Ten Year Retrospective on Mobile Learning: Leveraging the Past to Invent the Future

1. Ten Year Retrospective on
Mobile Learning
leveraging the past to invent the future
Chris Dede
Harvard University
Julie Evans
Project Tomorrow
June 28, 2017

2. #ISTE17
@Chrs_Dede
@JulieEvans_PT

3. #ISTE17
@Chrs_Dede
@JulieEvans_PT
Today’s Discussion
 Review of 10 years of mobile learning
 What we have learned about mobile learning from a
unique collection of projects
 So, where will we be in 2027?
 Your ideas and questions

4. 1976 2017

5. 2007-2008
Remember these devices?

6. Mobile learning in 2006-2007
Device type Students
Gr 6-8
Students
Gr 9-12
Parents of
school-aged
children
Cell phone –
feature phone
66% 83% 97%
Smartphone 9% 9% 18%
In school usage?
• 25% of teachers and principals would include
mobile devices in their ultimate school vision
• 55% of high school students included mobile
devices in their vision for the ultimate school
Source: Speak Up 2006-07
367,000 respondents
Personal access

7. Mobile learning in 2016-17
Device type Students
K-2
Students
Gr 3-5
Students
Gr 6-8
Students
Gr 9-12
Parents
of
school-
aged
children
Cell phone
– feature
phone
16% 13% 15% 11% 7%
Smartphone 36% 47% 77% 90% 95%
Tablet 52% 59% 60% 44% 70%
Source: Speak Up 2017
514,000 respondents
Personal access

8. Mobile learning in 2016-17
Source: Speak Up 2017
514,000 respondents
Access in school
 78% of teachers say their students use devices at
least periodically during the school week
 40% say each student has an assigned device to use
 58% of students in grades 9-12 say they use their own
device at school
 Only 17% of schools don’t allow BYOD now – it was
52% in 2011

9. Mobile learning in 2016-17
Source: Speak Up 2017
514,000 respondents
Value and benefits of mobile devices for learning
 85% of parents, principals
and district administrators
say access to mobiles is
important for student
learning; 92% of students
agree
 57% of district administrators say that providing
teachers with training on the use of mobile
devices within instruction is a district PD priority

10. Mobile learning in 2016-17
Source: Speak Up 2017
514,000 respondents
Value and benefits of mobile devices for learning
 Top benefits of mobile device usage
cited by principals:
 Engages students in learning
(83%)
 Prepares students for world of
work (72%)
 Facilitates student collaborations
(61%)
 Provides greater access to online
content (56%)
 Personalizes learning (53%)

11. How did we get here?
The journey from
2007 to 2017
in mobile learning

12. How did we get here?
 About the Qualcomm Wireless Reach™ Initiative
https://www.qualcomm.com/company/wireless-reach
 45 mobile learning projects in education in the past 10 years
 Lessons learned that can inform future mobile projects
 Common practices for success
 What would we do differently next time

13. Why is mobile
learning
planning more
important than
ever?

14.  Classrooms
◦ Presentation and discussion
 Richly Contextualized Real World
Learning
◦ Internships, apprenticeships
 Learning Communities
◦ Interpretation and transfer
face to face, virtual, blended

15.  Sharing
◦ Social Bookmarking
◦ Photo/Video Sharing
◦ Social Networking
◦ Writers’ Workshops and Fanfiction
 Thinking
◦ Blogs
◦ Podcasts
◦ Online Discussion Forums
◦ Twitter
 Co-Creating
◦ Wikis/Collaborative File Creation
◦ Mashups/Collective Media Creation
◦ Collaborative Social Change Communities

17. 1. Purposeful planning for mobile device usage
2. Preparing educators effectively
3. Securing leadership buy-in
4. Measuring project results with meaningful metrics
5. Leveraging mobile-enabled content & curriculum
6. Understanding the power of Internet access
7. Building personal learner efficacy and capacity for self-
directed learning
8. Criticality of connectivity – in school and beyond
9. Creating a sustainable and scalable ecosystem
10. Combine patience and vision
Mobile Learning 2017 - 10 years of lessons learned

18. 10 years of lessons learned
Purposeful planning for device usage

19. Purposeful planning for device usage
It is all about asking the right questions:
• What are the learning goals – how do they relate
to the learner and the teacher?
• What instructional strategies will support goals?
• Are the right conditions in place for success?
• How will we measure impact?
• How will this effort be sustained?
• Do all key stakeholders have a voice?
10 years of lessons learned

20. Purposeful planning for device usage
Example: Onslow County Schools’ Mobile Learning Initiative
Planning started with key goals:
• Improving math literacy for all
• Change students’ perceptions around math abilities
• Increasing out of school access to learning resources
• Stimulating changes in teacher practice
10 years of lessons learned

21. Teacher preparation for mlearning
10 years of lessons learned

22. Teacher preparation for mlearning
Increasing recognition of value of connected
learning but change process is challenging
Real mobile learning integration process is 3 years:
Year 1: Awareness
Year 2: Adoption
Year 3: Adaptation
But how to move from one level to another?
10 years of lessons learned

23. Example: Making Learning Mobile in Chicago
Year 2 and 3 strategies:
• JIT mentoring and coaching
• In class activities and support
• Targeted applications
• Traditional conferences and skill development
Indicator of maturation at work: migration from passive
approach to PD to active, self-directed learning
Teacher preparation for mlearning
10 years of lessons learned

24. Teacher preparation for mlearning
Source: US National Education
Technology Plan, 2010
10 years of lessons learned

25.  Case-based learning
 Collaborative learning
 Apprenticeships
 Self-directed, life-wide learning
 Learning for transfer
 Interdisciplinary studies
 Diagnostic assessments

26. Deeper learning is an
instructional strategy
that can help students
master skills for success
in the 21st century.
Technology is a
powerful way of
implementing effective
deeper learning
http://www.studentsatthecenter.org/topics/role-digital-technologies-deeper-learning

27.  Teachers teach as they were taught.
 The important issue is not technology
usage, but changes in content, pedagogy,
assessment, and learning outside of
school.
 Continuous peer learning is the best
strategy for long-term improvement.

28. Harvard Education Press, 2016
Professional Development /
Teacher Learning

29.  Developing fluency in using emerging
interactive media
 Complementing presentational instruction
with collaborative inquiry-based learning
 Unlearning almost unconscious assumptions
and beliefs and values about the nature of
teaching, learning, and schooling

30. Leadership buy-in
10 years of lessons learned

31. Leadership buy-in
Leaders enable the conditions for success by:
• Envisioning applications for mobile
• Displacing cherished misconceptions
• Inspiring others to act on faith
• Support new ideas and solutions
10 years of lessons learned

32. Leadership buy-in
Example: EDC Mobile Online PD for Educators
Boston Public Schools – summer course for principals
• Using mobiles to embed digital tools within school
communities of practice
• Ah-hah moments for the principals
o “School leaders are the catalyst for change”
o “Set expectations and lead by example”
o “Be personally familiar with tools and adoption process”
10 years of lessons learned

33. Metrics for evaluation
10 years of lessons learned

34. Today's children can
meet future challenges
if their schooling and
informal learning
activities prepare them
for adult roles as
citizens, employees,
managers, parents,
volunteers, and
entrepreneurs.

36. Cognitive
Outcomes
Intrapersonal
Outcomes
Interpersonal
Outcomes
Cognitive processes and
strategies
Intellectual Openness Teamwork and
Collaboration
Knowledge Work Ethic and
Conscientiousness
Leadership
Creativity Positive Core Self-Evaluation Communication
Critical Thinking Metacognition Responsibility
Information Literacy Flexibility Conflict Resolution
Reasoning Initiative
Innovation Appreciation of Diversity

37. Metrics for evaluation
10 years of lessons learned
San Diego Library
Augmented Reality Project
Outcomes:
o Students said use of AR content increased their engagement
in learning
o Different learning modalities within the experience appealed
to different students: videos, images, text, assessment
o 40% of the students expressed greater interest in a STEAM
career field as a result of this learning experience

38. Mobile empowered content and
curriculum
Importance of mobile empowered content
Adaptive qualities inherent in mobile learning
Ability to address multiple learning goals
10 years of lessons learned

39. Power of Internet access
10 years of lessons learned
Value of anytime, anywhere access to support
unintentional, informal learning
Importance of having “personal” Internet access

40. Creating self-directed learners
Goal should be to leverage mobiles to create more
personalized learning in the classroom and support the
development of a life-long learning ethos beyond the
classroom walls
Think:
• Engagement
• Grit / Tenacity
• Self-efficacy for learning
10 years of lessons learned

41. (Conner Flynn)

43. Interface for Your Digital Life
IN THE FUTURE YOUR MOBILE PHONE WILL ACT AS YOUR DIGITAL “6TH SENSE”
DISCOVERS
Things
Relevant
to You
SENSES
Local Content
and Services
LEARNS
What
You Like
INTERACTS
With
Networks
FILTERS
Out the
Irrelevant
KNOWS
You and What
is Around You

44. Mobile empowered content and
curriculum
Power of Internet access
Creating self-directed learners
10 years of lessons learned

45. Criticality of connectivity
10 years of lessons learned

46. Criticality of connectivity
The new mantra in education:
Internet access = educational opportunity equity
Home access challenges – especially with access
contention
10 years of lessons learned

47. Mobile Learning at Alvin Dunn Elementary School
Special project to address the “homework gap”
• 6th graders provided with LTE tablets to use at school and
at home
• Teachers incorporated tablets into instruction and research
projects
 Increased student self-efficacy and engagement
 Teachers more likely to assign digital homework
 Parents link tablet usage with global skills

48. Sustaining and scaling innovation
Scaling: value of pilots vs. “instant” school/district
wide implementations
• Is sustainability built into your project plan?
• But how do we build in sustainability with limited
product life spans?
• Do we have a shared vision for success?
10 years of lessons learned

50. Combine patience and vision
10 years of lessons learned
Technological innovation
generally takes longer than you
expect, but has more sweeping
impacts than you can imagine

51. What would we do differently with today’s
insights?
10 years of lessons learned

52. What would we do differently with today’s
insights?
10 years of lessons learned
• Use social media sooner for academic and professional
learning
• Put limits on the power of mobile device batteries so
people would have to look at the world now and then
• Ensure objectives and goals are reasonable and
attainable
• Be comfortable with progress – however slow it may be
• Learn from each other

54. What will mobile
learning look like
in 2027?

55. What will mobile learning look like in 2027?
Chris’ ideas
Holographic displays
Holographic Displays!
Just Kidding…

56. What will mobile learning look like in 2027?
The Good
• Mid-range mobile devices have more power
than today’s supercomputers
• Built-in laser projectors solve the small
screen problem
• Any device you touch loads your data as
you need it – no more carrying!
• Smart glasses do real-time translation
(for the deaf and for second-language)

57. What will mobile learning look like in 2027?
• A digital divide still persists between haves
and have-nots
• Some teachers still are unwilling to let
students use mobile devices for learning
• Personalization and privacy
still struggle to co-exist
The Ugly
• Many people still see mobile devices as like
fire – stand near them, and you get a benefit
The Bad

58. What will mobile
learning look like
in 2027?
What are your ideas?

59. www.qualcomm.com/company/wireless-reach/resources
Extended learning: additional resources

60. Extended learning: additional resources
Mobile learning infographic
with new Speak Up
Research findings from
Project Tomorrow
www.tomorrow.org

61. Thank you for your participation today in
this discussion.
Julie Evans
Project Tomorrow
jevans@tomorrow.org
@JulieEvans_PT
Chris Dede
Harvard University
chris_dede@gse.harvard.edu
@chrs_dede