Lessons from learner experiences in a field-based inquiry in geography using mobile devices

Abstract

Geographical inquiry involves collecting, using and making sense of the data to investigate some geographical phenomena. With the increasing number of mobile devices equipped with Internet access capabilities, there is a wide scope for using it in field inquiry where learning can take place in the form of social interactions between team members while performing a common task. The authors examine the use of MobiTOP (Mobile Tagging of Objects and People), a geospatial digital library system which allows users to contribute and share multimedia annotations via mobile devices, within a geographical field inquiry. A key feature of MobiTOP that is well suited for collaborative learning is that annotations are hierarchical, allowing annotations to be annotated by other users to an arbitrary depth. A group of student and teachers involved in an inquiry-based learning activity in geography was instructed to identify rock types and associated landforms by collaborating with each other using the MobiTOP system. A method combining several data collection methods was used. Four main findings on the affordances of the mobile phone, the need for specialized training in using the application with the mobile phone, design considerations of the application and the authentic context of learning with fieldwork are reported. A discussion on the implication of these findings and how mobile technology may be used for geographical field learning are also included in this paper.

Narratives of inquiry learning in middle-school geographic inquiry class

“…The results of this study are well in line with positive findings regarding the use of inquiry learning in geography education (e.g., Chang et al, 2012;Kidman, 2012). Most of the study participants (8/13) depicted the events of the geography course, which was run using a progressive inquiry teaching and learning model, as beneficial for their learning both the subject matter and subject-related skills, as well as some of the socalled 21 st century skills (Table 1).…”

“…In this case study, drawing and interpreting maps and creating digital games served as tools for learning, as the progressive learning model and knowledge creation metaphor suggest (Engeström, 1999;Paavola & Hakkarainen, 2005), but Moodle and the interactive whiteboard were under-used as such learning tools. This result indicates the challenges posed by the unpredictable evolution of ICT for both teachers and students, and the hardships that they struggle with (Cerratto-Pargman, Järvelä, & Milrad, 2012;Chang et al, 2012). Teachers tend to share the misunderstanding that because many learners are familiar with new technologies, they can learn different ways of utilizing them by themselves (Cerratto-Pargman et al, 2012).…”

“…Progressive inquiry was applied to a geographic inquiry approach in order to investigate the geographical phenomena by collecting, processing and understanding the data (Chang et al, 2012).…”

A review of the types of mobile activities in mobile inquiry-based learning

“…Some examples of cooperative data collection are traditionally activities like taking notes (Hung et al, 2013;Hwang, Wu, et al, 2011;Liljeström, Enkenberg, & Pöllänen, 2013;Shih, 2010;Song, 2014;Tan et al, 2007;Yang & Lin, 2010) or drawing ideas, schemas or concepts (Chiang et al, 2014a(Chiang et al, , 2014bChung et al, 2010;Looi et al, 2014;Song, 2014;Song & Kong, 2014;Sun, Looi, Wu, & Xie, 2015). However, mobile technology also offers specific affordances like annotating data samples taken, or conceptualized mental models in order to make them shareable (Chang et al, 2012;Hung et al, 2012;Razikin et al, 2009;Sha et al, 2012;Shelley, Dasgupta, Silva, Lyons, & Moher, 2015;Song et al, 2012;Yarnall et al, 2006). From our analytical framework point of view (see table 6 and Appendix B), most of features of learners' agency are covered in the type of mobile activities involving data collection.…”

Before and after Lightfoot/León. Using rich pictures to illustrate an educational journey through the world of opera and ballet

“…There is for instance a long tradition in history education of engaging students using visits to local public history venues such as museums (Sundermann, 2013). In the realm of higher education, field trips are an intrinsic part of many courses and programmes within a wide array of academic and professional fields, ranging from geography (Chang et al, 2012) to law (Higgins, Dewhurst & Watkins, 2012) and marketing (Castleberry, 2007). There is also a tradition of including excursions to live performances such as concerts, ballets and operas in the curriculum of various types of courses (Drago, 1993;Eyring, 2014).…”