In 2007, I drafted for someone a proposal for establishing a Children's Research Center for Mobile Learning. Perhaps others will find these notes helpful for proposing such a program at another research university.


Children’s Research Center for Mobile Learning - Rough Notes

The Children’s Research Center for Mobile Learning (CRCML) promotes increased international scientific collaboration among laboratory and school based researchers and program evaluators. Collaborators integrate translational, theoretical, and outcomes research to increase student learning with mobile PCs. This collaboration creates an intellectual synergy, an international infrastructure, and an environment for sharing data and research sites in order to accelerate scientific discovery of ways to increase state-of-the-art and state-of-practice PK-12 student learning rates with mobile PCs.

Problem

Tablet PC, Ultra Mobile PCs and other mobile devices appear likely to increase learning rates of users. This mobile learning appears a fact of contemporary life, yet no organization systematically, objectively describes that learning venue for any cohort of learners. Common sense leads to speculation that significant unidentified and unmeasured mobile learning occurs outside of schools influences school learning.

This center addresses three related problems about ubiguitious mobile electronic learning.

1. No entity exists that gives priority to understanding mobile learning scientifically; and

2. No entity gives priority to using such data to prepare learners to use mobile PCs more efficiently and effectively;

3. No entity compares mobile learning rates with other information and intellectual skill acquisition venues.

Purpose

The Center for Mobile Learning facilitates the development of empirical databased innovative software related learning tools and strategies to address mobile learning more effectively, and prepares preservice and incumbent teachers to use these developments.

In addition to conducting their own research, members of the Center assist other researchers with a range of efforts in studying mobile learning, including the following:

Design and development of investigator-initiated studies; preparation of grant applications and reports; and

Submission of protocol/informed consent to university bodies; protocol review and monitoring; scientific review; and data safety monitoring procedures.


Organization

The Center consists of three groups of research and teaching faculty, staff, and students. Senior staff have research specialties in learning, mobile electronic communication devices, formal organizations (including schools), and enterprise development.

Each group gives priority to different phases in the development and assessment of the relevance of empirical data, theoretical generalizations from these data, applications of data to mobile learning of students in and out of schools, and evaluations of these applications. They use vocabulary, logic, and measures that give priority to student learning rates over existing schooling practices and policies, and over the mass market of independent learners.

Together, these groups increase understanding of quantitative affects of mobile PCs on learning, especially relationships between learning protocols, mobile devices, instruction, and learning rates of students with personal behavior patterns (unclassified by background demographics, disability type, etc.) familiar to educators, including special educators.

The Learning Research Group (LRC) analyzes existing experimental learning behavioral and cognitive research and theories as well as conducts independent research to identify learning principles with implications for mobile learning. This group gives priority to identifying empirically based generalizations about learning with mobile PC, so the Translational group may construct and conduct Beta tests.

The Translational Research Group (TRG)) gives priority to transforming scientific discoveries arising from laboratory, school, or population studies into mobile learning applications to increase learning rates. We adapt the term transitional research from a type of health care study. Translational studies provide a scientific link between laboratory research and human trials. The Translational Research Group stimulates development of basic research and human translational Beta tests that improve children’s learning in and out of schools with mobile PCs. This group works with PK12 schools, learning laboratories and mobile PC engineers, software developers and publishers to insure relevance and support of translational research projects.

The Education Policy Research Group (EPRG) analyzes and assesses impacts of learning rates from mobile learning on education policies, practices, and organizations, especially in schools and families. They then conduct field studies in schools and families to identify adjustments most likely to lead to increased learning rates in those settings. They also recommend adjustments other schools and families may make in order to have similar student learning rates, including adjustments in funding patterns and budgeted expenditure allocations.

Dissemination: Information, Skill, and Material Transfer

Center staff will share what they know, learn, make, and do over the Internet with blogs, podcasts, webcasts; through published products; and by offering workshops, inservice sessions, and conferences.

Support

Grants for individual projects fund this initiative. Preliminary reviews indicate that foundation grants likely exist to underwrite aspects of the center as well as some research and development of educational software. Other grants likely exist from conventional sources, some in cooperation with PK12 schools.

Expected Results

The CRCML will establish empirical benchmarks in student mobile learning. Software developers may use these benchmarks to design educational programs. Educators may use them to evaluate mobile learning hardware and software. Policy makers may use these benchmarks to assess the relative utility of regulations, appropriations, and pedagogy for increasing student learning rates with mobile PCs.

These benchmarks will use an expanded vocabulary about learning, schooling that practitioners can include in discussing individual student progress, and ways likely to accelerate it.

Benchmarks will result from new models, heuristics, instructional and learning protocols, off-the-shelf electronic hardware, and learning software.

A new era of education software and equipment will emerge within a year or so after the first benchmarks from the public and private sectors consistent with one-on-one and on-demand learning in and out of schools. These additions will likely contribute to increasing student learning rates further than what exists and is hoped for today.

A relatively small aggregate of early adopters will join a growing aggregate of leadership in state-of-the-art education practice and conversation.

Counterpoints

Several counter positions exist that college faculty should consider before launching this center.

Perhaps the most important decision will be whether faculty want to conduct their research and scholarship through the center. To address this, center developers should identify what’s in it for faculty to participate rather than to study through other venues.

Most educators and policy makers will watch from the sidelines for several years while their existing grants run their course, and to assess for themselves whether mobile PC learning is a fad or fact worth adopting. A small minority will vocally oppose these steps as inhumane and against the nature of childhood and professional teaching.

Some, mostly not in higher education, will argue that the money spent on the research for this center should go directly to public schools to do more of what educators want to do already.

Expected Results
(Added soon.)


Please let me know what you decide to use, what you find useful and what seems inaccurate.

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