Mobilising Remote Student Engagement: Lessons Learned from the Field

Mobilising Remote Student Engagement: Lessons Learned from the Field

Dr Richard Hall, De Montfort University RHall1@dmu.ac.uk @hallymk1

Dr. Tim Linsey, Kingston University t.linsey@kingston.ac.uk @timku

http://Morse.ac.uk

CETIS Mobile Tech Meeting 15th June 2010

Overview•MoRSE Project overview and context•Fieldtrip context in academic

Geography•Personal technologies in the field•Tools Overview•Emerging Issues and findings

Project Context

•Joint project between Kingston University and De Montfort University

•Builds on earlier HEA Pathfinder projects at KU and DMU

•To develop a situated understanding of the impact of mobile and personal technologies on student and staff practices, beyond the institution, and on institutional processes▫Work Placements (DMU)▫Field trips (KU)

The MoRSE Team – Field Trips

School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, KU

•Dr Stuart Downward•Dr Ken Field•Dr James O’Brien

Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, KU

•Dr Ann Ooms

Field Trips•Centred in the School

of Geography, Geology and the Environment.

•GIS and Geography

•Field trip locations include the Isle of Wight, Malta and south-east Spain.

Fieldtrips

•“An education in geography involves an active engagement with the external world. Fieldwork and experiential learning constitutes an essential aspect of this engagement” (QAA 2007)

•“In the active learning and, by definition, experiential world of fieldwork students learning by doing, importantly by linking their thinking with their doing” (Dummer et. al. 2008; after Gibbs 1988)

Issues•“In the rush to impose risk minimisation

strategies, standardise the student fieldwork experience, provide value for money and entice students away from competitor courses with exotic locations, the far more fundamental pedagogical reasons for leaving the classroom behind are all too often forgotten” (Herrick, 2010)

•“The absence of a widespread pedagogic drive for the use of C&IT in fieldwork mirrors previous findings in the more general teaching of geography context” (Fletcher et. al., 2007)

Specific Issues

•Integration of fieldwork and other aspects of the curriculum

•Co-ordination and collaboration amongst staff and student groups distributed over a study area.

•Sharing resources/collaborating•Access to resources, real-time databases,

‘experts’ and support from the field.

Role of Technologies

• Primary data capture and Immediacy of data analysis• On-site reference to key data• Use of primary data in conjunction with secondary

data. • Use of GIS in the field to identify and analyse

relationships between variables - enhances higher level cognition and construction of meaning (Fletcher et. al. 2007; Latham & McCormack, 2007))

• Engaging with students at the institution• Enhancing ‘extended’ group work through sharing• Enhancing autonomy

Primary Data Capture

Audio VideoPhotographs LocationBearing AltitudeAnnotations mapping

Immediacy“As one student put it, the photos ‘made evening sessions more interactive – people could show pictures to support / illustrate their arguments etc” Latham & McCormack, 2007

Analysis

•Geocoding•Audio editing (e.g. using Audacity)•Terrain Profiles (e.g.

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/)•Spatial and Terrain analysis using:

▫Specialist ‘Commercial’ GIS (ArcGIS)▫Open Source GIS (e.g. GRASS)

Datasets

•Institutionally licensed datasets / Map servers

•Google Maps / Imagery / Streetview•Ordnance Survey OpenData•Open Street Maps (OSM)

Primary and Secondary Data

•Mapping tracks, observations, imagery on overlays of topographic, aerial photographs and satellite imagery.

Sharing

•Observations, field annotations•Imagery / video / audio•Location / tracks

•Collaboration•Enhance understanding and

interpretation through synchronous / asynchronous access to information and resources recorded at remote locations.

Photo sharing (Flickr)

Latitude: 50 deg 41' 52.92" NLongitude: 1 deg 5' 54.42" WDate: 2009:10:18 12:41:25Comments: Looking North. Concrete walk / sea defence. Groynes visible with sediment banked on their north side indicating sediment migration southwardsTags: IoW, Duver, Coast, Groynes,

Map of photograph locations

Sharing via many channels including the VLE

Sharing with students back at the institution•Enables students back at the institution to

access relevant resources/real-time databases/perform analyses relevant to the location, and give feedback to the field group.

•Confirmation of sampling strategies and gaps in data collection.

•Enabling students to capture and integrate feedback in the production of their final summative assessments needs identification.

Photo sharing: lessons•Enables sharing between students in the field,

and with those at University. (Geo)Tagging and comments extend feedback and understanding.

• Impact on core skills of observation, identification and sketching needs further evaluation.

• Integrating mentor feedback and student/staff commentary into the production of a student’s final summative assessments needs agreement.

Tools: Data capture

Audio Audioboo AudacityAoA Audio Extractor

VideoYoutubeUstreamQik

MobileDed. DeviceFlip camera

Flip toolsPicasaYoutube

MobileDed. DeviceCamera

PhotosFlickr Picasa

Photoshop.com

MobileCamera

Inbuilt App 3rd Party App AnalysisDevice

Y

Y

Y

LocationGoogle MapsMapDroydCompass

AudacityAoA Audio Extractor

BearingCompass3Banana

MobileDed. Device

MobileDed. DeviceCamera

Geocode Flickr GPicSyncGeosetter

MobileCamera

Inbuilt App 3rd Party App AnalysisDevice

Y

AsynchTracking/mapping

MobileDed. Device

My MapsOSMTrackerESRI ArcPAD

My Maps EditorArcGIS

SynchTracking Mobile Instamapper

Y

Sharing / Support

Blogs WordpressRSS Reader

Micro-Blogging

Twitter –UbertwitterTwidroid

MobilePC

MashupsMobilePC

SMS Txttools MS ExcelMobilePC

Inbuilt App 3rd Party App AnalysisDevice

(email)

Y

Y

Voice MobilePC Y Skype

Local Information

AugmentedReality

LayarWikitude

Wikipedia Wikimobile

Mobile

MobilePC

SMSTxttools MS Excel

MobilePC

Inbuilt App 3rd Party App AnalysisDevice

Y

Examples

Mapping Tracks and Photographs

Field Notes created with Compass / 3Banana

Mobile data integrated with secondary datasets

Terrain data from the Ordnance Survey . © Crown copyright and database right

Live Tracking (Instamapper)

http://www.instamapper.com/trk?key=2642287017959854978

18/10/2009 12:37 N 50.69961° W 1.09922° 35 0 0

18/10/2009 12:38 N 50.69965° W 1.09904° 49 0 129

18/10/2009 12:39 N 50.69967° W 1.09905° 51 0 49

18/10/2009 12:39 N 50.69922° W 1.09888° 52 6 167

18/10/2009 12:40 N 50.69877° W 1.09872° 51 5 165

18/10/2009 12:40 N 50.69830° W 1.09860° 46 5 173

Altitude Speed Bearing

Synchronising GPS Units with Personal technologies

Using GPicSync &Google Maps

Personal technologies

•High level of Laptop usage (83% )•All students possess a mobile (40% PAYG)•Some student usage of dedicated cameras

and MP3 players.•64% of students interested in taking

personal technologies on field-trips•77% of students willing to use their own

text credits for educational purposes

Initial Student FeedbackGenerally positive response to the use of SMS somewhat agree agree

Positive impact on my motivation to study 51% 16% Useful for feedback on my understanding 49% 40% Advise staff to continue using 37% 54%

Positive in using personal technologies

Field-trips: emerging issues

The mix of edtech to be used needs consideration in light of tasks: synchronous, asynchronous etc..

Mentors and induction help develop engagement with real-time feedback. This is crucial where reflective assessment asks are developed.

Students need support in manipulating digital resources that they capture.

Lessons learnt

•Pre-work with all staff and students is critical before the start of the placement/fieldtrip▫Tools to be used▫Activities to be undertaken▫Ground rules for collaboration

•Contextualisation, and scaffolding the experience, is the key determinant of technologies to use for assessment.

References• Dummer, T.J.B., Cook, I.G., Parker, S.L., Barrett, G.A. & Hull,

A.P. 2008 Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 32 (3), 459-479

• Fletcher, S., France, D., Moore, K. & Robinson, G. 2007 Practitioner Perspectives on the use of Technology in Fieldwork Teaching. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 31(2), 319-330

• Gibbs, G. 1988 Learning by Doing, London: FEU• Herrick, C. 2010 Lost in the field: ensuring student learning in

the ‘threatened’ geography field trip. Area, 42.1, 108-116.• Latham, A. McCormack, D.P. 2007 Digital Photography and

web-based Assignments in an Urban Field Course: Snapshots from Berlin. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 31(2) 241-256

• QAA 2007 Subject Benchmark Statements : Geography

http://morse.ac.uk