Growing a mobile learning ecology: A systemic university-wide strategy

Abstract

In 2013 Western Sydney University began giving iPads to all new first-year undergraduate students. Teaching staff were also issued with iPads. This was the largest such initiative in the southern hemisphere. It was part of the University’s strategic plan for learning and teaching, integrated across several university support systems, including curriculum development, staff development and IT infrastructure. This chapter is an account of how these systems have begun to work together to support the use of mobile devices as an integral part of the university learning environment. Teaching staff have been provided with a range of training and support services to facilitate the use of iPads in teaching, as part of the Western Sydney University learning environment. There has also been substantial investment in infrastructure – such as campus Wi-Fi and learning spaces (both formal and informal) to support the use of mobile technologies on campus. The evidence for the interaction of the different aspects of mobile learning provision is drawn from student surveys, staff interviews and student focus groups, spanning the years 2013–2015. The analysis is a mixed method one, identifying large-scale quantitative patterns and using more detailed accounts of the participant experiences to interpret these patterns. The result is a context-specific map of how university support systems can grow together. This map may help other universities develop their own integrated and systemic support for mobile learning.