Unlocking Learning from Formal Settings: Transformations and Fantasies with Technology

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Unlocking Learning from Formal Settings
Transformations and Fantasies with Technology

• 2GO Pedagogical Mobility
• Conference
• Oslo, October 18, 2002
• Bridget Somekh
• Manchester Metropolitan University

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Lets go on an ideas journey presentation
outline

• Learning transformation in the home examples
  from ImpaCT2
• Pupils awareness of Computers in their World
• Evidence from Pupil Researchers in ImpaCT2
• Separate Cultures of home, school and peer group
• Schools going mobile - examples from ICTHOS et
  al.
• Fantasies and practical experiments with mobile
  phones
• Finding fit between people and technologies
• Can we find fit between technologies and
  pedagogy?
• What next? transformations and fantasies to come

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2GO with knowledge transformation

• ICT (IKT) is a new tool and we must expect it to
  transform human activity (Wertsch, 1998). It is
  doing so in many areas but not so far in schools.

• When knowledge is situated in authentic
  contexts it is transformed from school
  knowledge to usable knowledge (Brown et al
  1989). ICT can provide authentic contexts for
  learning - for example, when it is
  self-directed or collaborative with an adult.

• The development of mind includes distributed
  cognition (Salamon, 1993) and ICT supports
  the collaborative process

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So - are 10-16 year old pupils havingany
transforming learning experiences?
The ImpaCT2 project, 1999-2002, looked at
the impact of ICT on pupils learning. Strand 1
looked for evidence of improved performance
intest scores. Strand 2 looked for evidence of
newkinds of learning, including informal
learningin the home and within youth culture.
(Harrison et al. 2001 Somekh et al. 2002
forthcoming)
One method used was concept mapping. Pupilswere
asked to tell the researchers their ideas
aboutComputers in My World through drawing a
map.
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Emma, aged 15 personal and social use of ICT
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Learning transformation - in the home
Cole 1999
either have ICT skills already or acquire them
quickly
Young people have high awareness of ICT
ImpaCT2 2002
Powerful computers at home and no blocks
Time using ICT at home is often unlimited
Chaiklin and Lave 1996
Home use of ICT is self-directed
and exploratory may be situated
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Analysis of concept maps

• Both quantitative and qualitative
• Started with detailed scrutiny looking
  forpatterns (grounded theory / phenomenography)
• Five part analysis number of nodes, number of
  links, connectivity (links divided by nodes),
  number of spheres of thinking,number of zones
  of use. Correlations with kids responses to
  questionnaires on use of ICT
• Semiotic interpretation of the maps
• Follow up interviews looking for patterns
  ofawareness.

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Young peoples ways of knowing

• Emma, aged 15 social and personal use
• Roger, aged 10 electronic games
• Amanda, aged 13 information/communication
• Tom, aged 14 computers in different locations
• Brian, aged 11 different kinds of technologies

Phenomenography, Marton and Booth 1997
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Roger electronic games
Roger aged 10 June 2000 Games machines
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Amanda, aged 10, June 2000 information and
communication
Amanda information and communication
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Scott, aged 14, June 2001 Zones of Use
Tom - zones of use
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Brian, aged 11, June 2001 fascination with
technology
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Working with pupils as researchers

• Teachers were asked to invite selected pupils to
  work with the team as researchers
• They provided additional data
• - A log of one weeks computer activities
• - A Special Report of an ICT activity which
  had been particularly helpful for their learning
• - A questionnaire on their use of, and
  attitudes to, the Internet
• - Pupil interviews of other pupils on their
  use of mobile phones, games or the Internet.

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pupils as informants the Special Report
Special Report
Name Age School
 
Please choose a time time when using the computer
has helped you with your school work.
This is not a test! Please tell us what you
think.
         
 
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pupils as informants the Internet Questionnaire
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instructions

• IMPORTANT!
• Please check that the cassette recorder is
  working properly (that it records and plays
  back).
• Please ask If it is okay to record the
  interview.
• Please make sure you switch the cassette
  recorder on.
• Please explain what the interview is about.
• Please explain what ImpacT2 is and what your job
  is.

Are you happy for the interview to be recorded?
interviewing

• This cassette and the report will be sent to a
  university researcher.
• That person will listen to the tape and read the
  report.
• The information will be used to help the ImpacT2
  team to find out about how we use computers at
  home.
• What people say is private and no names will be
  given in the project reports.
• Are you happy with this?

  It is okay to change your questions or add
more.
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Informal use at home - doing what?
Simons log of ICT use for a week one hour at
school seven hours at home of games
Friday I played on a game where you could
make your own music.
Playing Games involves learning
Thursday I played the game sensible
soccer.
Monday I went on the internet and got pictures.
Wednesday and Thursday I played a manager
game. (running a football club)
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Cultures of home, school and peer group are very
separate

• Learning is about school in the discourse of UK
  young people. Its not cool.
• Games and playing on the computer is their
  discourse of using ICT at home. Its cool.
• Learning is the business of school, and home and
  school should be kept apart I dont want to be
  at school learning for six hours and then go home
  and my Mums drumming information into my head as
  well. (14 year old boy, ICTHOS project)

Pedagogy is frozen in the school, not mobile.
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ICT and Home-School Links Project (ICTHOS)

• Focus experimental work using ICT to link home
  and school in innovative schools.
• Knowledge mapping exercise, drawing on gray
  literature and published work.
• Questionnaire of 100 schools which had been
  noticed for this kind of innovative work.
• Interviews with key informants known to be
  influential in UK policy development for ICT
• Stake-holders seminar after 3 months
• Case studies of seven schools selected from
  questionnaire responses for interesting types of
  use.
• (Somekh, Mavers and Lewin, 2001)

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Experimenting with mobile pedagogy in innovative
schools in England
Transferring pupils work between home and schools
using floppy discs
Wireless links between schools and between home
and school
Laptops with wireless links owned
by departments for flexible in-school use instead
of ICT rooms
Linking hospital, school and home
using Video-conferencing
Transferring files between home and school by
email
Access to the schools intranet from home using a
thin client located at home.
Access to the schools intranet and own
personal work space at home and at school
via internet
Personal laptops for teachers and pupils used
both at school and at home

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Earlier examples of mobile pedagogy

• Video-conferencing to bring specialist teachers
  to remote schools in the north-west of Scotland,
  for example Art and Science (Hall, McPake and
  Somekh, 1997)
• Primary children learning with Psion Peresonal
  Organisers

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Schools can change. Classroom walls can be broken
down. Because new technology tools transform
what we can do to facilitate learning.
e.g. Project work in the forest noting
observations in a portable Psion.
Psion Project led by Diane Mavers 1993
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Examining a leaf as part of projectwork in the
forest. All the children are entering data
about their observations in portable
Psions. They will down-load the data into
PCs back at school.
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Fantasizing with phones
Phones are cultural capital for teenagers
Escaping from here ..
Phones are cool because no one need ever
again be alone
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Practical experiments with mobile phones for
mobile learning

• The M-Learning Project, Ultralab, LSDA and CTAD
  (UK) CRMPA (Italy) Lecando (Sweden) funded by
  the EU IST Programme - 16-24 age group not in
  full time education- microportal-
  bite-sized learning materials
• M-learning, a project of the Norwegian NKI
  Electronic College www.nettskolen.com

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Finding fit between peoples practical and
emotional needs and technologies

• Phones are a bit like a soap opera. You get
  addicted and you
• cant wait for the next soap - you cant wait
  till the next call.
• Young man aged 20-24 in a shopping centre
  survey conducted
• by Carol Savill-Smith of the UK Learning and
  Skill Council in the m-Learning project
  (Savill-Smith, 2002)

• Buying books from Amazon fits the needs of
  university researchers.

• In England, texting by mobile phone fits the
  needs of teenagersin school - because it is
  silent, secret and private.

• Accessing the internet via a G2.5 mobile phone
  fits the needs of
• Japanese young people, because few have computers
  at home. Email
• by mobile phone is cool and cheap, texting is
  hardly used.
• (Dias, 2002)

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Can we find fit with technologies through
pedagogical mobility?
The m-Learning projects microportal Desk and
field research into the needs, preferences,
attitudes and habits of young adult mobile
phone users informs the iterative design and
development process. (Popat, 2002)
Mike Sharples adopted a similar iterative process
to research and develop portable learning
technologies for young chldren (Sharples,
1999)
GridClub is an educational fun web-site for
7-11 year oldchildren developed by Channel 4 TV,
Oracle and Intuitive Mediawith funding from the
British Government. www.gridclub.com
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New forms of assessment for new kinds of learning
with ICT

• Stephen Heppells example from yesterday
  (incorporating assessment within a meta-cognitive
  cycle)
• Switch from summative to formative assessment
  with an emphasis on supporting learning (Wiliam
  and Black 2002)
• Computer adaptive assessment - the support model
  (Ahmed and Pollitt, 2002)

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Transformations or fantasies to come?

• Schools will have wireless networking.
• Adults and kids roles will both be as
  co-learners.
• Both will own personal, portable, computers with
  wireless connectivity, full internet
  capabilities, and access at home and school.
• These might be mobile phones withpop-out
  screens and plug-in keyboards.
• Learning will be unlocked from schools.

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More transformations or fantasies ?

• The curriculum will be negotiated.
• Assessment will incorporate use of ICT and
  access to on-line resources
• All schools will engage in learning through
  exploration, self-directed projects play.
• Timing of the school day will be flexible
• Groupings will vary in size to fit purpose.
• Communities will share with schools therole of
  caring for young people.

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References
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Dias, J. V. (2002). Cell Phones in Education Not
Just a Nuisance. British Educational Research
Association Conference, at Exeter
University. Hall, J., McPake, J. and Somekh, B.
(1997). Education Departments' Superhighways
Initiative Final Report of two Scottish Projects.
Edinburgh, Scottish Council for Research in
Education. Harrison, C., Fisher, T., Haw, K.,
Lewin, C., McFarlane, A., Mavers, D., Scrimshaw,
P. and Somekh, B. (2001). ImpaCT2 Emerging
Findings from the Evaluation of the Impact of
Information and Communications Technologies on
Pupil Attainment. London, Department for
Education and Skills. www.becta.org.uk/research/r
eports/ImpaCT2/ Marton, F. and Booth, S. (1997).
Learning and Awareness. Mahwah NJ, Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
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Popat, K. (2002). Microportal Development for an
m-Learning Project. British Educational Research
Association, at Exeter University. Salomon, G.,
Ed. (1993). Distributed Cognitions psychological
and educational considerations. Cambridge, New
York and Melbourne, Cambridge Univeresity
Press. Savill-Smith, C. (2002). The m-Learning
Project and Its Investigation into Young Adults'
Use of Mobile Phones. British Educational
Research Association Conference, at Exeter
University. Sharples, M. (1999). Disruptive
Devices Personal Technologies and Education.
Inaugural lecture of the Kodak / Royal Academy of
Engineering Research Chair in Educational
Technology, University of Birmingham.
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London
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