October 2003 — Features
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Implementing a Mobile Lab in a Faculty of Education
Elementary social studies. We had also undertaken a technology integration initiative with the cohort of elementary social studies instructors the year before the Mobile Lab was implemented. As with the math group, this cohort teaches a large student population, usually about 10 sections per term. A common technology assignment for all the sections was defined and implemented. The assignment involved integrating the use of Inspiration Software's concept-mapping software into a lesson plan.
The student teachers use concept- mapping software to design a lesson plan. They must describe and provide an actual example, using Inspiration, of how K-6 students would use concept-mapping software in a social studies learning activity. Various professional development and technical support activities facilitated this increased technology integration, including investigation and creation of training materials, development and delivery of workshops for instructors and students, development of a resource Web site, software upgrades, and implementation of a teacher software take-home program.
Again, problems with lab scheduling for this group were alleviated by the Mobile Lab. It has now been used in several undergraduate elementary social studies methods classes when the regular education labs were not available at the desired times. The Mobile Lab also offered the advantage of enabling the classes to have a concept-mapping computer lab session in their regular classroom, with all of their books and other resources close by.
Impact on Learning
Although our evaluations of the Mobile Lab have been very informal to date, most of the feedback we have received has been very positive. Our classroom observations indicate that the Mobile Lab has improved the learning situation compared with the use of standard computer labs. These results concur with Varvel and Harnisch's (2001) learning environment model, which shows that a wireless mobile lab enhances student mobility and motivation. The computers went to the natural place of learning, instead of the students being removed from their normal environment and placed in a computer lab.
Bringing the technology into the classroom was no more invasive than putting another textbook on the desk, because it blended seamlessly into the environment. Exploiting the flexibility of wireless technology, instructors found it easier to implement a collaborative student-centered classroom compared with using a conventional computer lab. This is a result of the classroom becoming more of a community in which all members could interact more effectively.
The wireless Mobile Lab has been a tremendous success among our faculty thus far. From a technical viewpoint, the technology has been relatively easy to set up and support, while the sophisticated technology has been mostly transparent to the users. The Mobile Lab has made technology more accessible to more people. It has also helped us further our efforts of integrating technology in our faculty, particularly in improving our undergraduate teacher-education program. In addition, we look forward to an increased use of the existing Mobile Lab and possible expansion with the purchase of additional lab units.
