Case Studies
Mobile Learning
Handheld ICT in the classroom
Project Aim
Using an ICT in Schools Standards Fund budget of £25,000, the mobile learning research project looked at the effect of PDAs (handheld personal organisers) on classroom organisation and creation of learning environments in 2 Northampton schools.
Activities in School
In September 2004 the LDC supplied PDAs to pupils and staff in two year 5 classes at Lyncrest and Simon de Senlis schools. e-learning consultants visited the schools regularly for a month, to introduce the children to their PDAs. Input varied from initial whole-class sessions to one-on-one clinics in the playground.
The schools were already equiped with broadband, and the project ensured wireless networking gave everyone network and Internet access. Wireless technology itself seemed too familiar to inspire much interest, but the ability to "beam" from one PDA to another generated great excitement.
Practical lessons emerged first. The small connectors on the power cables could easily be pushed in upside-down, damanging the contacts. Charging was quickly switched to the more robust desktop cradles.
In the early sessions challenges were set to explore the PDA's functions, from Excel spreasheets to voice recording. At the end of the start-up period, the e-learning consultants and pupils identified basic and advanced PDA skills which could be tested and rewarded with a PDA user's license.
Basic Level PDA License
- I can plug my PDA safely into a charger cradle.
- I can check my battery power percentage
- I can set reminders for tasks for a date and time
- I can use the audio recorder to record myself counting from 1 to 5 in French
- I can beam something from my PDA to another person’s
- I can use Pocket Word to write a story with 30 or more words and check the spelling
- I can draw a diagram on my PDA based on a picture I am given
- I can change the sound volume on my PDA
- I can set the right date and time on my PDA
- I can make sure my PDA has the correct Owner Information
- I can delete an unwanted file from my PDA You need to be able to do all these things before you can take your PDA home – when you do pass you will be given some extra programs and a certificate.
- I can change the language setting for my PDA from English to French and back again
- I can change the screen saver on my PDA
- I can use the password feature on my PDA
- I can set Time Zones and see what the time is in different parts of the world
- I can set the screen brightness and contrast and understand the point of doing it
- I can rename a file
- I can see how much memory I have left and manage it
- I can add and remove contacts from my PDA
The LDC consultants reduced the level of direct support after this initial phase, and returned to support a special interest topic in the Summer term.
Outcome
It was soon clear that different seating arrangements between schools had a significant effect on how new skills and knowledge were transfered. At Simon de Senlis pupils had rich sharing of ideas in localised "clumps". At Lyncrest a more "viral" pattern emerged, as ideas spread wider but not necessarily to the person next to you.
The students identified four key areas of use for the handheld technology:
- web access
- ability to store and carry your files
- ability to beam files to your friends
- voice and audio recording
Over its full term the project raised questions about sustainability and the value of the handheld devices. In the startup phase the LDC's input was clearly needed, to deliver the equipment and develop basic skills, but to maintain this level of involvement throughout would have made it unclear if the idea had built its own momentum and could sustain itself. The students' long-term use of their PDAs varied significantly, and in many cases emphasised the gaps in skills rather than reducing them.
In line with the wider education community, the project revealed limits to the intrinsic value of the PDA. The handhelds were quickly overtaken by the pace of technology development, with similar or better features becoming available on the more familiar, everyday hardware of mobile phones.
Conclusion
This type of project is easy to start and very hard to sustain. The initial stages of delivering the equipment to the students and developing the PDA licence were straightforward. To then continue meant either very intense support, which the LDC couldn’t resource, or a guidance role which would make it hard to distinguish momentum developed by the idea alone.
Within a year the capabilities of mobile phones raced ahead of handheld PDAs. The most valued functions - web access, ability to store and share files, and audio recording - are now all done better by phones.
The feedback from the children revealed as much about their general attitude to ICT as about their experience of handheld technology. The depth and quality of PDA use varied significantly within the group, and in many cases it emphasised and increased the gap in skills rather than narrowing it. If this emerges as a wider pattern, as children make more use of portable ICT, then we need to take action to resolve it.