TISLID 2018 Conference, Ghent, Belgium http://www.tislid18.ugent.be/
Models, strategies and resources developed in selected EU projects relevant for m-learning pedagogy development and teacher training in Language Education.
The growing interest in mainstream education to explore the potential of mobile learning also implies a challenge for teacher education institutions to provide related pedagogical training and guidance in addition to necessary technical training for inservice teachers while professionalising more staff to incorporate mobile learning in their programmes and curricula for initial teacher education (Naylor & Gibbs, 2015; Burden & Hopkins, 2016).
In line with recommendations (UNESCO, 2013) and conclusions (Wishart, 2018) considering professional development the key issue for sustainable mlearning-based innovation in schools we will review key outputs and interim results of a number of recent related EU projects we participate(d) in on behalf of TELLConsult and briefly present ways to exploit the currently available resources for teacher education and/or continuing professional development (CPD) in language education.
We will report on three projects either because of their specific focus on the use of mobile technologies for language teaching and learning (iTILT2) or because of the relevance of their m-learning related research and generic practical frameworks and toolkits to design and evaluate mobile teaching and learning scenarios (DEIMP) or for a specific educational dimension (TABLIO). Below we briefly introduce the projects mentioned.
Interactive Teaching in Languages with Technology (iTILT2, 2015-2017), is a professional development project researching the effective use of Interactive Whiteboards (IWB), tablet PCs, smartphones and videoconferencing software, both independently and in combination, to support interactive approaches to language teaching with classroom technologies. One of its results is a sample of video registrations of technology-mediated teaching practices showing how mobile technologies can be used inside and outside the classroom to encourage collaborative language learning. (Koenraad, 2016). For its realisation a collaborative action research approach was used, developed and refined during the preceding project (iTILT, 2011-2014) involving video stimulated reflective dialogue (Cutrim Schmid & Whyte, 2014; Whyte. 2015) Other outputs include an e-resource with didactic theoretical principles and practical design guidelines.
The project ‘Designing and Evaluating Innovative Mobile Pedagogies’ (DEIMP, 2017-2020) is a R&D oriented partnerships between university based teacher educators, school teachers and school leaders in order to design, develop, test and refine innovative pedagogies using mobile technologies. In addition to a scoping study on the current state of mlearning a key output is a mobile app to support the developing and evaluation of innovative mobile pedagogies, designed and tested between the partners and a network of 24 associated partner schools working as part of a transnational network. The project builds on the results of a preceding project ‘Mobilising and Transforming Teacher Educators’ Pedagogies'(MTTEP, 2014-2017), with results including the Mobile
Learning Toolkit (www.mobilelearningtoolkit.com) and the ground work for the Mobile Learning Network for Teachers launched earlier this year.
Finally, the project ‘Tablets for classroom inclusion and differentiation’ (TABLIO, 2016-2019) is developing a toolkit containing design principles & templates and evaluation criteria for the use of tablets for differentiated instruction and inclusion purposes based on a joint literature research study by the project partners. To support the implementation process the teacher education project partners collaborate with schools in their regional networks by participating in teacher design teams.
References
Amanda Naylor & Janet Gibbs (2015). Using iPads as a learning tool in cross-curricular collaborative initial teacher education. Journal of Education for Teaching: International Research and pedagogy, DOI: 10.1080/02607476.2015.1081718
Burden, Kevin & Paul Hopkins (2016). Barriers and Challenges Facing Pre-Service Teachers use of Mobile Technologies for Teaching and Learning in International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning (IJMBL) 8(2)
Cutrim Schmid, E., & Whyte, S. (Eds.) (2014). Teaching languages with technology: communicative approaches to interactive whiteboard use. Bloomsbury.
Koenraad, A.L.M. (2016) iTILT 2nd Edition: Interactive Teaching in Languages with Technology. Collaborative action research to develop materials and methodologies for using interactive technologies in the language classroom. In ICMAL proceedings book of THE 3rd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE of MODERN APPLIED LANGUAGES, 131 – 152 http://icmal.lumina.org/en/
Unesco (2013) Policy guidelines for mobile learning.
Whyte, S. (2015). Implementing and Researching Technological Innovation in Language Teaching: The Case of Interactive Whiteboards for EFL in French Schools. Palgrave Macmillan.
Wishart, J. (2018). Mobile Learning in Schools. Key Issues, Opportunities and Ideas for Practice. Routledge
KeyWords: mlearning, teacher education, MALL, mobile devices