Proposal - the second part

Resuming where I left off:

There are recurring themes of overall flexibility, immediacy and continuous ‘fluidity’ discernible throughout the aforementioned eight principles. Nothing is predisposed or fixed; the user/learner decides. Not only does the learner expect method and means to be adaptable to the given task (and vice versa), he also interacts with, and adapts to both method and means himself. This relates to a study currently conducted by Dirk Börner (CELSTEC Lab) on the "Educational problem of mobile learning”.

I would like to research whether this ninth principle of "Iterative negotiating in context” might be the specific principle to mobile learning in education. My main research question is: What is specific to mobile learning in education?

9. Iterative negotiating in context: Adjusting and revising task as well as means, in a cyclic process of negotiation and mutually dependent development.

Method
In order to find out what is specific to mobile learning in education, I will conduct a literature survey into the use of these eight principles in existing publications. There are three dimensions to mobile learning: didactic, device and setting, and publications on the subject will relate to any of these dimensions or not (dependent or independent). I will choose two dimensions and categorise publications into four quadrants, according to possible combinations of these features (e.g. didactic & setting, as below). This way, I hope to identify patterns (or gaps) in existing literature about mobile learning.
The four quadrants are:
didactic dependent/ setting dependent
didactic independent/ setting dependent
didactic dependent/ setting independent
didactic independent/ setting independent

Furthermore, I will explore current studies on this subject and technologies used at the CELSTEC Lab. Clustering of these findings will enable me to prepare relevant questions for interviews with experts in the Lab. After processing the information data from the expert interviews and relating these once more to the patterns emerging from the dimensions matrix, I will be able to answer my research question on what is specific to mobile learning in education.

Process
1. Literature Study into distinction between digital learning didactics an mobile learning didactics, with a focus on the selected dimensions
2. Integration with the educational problems study done by the CELSTEC Lab - exploring technologies on site
3. Clustering the findings for preparing the expert interviews
4. Guideline-based expert interviews at the lab, focusing on the clusters identified in step 1 and 2.

Course goals
- gain insight into digital didactics and their underlying principles
- find distinctions between didactics for digital learning and mobile learning
- establish what is specific for mobile learning and possible usefulness and validity of the ninth principle

Learning goals
- developing and applying an original idea in a research context (the ninth principle)
- applying problem solving abilities in an unfamiliar environment (mobile learning, media labs)
- demonstrating the ability to integrate knowledge and handle complexity (comprehensive research coupled with hands-on activities & questioning)
- communicating conclusions (publication) and underpinning knowledge (comprehensive research report) to specialist and non-specialist audiences
- studying in a largely self-directed or autonomous manner (using a weblog to inform and reflect: http://masteringthings.blogspot.com/)

Products to be assessed
- proposal - adding to eight existing principles of digital/mobile learning didactics, a ninth principle as being specific for mobile learning (2 pages)
- comprehensive report - research into usefulness and validity of eight existing principles and ninth proposed principle of mobile learning didactics (16 pages max)
- article (e.g. for OnderwijsInnovatie) about ninth principle of mobile learning didactics, taking into consideration the eight existing principles and the way they differ from digital didactics (3-4 pages)

I have already started collecting literature about mobile learning projects and stumbled upon a very interesting article that claims to give 'a critical analysis of the state of the art'. The interesting part is mostly in the framework used for categorising mobile learning projects, which is quite different from the one I aim to use. More about this later!