CSN mLearning Project
Dr. Michael Richards, Interim President of CSN, displays a photograph of some of the students who participated in the mLearning Project. The students are displaying a message addressed to Dr. Richards thanking him for initiating the project. From left to right: Professor Steven Saladino; Dr. Michael Richards; Professor Christine Lines
During the Spring 2007 semester, five faculty members and more than 150 students from the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), formerly Community College of Southern Nevada, participated in a mLearning or mobile learning project. Essentially, mLearning focuses on portable technologies and the mobility of the students. The students interact with the portable technology to provide content at a time and location convenient to them. Dr. Michael Richards, Interim President of CSN, describes how the process began, “A brief review of the literature indicated that mobile learning was emerging as a complement to distance technologies. We inquired of a few students and faculty as to their interest in the hand-held, personal approach to media and decided to try a pilot program.”
The students in the CSN mLearning project were provided a 30GB video iPod, wall charger, and a microphone that attaches to the iPod, for the semester. The project spanned courses in education, technology, English, accounting, and CADD. Each course utilized various aspects of mLearning — from instructors posting podcasts of course materials to students recording themselves while practicing English-speaking skills.
In Introduction to Elementary Education, Steven Saladino’s students used their iPods and microphones to create segments for a radio show produced for K-5 students in the Clark County School District. Professor Saladino explains, “Segments included: Educational History Minute, Where is the CSN Coyote?, Chicken or the Egg, A Children's Book read aloud, Educational Web Site, and even a song segment. After getting over some technology hurdles, it was apparent that the students took pride in their segments because they were not just creating content for their teacher, but for an audience who they would never meet in person. I think it made them think about new ways to teach using one of the tools of their student's generation.”
M. Elyse Diamond’s Podcasting Basics course had students using the iPods and microphones with Garage Band software to create walking tours of a location of their choice in Las Vegas, NV. The tours, which included topics such as orientation to the ESL Lab and An Informative Guide to Red Rock Canyon, used five images of each location, information related to each of the five points, and a PDF map of the location with the five points indicated. This intensive use of iPods in Professor Diamond’s course led to a few technical issues including the need for students to have sufficient server space to allow for transfer and storage of enhanced podcasts. According to Professor Diamond, "Some Podcasting Basics students will need to acquire the fundamental, prerequisite, digital media skills in order to participate successfully in constructivist, multimedia oriented projects.”
Christine Lines, a novice iPod user and English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor, created a variety of interactive and challenging uses for the iPod and equipment. Professor Lines created podcasts by reading vocabulary words, sentences, and explaining their meaning. She also created one minute vodcasts to help her student understand how to use vocabulary words in the proper context. Additionally, Professor Lines required the students to record themselves speaking English during debates and in rehearsal for class presentations. As part of the requirement, the student would listen to his or her own recording, find five errors, and correct them in writing. “Because my ESL FastTrack 2 students had the opportunity to use iPods and podcasting in a 12-credit course, they had sufficient opportunities to become familiar with the many features of the iPod. They used the iPod and podcasting to fit their individual learning needs, and to improve in various skill areas, especially in listening, speaking, and vocabulary. I am strongly in favor of continued research to determine the long-term benefits of this new technology, and I commend Dr. Richards for making this project available to students at CSN,” states Professor Lines.
When asked to summarize the experience, Dr. Richards replied, “Our initial goal was to determine if mobile technologies had a place in student learning. The expectations were pretty basic and experimental. To this goal, our faculty responded with enthusiasm and a willingness to try it. They adapted curriculum, complied with the logistical controls, and made it work. I give them a lot of credit for their creativity, adaptability, and hard work.”
Dr. Richards states, “Unanimously, the faculty concluded that iPods and mobile learning were important to students. Students wanted the technology and the flexibility it gave them to learn, recite, practice, and respond.”
Going beyond hardware and software recommendations, Michael Judge, Director of Academic Technology Services, and Christiana Houck, Instructional Analyst, both of the Office of Technology Services (OTS) at CSN, provided the sites for podcasting storage, RSS support, podcast training, and logistics for the entire project. Shah Ardalan, CIO, states, “OTS will always be an active partner in new projects that would benefit faculty and students. The iPod project is a good example of using advanced yet affordable technology in teaching and learning. This success was a win-win situation for all of us.”
