1. mLearning: Habitus and Field
Activities
Michael Sean Gallagher
Institute of Education, University of London
http://michaelseangallagher.org/ @mseangallagher

2. What is mlearning?
 “tools such as computers and mobile
phones function as interactive agents in the
process of coming to know, creating a
human-technology system to
communicate, to mediate agreements
between learners and to aid recall and
reflection”
 (Sharples, 2005, 7)

3. What is Mlearning?
 Technology includes (but not limited to):
 Tablets
 Phones
 GPS devices
 MP3 Players
 Laptops *
* Criteria for inclusion: Does the technology transform the habitus?

4. What is Mlearning?
 Habitus: a structure of the mind
characterized by a set of acquired
schemata, sensibilities, dispositions
and taste.
 “That which is mobile is not
knowledge or information, but is the
individual’s habitus.”
 (Kress, Pachler)

5. What is mlearning?
 “the ability to bring things into conjunction which might have
previously have been relatively difficult to join” (Kress, Pachler)

6. Mlearning for General Education
 Content Access
 Literacy
 Assessment
 News
 Administration
 Collaboration
 Composition/Curation

7. Mlearning for Primary Education
• Writing
• Mathematics
• Reading
• Media Creation/Curation
• Reflection/Composition *
• Assessment
• Administration
• Collaboration

8. Mlearning for Secondary Education
 Access/Administration
 Literacy/Numeracy
 Discipline specific investigations
 Field Activities
 Media Creation/Curation
 Reflection/Composition *
 Test Preparation
 Collaboration
“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by
doing them.” ― Aristotle

9. Mlearning for Higher Education
 Access/Administration
 Data Collection/Field Activities
 Media Creation/Curation
 Composition/Reflection
 Data Management
 Collaboration
 Dissemination

10. mLearning for Developing Nations
m4d
 Literacy
 Agriculture
 Health
 Governance
 Disaster Response and Relief
 Learning
 Finance (M-Pesa)

11. Scope and Significance
 New modes for new media and theoretical positions
 New methods of selection
 New mechanisms for demonstrating knowledge
 Reinvestment in the local and the geographical
 All require reflective activities

12. Multimodality
 First, multimodality assumes that
representation and communication
always draw on a multiplicity of
modes, all of which contribute to
meaning
 Second, multimodality assumes that
resources are socially shaped over
time to become meaning making
resources that articulate the
meanings demanded by different
communities.
 Third, people orchestrate meaning
through their selection and
configuration of modes
*Taken from MODE Multimodality
Glossary

13. Multimodality & Mobile: For Learners
 What media/modes are you including? Why?
 What is their social significance (to the discipline, classmates,
society)?
 How will they be arranged/orchestrated?
 Why did you choose this layout? What does it emphasize or
foreground?
 What is your position (theory, opinion, thesis)?
 How is your position linked to your composition?
 What tools and technologies will you use to present this?
* Reflection=Evidence of Learning

14. Composing w/mobile: Sequence
1. Research questions
2. Theoretical positioning
3. Methods of selection (media, theory, modes, tools)
4. Layout/Design
5. Tools *
6. Workflow/Timeline
7. Data collection and curation
8. Field Notes
9. Analysis, Assembly and Reflection
10. Dissemination
*never forget data management

15. Presentation of Meaning
 ‘Containers’ for mobile
 Montage
 Collage
 Mosaic
 Maps (GPS)
 Remixes
 Mashups
 Blog posts
“…completely at odds with our modern visual experience, because
everything today is based on montage”- Esa-Pekka Salonen

16. Mobile Tools for Composition
My Mobile Toolkit

17. Mobile Field Diaries
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something
sensational to read in the train”-Oscar Wilde

18. Mobile Vantage Points: Place
1. Choose a research question (what do you want to know?)
2. Research that question (person, locale, street, idea)
3. Choose media to collect and tell the story
4. Choose a vantage point from which to explore the place
1. Individual (personal history, famous artist, past civilization)
2. Idea, artwork, or architecture
3. Neighborhood, street, environment (aural, visual, sensory
landscapes)
5. Collect Data and Reflect in Field Diaries

19. Mobile Composition Examples
Seoul

20. Mobile Composition Examples
Seoul

21. Mobile Composition Examples
New York

22. Mobile Composition Examples
Helsinki
Image from KFP

23. Mobile Field Activities
 Helsinki
 What fields or fields of study (art, literature, history, architecture,
biology, botany)?
 What vantage point (person, neighborhood, idea, architecture, etc.)?
 What do we want to know (research questions)?
 What media would tell that story?
 What data do we need to collect?
 What tools will we use?
Image from Axilera

24. Before the Field Diaries: Questions
Tools
 Have you tested the tools?
 Where is the data stored?
 Can you export the data?
 Does it have location (GPS) coordinates?
Storage and Presentation
 Where will this media be collected and composed?
 Where will it be presented? Blog? Private vs. public?
 How will others interact with your presentation? Blog
comments?

25. Field Diaries: Questions
Reflective
 What inspired you to collect this data at this location?
 What does it mean to you?
 How does it advance your research question?
 How would I assess work created this way?
Practical
 What difficulties did you experience collecting the data?
 What tools might have better served your needs?
 How are you going to disseminate this media?

26. Post-Field Diaries: Questions
 What media will I use to present my composition?
 What will I foreground? Background?
 What tools will I use to assemble this composition?
 How will I disseminate it?

27. mLearning: Habitus and Field
Activities
Michael Sean Gallagher
Institute of Education, University of London
http://michaelseangallagher.org/ @mseangallagher