Co-design for Conceptual Spaces: An Agile Design Methodology for m-Learning

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Co-design for Conceptual SpacesAn Agile Design
Methodology for m-Learning

• Yvonne Howard,
• Dave Millard
• Learning Societies Lab

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The mPLAT Project Mobile Learning Support Tools

• University of Southampton
• Learning Society Lab, School of Electronics and
  Computer Science
• School of Nursing and Midwifery
• Thames Valley University
• Faculty of Health Human Sciences,
• Faculty of Management and Information Sciences
• Bournemouth and Poole College (FE)
• a well connected team.

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Background

• What is Mobile Learning?
• The delivery of training by means of mobile
  devices such as Mobile Phones, PDAs and digital
  audio players, as well as digital cameras and
  voice recorders, pen scanners and so on (Douglas
  McConatha and Matt Prau, Aug. 2007)
• Why Mobile Learning?
• Location-based and contextual learning is more
  connected to surroundings and offers more
  collaborative activities.

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Background Conceptual spaces in m-learning

• Enabling users to navigate, understand and engage
  with a conceptual space
• Social space
• A model of people, their affiliations,
  relationships and communications
• Knowledge or domain map
• A network of concepts in a domain and their
  relationships
• Competency framework
• A description of skills, abilities and the
  relationships between them

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The challenges of designing for conceptual spaces

• Developers require domain specific expert
  knowledge
• May not understand the potential or limitations
  of the domain
• Domain experts are unlikely to have experience of
  mobile tools and applications
• May not appreciate the potential or limitations
  of the technology
• Both may miss the potential for innovation
• Co-design methodology brings domain experts and
  technologists together as partners in innovation

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mPLAT case study

• Nurses need to become holistic practitioners
  within a competency framework of inter-related
  skills and abilities
• Clinical placements are 50 of 3-year course
• Paper Portfolio based summative assessment
• Heavy workload of the supervising mentor
• Assessment processes can be fragile
• Mentors are reluctant to fail failing students
• Students are away from their usual learning
  environment
• Difficult to access learning resources whilst on
  placement

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Co-design methodology for the mplat toolkit
A team of technologists and domain experts
(nurses, mentors, students) work together to
design the toolkit through a number of focused
co-design meetings.
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The mPLAT co-design outcomes

• Support connection between placement
  opportunities and learning outcomes
• Support reflective practice through
• Self assessment
• Revealing the inter-connectedness of the
  proficiency and skills network
• Support the student and mentor learning
  relationship
• Provide adaptive information, advice, guidance on
  actions to be taken
• the conceptual space
• But also to support learning networks
• Access to on line resources
• Communication with peer learners
• Communication with Academic tutors
• Personal organisation tools
• Diary, notebook, journal

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Challenges

• Contextual
• What is permissible in the environment?
• Privacy Issues?
• Data Protection
• Intrusiveness
• Technological
• Independent access to the Internet
• Lightweight tools that can be combined
• Usability

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The MPLAT Toolkit What we built
Implemented on a Tytn II Smartphone - 3G Wireless
for independent access to the internet, School
of Nursing intranet, email, SMS. - The
toolkit could be used either connected or
disconnected from the internet Windows mobile
Office applications calendar, MSWord etc -
Usable, flip out, qwerty keyboard - Other built
in features, useful in future development of the
toolkit, aiding documenting of evidence, such as
sound recording, and camera / video
functionality. - Met NHS requirements for
infection control in clinical areas
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Design and Implementation Placement profile Tool

• Placement profile creation by mentor
• What experiences are available in this placement
  for each Proficiency and skill?
• Rated by quality of availability

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Design and Implementation Self assessment

• Reflective self assessment by the student
• Rate your ability in each Proficiency and Skill
  in the competency framework
• Comment on your assessment
• Formatively reveal your priorities to work on

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Implementation Self assessment

• Self assessment by student
• Visualisation of competency proficiency and
  skills network
• Explore connections between proficiencies and
  skills
• What other proficiencies can I work towards by
  tackling these skills?

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Design and Implementation Action plan view

• Mentor and Student work together to produce an
  Action Plan
• Self-assessment and Placement Profile brought
  together
• What learning outcomes are possible in this
  placement and which are the priority for the
  students competency achievement

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Design and Implementation Action plan view

• Viewable, printable, browsable action plan to
  support daily placement practice

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Evaluation Trials in a clinical setting

• First Trial Southampton
• 4 weeks to get accustomed to the native tools
  available with the Smart Phone
• 4 weeks using the mPLAT placement tool
• Support site, (FAQs, support team)
• Browser based alternative for mentors
• What we learned
• Informed, careful, traditional deployment is not
  enough
• Its different for nurses!
• Second Trial at TVU
• Co-deployment brought in to the methodology
• Deployment needs to involve the mentor, placement
  and student
• Third Trial at Bournemouth and Poole College

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Conclusion

• Co-design methodology
• Combines techniques from HCI, agile development,
  lightweight software engineering
• Mutual learning and fusion of horizons towards a
  goal
• mPLAT M-learning tools for complex conceptual
  spaces
• Encourages reflective, holistic practice by
  engagement with the competency conceptual space
• Connects physical activities in the real world
  with a conceptual space
• In the context of the relationship between
  students and mentors

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Thank you

• Questions, comments, discussion