If ICT, and mobile devices in particular, are to have the impact on learning that is envisaged, there is an urgent need for educators across the educational spectrum to work more collaboratively to design and evaluate learning experiences for young people that exploit the transformational benefits of these technologies. Current practice with mobile technologies tends to replicate existing pedagogical practice and many valuable opportunities especially to engage learners from diverse and marginalized backgrounds are wasted. However where mobile technologies are used in a transformative way there is compelling evidence of greater engagement from learners, more social inclusion, motivation and community involvement effectively transcending many of the boundaries and limitations of traditional schools and education. Therefore this project advocates an innovative, developmental approach to widen the spread and reach of these isolated examples. Aims/objectives: Since no single group of stakeholders is likely to be effective in tackling the problem described above, this project will develop a cross-sectoral and transnational partnership to challenge existing attitudes and practices. This involves teacher educators in universities working with the next generation of teachers, teachers and leaders in schools, and policy makers who can legislate for sustainable change at scale. The project aims to demonstrate how the professional profile of educators across this spectrum can be strengthened to ensure that learning is responsive to the benefits and opportunities afforded by mobile technologies. It seeks to define what transformational learning with mobile technologies looks like and to help stakeholders design and evaluate transformative mobile learning episodes using a bespoke mobile app which will be developed iteratively over three design cycles. Additionally the app will support users in evaluating the impact of these transformational lessons, enabling teachers and their school leaders to make more informed judgments about how they invest and deploy these technologies in future. The project will involve decision and policy makers from an early start and thereafter, since one of the objectives is to ensure these key stakeholders are better informed and able to make judgments based on reliable evidence rather than on anecdote. Number and profile of participants Primary participants will be drawn from the 6 institutions of teacher education in this project, including approx. 50 teacher educators and 1000 pre-service teachers. They will work with a network of 24 schools (4 per partner) who have been recruited as committed and highly motivated associate partners in this bid. This group will include over 200 teachers and approximately 1500 students. Two school leaders from each of the 24 partner schools will also take part as will policy makers in each partner country. Description of activities: The primary activity will be the creation of a multi-purpose mobile app (IO2) that will support educators and pre-service teachers in designing and evaluating creative and innovative learning episodes for their students. The project team will use a Design Based Research methodology to design and construct the app over three iterative cycles that will involve extensive consultation with experts in the field of mobile learning (see IO1 - Scoping Report) before it is field tested in the 24 partner schools and at the multiplier and LTTE events that are planned, leading to the creation of 24 multimedia case studies (IO3). An online MOOC (IO4) and various academic papers (IO5) will be developed to disseminate the outputs and findings from the project with a wider audience, focusing especially on decision and policy makers in each country. Results and impact There will be greater clarity about what constitutes transformative learning with mobile technologies, distilled as a series of design principles (IO1). This will be used as a benchmark to enable school leaders and policy makers to make informed judgments about the impact and value of these technologies on learning. It will also be used to inform the design and construction of the mobile app (IO2) ensuring participants are more capable in using these technologies to effect genuine educational change which can be measured by the extent they are able to design learning experiences that would otherwise by impossible and inconceivable. Crucially the project will impact on decision makers by providing them with more reliable evidence and guidance upon which to base educational policy. This, along with the app itself, will be a lasting impact as the project will establish a transnational mobile learning network to sustain the activities and to ensure knowledge and expertise is shared and validated across national boundaries.
Context/background Research evidence indicates how there is an urgent need for educators across the world to better understand the transformative potential of mobile technologies in learning and how to design mobile learning pedagogies that are innovative and make a discernable difference to the learning experiences for young people. The Designing and Evaluating Innovative Mobile Pedagogies project (DEIMP) has achieved this ambition through the identification of evidence-based principles, an innovative mobile app, an online course, a series of multimedia case studies, and a selection of high quality academic and professional publications that demonstrate how, when used appropriately, mobile technologies can make a significant difference. Objectives of the project: The aim of the project was to demonstrate how the professional profile of educators across this spectrum can be strengthened to ensure that learning is responsive to the benefits and opportunities afforded by mobile technologies. To achieve this aim the project adopted the following objectives: 1. to enhance participants’ understanding of how mobile technologies can promote transformative and inclusive pedagogies 2. to increase participants’ abilities to design and evaluate innovative and inclusive mobile pedagogies 3. to link teacher educators and teachers together to develop and research mobile pedagogies 4. to promote a transnational network to validate and disseminate national examples of innovative pedagogies beyond the life of the project 5. to support decision and policy-makers in adopting, promoting, and investing in more innovative mobile pedagogical approaches number and type/profile of participant Participants The project included five university partners involved in teacher education, a consultant with experience in CPD and a commercial partner in Cyprus with expertise in digital technologies and app design. Each partner identified at least five academics within their institution to work on the project. In addition each partner university identified up to 5 partner schools to work with on the project and to test the project outcomes as they developed. This group of schools established itself as a network for innovation in m-learning. Description of undertaken activities; In order to achieve the objectives above the project adopted a Design Based Research methodology (DBR) to iterate over the creation of a mobile app (objectives 1 & 2) and an online course/MOOC for teachers and teacher educators (Objectives 1, 2, 3 and 4), It used the findings from an extensive Scoping Study based on a systematic literature review of the research on mobile learning to underpin the design of an innovative app and online course and created a series of multimedia case studies with teachers involved to illustrate the use of these resources in practice. It also created a network of 24 schools across Europe and Australia to link teachers and teacher educators and to help them explore together the use of mobile technologies as tools for innovation and change. Results and impact attained The results of the activities above include a number of tangible deliverables (listed below) and a number of significant impacts (listed below) The tangible results from this project include: * a Scoping Study Report (IO1) that syntheses the evidence base for innovative mobile learning from around the world and identifies examples of innovative and transformative practice along with a set of 21 design principles for innovative mobile learning (m-learning) * an innovative mobile app(IO2) combined with an online course/MOOC for educators that enables them to design, test and evaluate their own innovative m-learning pedagogies * a collection of multimedia case studies - available on the project website - that illustrates how teachers and teacher educators used the app and MOOC in their daily practices and the lessons gained from this * a collection of high quality, peer-reviewed academic articles and. other publications that chart the progress of the project and demonstrate some of its impacts. Impact Data collected during and at the end of the project indicates significant impacts at different levels. *All five of the partner institutions have established themselves as centers of excellence for innovative m-learning and staff in these institutions have increased their understanding and capability in using and promoting mobile technologies in learning. * the research papers and dissemination activities have established demonstrable evidence to support more innovative uses of mobile technologies and have had a major impact on academics and professional alike * at least 1400 teachers, teacher educators, and other professionals have participated in activities associated with the project The project has left a legacy of resources (see website) and a network of partner schools that are better equipped to use mobile tec hnologies in innovative ways.