see benefits with increased collaboration and deeper engagement for our students and teachers. Our presentation will detail lessons learned to date - from the setting up of the community of practice, to courses run in Semester Two 2014, and where we see our next steps for courses running in Summer School 2014, and Semester One 2015. Some of us are unable to attend Shar-E-Fest, but will record video presentations of our findings to date. Our study is a work in progress, and we welcome feedback from the Shar-E-Fest community.