What Do We Know About Ubiquitous Computing?

Uses

We use the term "uses" to refer to the activities and interactions through and around which knowledge is negotiated and constructed. As pedagogical possibilities change in ubiquitous computing environments, new social organizations evolve around new approaches to teaching and learning. By examining interactions among teachers and students in a ubiquitous computing classroom, we can begin to explore how classroom cultures are changing.
For example, in RCET's AT&T Classroom, comparisons of teacher and student behaviors in our ubiquitous computing classroom with behaviors in their regular classroom settings reveal that teaching and learning is four times more project-based in the ubiquitous computing environment and twice as likely to involve in group work [link to Ubiquitous Classroom paper].
Other researchers have reported similar findings:
Honey & Henriquez, 2000	http://www.aypf.org/publications/compendium/comp01.pdf
We are finding that classroom cultures grow more collaborative, inclusive, and supportive of all learners in ubiquitous computing environments. Others who report similar findings include:
Apple Computer, 1995	http://images.apple.com/education/k12/leadership/acot/pdf/10yr.pdf
Robertson, Calder, Fung, Jones, O'Shea, & Lambrechts, 1996	http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/field-centres/ross/Ross-Starling%20AERA%2005.pdf
Roschelle & Pea, 2002	http://ctl.sri.com/publications/downloads/WalkWildSide.pdf
Sharples, 2000	http://www.eee.bham.ac.uk/sharplem/papers/handler%20comped.pdf
Vahey & Crawford, 2002	http://www.palmgrants.sri.com/PEP_Final_Report.pdf


We are finding that students become "experts" and that teachers join in learning experiences. Such finding replicates those of
Apple Computer, 1995	http://images.apple.com/education/k12/leadership/acot/pdf/10yr.pdf

We are seeing a greater emphasis on inquiry based learning and a blurring of the boundaries that separate classrooms from the world (Swan, Kratcoski, Lin, Schenker, & van 't Hooft., 2006b).

In these changed learning environments, researchers are documenting changes in teaching as well. Across implementations, they are overwhelming finding that teachers are becoming more student-centered:
Apple Computer, 1995	http://images.apple.com/education/k12/leadership/acot/pdf/10yr.pdf
Honey & Henriquez, 2000	http://www.aypf.org/publications/compendium/comp01.pdf
more constructivist:
Apple Computer, 1995	http://images.apple.com/education/k12/leadership/acot/pdf/10yr.pdf
Rockman, 2003	http://rockman.com/articles/LearningFromLaptops.pdf
and more flexible:
Zucker & McGhee, 2005	http://ubiqcomputing.org/Apple_1-to-1_Research.pdf


Perhaps as a result, they find that learning is becoming more efficient:
Apple Computer, 1995	http://images.apple.com/education/k12/leadership/acot/pdf/10yr.pdf
Hill, Reeves, Grant, Wang & Han, 2002	http://lpsl.coe.uga.edu/Projects/aalaptop/pdf/aa3rd/Year3ReportFinalVersion.pdf
Our research supports such conclusions (Swan et al., 2006).
In short, ubiquitous computing seems to move classroom cultures away from an instructional model of teaching and learning and closer to a "learning community" model. More importantly, perhaps, researchers, ourselves included (Swan, Kratcoski, Lin, Schenker, & van 't Hooft, 2006b), are finding that the learning communities ubiquitous computing affords "level the playing field" for special needs and lower ability students, leading to the inclusion and support of all students:
Hill, Reeves, Grant, Wang & Han, 2002	http://lpsl.coe.uga.edu/Projects/aalaptop/pdf/aa3rd/Year3ReportFinalVersion.pdf
Honey & Henriquez, 2000	http://www.aypf.org/publications/compendium/comp01.pdf
Stevenson, 1998	http://www.beaufort.k12.sc.us/district/ltopeval.html

For an annotated bibliography of research on ubiquitous computing see: http://www.ubiqcomputing.org/Reference.pdf

Last updated on 05/12/2006