This document summarizes Nicola Beddall-Hill's research on using mobile methods to observe mobile learning in field trip settings. The research investigated how students on Masters of Science in GIS field trips used mobile devices for data collection and analysis. Ethnographic and mobile methods were used to observe students' interactions in real-world settings. Preliminary findings showed themes around ownership of devices and the role of pen and paper in learning. Issues with the mobile methods included privacy concerns and discomfort wearing recording devices. Future directions may include new analysis methods integrating location data and considering ethical issues in mobile research methods.

1. Nicola Beddall-Hill
Previously @ LDC ESRC (prior) PhD candidate
Attached to Ensemble TLRP TEL project
Mobile methods for observing mobile learning in field trip settings
Strand: New Media
Global Conference on Mobility Futures, September 4-6th
2013, at
Lancaster University, UK
Mobile methods for observing mobile learning in field trip settings
Strand: New Media
Global Conference on Mobility Futures, September 4-6th
2013, at
Lancaster University, UK

2. The shift to ‘mobility’ has permeated a huge part of all our
lives – learning, which is both life long & life wide. With
the ability to move outside the classroom, learning on the
‘move’ enables spontaneous, context specific, personal or
collaborative experiences using a wide range of media and
interactional opportunities. These devices are highly
portable and can provide access for marginalised learners
such as those in 3rd
world countries.
Mobile Learning

3. Problems with Mobile learning…

4. The project’s aims
Investigating learning with
the aid of mobile devices
on a HE field trip
Research questions:
1.What happens?
2.What role does the
technology play?
3.How do the students use
this technology alongside
their learning practices?
4.How can the role of
technology be theorised in
this setting?
5.How might these findings
help other educators?

5. The setting and approach
X3 field trips: UK & abroad,
MSc GIS students using
GIS devices as part of their
mini research projects for
data collection & analysis
through comparison with
existing GIS data.
Mobile setting, moving through time & space, with sometimes
difficult weather & terrain to negotiate. Used ethnographic
approach and innovative mobile methods and tools.

6. PROJECT FINDINGS
• Common themes across field trips:
Recording reality vs. digital
• Ownership, trust & appropriation are
tightly coupled
• Current research now bears out the
argument for personal devices & has
moved towards facilitating Personal
Learning Environments (PLE’s) – tools
across learning
• Pen & paper - not replaceable for many

7. MOBILE METHODS
• Relatively new methodological development based around the
suggested paradigm shift of ‘Mobilities’ (Urry, 2007) & the affordances
new mobile technologies facilitate.
• Mobile methods enable ‘co-present-immersion’ (Urry & Buscher, 2009),
that is the ability to stay in motion with those they are observing through
different modes of movement & by using a variety of different data
capture methods.
• For mobile learning research this enables the researcher to observe the
rich ‘in-world’ interactions instead of evaluating the role of the
technology post learning.

8. The head mounted Camera options
POV1.5 Action Camera (POV1)
• Fully integrated point-of-view video
• Waterproof, dustproof & shock-
resistant with own editing software.
• Mountable bullet camera with built-in
recorder & wireless remote.
• Up to 8GB SDHC Card.
• RRP £500 approx
Kodak Zx1 flip
Camera & Gorilla
tripod
•HD quality video
•long record
(limited by standard batteries).
•Weather resistant & rugged
design, mountable flip camera with
internal (128MB) & expandable
memory up to 32GB
•Built-in software for editing & mono
microphone
•RRP £45 camera & £12 tripod.

10. Overall issues encountered with new
technologies
-Disadvantages –
-Both – Monitoring via GPS and
constant video – invasion of
privacy? Both participants &
public? Discomfort with possible
evaluation of activities.
-Head camera – some
embarrassment wearing! –
iPhone – researcher led capture,
not waterproof! Poor sound &
zoom at a distance.

11. ANALYSIS:
Storytelling & themes
1. The raw data was sorted via time-lines.
2. ‘Stories’ written about each field trip to revisit
the trips features and events
3. These were loosely coded & event’s marked.
4. These were revisited, transcribed & recoded.
5. Codes were compared across & between
field trips, global & branching themes
developed.
6. Transcription & analysis of focus groups
(recorded at the end of field trips)
7. Use this data to query the themes (student’s
view)
8. Revisit themes, describe and use events to
illustrate
9. Critic against current concepts & theories

12. Ethical Issues in Mobile Methods
• Constant video – invasion of privacy?
Both participants & public?
• But… the strict anonymity enforced by
some ethics committees might reduced
data sharing possibilities.
Instead: self recording? However extra work
for students & might miss the ‘interesting’ the
mistakes in the learning journey.
Build sensitive & trusting with participants
with clear roles for the technology being
used.

13. FUTURE DIRECTIONS
• Mobile methods are growing in popularity especially given our
increasingly ‘mobile’ lifestyles & challenges researching them –
**See: Urry, J. (2007), Urry, J., & Buscher, M. (2009) & Ricketts-Hein, J., Evans, J., &
Jones, P. (2008)
• New technologies are enabling this growth, but need careful
consideration about their social/research roles –
**See: Beddall-Hill, N. L., Jabbar, A., & Al Shehri. S. (2011), Beddall-Hill, N. L (2010) &
especially Brown, K. M., Dilley, R., & Marshall, K. (2009), Murthy, D. (2008)
• Ethical issues are emerging around these methods and tools – we
need to be sensitive in their implementations –
**See: Lally, et al,. (2011) & Wishart, J. M. (2009)
• New methods of analysis needed for this type of data? Integrating
geo-visualization data to map time & space…Various GIS software &
ATLASti

14. Email: nlbh@me.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/citymobileangel
Web: http://www.ensemble.ac.uk/
Nicola Beddall-Hill
Prior ESRC PhD candidate – City University,
London on the TLRP TEL project Ensemble
With thanks to the ESRC for funding the work
Now a Research Associate at The
University of Leicester

15. REFERENCES
Beddall-Hill, N. L., Jabbar, A., & Al Shehri. S. (2011) Social Mobile Devices as Tools for
Qualitative Research in Education: iPhones and iPads in Ethnography, Interviewing, and
Design-Based Research. Special Learning Without Frontiers Conference issue 2011.
Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology. 7(1), 28-4. Retrieved
September 12th
2011 from http://www.rcetj.org/index.php/rcetj/article/download/154/239
Beddall-Hill, N. L (2010) Witnessing learning in mobile settings using a head mounted
camera. In E, Brown, E. (Eds.), Education in the wild: contextual and location-based
mobile learning in action. A report from the STELLAR Alpine Rendez-Vous workshop
series. (pp.39-42). University of Nottingham: Learning Sciences Research Institute (LSRI)
Brown, K. M., Dilley, R., & Marshall, K. (2009). Using a head-mounted video camera to
understand social worlds and experiences, Sociological Research Online, 13(6),1.
Retrieved June 15th
2009 from http://www.socresonline.org.uk/13/6/1.html
Lally, V., Sharples, M., Bertram, N., Masters, S., Norton, B., & Tracy, F. (2011).
Researching the Ethical Dimensions of Mobile, Ubiquitous, and Immersive Technology
Enhanced Learning (MUITEL) in Informal Settings: a thematic review and dialogue.
(FUNDED by EPSRC/ESRC RES-139-25-0402) Submitted to Interactive Learning
Environments (Special Issue).

16. REFERENCES CONT.
Murthy, D. (2008). Digital Ethnography: An Examination of the Use of New Technologies for
Social Research, Sociology, 42(5), 837-855.
Ricketts-Hein, J., Evans, J., & Jones, P. (2008). Mobile Methodologies: Theory, Technology
and Practice, Geography Compass, 2(5), 1266-1285.
Rodrigo, R. (2011) Mobile Teaching Versus Mobile Learning. EDUCAUSE Quarterly,
available at http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/mobile-teaching-versus-mobile-learning
Urry, J. (2007) Mobilities. Cambridge: Polity Press
Urry, J., & Buscher, M. (2009). Mobile Methods and the Empirical.
European Journal of Social Theory, 12, 99-117.
Wishart, J. M. (2009). Ethical considerations in implementing mobile learning in the
workplace, International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 1(2), 76-92.