Feedback and ideas to improve this plan would be greatly appreciated.
The research will investigate the pedagogical and technical pros and cons of providing mobile versions of curricular content for a course. The initial pilot will be undertaken in the Summer 2009 term in my Introduction to Sociology course.
The research questions that I seek to answer include:
1. What is the investment necessary to convert Blackboard curriculum to be usable on a mobile device? Curriculum will include both timed media (videos and screencasts) and articles.
2. What tools are needed to accomplish this conversion? Can this file conversion be distributed to faculty or must this process be supported?
3. To what degree will students consume the content via a mobile device if made available in iTouch/iPhone ready content in Blackboard? I plan to track the usage of these materials, and use the Blackboard Survey tool to research students use and attitudes towards having mobile content available.
4. To what degree do students use mobile devices to access formative assessments in Blackboard? The course will contain a number of low-stakes formative assessments. I will encourage students with browser enabled mobile devices to try the low-stakes assessment with these tools, and then report back experiences using the Blackboard Survey Tool.
5. To understand the work involved for students to produce curricular video content that can be accessed through mobile devices? The course will have student video projects - with the requirement that they also produce files that can be consumed on mobile devices. This will be an opportunity to understand what is involved in students required to take these steps - and if other students are likely to view their fellow students projects on mobile devices.
I plan to write-up the results of this project for a professional presentation and possible publication.
Again...any ideas for further research questions and/or sharpening these existing research questions would be appreciated.
Thanks...Josh
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