Handheld Learning 2008

Background

Stockport College is a further and higher learning college in the North West of England with a large number of students following vocational and academic courses. In order to improve the learning experience of its students and help those who are frequently away from college on placement, it decided to trial a mobile learning programme to improve interaction with their tutors and peers. It selected the 500 students studying hairdressing at Stockport, and nearby Trafford College, as the first to trial the m-learning initiative, as these students spend a large amount of time away from the college.

The Challenge

A key aim of the project was to improve the learning experience and quality of students’ work by capitalising on the appeal mobile technology holds for young people. The college and its tutors hoped that by offering this added dimension to their learning experience, the students would be more inspired and more creative in their work and its presentation. The tutors were keen for students to carry out a variety of tasks on the devices including the ability to take pictures of their work and upload them to a shared portal, as well as to answer questions and complete written tasks, including blogs about their progress.

Creating a solution to address these aims involved some complex technical developments. Stockport College was chiefly responsible for creating the online content and resources which the students would have access to, as well as overseeing the project and its educational benefits. However, certain aspects of the mobile learning project were challenging for the college to tackle on its own. For instance, it was unsure of how to link the mobile devices onto the college’s virtual private network (VPN). This was vital for addressing the security issues which can be associated with offering young people internet access on the move. The college also faced challenges in adapting its online resources so that they could be accessible and easy to use on the mobile devices.

The Solution

During these early stages of the trial, Stockport worked very closely with T-Mobile to select the appropriate devices for the project and the students are currently using a selection of T-Mobile devices: Windows Mobile based PDA style devices — MDA Vario III and MDA Touch plus internet capable handsets — Nokia N95 and Nokia N6102c. At the end of the trial period Stockport hopes to decide on a single device to continue using for the programme. All devices have been well-received by students but the MDA Vario III is proving particularly popular.

T-Mobile also played a crucial role in helping the college to connect the mobile phones to Stockport’s VPN. It surveyed the site, carried out compatibility tests and then came up with a solution – Office Link, which ensured that files could be accessed remotely in a secure environment. It also meant that the same internet filters were in place on the devices as on the college’s network.

The programme was initiated and developed by the Stockport College team of staff lead by the Project Manager, Amira Alicehajic. Amira comments, “This is an ambitious project being deployed on a fairly large scale. T-Mobile’s support and advice has played a crucial role throughout the trial, helping us address complex technical challenges and ensuring the security of the service.”

A research department within Manchester University helped the college to ensure that the interactive web portal was easy for students to read on the mobiles, reducing the size of the web pages to fit the screen and improving usability. The in-depth research and development involved in the trial means that this mobile learning project is one of the UK’s most innovative mobile learning projects to date. Amira comments, “We very much hope that the research we completed with Manchester University will help improve the quality and overall benefit of future mobile learning projects.”

The Benefits

Increased Interactivity

Stockport chose to trial the programme on hairdressing students, as these students spend a great deal of time away from college, learning through off-site placements. The devices have therefore helped to increase their interaction with tutors. For example, once the students have uploaded images of their latest work, the tutors can feedback quickly with their comments and suggestions. This improved responsiveness means that pupils are likely to learn more quickly and receive more individual feedback on their work.

The students can also use the devices to blog on their experiences and thoughts, offering the tutors an increased insight into how they are progressing with the course, and what additional topics they need to cover. Amira comments, “At the core of this project is the increased communication between students with their peers and lecturers. It has made an essential difference to the students’ learning experience and their results. With the support of T-Mobile and Manchester University we have been able to offer a truly innovative mobile learning experience.”

Ease of Use

Both students and tutors have responded enthusiastically to the programme, with the MDA Vario III proving highly popular from a function and design perspective. Its 3 mega-pixel camera, which includes an auto focus function is ideally suited to the students’ work, as they are often required to upload images of the hairstyles they have created onto the web portal for tutors to critique. The MDA Vario III also provides a high quality Internet and email experience through access to T-Mobile’s Mobile Broadband network. Amira believes, “The range of devices the students are using from T-Mobile were all selected for their suitability. We have yet to decide on a single device to progress with, but the Vario III is a worthy candidate.”

Stylish Devices Entice Students

The MDA Vario III’s stylish design and tilting touch screen have contributed to the enthusiastic reception from the students using it. Many have been so pleased with the phones that they have chosen to adopt them as their personal mobiles too, adding the voice and text function and financing this themselves. Amira comments, “Hairdressing students are not immediately associated with technology, but they adapted to them easily and the devices have proven highly valuable to their work, particularly for those students who respond well to visual learning tasks, as opposed to written work.”

The Future

Moving forward, Stockport is keen to roll out the mobile technology to more students on different courses.

Amira adds, “The success of this trial project has proved to us the real benefits of mobile technology for vocational learning courses. We hope to continue working with T-Mobile to explore the technology further and offer similar programmes for more students on a wide range of courses over the coming years.”