This document discusses situating mobile learning and describes John Martin's perspective on the topic. It advocates for an experiential and situated approach to mobile learning that connects learning to places, problem spaces, information, and people. Mobile learning should respect how students typically use mobile devices to connect informal learning activities like chatting with friends or following passions, and design formal learning experiences accordingly. The key is connecting learning to where students are and where they want to be via hands-on experiences and just-in-time access to information.

1. Situating
Mobile
Learning
John Martin
UW-Madison Academic Technology
@regardingjohn
PLACES
• situated issues
& concepts
• deeply embodied,
experiential
PROBLEM SPACES
• inquiry quests
• game-based,
playful learning
• leaderboards
INFORMATION
• just-in-time-&-place
access to databases
& information when
most needed
PEOPLE
• social support
• peer-to-peer
• collaboration
people info
places problem spaces
situate & connect
situate & connect
Yesterday in this track we focused a lot on mobile administration — making apps, checking them out, ERP, etc.
My focus is more on the teaching side, but stick around anyway because I’m going to try some things out, and I
need guinea pigs to test them on.

2. Earn AWESOME, HAND-MADE, ONE-OF-A-KIND BEADS
for the best #EConnect14 tweets about this session!
@regardingjohn
Let’s burn up the Educause Twittersphere this hour. I don’t care if you listen to me — just keep tweeting! Earn
these awesome beads that I hand-crafted last night in my hotel room instead of going out for St. Patty’s day!

3. MLIA few things about me. I’ve helped run a wilderness camp for 20 years, and did a PhD on mobile learning in 2009
based on it. As such, I believe in experiential learning, and try to teach that way — my students get A’s basically
just for showing up and doing things — including game design. At UW-Madison, I’m a designer in the Mobile
Learning Incubator there, and a Sr. T&L consultant.

4. mobile.wisc.edu/teaching-and-learning
see missing videos at
mobile.wisc.edu/teaching-and-learning
see missing videos at
mobile.wisc.edu/teaching-and-learning
see missing videos at
mobile.wisc.edu/teaching-and-learning
see missing videos at
mobile.wisc.edu/teaching-and-learning
and here are a few of the learning things we’re doing with mobile — you don’t necessarily see it in the videos,
but these are all very social, and experiential. They are what I think mobile is amazing for — what we call
“situated learning” — at its best, mobile can provide learners with what they need to learn when they want or
need to learn.
Plant Identification Bird Identification
Fiber Plant Mapping Folklore Concept Mapping

5. And situated learning is a bug that’s been in my pants since I started looking at learning with mobile in 2005. It’s
a huge part of why my colleague built ARIS in 2008, and why I jumped on it when it was first being developed.

6. In addition to “Field Research”-type learning, I’m a fan of Seymour Papert’s “Constructionism” —learning by
building things. And I’ve been working with students to design mobile games since 2005, working Eric Klopfer
and his crew at MIT, and now with ARIS, and even analog games.

7. mobile.wisc.edu
mobile.wisc.edu
So that’s my story. Now let’s talk about “kids these days” and their fancy talking gadgets.

8. let’s start with games — the Learning Sciences are clear that when we’re motivated to learn, we learn better. So, I
try to connect what students are already passionate about with course content. IN DOING SO, I design learning
experiences that let them play the type of game they like to play. How did this generation of students learn how
to use all things digital? GAMES — It’s part of what Bourdieu calls their Habitus.
Acting
Interacting
Player
World
Killers
Socializers Explorers
Achievers
harass, heckle, hack,
cheat, taunt, tease
give, express, comment,
share, greet, like, tease
explore, view, rate,
curate, vote, review
win, challenge, create,
compare, show off
Bartle (1996) http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm
HINT: let them play their game

9. “Mobile”
What devices do we have?
!
What makes them mobile?
activity time!
bit.ly/mobileconnect
https://sites.google.com/site/classresponsejgm/home
With “mobile learning”— I look to using what they already use, and are interested in.
Now, we are not digital natives, or at least I’m not. So, let’s roll together and try some crazy stuff. Get online any
way you can and fill out this survey!

10. What did we just learn?
(and can your next tweet earn you an awesome bead?)
So what did we learn? And how can it inform our questions about mobile learning?
Let’s look closer at mobile…
@regardingjohn

11. personal devices
personalized devices
Mobiles are personal devices. We keep them on us all the time, wake up to them, fall asleep to them; hesitate
when sharing them. We customize them, arrange the icons, know where to find things on them, know how to
learn the apps we use, and generally set them up to help us do the things we want to do

12. Formal vs Informal (what rings true?)
Do a Google Image Search of “LMS” or any type of formal learning term. There aren’t a lot of images; and the
people in them are rarely smiling. On the other hand, people are often smiling when using mobile devices. Why?

13. personalized learning"
(formal vs informal)
instructor
directs
learner
directs
We use these personal devices all the time for informal learning — what song? what actress? next bus? where to
eat? friend’s status? what is this place? Questions that we direct, whose answers we never before had such
immediate access to.

14. personalized learning"
(formal vs informal)
instructor
directs
learner
directs
In some ways then it seems an odd thing to try to use them for formal learning — for questions that often have
a right answer that the instructor already knows.

15. personalized learning"
(formal vs informal)
instructor
directs
learner
directs
On the other hand, they’re powerful tools that we carry with us at all times! So why not try to find a way to use
them in a way that balances the informal learning we use them for, with the formal learning of education?

16. Because they’re so personal, they feel different from computer labs, and even mobile checkout devices —
people don’t tend to connect with devices that they can’t personalize.

17. Mobile Learning
What all do we do with mobile devices?
!
What don’t we do (yet)?
!
Can we improve learning by looking beyond content?
(time management, study aids, community nourishment, health & well-being, etc.)
!
Can we improve mobile learning without building apps
(and maintaining multiple platforms)?
!
What mindsets need addressing?
activity time!
So, with “mobile learning”— I look to using what they already use, and are interested in.

18. A. Individually, on a sheet of paper (not post-it yet), write down
all the things you or your students use mobile for."
!
1. circle formal learning things
course-related = specifically required for coursework
(e.g. readings, quizzes, & a bunch of other examples you can
probably provide)
2. underline informal learning things
informal learning = learning about things not required by courses*
(e.g. bus schedules, office hours & location, hobbies & interests,
stalking potential dates, etc.)
3. X-out not-learning-related things
!
B. In 3-5 minutes, when your table is running out of individual
ideas, start sharing the ideas on Post-it notes.
1. (5 minutes) Identify the most popular ideas. These are the ones
that you all wrote down. If your campuses are already supporting
these ideas, set them to the side. We'll come back to them in a bit.
2. (5 minutes) Identify the most compelling intriguing, and
worthwhile formal, informal, and not learning-related ideas.
Someone from each group should be the devil's advocate and
argue for other classifications. Decide as a group which color
post-it note to put them on
• RED LIGHT (pink notes) for things that would be difficult,
complicated, or troublesome to do on campus
• GREEN LIGHT (green notes) for things that are simple, no-
brainers, easy to do on campus
C. Report out the most interesting Mobile Learning Activities.
Do we even have 15 minutes left?

19.
people info
places problem spaces
situate & connect
via experience
THIS IS THE KEY SLIDE! When we do that, we need to respect that typically they’re used for connecting
activities

20. Connect to where…
we are we want to (or should) be
Situated Learning
!
just-in-time/place information
!
field research
!
etc.
chatting with friends
!
catching up on news
!
doing homework
!
taking quizzes
!
following hobbies/passions
!
etc.
And the connection goes both ways. Sometimes we use mobile to disconnect from where we are as well!