Seamless learning in the mobile age: a theoretical and methodological discussion on using cooperative inquiry to study digital kids on-the-move

• Published in: Learning, media and technology media and technology, 2013-09, Vol.38 (3), p.301-318
• Main Authors: Toh, Yancy, So, Hyo-Jeong, Seow, Peter, Chen, Wenli, Looi, Chee-Kit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cooperation; cooperative inquiry; Credibility; digital practices; Educational Environment; Educational Technology; Electronic Learning; Elementary School Students; Ethics; Foreign Countries; Handheld Devices; Inquiry; Interviews; Learning Processes; methodology; mobile learning; Photography; Privacy; seamless learning; Singapore; Sociocultural Patterns; theoretical framework; Video Technology
• ISSN: 1743-9884; 1743-9892
• DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2012.666250

This paper shares the theoretical and methodological frameworks that are deployed in a 3-year study to examine how Singapore primary school students leverage on mobile technology for seamless learning. This notion of seamless learning refers to the integrated and synergistic effects of learning in both formal and informal settings, which is distributed across different learning processes (emergent or planned) as well as across different spaces (in or out of class). Drawing insights from the literature and our study, we assert that we should jettison the technology-centric view to adopt a socio-cultural framework. This move puts us in a better position to make sense of the rich complexities coalescing around the students' in-situ use of mobile devices. We also critiqued the adequacy of our people-centred data collection method, in particular, cooperative inquiry in capturing instances of seamless learning. Challenges of operationalising the cooperative inquiry approaches are also detailed in the paper.