Mobltz: a mobile multimedia tool for informal learning

We describe the design of a mobile media application for informal learning. Mobltz supports multimedia conversations and digital storytelling using mobile phones. Designed to be accessible in places in which a mobile phone may be the only Internet access, it facilitates shared understanding by privileging the “telling” of the story over the final story itself. Stories can be remixed and retold. The application is a work in progress; in the poster session at CSCL we will report on patterns of use from three informal learning situations. Theoretical approach Early work on mobile computing investigated the potential for mobile devices to create persistent learning opportunities “anytime” and “anywhere” as people “cross” the various contexts of their lives – institutions and settings such as schools, after-school programs, and home. However, with the dramatic expansion of mobile networks and applications, thinking about learning contexts has become more complicated. Whether on the move or sitting still, people generate and maintain social contexts via frequent, brief, routine and intimate interactions such as micro-blogging, SMS, MMS and in various online social networks. In this sense, mobile, networked devices have become portals to “attentional worlds” (Lemke, 2007) that learners build within their social networks and that continually cross into their everyday placed experiences. Today’s textual and mediabased micro social interactions shift one’s contextual focus as network nodes link up and disassociate with one another. These interactions offer fleeting but potentially powerful new spaces in which people build understanding of each other’s lives. These patterns of interaction raise questions for research. Social theories of learning, which have played a key role in CSCL inquiry, emphasize the contextual nature of learning; however, for mobile CSCL the term ‘context’ is perhaps under-theorized. How do we think about emerging mobile learning contexts that are not situated in a given place at a given time as much as achieved within an ever-expanding virtual network? How do we think about building shared context in virtual worlds that are both global in scope and individual and atomized in models of participation? Finally, how do we harness emerging mobile social network dynamics for collaborative learning? With these questions in mind we have developed a social mobile media environment to support informal learning. It is called Mobltz. Mobltz – a social mobile media environment Mobltz is a social mobile media environment designed to support learning by enabling users to build and maintain shared context. Designed as both a media-based conversation tool and a mobile digital story telling environment, Mobltz facilitates the collaborative stitching together of images, audio, video and text to form a narrative. The core environment has four major features that differentiate it. Firstly, it is lean and simple, so that all interactions can take place from a mobile device. Secondly, it supports referential interaction in sharing of images, video and sound in the context of multimedia conversations. Thirdly, it does not privilege narrative “stories” over more casual, fractured or emergent interactions; shreds of stories and ideas live alongside long narratives, and anyone can remix and retell any story. Finally, it supports publication and broadcast of these conversations in an ongoing, media “snowball” that grows online over time in any web-based environment. The Mobltz environment consists of the following core features: • Signup: Users join mobltz by sending an MMS or email containing an image, video or audio file to the mobltz email address. They system sends an SMS or email inviting them to set up an account. • Login: A portal login screen offers users quick access to “featured” mobltz and other content. • Viewing, making and sharing: Users can quickly see their own and friends’ submissions on a “lister” screen that is divided into three tabbed sections: my stuff, my community, and everyone. Users can search for media on specific topics or sent by specific users, and can make a new moblt by selecting media items and checking “make moblt.” A new compilation comprising all selected media and associated text appears in the lister. Clicking on a moblt opens it for viewing within a player. Users can share their media via a link that sends a message to a phone or email address. • Owning and Editing: The creator of a moblt retains ownership rights and within the player is able to directly edit the text, order, and duration of each media element. Owners can invite others to contribute to the moblt by assigning and publicizing a unique keyword. Any media marked with that keyword will be appended to the moblt. Moblts can be made from other mobltz, so that multiple interpretations of the same stories can live side by side, authored by different ‘owners.’ COMPUTER SUPPORTED COLLABORATIVE LEARNING PRACTICES CSCL2009 COMMUNITY EVENTS