Ubiquitous Language Learningfrom Mobile Internet to iPod to iPad

AILA World Congress Symposium S1045:Utilizing Emerging Technologies and Social Media to Enhance EFL Learning

11 August 2014, 16:30-18:30, Room P5Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre

A presentation by Steve McCartyProfessor, Osaka Jogakuin University, Japan

Introductory OutlineTowards ubiquitous language learning Mobile language learning, online at any time, any place, and any pace

Using hand-held, portable, or wearable Internet-connected devices Smart phones, media players (e.g., iPod), tablets (e.g., iPad), etc.

m-Learning in cultural, disciplinary, and temporal contexts (next slide, adapted from McCarty, 2005a – see References, last slides) Ubiquitous computing

Internet of Things: applications in Japan, ubiquitous learning

Initiatives on the way to ubiquitous language learning Mobile Internet since the late 1990s; author’s site from the year 2000 Osaka Jogakuin University – iPod for all incoming students from 2004; author’s podcasting and social media initiatives; iPad for students from 2012, with campus-wide wifi and faculty-created interactive e-books

Conclusion: pedagogy amplified by (mobile) technology Motivating, authentic, relevant, suitable, ubiquitous language learning

Ubiquitous Computing Defined as “machines that fit the human environment instead of forcing humans to enter theirs” (Wikipedia, 2011) Internet of Things (Dormehl, 2014): physical world – Internet interface Hardware: cloud computing; sensor networks

E.g., mobile phone infra-red or barcode readers, iPad QR code reader Software: embedded systems (built-in programs for specific tasks)

E.g., controlling appliances while away, GPS location-based services

Home-made calling card with QR code for mobile phones or tablets (iPad, etc.)

to access the author’s mobile Internet site(this and below from McCarty, 2011b)

Hospital wristband barcode that nurses scan to access the patient’s chart, confirming and

updating the patient’s data, avoiding mistakes (the Kyoto Medical Center uses QR code)

Example of location-based services, utilizing GPS on mobile phones: In case of an earthquake in a tourist area visitors are unfamiliar with,

they could point their phones at a sensor on a surface in a central areaand be directed to the nearest hospital and other relevant information

(adapted from Hirano, Nakatani, McCarty, & Masui, 2007)

Click here for the next screen

In education, an approach to ubiquitous computing is student informationsystems. By analogy with hospital databases, teachers and staff can accessand input student data such as schedules, credits, assessments, and otherinformation as needed.

At Osaka Jogakuin University, the author was on the IT and e-Learning Committee while attendance cards were being used at great cost and waste of resources, contrary to the global issues being taught. So theauthor advocated for an electronic attendance management system.The school found that such systems were offered by companies, and money has been saved each year since the original system installment.

Students swipe their ID card on a sensor in each classroom, like they dowith a train pass and so forth. The technology is ubiquitous in that thedatabase is accessible through the Internet by computer anywhere, or by iPad, which is often used for teaching, via wifi. Staff and teachers can check student attendance and try to avert any mounting problems.

Ubiquitous learning (u-Learning) would apply the affordances of ubiquitous computing to education, autonomous or informal learning.

Initiatives on the way to Ubiquitous LearningMobile Internet was pioneered in the late 1990s in northern Europe and Japan, with some geographical and proprietary limitations. In Japan, first some big corporations made mobile sites with paid access, then users could pay their providers for Web access, with formats for each major provider, e.g., compact HTML by Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT).

One of the first educational mobile Internet sites accessible worldwide included bilingual

haiku and information about the World Association for Online Education (WAOE)

http://www.waoe.org

Made in 2000, following NTT DoCoMo specifications under consideration by the W3 Consortium, the contents fit the small screens at the time. This is the Web view.

(from McCarty, 2008)

Social Media to enhance Integrative Motivation“Social media to motivate language learners from before admission to after graduation” (McCarty, 2011a) details initiatives to reach students where they are, online, first in the exclusively Japanese language Mixi social networking service, to help students make English communication an authentic part of their real lives. Nowadays many academics use social media professionally (Lupton, 2014), and having students as Facebook friends or Twitter followers seems natural, but at first there was a question whether students would willingly interact with teachers in their private social spaces, with Asian students typecast as having solely instrumental motivation. Collaborating on podcasts with students from 2005 showed that students would reciprocate if the teacher would go beyond class hours. Having a global audience stimulated integrative motivation. Computer Communication class students enjoyed working overtime on YouTube videos and other online media from 2007. A student reported that English was a “tool” when graded, but also a “longing” to be part of the English-speaking world, thus showing both instrumental and integrative motivation. Besides blended learning approaches between classes, through social media the author was able to encourage high school students to major in English, and to show concern for former students after graduation (McCarty, 2011a).

Initiatives at Osaka Jogakuin UniversityIn 2004, each incoming student received an iPod stocked with English listening files. Note that when all students use the same device, it can become an extension of the campus infrastructure. Educational materials such as homework assignments were synched to each iPod. It was not fully ubiquitous but at most “spoken Internet to go” (McCarty, 2005b).

The author’s “Podcasting student-generated performances to develop EFL skills” had many listeners, which was motivating to the students. The site of annotated audio files was reported on by the Sloan Consortium for Online Education in the U.S. in 2007 and designated an “Effective Practice.”

From 2012, each incoming student has received an iPad, and with a wifi network, the campus infrastructure is closer to supporting ubiquitous learning. Some students have wifi at home, and devices can be purchased from providers for Internet access in much of urban Japan. However, e-books can be used on an iPad anywhere, except for their Web links to further investigate topics. Most e-books are made by faculty members with iBook author for content-based EFL (Bramley, 2014), with Oxford University Press e-books also used for academic listening (Sarosy & Sherak, 2013).

iPad screen shot: a few of the Osaka Jogakuin University faculty-created content-based EFL e-books, and paperless

college catalogues, all of which save natural resources

Example e-book affordances – economical: using many color photos, andinteractive: notes and (on other pages) self-check quizzes, Web links, etc.

Another affordance: besides text notes (“T” above), voice notes can be recorded, by speaking near the iPad, and saved anywhere in the e-book

– from Lecture Ready 1 (Sarosy & Sherak, 2013)

ReferencesBramley, D. (2014). Tap into the future: A study of iPads and interactive eBooks in an e-learning project. Osaka JALT Journal, 1(1), 89-108. Retrieved from http://www.osakajalt.org/storage/journal/Osaka%20JALT%20Journal%20March%202014.pdf

Dormehl, L. (2014, June 8). Internet of Things: It’s all coming together for a tech revolution. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jun/08/internet-of-things-coming-together-tech-revolution

Hirano, K., Nakatani, Y., McCarty, S., & Masui, H. (2007). Applications of mobile research in Japan. Ubiquity, 8(38), 1-34. Retrieved from http://waoe.org/president/ubiquity.pdf

Lupton, D. (2014). ‘Feeling better connected’: Academics’ use of social media. News & Media Research Centre report, University of Canberra, Australia. Retrieved from http://www.canberra.edu.au/faculties/arts-design/attachments/pdf/n-and-mrc/Feeling-Better-Connected-report-final.pdf

McCarty, S. (2005a). Cultural, disciplinary, and temporal contexts of e-learning and English as a foreign language. eLearn Magazine, April 2005 issue, Research Papers). Retrieved from http://elearnmag.acm.org/archive.cfm?aid=1070950

McCarty, S. (2005b). Spoken Internet to go: Popularization through podcasting. JALT CALL Journal, 1(2), 67-74. Retrieved from http://journal.jaltcall.org/articles/1_2_McCarty.pdf

McCarty, S. (2008, May 31). Making mobile phone Websites. A workshop at JALTCALL 2008, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/waoe/workshop-on-making-mobile-phone-homepages/

McCarty, S. (2011a). Social media to motivate language learners from before admission to after graduation. In A. U. Chamot & W. M. Chan (Eds.), Studies in Second and Foreign Language Education, Vol. 5: W. M. Chan et al. (Eds.) Media in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 87-105). Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter Mouton.

McCarty, S. (2011b, October 17). Ubiquitous computing and online collaboration for open education. A keynote address at the Malaysian Educational Technology Convention, Kuantan, Malaysia. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/waoe/malaysia-keynote

Sarosy, P. & Sherak, K. (2013). Lecture ready 1: Strategies for academic listening and speaking. Oxford: Oxford University Press [textbook & Website or e-book].

Wikipedia (2011). Ubiquitous computing. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubiquitous_computing

Thank you!

Bookmark for further research:

Bilingualism and Japanology Intersection http://www.waoe.org/steve/epublist.html