Coulsdon College

Year 1: Mobile learning for literacy (Level 1) students 2007/2008

Coulsdon College’s Mobile Learning for literacy (Level1) students project used 39 Ameos (HTC PDfs branded as Ameos by T Mobile the network provider – Ameos in this report) with three classes of literacy students. Coulsdon set out to find out:

Can the use of mobile learning improve the teaching in literacy lessons?
Can the use of mobile learning technology improve the learning in literacy lessons? Can the use of mobile learning change student attitudes to homework/out-of-class assignments? Has using mobile learning helped to improve IT skills?
Can the use of mobile learning raise Level 1 literacy success rates?

The students were studying at Level 1; most of them came from poor backgrounds and had a range of needs. There were four teachers involved who are not IT teachers.

Coulsdon also hoped that the use of this technology would make the students feel more valued and that their learning was high priority. Very often at school such students have been ‘lost’ in a GCSE class that was under-resourced, even though some would have had extra help.

College and Project Background

Coulsdon Sixth Form College has approximately 1300 students, many of whom come from the poorest areas of London areas, from deprived social background and expectations. Although the college is in a suburban area, the full-time student body is largely urban and reflects the economic and ethnic diversity of Croydon and south London.

In 2007/08 60% of the learners described themselves as black or minority ethnic (BME) learners. Over 600 students were on Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payments each year. Many students choose to travel long distances to attend the college. Coulsdon College is therefore an atypical sixth form college. Of the 1300 learners in 2007/08, over 300 are enrolled on adult literacy or GCSE English. Over 68 languages are spoken in the college. Literacy is a key issue for the local authority. The Croydon local authority average figure for pupils gaining five or more A*–C grades at GCSE was 56.7% in 2006 compared to the national average for England of 59.2%. The percentage of students with five GCSEs at A*–C including Maths and English was 42.7%, below the national average of 45.8%. The London borough of Croydon is ranked 10th across London for the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). The MoLeNET project sought to engage some of the most vulnerable learners and so reduce this figure. Improving literacy is a key college target and features in the college’s 2006/07 and 2007/08 operating statements.

The students involved in the project have a range of abilities and needs with some of the students coming from very poor backgrounds and living in dislocated family relationships. Many students had not had such ‘personal’ investment in their teaching before. At least two of the students were living in special accommodation away from their families. Several students on this project have had their education disrupted due to personal circumstances such as family breakdown and/or illness.

Four of the students were from China on a special programme following the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and literacy to improve their spoken and written English skills; they were different in their backgrounds, educational goals and experiences of technology. For example, most of them were following Level 3 courses in the sciences and maths and had different expectations of the literacy class. The Ameo was seen as an adjunct to their learning.

Project aims

To use m-learning to change student attitudes towards learning literacy and indeed to the process of learning by supporting anytime anywhere learning.
To use m-learning to facilitate personalised learning
To improve teaching and learning within literacy lessons.

The ultimate goal is to improve literacy skills and raise success rates.

Key objectives

To develop a wide range of differentiated, fun, learner-centred, mobile-learning literacy materials suitable for the 14–19 age range
To engage students in individual learning experiences, increasing their sense of ownership and responsibility for their own learning
To involve students, as part of the College’s learner involvement strategy, in the evaluation of mobile technologies for their learning
To promote activity-based learning within literacy lessons
To research and use existing m-learning literacy materials
To record our experiences in a publicly accessible blog to assist and encourage other colleges
To give students access to 24/7 support for their literacy needs
To provide multiple representations of content in order to better meet individual needs, ie video, text, games, images and audio.

At the end of the project, we will have a bank of mobile learning materials and activities. We will also have a better understanding of how to use mobile technologies for learning and examples of successful staff development sessions.

Benefits

Benefits for learners, across all learner groups

Learners gained:

increased engagement
increased enjoyment of the course
improved self-esteem
improved punctuality and attendance
more collaborative working
more active and creative learning activities
greater mobility in that they were less restricted to classroom activities.
more confidence with the technology and felt that it improved their IT skills.

Benefits for staff

Staff gained:

improved teacher engagement with e-learning
increased confidence with technology
professional development opportunities.
opportunity for the teachers involved to meet and exchange innovative ideas and good practice.
improved access to technology, ie laptops, interactive whiteboards, voting systems, as well as the Ameos themselves.
further spread of technology into technology-free zones.

Benefits for the lead college

The College gained:

the development of a teaching support role (appointment of an e-Learning assistant)
a raised profile for e-learning generally
increased motivation for staff to become involved in e-learning generally
a wider spin-off from the project, with direct links to initiatives in, for example Modern Foreign Languages (identifying use of video and ASUS eee PC)
the freedom to experiment with new technology
a network video system and improved wireless infrastructure.
experience of mobile technology. This has been particularly useful in informing the future direction of the college. The college is currently undertaking a new build project and the knowledge gained should ensure that the infrastructure both technological and architectural will be able to effectively support mobile learning.
experience of undertaking an innovative technological project.
collaborative relationships with other colleges across the country.

Teaching and learning lessons

The emphasis of the project was on learner enjoyment, improved experience, and improved teacher engagement with mobile learning.
During the course of the project, learning moved from a more traditional style to a collaborative style. Learners tended to work together, initially maybe for technical support, but then for peer learning support. This was particularly true where activities involved building project responses (the marketing and advertising campaign was a good example of this – with collaborative preparation and presentation of the results).
Staff involved with the project initially focused on the technology and not the pedagogy. They had difficulty translating the functionality of the Ameos into learning activities and so they tended to replicate traditional teaching and learning, just transferring paper based activities to the ‘hand-helds’. An intervention by the deputy principal giving guidelines on ways to use the technology to enhance an active approach to learning (10 creative ideas) inspired staff try new approaches that placed the technology in the background rather than the foreground.
The project highlighted the impact that in-class technical support can have on the confidence of the teacher and their willingness to experiment with new technologies and innovative teaching strategies. This was recognised to such an extent that an e-learning assistant was appointed to provide this support across the college.
The project also emphasised the large amount of staff development needed for a project of this type to be successful. They began with monthly staff development sessions, but it soon became apparent that more frequent sessions were necessary so they introduced weekly development sessions focused on the technology. Some extra meetings were also organised that focused on pedagogy, stimulating creative ideas and allowing for the exchange of good practice.
There were a few learners, however, who did not respond as well to the more practical, active approach to learning. They might have preferred the more traditional approach to learning, as their ethos for learning is different. Learning styles do have a part to play.
The project showed the impact of just giving technology to teachers and allowing them to ‘play’ with it. We bought a number of the ASUS eee PC just to experiment with. We gave one to the performing arts learning manager who has a reputation for being the ultimate technophobe and is usually completely unable to see the benefits that technology can bring to the learning experience of her students. It is the first time that she has ever been enthused by any type of technology at all.
There were also unexpected ‘spin-offs’. For example, the Ameos were used for an activity for a taster day, where prospective students come and try out the college.