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A Handbook for Developers,

Educators, and Learners

Scott McQuiggan · Lucy Kosturko

Jamie McQuiggan · Jennifer Sabourin

Mobile

Learning

Contents

Preface ix

v

From Mobile Learning. Full book available for

From Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Developers, Educators, and Learners by Scott McQuiggan, Lucy Kosturko, Jamie McQuiggan, and Jennifer Sabourin. Copyright © 2015,

• Chapter 1 Changing Education with Mobile Learning Acknowledgments xiii - Revolutionize the System? A Brief History of Educational Technology: What Will
  • Mobile Learning: Reaching Kids Today
  • What Is Mobile Learning?
  • Benefits and Challenges of Mobile Learning
  • How to Make Mobile Learning Work
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
• Section 1 The Mobile Classroom
  • Chapter 2 The Science of Learning
    • Introduction
    • Information Processing and Learning
    • Other Critical Facets of Learning
    • Implications for Mobile Learning
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
  • Chapter 3 What Is It about These Devices?
    • Connected
    • Aware
    • Multimodal
    • Familiar
    • Personal
    • Comprehensive
    • Consolidated
    • Portable
    • Relevant
    • Secure vi C O N T E N T S
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
  • Chapter 4 Creating the Mobile Classroom
    • Theoretical Foundations
    • Instructional Methods
    • Problem-Based, Inquiry-Based, and Experiential Learning
    • Alternative Learning Environments
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
  • Chapter 5 Higher-Order Thinking Skills and Digital Fluency
    • Higher-Order Thinking Skills
    • Leveraging Mobile Learning
    • Critical Thinking
    • Classrooms for Higher-Order Thinking
    • Conclusion
    • Notes - Technology Access Chapter 6 Instructional Management and Levels of
    • Mobile Learning Programs
    • Levels of Access in the Mobile Classroom
    • 1:Teacher
    • 1:Many
    • 1:1
    • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
• Section 2 Creating the Mobile Learning Experience
  • Chapter 7 Mobile Technology’s Defining Features
    • Hardware
    • Software
    • Accessories
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
  • Chapter 8 The Educational App Development Process
    • Research Stage: Is It a Good Idea?
    • Building the Right Team: Capturing a Variety of Expertise
    • Building the App
      • Curriculum Pathways Case Study: App Development at SAS
    • Conclusion C O N T E N T S vii
    • Notes
  • Chapter 9 Design and User Experience
    • Designing a Great App: Make It Easy
    • Putting Great Design to Work
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
  • Chapter 10 Data, Evaluation, and Learning Analytics
    • Asking the Questions
    • Gathering Data
    • Sample Data Collection
    • Mobile Data Analytics: Turning Data into Information
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
  • Chapter 11 The Business of Educational Apps
    • The Educational App Market Is· · ·
    • How to Sell Your App: Pricing Models
    • How Users Buy Your App
    • Marketing
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
• Section 3 Mobile Learning for Everyone
  • Chapter 12 Informal Learning
    • Developing Lifelong Learners
    • Bridging Formal and Informal Learning
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
  • Chapter 13 Engaging Young Users: Apps for Preschoolers
    • Key Skills for Preschool Apps
    • What Makes an Engaging Preschool App?
    • Challenges
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
      • Visual Impairment Chapter 14 Making Accessible Apps: Autism and
    • Introduction
    • Advantages of the iPad for Special Populations
    • Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
    • Visual Impairment
    • Developing Accessible Apps viii C O N T E N T S
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
      • Digital Citizenship Chapter 15 Balancing Power: Data Use, Privacy, and
    • Privacy
    • Privacy Legislation
    • Open Issues
    • Digital Citizenship: Teaching Responsible Use
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
  • Chapter 16 Mobile Learning Today and Tomorrow
    • Introduction
    • Making Mobile Learning Work
    • The Future
    • Conclusion
    • Notes
  • Appendix A List of Apps by Chapter
  • Appendix B The Great App Checklist
    • How to Use This Checklist
    • The Great App Checklist
    • Notes
• About the Authors
• Index

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This interest in smartphones, tablets, and laptops is a major oppor- tunity to present new and exciting educational experiences. To what extent are schools capitalizing on this, though? And how often are they getting in their own way in reaching students? One teacher notes with frustration that her school has several iPad carts that teachers are encouraged to use, but cellphones are banned categorically. “There are certain times we might be doing a lesson and someone asks a question and I think ‘This’d be a great time to all get out our devices and look something up,’ but we can’t use cellphones and have to reserve our iPad carts in advance, so the moment passes. It’s frustrating because almost all of the kids have phones and their parents are paying for data plans anyway, but we can’t use them.”^1 In effect, schools with policies like these end up ignoring the technology and the skillset nec- essary to effectively use it in learning and life, leaving students not fully prepared for the real world. In another school, eighth-grade teachers have access to iPads the school has purchased and encourages them to use in their classrooms. Teachers are excited to have the devices, but don’t really know what to use them for, and they often sit unused. When asked what she uses them for, one teacher suggested they can be used as calculators. Clearly handing a device to a teacher with no guidance or training is not a way to make the best use of this expensive, Internet-connected device. Stories like these, of school policy being dictated to teachers and ineffective mobile technology use, are, sadly, not difficult to find. Poli- cies that categorically ban certain devices that are used in everyday life are lazy, failing to see the possibilities that they have to change and improve pedagogy. However, schools realize boundaries and accept- able uses of mobile technology need to be clearly defined, but they may not know where to begin. Rather than reimagining education and figuring out how to integrate modern technology to effectively reach students, administrators too often ignore and put up walls against new technologies. We present these stories not to discourage or say that there are simply too many hurdles and poor implementations of mobile technology. We offer these examples to illustrate the widespread mis- understandings about mobile learning and our need to address some key challenges.

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Ignoring mobile learning because of potential distraction or misuse results in missed opportunities for teaching tomorrow’s citizens how to find and use a seemingly limitless source of information at their fin- gertips. Mobile technology offers a huge opportunity to revolutionize education and learning, if knowledgeable, creative, and open-minded teachers and administrators embrace it.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY:

WHAT WILL REVOLUTIONIZE THE SYSTEM?

A new classroom tool promises to improve student learning and enable a more enriching learning experience. In a video promoting this tool, a student is seen answering questions in class at his own pace, and receiving immediate feedback to know if he was wrong or right. An expert notes some benefits of this tool: “There is also a motivating effect. The student is free of uncertainty or anxiety about his success or failure. His work is pleasurable. He does not have to force himself to study … it generates a high level of interest and enthusiasm.” This expert notes that technology could enable students to cover more than two times the information when compared to traditional classroom techniques. B.F. Skinner gave this forecast on the potential for technology to revolutionize learning and classroom procedures in 1954. 2 His teaching machine sounds strikingly similar to predictions today on how mobile technology can revolutionize classroom learning for students, though these were based on Skinner’s teaching machine, a clunky early com- puting machine that offered students a new way to learn indepen- dently using targeted, self-paced lessons. Similar predictions have since been made about personal computers, netbooks, and other technolo- gies. So, the question is, why were those predictions wrong in 1954, and subsequently, and why are they different with mobile learning? While mobile technology offers a distinct difference from other technology, technology itself is hardly a stranger to the educational set- ting. Computers have been in the classroom and have been promising to revolutionize education for decades, though they haven’t changed education much. It’s fair to say that while Skinner’s teaching machine

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schools since the 1960s: first to store student data and eventually, for student use. This changed in the early 1980s with the Apple II. Before the Apple II, large mainframe computers had some presence in schools, though they were not very widespread. 3 The first affordable and widely adopted personal computer was the Apple II, which also happened to be a watershed moment for personal computer technology. It offered a computer for everyone, not just the hobbyists and folks who wanted a computer to tinker with. The Apple II was ready to run for any- one, and it was widely adopted by educational markets (which were also heavily marketed to^4 ). By the mid-1980s, the Apple II was the predominant computer in K–12 settings.^5 In the 1980s, much of the curriculum surrounding computers in the classroom related to teach- ing how computers worked (programming languages, for instance) or for games (i.e., Oregon Trail) and less on using them to perform other nontechnical educational functions. By 1990, most classrooms across the United States had access to computers in some way, and their use in augmenting and supporting classroom instruction grew as the 1990s went on. These systems pro- vided a self-paced learning experience for each user; however each learning experience followed a set trajectory that offered the same help, the same questions and answers, and the same path. In short, there was no customization to the learning, only an individualized pac- ing. There was often instant feedback, so it did offer many benefits to old systems, though the true potential for an intelligent learning sys- tem was not reached.^6 Computers used CD-ROM disks, and with the growth and release of new Microsoft products throughout the 1990s (Windows 95, Windows 98, most notably) and the maturation of the software and hardware industries, computers became commonplace in the classroom.^7 Technological initiatives at the time focused on con- necting classrooms to the still very new Internet. As the World Wide Web grew to show its use in homes and offices across America, govern- ment initiatives channeled funds to get classrooms wired and students online, as well as to give students technological literacy skills.^8 Desktop computers, laptops, and netbooks were the most preva- lent technologies utilized by schools until early 2010 when Apple released the iPad, which created a new category for mobile devices: the tablet computer. Featuring touchscreen technology, increased

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portability, Wi-Fi, and an intuitive user interface, the iPad presented a major game-changer for digital learning. Soon after, competing tablets emerged on the Android operating system. Slowly, the tablet stole market share from netbooks, and in early 2013, Acer and Asus, the top two netbook producers, officially phased out production of their netbooks, effectively ending the netbook market. 9 Computers, and subsequently tablets, began as novelties and even- tually went on to create entire markets and ways of functioning that are hard to imagine living without. Have they changed education in the same, fundamental way? Are they being used to enhance instruction and change the way we learn for the better, or are they just another tool in the same old pedagogy? Looking at the past 60 years of com- puter technology and education, we see a recurring pattern: The belief followed each advance and breakout technology that it would solve all educational problems.^10 Obviously, these promises were not met. While computers have definitely been incorporated into existing struc- tures, their impact hasn’t been as great as it has been on other sectors, nor as great as we expect mobile technology to be.^11 The benefits that mobile learning enables—personalized, on the go, and novel learning environments—offer a chance to revolutionize the education system. As Bill Gates noted in 2009, “The world of education is the sector of the economy so far the least changed by technology. Ten years from now, that won’t be the case.” 12 We’re entering a new era for technology and education and mobile technologies. We believe mobile technology with smart implementation and progressive school policies can lead the way.

MOBILE LEARNING: REACHING KIDS TODAY

At Research Triangle High School, a charter school in Durham, North Carolina, the ninth graders are in English class. The BYOD (bring your own device) setup and flipped classroom structure requires that the students watch a lesson the night before, and use their tablet or laptop to supplement the discussion or project that is occurring in the class- room. When you walk in the room, it feels different. It certainly isn’t the typical classroom we imagine with desks in a row and students sit- ting, looking to the teacher with their hands in the air. Indeed, beside

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Mobile learning offers a novel approach to reach them—it offers flexibility in when the learning takes place, personalized content, and teaches relevant skills for the future. It has the potential to create a generation of learners who see the world as their classroom. Tablets and smartphones have dramatically altered the technol- ogy landscape, and transformed the way we as a society communicate and access information.^16 In the workplace and in homes, these tech- nologies have been incorporated and used to change and increase the efficiency of everyday activities, but traditional schools are still rela- tively resistant to or untouched by these iconoclastic technologies.^17 As schools continue to negotiate acceptable usage, boundaries, and bans with students and parents over mobile devices, many opportunities for educational innovation may be missed.

WHAT IS MOBILE LEARNING?

For the purposes of this book, we believe mobile learning has little to do with the physical devices themselves. Rather, mobile learn- ing is the experience and opportunity afforded by the evolution of educational technologies. It is anywhere, anytime learning enabled by instant, on-demand access to a personalized world filled with the tools and resources we prefer for creating our own knowledge, satisfying our curiosities, collaborating with others, and cultivating experiences otherwise unattainable. Mobile learning implies adapting and building upon the latest advances in mobile technology, redefining the responsibilities of teachers and students, and blurring the lines between formal and informal learning. It embodies and facilitates the understanding of what it means to be a lifelong learner and what it takes to thrive in today’s workplace. So, while we do talk about technology in this book, it’s essential to understand that mobile learning is something different than mobile devices. It is the outcome that these technologies enable through creative and appropriate use. At the time of writing this book, the fruition of mobile learning is made possible by the proliferation of portable, Internet-enabled devices. Portability assumes it is a device that can be easily accessed on the go, making this definition not simply any device that can access

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the Internet. It also requires Internet capability that allows the user to access new content on demand (rather than only what the device holds). In our discussions surrounding how mobile learning can impact education and pedagogy, we primarily discuss tablets, smartphones, and small personal media players. We also discuss Chrome books and laptops to some extent because there are big areas of overlap in pedagogy and implementation strategy. Tablets and smartphones offer substantial differences and benefits, including making mobile learning more accessible and affordable in schools than their predecessors.

BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF MOBILE LEARNING

Mobile learning is not a panacea for all the problems that plague our education system; we don’t suggest that by simply handing out iPads one can expect increases in student achievement and enthusiasm for learning. Just like the personal computers that came before them, mobile devices hold tremendous potential to change the way students learn and our expectations of what should happen within the classroom walls. The ability of tablets and other mobile technologies to shake up the current status quo of the educational system and improve it is dependent on the pedagogy in which they are woven. It depends on teachers’ open minds, creativity, and preparation to integrate them in the curriculum; school budgets and culture to allow for devices in the hands of students; and continued innovation in how devices are used so they remain effective. Further, success also requires banishing the assumption that digital natives, adept though they are with technology, know how to use mobile devices for educational purposes without training. Just like their teachers, administrators, and parents, students require guidance on how to learn with this new educational technology. There are many benefits and challenges with mobile learning, and many are associated with different learning environments. For instance, a 1:1 mobile environment both addresses and introduces different concerns than a classroom with a mobile-device cart. We dive deeper into these learning environments, their related pedagogies, and how mobile devices affect them in Chapters 4 and 6.

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the working paradigm. The ever-increasing rate of smartphone usage is truly indicative of the changing norms of our culture in the ways we “communicate, access information, connect with peers and colleagues, learn and even socialize.” 18 Educational experiences are meant to pre- pare students for real life, and as such, should reflect the realities of the modern world.^19 Smartphones and Internet-enabled mobile devices are pervasive in our culture, and education shouldn’t ignore this fact. Mobile learning also is a potential way to reach underserved chil- dren and schools. Mobile technology, when compared to other tech- nology initiatives, provides a relatively lower cost per student for a high powered and durable technology. Tablets are often less expensive than computers, so when the inevitable upgrades and technology improve- ments come along, updating the technology for an entire classroom (or school) is less cumbersome. Indeed, this technological cycle has been a primary reason for resistance to including newer technologies as they come along; the budget for technology easily gets maxed out on maintaining current, secure computers in schools. Mobile devices offer a different financial and technological model altogether, one that is much easier to maintain under tight budgets. Many device man- ufacturers provide low-cost or even included maintenance plans to insure the continued functioning of the devices. To aid the acquisition of mobile devices many states (such as Indiana 20 ) have led the way by redefining what a textbook is and what funds allocated for text- books can be used for (i.e., purchasing mobile devices). Mobile devices provide excellent, state of the art technology for a relatively afford- able price. Additionally, mobile devices offer substantial power in taking learning opportunities outside of the four walls of the classroom. Virtual museums, online classes, and simulated experiences all come standard with a mobile device and the Internet. Especially for low- wealth school districts or lower-income students, mobile technology could truly level the playing field. Mobile learning provides a medium that improves higher-order thinking skills. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has defined four key skills for students to master in school: critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation. 21 The features of mobile learning inherently foster these

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complex skillsets in students. The ability to easily share information with others, creatively utilize a wide variety of resources and critically evaluate the veracity and value of sources are just a few examples of the activities implicit to everyday use of mobile technology in educa- tion. Higher-order thinking skills and mobile learning are explored further in Chapter 5. Many schools are offering alternative learning environments, such as flipped classrooms or blended learning environments, which allow teachers to use class time more efficiently and even cover more mate- rial, among other things. Mobile devices offer tremendous opportuni- ties for facilitating and enhancing these setups. There are, of course, still many ways that mobile learning can enhance the traditional classroom setup as well and improve pedagogy. This concept will be discussed in Chapter 3. Mobile devices, especially in a 1:1 setup, better enable personalized learning to thrive. Personalized learning environments enable teach- ers to more easily target which students are struggling with which concepts and assign coursework and homework accordingly. Mobile technology makes this process more seamless, enabling effective imple- mentation and tracking of student growth. Further, if the students have their own devices (or always use the same device in the classroom), it is possible to easily track student data. This provides a rich data set to add to the student record for future reference and research. Mobile data and learning analytics will be discussed in Chapter 10. And finally, mobile learning provides a new way to motivate stu- dents by providing high levels of engagement and novelty, personal- ization, and autonomy. The ability to constantly use new apps and find new ways to use the device keeps it fresh and interesting for students. The use of cellphones and mobile devices is high among children, and there is value in meeting students where they are rather than limit- ing them to older learning methods when they clearly have an apti- tude and passion for newer technologies. Allowing and encouraging mobile use for academic purposes gives new meaning and excitement to lessons. Julie Stern, a middle school teacher, says, “The kids are pushing mobile (learning.) Some things you can get away with not doing every day but it’s hard to get away with not doing mobile once you’ve given the kids a taste of it.”^22

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state programs are closing the gap to some extent, like the ConnectED initiative that aims to get high speed Internet into 99 percent of schools by 2017. While use of mobile devices offers the chance to level the playing field for underprivileged districts, having wide access to the Internet in school and at home is essential to taking advantage of the many benefits of these devices. Implicit in the challenge of differenti- ated access is the cost factor, and we acknowledge that a tablet is more expensive than a textbook, and some schools just might not be able to afford them. Though recent studies have shown that the falling costs of electronics has led to higher levels of device ownership among lower income and minority families, there is still a notable (if closing) gap.^23 When mobile devices are used by students in classrooms or at home, their use must be monitored in some way. While mobile devices can be used for academic enrichment, the opportunity also exists for them to be used for distraction or unethical behavior. There are also health concerns stemming from increased screen time and privacy concerns about students or the device, itself, oversharing personal information. Certainly, these concerns could also be made for adults using mobile devices, and teaching responsible use and digital literacy should become part of any lesson involving mobile technology and children. Schools will need to develop an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and think about which sites should be limited. While allowing mobile devices in school will undoubtedly open the school up to increased liability, it is possible to mitigate this risk by teaching responsible use and creating a disciplinary framework to enforce it. This is certainly preferable to, as is often the case, letting the risk of liability lead to overly restrictive policies.^24 A discussion of data privacy and digital citizenship is given in Chapter 15. There are many prevailing attitudes and prejudices against using technology for instruction, and the system remains structured in a way that reinforces traditional educational methods. Effectively incorporat- ing mobile technologies into K–12 education means abandoning some of these traditional structures, and many stakeholders are resistant to this huge cultural shift.^25 While there are many studies and anecdotal support for the power of mobile learning, there is no accepted theory of mobile learning and, hence, some disagreement among educators, administrators, and legislators on the actual value of the paradigm.

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Sometimes these attitudes are reflected in laws prohibiting the use of mobile technologies (including cellphones) in the classroom cate- gorically. In 2006, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg enacted a citywide ban on cellphones in the city’s public schools, saying they were “a distraction in school and could be used to cheat on exams.” 26 Similar bans and severe limitations exist all over the country. It’s worth considering: Is this an effective restriction? In a recent study, more than 95 percent of surveyed students admitted to using their cellphones for texting, emailing, social networking, and browsing the Internet dur- ing class. 27 The class time that is wasted arguing with students and enforcing rules could be better spent capitalizing on the benefits and opportunities (including teaching responsible use) of what is possi- ble with appropriate device use. Schools in Forsyth County, Georgia reported less in-class texting and off-task behavior on cellphones when the devices were used in their BYOD classrooms for schoolwork.^28 Breaking through these philosophical barriers requires strong leader- ship and professional development to ensure mobile learning is possi- ble for each school. While mobile phones and tablets offer many benefits over comput- ers and laptops, there are some limiting physical attributes that make them more difficult to use. For instance, most tablets don’t come with a keyboard, making typing more difficult. Typing on a smaller interface, such as a smartphone or iPod Touch, is even more challenging. How- ever, while this sort of limitation might be a major hurdle for some groups, digital natives seem to see it as less of a challenge than the adults who teach them. The need for a device with a physical keyboard, for instance, is usually a preference of the administrator who orders the devices rather than from complaints by students that they’re tired of using touch-only devices to type. In some educational situations where mobile devices are shared among a group, the functionality and benefits are impacted. Often a cart of mobile devices will be provided for the school to share rather than a 1:1 arrangement simply because of budgetary considerations. In this scenario, using them can be more difficult and less engaging.^29 There are many ways that enable student data to be transferred across devices, particularly by storing data and work in the cloud and offering logins for apps. While it’s been shown that mobile learning is