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MOBILE LEARNING DEVICES AS COLLABORATIVE TOOLS TO ENHANCE BIOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION SKILLS IN THE LAB AND FIELD
Published studies to date have focussed on the use of mobile digital devices as a“ personalised device” in a school setting based on a oneto-one model of one iPad per student( e. g., Burden et al. 2012). Some universities have followed suit. For example, in 2014 the University of Western Sydney gave all new undergraduate students an Apple iPad ® as part of their“ Blended Learning Strategy”( University of Western Sydney, 2014). This forms part of a three-year plan to blend all units and courses, and has required a massive capital investment to purchase 30,000 devices and establish a team of technologists and designers to support teaching staff( Rankine and Macnamara, 2014). However, such an individualistic approach could act as a barrier to collaboration and would be beyond the scope of many UK university budgets. There is an urgent need to clarify how portable technologies can be effectively used for teaching and to examine the impacts on learners( Hopkins, 2014), and to do this in a way that is financially feasible.
1.4 Study aim and objectives
This study investigates the potential of a collaborative iPad-based problem-solving activity to enhance tree identification skills. The specific objectives are:( i) develop a student-led field-based tree ID activity that utilises an Apple iPad ® and a suite of educational apps,( ii) evaluate practicalities of the task, and( iii) assess the impact of the activity on student learning. Excerpts of this work have been submitted previously for the MA module Teaching and Learning with Technology at Keele University, and a preliminary version of this study was published as Taylor and Procter( 2015).
2. Methods
2.1 Study design
The pilot study took place in semester 1 of the 2013-14 academic year on Keele campus. Twelve final year undergraduate students were selected on a first come first served basis who met the following requirements:( i) enrolled on LSC-30043 Conservation Biology and( ii) completed LSC-10033 Ecology and Environment in Year 1. The gender split of participants was relatively equal, with five females and seven males taking part from across the Biology, Applied Environmental Science and Environmental Sustainability degree programmes. Ethical approval for the project was given, and all participants were informed of ethical considerations relating to the project and that they could withdraw from the study at any time. To