Crompton utilizes the Nao robot for teaching and learning, such as researching how the robot supports language and communication; physical, cognitive, and social-emotional learning; activities for early childhood learning; and developed algebra activities for high school students. (Photo by Bill Tiernan)
Â鶹´«Ã½ scholar Helen Crompton has built a reputation as an authority on mobile learning. She's also something of an ambassador for her field.
In her view, the use of smartphones, tablets, and apps can help students of all ages overcome barriers of time, space, political upheaval, and physical disability. It can also make teachers more effective, says Crompton, an associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning.
"What is special about mobile learning," she says, "is that learning does not just happen in the classroom. It is seamlessly happening in all parts of academic, social, and personal spaces. It is sending the message that learning should be part of life and that learning should be lifelong."
Crompton, Â鶹´«Ã½'s 32nd SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award winner, will be the featured guest at the Fall 2018 Provost's Spotlight. The event will be held from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. Nov. 7 at University Theatre.
The Center for Faculty Development reached out to Compton with a few questions ahead of the event.
What drew you to the study of mobile learning?
I really like the way mobile learning can contextualize learning, making abstract concepts clear to students of all ages. Students can learn topics in pertinent locations and even model the role of a future career. For example, when students are learning about pond life, students can be at a pond and then —using the mobile device to extend learning by being able to take pictures/video/audio of the pond life — measure temperatures and have the data collected, connect with experts on the Web, and use apps that can identify unfamiliar creatures. Future architects can use the device to measure, collect, and store data, automatically translate conversations with colleagues from other countries, and other authentic work that an architect would do, using the digital device.
Teachers globally are under constant demand to raise test scores and prepare students to meet high levels of academic rigor. With these goals, teachers are using mobile devices to automate tasks that allow them time to provide more defined support to individual students, and these are tools that vastly improve their teaching effectiveness. For example, as students walk into my classroom, they scan a QR code with their phones. This takes them to a Google form where I have questions for the students on the homework and readings. As I stand at the front of the classroom, I can see which students are on-task; I can see from the immediate responses on my laptop screen which students understand a particular concept and who needs help. I also have a record of their alignment to learning goals that I can access as evidence at a later date. What I particularly like about the use of mobile devices is that I know what all the students are doing in the class and not just one student who raises their hand.
What are mobile learning's virtues and drawbacks?
Mobile devices are used to make our lives so much simpler. Digital maps not only provide directions but show where the traffic is busy and our time of arrival. We can quickly search the Web anytime and anywhere for whatever information we need. In schools, mobile devices can be used to align with the learning sciences on what is known about how students learn best. To provide an example of this, empirical evidence has shown that connecting to student affect as well as cognition is important, as students are more likely to remember details when they have an emotional response. As you learned about historical events in school, you most likely read a story and looked at pictures. You may have even watched a video. However, with virtual reality, students now are learning by being in the shoes of people out of history. Mobile devices are put into devices such as Google Cardboard, and students are seeing and hearing the sights and sounds of people in the trenches during WWI or seeing the events of Pearl Harbor. As the students look all around them, they can see what that person saw. You can imagine the impact this has on students' connection to the content and on their knowledge retention.
The drawback is that mobile devices are tools and as with any tool it can be used for positive and negative activities. Hammers can build houses, and hammers can also be used to kill people. Mobile devices can be used to greatly extend and enhance learning, but it takes knowing how to use the device in this way. Mobile device ownership has exploded with the use in schools, but the drawback is that educators are not always provided professional development in how to use the devices effectively to guide their students.
How early in their educational life can students profit from using mobile technology?
Students at a very young age can use mobile devices to learn content from many subject areas. However, for mobile learning to be effective it needs to be understood when they should be used and when they should not be used. Typically, a good blend of technology and non-technology should be used in learning. Young children should be using physical building blocks to develop spatial reasoning with the 3D interaction, but then can also use mobile devices to manipulate shapes in other ways that cannot be conducted without being digital, such as cutting shapes into pieces and putting them back together in different ways.
How are you using mobile learning to support special populations?
With the affordances of mobile devices, I have been able to use mobile learning with various special populations. I have worked with refugees in Greece to continue the learning of children where there is a grave problem of a whole generation lost to education from countries such as Syria, and helped adults gain skills and language needed for their future lives. Mobile devices are the perfect tool to help in this situation, as the majority of refugees have at least one device in the family and often multiple. Of all the items they chose to take with them as they fled their homes, refugees prioritized taking their cellphones, as this is how they would stay in contact with family and friends. I work with local municipalities to improve Wi-Fi connectivity in the refugee camps and to connect learners of all ages to the many free programs to teach the required content, at the right academic level, in the relevant language.
I have also worked with students with mobility disabilities via the use of mobile devices. These students studied geology at various universities around the U.S. I worked with colleagues in the GEOPATHS NSF-funded grant to use mobile devices to have the students with disabilities look at different field trip locations and use the mobile devices to connect with more able-bodied students to video conference, and use mobile tools to measure rock formations and document findings. Empirical evidence has been gathered to show how mobile learning is supporting learners beyond what can be offered without mobile devices.
Your presentation — via dancing, talking robots — at the Darden College of Education's 2015 State of the College event stole the show. What value do you see in using robots in education?
Robots have great educational value. They are being used to support language learning as students hold conversations with robots. Robots can remove human barriers when connecting with students with autism. In my research with colleagues, we have found that robots can support the very young in learning dispositions, such as learning how to move, interact with others, and even how to emotionally respond to situations. The robot can model positive social behaviors and interactions with others.
With high school students the robot can provide a contextualized understanding of mathematics as the robot provides an embodiment of the mathematical calculations, with movements matching certain values inputted by the user. With all technologies, the user needs to review what the technology can offer to the learning objective to determine the best use in education.
The Provost's Office and the Center for Faculty Development invite the University community to come out and meet Helen Crompton at the Provost's Spotlight on Nov. 7.