Does it Matter who is Holding the PDA in a Mobile Learning Experience?
Does it Matter who is Holding the PDA in a Mobile Learning Experience?
Mobile technologies, such as PDAs, are increasingly being used to create innovative mobile learning experiences for children. Collaboration around use of the PDA has been identified as a key benefit. In this paper we identify the issue of whether it matters who is holding the PDA, and in particular whether there are gender effects at play. We present a preliminary study where we examine the behavior of pairs of children using PDAs in a literacy fieldtrip according to which member the pair held possession of the PDA at any time and whether PDA use influenced who initiated action. Our results indicate that initiating action could be independent of technology 'ownership' for girls, but that for boys initiating action might be more heavily influenced by who was holding the PDA. However, these findings are based on a limited sample and are indicative only. The main contribution of this paper then is to highlight the issue of possible gender effects on how PDAs are used in mobile learning experiences and point to areas for future research to understand how collaborative interactions take place and whether or not it does matter who is holding the PDA.
Mobile learning, field trip, collaboration, PDAs, gender, focus
Hooper, Greg
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Fitzpatrick, Geraldine
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Weal, Mark J.
e8fd30a6-c060-41c5-b388-ca52c81032a4
April 2008
Hooper, Greg
3fe9cdc5-5327-4550-834e-88853e54670f
Fitzpatrick, Geraldine
79a7fd89-0aa9-4158-822b-a85c37a3d1f7
Weal, Mark J.
e8fd30a6-c060-41c5-b388-ca52c81032a4
Hooper, Greg, Fitzpatrick, Geraldine and Weal, Mark J.
(2008)
Does it Matter who is Holding the PDA in a Mobile Learning Experience?
IADIS International Conference of e-Learning, Algarve, Portugal.
11 - 13 Apr 2008.
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
Mobile technologies, such as PDAs, are increasingly being used to create innovative mobile learning experiences for children. Collaboration around use of the PDA has been identified as a key benefit. In this paper we identify the issue of whether it matters who is holding the PDA, and in particular whether there are gender effects at play. We present a preliminary study where we examine the behavior of pairs of children using PDAs in a literacy fieldtrip according to which member the pair held possession of the PDA at any time and whether PDA use influenced who initiated action. Our results indicate that initiating action could be independent of technology 'ownership' for girls, but that for boys initiating action might be more heavily influenced by who was holding the PDA. However, these findings are based on a limited sample and are indicative only. The main contribution of this paper then is to highlight the issue of possible gender effects on how PDAs are used in mobile learning experiences and point to areas for future research to understand how collaborative interactions take place and whether or not it does matter who is holding the PDA.
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DoesItMatter_CameraReady.pdf
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Published date: April 2008
Additional Information:
Event Dates: 11-13 April, 2008
Venue - Dates:
IADIS International Conference of e-Learning, Algarve, Portugal, 2008-04-11 - 2008-04-13
Keywords:
Mobile learning, field trip, collaboration, PDAs, gender, focus
Organisations:
Web & Internet Science
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 265434
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/265434
PURE UUID: 3229677d-8a1b-4360-8119-25111e5dc259
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Date deposited: 15 Apr 2008 16:33
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:46
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Contributors
Author:
Greg Hooper
Author:
Geraldine Fitzpatrick
Author:
Mark J. Weal
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