Spain

The Spanish team concentrated on students in educational programmes for it-support and it-maintenance.

Framework
The students alternate between learning arenas daily during their education, with morning sessions at Escola del Treball and afternoon hours in their training companies. In the evenings they have to catch up on homework and administrative reporting. The apprentices in this project were mostly working in public organisations, such as local governmental bodies etc. But they also had tasks out of the office, for example when organising events or similar tasks.

Teachers are also contact persons for the training companies and keep tabs on/advise on the apprentices' working and learning conditions: The physical and psychosocial working environment, learning tasks, etc. Typically, each teacher attends to 20 students in practice, with approx.12-20 companies.

At the time of writing, the Catalanian education system expects to become equipped with a governmental digital platform for education-administrative purposes, though without mobile interface.


Activities and pedagogical observations
The Spanish team focused on personal interaction between teachers and students, mobile information search, checking students' reports and the influence of and on their regional education system.

During both the in-company and the school periods, the students had a preference for using the phones' online functionalities e-mail, attachments and file handling, and information search. But photo was also used quite often for documentation and for communication with the teacher while training in-company, typically when asking the teacher for help with identifying errors. Furthermore, the apprentices sent photos to their trainers (mms, e-mail), when organising something outside the office, to ensure decisions to be made. Somehow, the smartphones were experienced as an introduction to the students' future life as business people.

In general, e-mails received from mobile devices were answered faster than office e-mails. This was interpreted as being caused by a "feeling of belonging", strengthened through an easier and more informal contact. The teachers achieved a more in-depth knowledge about the individual students, the trainers, the companies and the tasks.

Normally, teachers have very short company-based interviews with the students about their incompany periods. The mobile phones allow frequent distance interviews, which has a time saving effect.

Younger teachers adapted very well to the new technology and procedures, while it was not as easy for older teachers. To fully implement the use of mobile technologies, it is necessary to allocate time for empowering teachers, and some teachers presumably never will use the technology. The expected governmental platform will facilitate this development, however. Companies adapted more easily to the new technologies than the schools.



The results
The mobile phones had a clear time-saving effect and increased the teachers' and students' efficiency. Questions and problems could often be solved immediately or within a shorter period than normally. The students' reporting and the teachers' feedback could be carried out online during work time, instead of during precious evening hours, as was normally the case.

According to an increased contact frequency, the teachers achieved a better overview over the conditions in the training companies, apprentices' problems, etc. The teachers' network with training companies was strengthened.

The project has also contributed to ICT technical development at the school: Purchase and implementation of a stabile wireless broadband with access for teachers and students.


Added value

  • Increased efficiency for teachers and students
  • Increased assurance of information delivery
  • Increased personal interaction and contact between teachers and students
  • Motivation of students by involving their own tools ("fun and pleasure"-effect)
  • Increased dialogue between school/training company, through employers' high interest in and satisfaction with the school being upfront on technological development
  • Optimisation of the school's technical framework for mobile learning
  • Increased awareness of the regional government on mobile ICT-pedagogical possibilities and the necessity of a suitable framework

 

 

  


Contact
Learning at Distance • Hansenberg • Skovvangen 28 • DK-6000 Kolding • info@learning-at-distance.eu