As future instructional designers, we are constantly searching for new ways of optimising our course designs, making the learning more pleasurable and enjoyable, finding the best ways to help the learners reach their learning objectives, while at the same time ensuring that the retention of the course content is not compromised by simply introducing new technologies, media, or teaching methods for the sake of having them incorporated in our designs.
One such search lead me to Mobile Learning, which I will attempt to describe (because this is my attempt at things) and transfer any knowledge I've gathered so far to you, my fellow EdTekkies.
History Lesson on Mobile Learning
To start off with the basics, the most common definition of Mobile Learning, or mLearning, is that it's a way of learning by using mobile devices. If we really want to sound fancy and oh so erudite, Latin always comes in handy - a dead language that's still shaping our language of today and tomorrow - and see where the word originated. According to Mirriam-Webster Dictionary, the Latin word mobilis means to move, therefore, we get to learn on the move. And this moving element of mLearning is what's making it so interesting and appealing to both the learners and teachers or course developers. Campbell (2018) cites Sharples (2000) in her explanation of learning through mobile devices that they "allow learners to learn wherever they are located and in their personal context so that the learning is meaningful." Cujba (2019) claims that it provides a much better learning experience than a classroom setting because it is convenient, it allows for instant sharing, quick transfer of the learning content, and most importantly, instant feedback. Valconi (2018) also list many more positive sides to mLearning, such as that it takes place outside brick-and-mortar classrooms, and also stresses the importance of teachers being tech savvy in order to be able to implement such learning in their teaching practices. Further in his discussion, Valconi provides several potential applications of mLearning, such as in blended learning, game-based learning, and also bears in mind the socio-economic landscape of students where those from rural or poorer areas can still access the fountain of knowledge and connect with peers by simply using their smartphones.
Thanks to its portability and accessibility, mLearning can have numerous applications, such as in teacher education as presented by Hall & Connolly (2019); mobile game-based learning in secondary education where Huizenga et al. (2009) used a game called Frequency 1550 to teach secondary school pupils the history of medieval Amsterdam, leading the authors to a conclusion that the application of this game in education can bring a way to make situated and active learning fun. The authors are, nevertheless, aware of lack of empirical evidence how mobile games in general affect the students' motivation and learning; and we also see applications of mLearning in medical education where Klimova (2017) reviewed the literature from databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, and MEDLINE to find that this type of learning is gaining ground in medical education, that it can be efficient in acquiring new skills and knowledge but she also calls for more research into the effects of mLearning in this specific environment.
Singing praises for mLearning is not what this post is about and naturally, we need to look at some disadvantages of this new way of learning. mLearning faces its own challenges, where most of the sources list distraction and lack of focus as primary problems (Thomes (2019), Cujba (2019)). It has happened to me many times, and I feel it might have happened to you - you get your smartphone and you really want to learn something, and then a friend sends you a message, or you get a notification from Instagram that someone liked your post, or your bank sends you an email with another wonderful offer how you can save money... The interruptions are endless. What happens is that in such moments I often switch from whatever intention I had to use the mobile device for personal development to tending to these notifications. Some experts, precisely those who created these apps, claim in Netflix's documentary "The Social Dilemma", that the apps are actually built for exactly that purpose - to keep us permanently engaged. Engagement is my friend while it's working in my favour, i.e., while I'm building on my knowledge and refreshing some old mastery, but the drawback of this type of learning is precisely the medium it uses, as seen in the aforementioned sources.
Talk the Talk and Learn While You Walk
Hands-on experience, involvement, and exposure to new tools, apps, and learning techniques has always worked best for me to understand new concepts. I hope this approach helps you too so I invite you to join me while we take a deeper look into one such mLearning tool. For the purpose of this exercise, I have selected Duolingo - a language learning app that predicates on repetition and gamification to help learners reach their foreign language acquisition goals. It offers a plethora of languages to choose from and the learners don't need to have any previous knowledge because all courses start from basics. In this example, I will mostly talk about my experiences with the Italian course.
I use this app all the time, at home, while commuting, travelling, but I never regarded it through the lens of mLearning principles and theories that were mentioned above. I didn't see it as a mobile learning app but just another (free) tool that can help me learn something while having fun and making best use of my free time. Actually, some of the encouragement messages that the app sends to their users are "You're spending your time wisely. Happy learning!", or "You can learn a new language in just 15 minutes a day. What can 15 minutes of social media do?", so I figured it was worth my attention.
Having said all that, I will put on my EdTech hat and look at it from that angle. Although it is very appealing in the beginning and you are boosted to plough through the lessons due to the gamification side of it, which ultimately makes you feel like you've really accomplished something in those 15 minutes, that sense of achievement fades after a few weeks. The game is always the same and quite predictable, which, in my case, doesn't carry through that initial freshness. The principle of repetition becomes a nuisance after a while because although you are building your vocabulary and moving from one lesson (e.g., food) to another (e.g., prepositions), the exercises will always have the same format and use the same words. For example, translate into Italian: The apple is on the table., followed by the same sentence in Italian to be translated into English (La mela è sulla tavola). Sentences like this repeat throughout levels and lessons and the tediousness of having to write out or pronounce the same phrase over and over again is demotivating, especially when you know there are other ways of getting you to learn new prepositions, adjectives, and other parts of speech. And especially if you've ever worked as a second language teacher and know that repetition is great, but spicing it up here and there helps students feel engaged and work on their scaffolding.
I like to play games and love to win, and although Duolingo congratulates you on your achievement, somehow that victory doesn't taste the same as in actually winning something tangible. I suspect that this comes from the limitations of not being able to practice what I've learnt outside the app, since there are no Italian speakers in my circle and I'm not planning a trip to Italy anytime soon. The app encourages you to log in every day, which is counted as another win because you're building your streak. The in-app prompts tell you that users are 4 times more likely to finish a course if they achieve a 7 day streak, but they didn't qualify this with any references. It plays on the feeling of accomplishment that you logged in every day and did something, while at the same time the app is profiting from that by making you watch all kinds of ads in order to move forward with your lesson (Plus option removes the ads, I will mention that in the evaluation below). Refer again to "The Social Dilemma" documentary to learn more about the algorithms and practices behind advertising in apps.
The learning is too linear and although it starts with basics, some "basic" sections could be fused together for a more quality learning experience. The bite-sized lessons are easily managed but certain "basics" don't require 5 levels of 10 sub-levels each in order to learn basic foods (apples, bread, milk, eggs), and at the same time some items that I'd consider basic didn't appear until later in the course (e.g., potato).
Basic grammar rules should be a staple in the app, which doesn't appear to be the case. Instead, each lesson starts with "Tips", which are quite rudimentary and don't present everything that will be worked on in the lesson. In my past experience as a second language teacher, the students were always complaining about having to learn grammar, they found it boring, it was not clear...the list of their rationale why they shouldn't learn grammar was endless. However, grammar provides logic behind something that isn't so obvious to someone who is just starting to learn a new language, which could well be very different from their mother tongue.
Evaluation of Duolingo as an mLearning Tool
My exposure to mLearning, without even knowing it was called that, started last summer when I decided to brush up on my Italian and take it to the next step. Over the last 6 months I have been using the app regularly and have noticed its positive and negative sides. In the tables below, I will attempt to summarise some advantages that Duolingo offers and potential improvements, and I have placed them in several categories with their corresponding criteria.
|
Category |
Criteria |
Works Well |
Concerns/Improvement |
|
Functionality |
Scale |
The app has a simple layout split in 4 main sections, each one
comprising several lessons that focus on different parts of language, such as
basics, food, pronouns, prepositions, etc. The lessons are then split into smaller
chunks of mostly 5 levels and they are represented by icons that allow users
to anticipate what’s behind each section. |
Although it is an interactive app, the users cannot manipulate it too
much. The learning path is linear and users can’t skip certain lessons to
move onto topics that they’d find more relevant to their learning needs. This
is only possible once a part of the lesson is completed. |
|
Ease of use |
The interface is very user-friendly and easy to navigate. The layout
is organised into main section (where all the learning takes place) that
linearly delivers lessons, and different icons on top and bottom of the
screen that provide more information. They are a part of the gamified sphere
of this tool and display points, hearts (lives), and streaks, etc., that the
users have obtained so far. Other icons provide the learner with additional
resources such as connecting with friends who already use the app, finding
followers or following other learners, and premium (paying) options. |
Some functionalities don’t offer additional information what they are
and what their purpose is. For example, the learner can advance into
different leagues (diamond, obsidian) but other than serving as a leaderboard
with random learners (not just your followers and friends) they don’t offer
any input as in what it means to be in a certain league. |
|
|
Support |
There is an integrated Support option where learners can get answers
on general questions about Duolingo and solve some technical problems. They
can also send feedback directly to Duolingo. Once in a lesson, learners can click on a little speech bubble icon
and access forum where other learners have commented on that particular
sentence/word/language problem. Since the app only provides correct answer
without any further explanation, learners can struggle to understand why
their answer was incorrect, but they can turn to forum and scroll through
other learners’ answers and explanations for enhanced learning. They can also
post questions and get responses. If a user thinks that there was an issue with their answer, they can
click on a little flag icon and select a problem that matches most closely
what they encountered, otherwise, they can explain in their own words and
submit. |
Although other learners provide (very often) an in-depth input into
why something should have been said/answered in a certain way, there is no
official Duolingo moderator/language specialist who would ensure that the
feedback is actually correct. We are all native speakers of a certain
language but that does not always make us equipped to provide grammatical
explanations to learners of our mother tongue. |
|
Category |
Criteria |
Works Well |
Concerns/Improvement |
|
Accessibility |
Required Equipment |
In order to use the app, no other equipment is necessary other than a
functioning tablet, mobile phone, or a laptop. The app is functional across
Android and iOS operational systems, and supported by different browsers. The
in-app messages encourage the learners to use headphones to hear the phonemes
better but not using them doesn’t hinder oral comprehension. |
No additional software or equipment is required. |
|
|
Cost of Use |
Free with an option to purchase Plus option that brings additional
features, such as learning offline, progress quizzes, and removal of ads, to
name a few. |
The cost of $18 CAD/month might seem a lot for what it actually
brings to learners. |
|
Category |
Criteria |
Works Well |
Concerns/Improvement |
|
Learning Opportunities and
Professional Development |
Certifications for Learners |
Bite-size certifications in the form of “League” are based on the
number of points that a learner collects throughout a lesson. Moving up in
the league brings the prestige and a sense of achievement. |
A course completion certifications that can be added to professional
profiles such as LinkedIn or portfolios could be introduced as an option,
even with additional payment (similar to Coursera.org certificates). |
|
|
EdTech Perspective |
The app is simple enough that it can be used by even less tech-savvy
learners. It can also complement learning in brick-and-mortar classrooms for
additional gamification and bringing elements of fun and competition. |
Linearity of the app doesn’t allow for manipulation and customising
the app to be more in line with the curriculum that is already in place. |
https://teachingcommons.lakeheadu.ca/sites/default/files/inlinefiles/Rubric%20for%20eLearning%20Tool%20Evaluation.pdf
- it is accessible (geographically and any time of the day or night)
- it is engaging
- it has a variety of content (within a language course and in its offering many languages)
- it does encourage students, although as seen in my personal example, I am less encouraged now than I was in the beginning, even after having achieved 119 days' streak
- it enables the learners to test their knowledge with regular checks and 4 major checkpoints that allow them to progress to more advanced levels.
Do You Double Speak with Duolingo?
Conclusion
Ten mobile apps that can teach you almost anything. (n.d.). Retrieved January 30, 2021, from https://www.independence.edu/blog/apps-that-help-you-learn
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