Overcoming Boundaries with Handhelds
The following articles were contributed by members of ISTE's SIG for handheld computing (SIGHC). We're hoping to make member-shared best practices a regular part of SIG News. If you have an idea for a member tip or resource for a future issues of SIG News, please send an email to ksvoboda@iste.org.
Transcending School Boundaries with Mobile Devices
Mark van 't Hooft & Karen Swan
Kent State University, Research Center for Educational Technology (RCET), Kent, OH
mvanthoo@kent.edu, kswan@kent.edu
Yimei Lin
National Chung Cheng University, Chia-Yi, Taiwan
telyml@ccu.edu.tw
Ubiquitous computing diminishes boundaries imposed by brick and mortar and the school day. Mobile computing devices, wireless networks, and online spaces make it possible to extend teaching and learning beyond school walls and class bells, and to bring the larger world into the classroom.
For example, fourth graders in RCET’s ubiquitous computing classroom participated in a state-wide stream quality project, using digital probes to measure water temperature, pH levels, and stream flow. Students also used nets to collect and count organisms in a local stream. They recorded and graphed all of their data on handheld computers, using the built-in digital cameras to take pictures of the stream site. Once students got back to the classroom, they shared their findings with experts, state officials, and other classes in Ohio through videoconferencing and data sharing across the Internet. Other students in our ubiquitous computing classes are using mobile devices for learning on the bus, at home, and in various other locations as ideas occur to them, and to record real world experiences to bring back to the classroom. They are using video conferencing to talk with experts on a variety of topics and to interact with students in a school in Mexico City. They are sharing classroom experiences with their parents via email.
A second example is Frequency 1550 (http://www.waag.org/project/frequentie), a city game using mobile phones, GPS technology, and an ultra high-speed broadband mobile phone network in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The game teaches teenagers about local history by sending them on a trip through the city, completing tasks along the way.
A third example is the context-aware guiding service in the National Museum of Natural Science (NMNS; http://www.nmns.edu.tw/index_eng.html) in Taiwan, launched in July 2005. Before arriving at the museum, a visitor can login to its website, personalize a learning plan that fits individual needs and interests, and save his/her preferences in the museum’s database. When the visitor arrives at the NMNS, he/she is equipped with an Internet-ready wireless handheld device. The visitor then has three choices of learning modes: following the individual’s plan, accepting a recommended learning tour, or freely exploring exhibits. With the help of ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 technology, the context-aware system can automatically determine the visitor’s location and deliver corresponding content and relevant information to his/her handheld device. After the visit, the system provides additional learning content and recommends further resources according to the record of the individual’s on-site learning behavior and preferences. The visitor can obtain this information from the museum’s website.
Of course, these are small examples when one considers the possibilities for teaching and learning outside of the school room and school day, but they signal the beginnings of a transition to learning that transcends spatial and temporal boundaries.
Crossing Generational Boundaries
Tim Lavery
Virtual Anytime Anywhere Learning Initiative, Ireland
timlavery@eircom.net
The European Learning Laboratory for Innovation in Education, or ELLIE, is a newly established education institute located on an idyllic parkland campus in the southwest of Ireland, perched on the edge of Europe. ELLIE is focused especially on Education Technology and its effects on teachers and teaching, learners and learning.
During 2005, the European Commission approved funding for a 3-year research project entitled “outLAB Europe - A Study of the use of Heritage sites as an Outdoor Laboratory for Innovative Science Teacher Education.” As part of this project it was decided to look in particular at how handheld technologies could be used to stimulate both the teacher and the student to appreciating Heritage. The project is proving very significant and results are promising; in fact, the project has spawned a number of other exciting research projects and pilots including the VAALI Project (Virtual Anytime Anywhere Learning Initiative).
Under the guidance of the Director of Academic Services, Tim Lavery, the VALLI Project is looking in particular at how ubiquitous computing models can have major effects on the greater community outside of school. In one case, students in a very small school (31 students and two teachers) in a remote rural area of southwest Ireland were provided with a high-speed handheld computer which they could use 24/7, i.e. at home and in school.
The study has demonstrated that there was a very positive outcome for parents, and the community in general, where a ubiquitous computing model was applied. Parents felt clued in to their child's education through the handheld, which was set up with two profiles: one for the student and one for the family. Parents sought actively to be trained to use the handhelds, but the training was delivered by their children.
At the local Community Centre, students brought their handhelds and interviewed the elderly citizens of their community, enquiring about the past and recording voice, music, songs, and stories. This has been seen to create a wellspring of information which the students would otherwise not have accessed, and equally it has brought old and young together in a way that has disappeared in many places. Interestingly, this has been brought about by the same devices that have been considered as the reason for the growing rift in social and community interaction!
Lead researchers from Universities across Europe will continue to monitor this project over the coming year and develop a model for Educational Technology implementation that maximizes social interaction in the future.
To learn more about SIGHC, please visit www.iste.org/sighc/. To join SIGHC, please call ISTE Member Services at 1.800.336.5191. If you are already a member of SIGHC, look for more great member tips in the upcoming SIGHC Newsletter.
|
