A Teacher Who Really Bridged the Distance: Cmdr Chris Hadfield

The International Space Station

Ok… so this has to be one of (if not the) coolest moment in the history of space exploration: Cmdr Chris Hadfield’s live recording singing David Bowie’s classic, Space Oddity, in space! The video compilation, which features Hadfield both singing and playing guitar while floating about the International Space Station, was the grand finale of his tour of duty as commander of the ISS.  Hadfield lived on the ISS from December 21, 2012 until May 13, 2013, and served as commander of the station for several weeks before turning over the reins to his successor.  During that time, he was active on Twitter (@Cmdr_Hadfield), tweeting countless pictures from around the globe, and answering questions from curious residents back on his homeworld.  He also connected directly with school children to teach interactive lessons from space.  His grand finale performance of Space Oddity was posted to YouTube as his final communique via social media before boarding a Soyuz space capsule to return to terra firma.  You can view the video here:

 

So, what is it about Hadfield that has captivated millions of followers around the world, including me?  The fact that he took full advantage of social media to share his fascinating experiences and knowledge with whoever wanted to join in!  Hadfield’s Tweets, YouTube videos, and live sessions with school children show the true power of Internet connectivity and mobile technology to enhance teaching, learning, and the human experience.   

Moore’s (1989, 1991) Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) has been one of the most influential learning theories in the field of open, distance, and mobile learning.  TDT describes the distance that exists between learners, their peers, their teachers, coaches, or mentors, and the learning content.  To maximize the effectiveness of a learning experience, you need to reduce transactional distance wherever possible.  In past decades, new media technologies such as radio, film, and television have all failed to live up to their hyped potential of bringing the finest minds from around the world into everyone’s classroom and learning space.  Mobile learning (mLearning) researchers and practitioners are now exploring how what is perhaps the world’s first truly effective ubiquitous communications technology—mobile devices—can do what previous technologies have failed to accomplish.  Chris Hadfield has perfectly demonstrated how the combination of Internet connectivity and mobile technologies are eliminating transactional distance across many domains simultaneously.  I mean, come on, this man was in space! Yet he managed to connect with millions, answer their questions about space exploration, actively participate in formal classroom experiences—and truly allow all of humanity to share in the age-old dream of exploring the cosmos!  The following video clip on YouTube is an interview with Hadfield from January 29, 2013, in which he explains the impact of social media on why he was so active online during his tour on the ISS. 

 

 

I think that all teachers could learn something from Hadfield.  He took full advantage of technologies at his disposal to reach out to as many people as possible, and to make learning fun (which, in turn, further reduces transactional distance because it increases the learner’s motivation and commitment).  Besides all that, let’s face it, Hadfield’s performance was just plain awesome.  For several months he was the coolest Canadian in outer space.  At least for now, he’s probably the coolest Canadian back here on Earth.   

 

Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield aboard the ISS

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References: 

Moore, M., (1989). Three types of interaction. The American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 1-6.

Moore, M., (1991). Editorial: Distance education theory. The American Journal of Distance Education, 5(3), 1-6.  Retrieved from http://www.ajde.com/Contents/vol5_3.htm#editotial

 

Wikipedia (2013, May 14). Chris Hadfield. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hadfield

 

Linking QR Codes and Videos for Effective mLearning

Experimenting with creating your own instructional videos (using a mobile device), uploading the videos to YouTube (or some other video hosting site), and then linking the videos to a Quick Response (QR) code is the theme of the second "Try it Yourself" activity in the Instructional Design for Mobile Learning 2013 micro MOOC (#idml13 on Twitter).  The first objective of participating in this activity is to expand your technical skill sets as an instructor using mobile devices.  While I didn't actually get around to creating and uploading my own instructional video this week (on account of travelling to Abu Dhabi to present a poster at the Mobile Learning: Gulf Perspective symposium at Zayed University), the use of these ICT tools is something that I am already fairly well versed in.  Instead, I'm dedicating this blog post to looking a little deeper at how combining these tools can be used in effective mLearning.

Short online videos are a great way to disseminate content to learners because they grab attention more easily than plain text, because their rich multimedia format can convey a lot more information using the limited real estate of a mobile device's screen, and because they are reusable (learners can pause, rewind, and return to them at any time, and instructors can reuse, and even repurpose the videos in different course contexts).  Online videos are also a great way to access the "just-in-time" learning opportunities that are one of the popular hallmarks of mLearning. 

Using QR codes linked to online video resources significantly increases their effectiveness as learning resources.  The primary reason for this is the convenience that they provide.  Learners do not need to remember and type in lengthy URLs to access the videos (and it's almost guaranteed that at least one of your learners will type the URL wrong, get frustrated, and potentially abandon the learning exercise!).  Instead, learners just need to use an app on their mobile device to scan the QR code, which then automatically redirects the device's internet browser to the video.  Recent research into the effectiveness of using QR codes to access learning resources has demonstrated a strong preference for this method over typing URLs, and that learners find QR codes very easy to use (Power, 2012; Ramsden, 2008, 2010; Ramsden & Jordan, 2009).  There's also the impact of the novelty factor of pulling out your mobile, scanning a code, and discovering where it's going to take you!  This is especially true in the context of informal learning.  I was intrigued to see this QR code stuck to a bunch of bananas I bought at a supermarket last summer:


Banana labels have come a long way... They're now interactive!



When I scanned the code (working code embedded below) I got to watch a YouTube video highlighting how my bananas got from the tree, to Canada, and eventually to the market!  Obviously this was a marketing strategy, intended to convince me of how fresh and pure my bananas were.  I saved the sticker because I have young children, and someday I'm going to want to teach them about where their food comes from.  I thought this video represented an excellent reusable learning object (RLO) that I could use informally with my children... or pass along to some of my health sciences / nutritionist colleagues who might be looking for some mLearning resources.

 

The banana label QR code

 

I found this QR code inside the instruction manual for a new child safety seat that I purchased last summer (it's also on a sticker right on the seat... but the sticker was hidden from view when I went to snap this shot):

Combined with the option of a traditional paper manual, this is what I like to see on a child safety seat!

This one was awesome!  Scanning it opens a downloadable MP4 video that shows you step-by-step how to properly install the child seat (much more effective than the sketches typically included in the paper installation guides).  What's great about this video is that I could pause it, complete a step, and then resume the video.  I could also rewind the clip if I got something wrong.  And I didn't have to keep flipping through pages (and trying to keep the manual propped open to the right page every time I put it down to carry out a step).  Here's the actual QR code, for anyone who wants to check out the online installation guide:

QR code on a child seat, linked to an online video installation guide

I'm no stranger to using QR codes in my own formal teaching and learning practice.  I did some research last year using mobile RLOs linked to QR codes.  I mounted the codes on stickers fixed to different parts of computers in my lab.  My students (who were all English Foreign Language (EFL) learners) got a break from lectures and workbooks to go exploring the lab, find the QR codes, scan them, and use their smartphones to learn the English names of the parts (and a bit about what the parts did).  Anyone interested can find out more about that project on my research wiki at http://qrcache.pbworks.com or by downloading my paper from mLearn 2012.  You can also scan the QR code below to see the actual mobile RLOs used by my students (though they don't actually include online videos, they'll give you an idea of how easy QR codes can make it for learners to access just-in-time situated resources... I can imagine using the same RLO strategy to label equipment in an industrial workplace so that employees can instantly access user guides, help manuals, safety information, or other on-the-job training resources).

Scan to access the QR Cache Mobile RLOs

 

I'm such a fan of using QR codes for accessing mobile reusable learning objects that I included a segment on how to link mobile web pages to them in my recent workshop presentation at the Technology in Higher Education (THE2013) conference in Doha.  I actually used a mobile RLO to run the workshop off of, and displayed this QR code on my interactive whiteboard at the beginning of the workshop:

Scan to access my RLOs on creating your own RLOs linked to QR codes

 

I gave everyone a few minutes to scan the code with their phones, and offered some help to a handful of participants who weren't familiar with using a QR code scanner app.  I also noticed some of the more experienced app users in the room offering similar assistance to those in need around them.  This activity achieved three goals:

1. Participants developed a new ICT skill (in addition to the formal lesson objectives)
2. Participants got to see the utility of using the QR codes right from the outset (and it piqued their interest in the formal lesson)
3. Participants gained instant access to every resource they would need for the entire workshop, and those resources were automatically bookmarked on their mobiles for future reference!

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References:

Power, R. (2012).  QR Cache: Connecting mLearning practice with theory.  In M. Specht, M. Sharples, & J. Multisilta (Eds.), Proceedings of the 11th Annual World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning (mLearn 2012) held in Helsinki, Finland, 16-18 October 2012 (pp. 346-349).  Retrieved from http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-955/

Ramsden, A., (2008).  The use of QR codes in education: A getting started guide for academics.  Working paper, University of Bath, Bath, UK.  Retrieved from: http://opus.bath.ac.uk/11408/1/getting_started_with_QR_Codes.pdf

Ramsden, A., (2010).  The level of student engagement with QR codes: Findings from a cross-institutional survey.  Working paper, University of Bath, Bath, UK.  Retrieved from: http://opus.bath.ac.uk/19974/1/students_qr_codes_cross_ints_survey_2010.pdf

Ramsden, A. & Jordan, L., (2009).  Are students ready for QR codes? Findings from a student survey at the University of Bath.  Working paper, University of Bath, Bath, UK.  Retrieved from:   http://opus.bath.ac.uk/12782/1/qrcodes_student_survey_uniofbath_feb09.pdf

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Additional Resources on QR Codes:

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, (2010).  Prepare QR codes for teaching.  Retrieved from:  http://137.189.161.34/mlearning/V3/TeacherCornerQR.html#

De Lorenzo, R., (2010, November 17).  QR codes and mobile learning.  [Web log comment].  Retrieved from: http://themobilelearner.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/qr-codes-and-mobile-learning/

Educause, (2009).  Seven things you should know about… QR codes.  Retrieved from: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7046.pdf

Hockley, N., (2010, August 12).  A dummies guide to QR codes.  [Web log comment].  Retrieved from: http://www.emoderationskills.com/?p=246

Hockley, N., (2010, August 17).  Yes we can: QR codes in the classroom.  [Web log comment].  Retrieved from: http://www.emoderationskills.com/?p=278

Miller, A. (2011, December 11).  Twelve ideas for teaching with QR codes.  [Web log comment].  Retrieved from: http://www.andrewkmiller.com/2011/12/twelve-ideas-for-teaching-with-qr-codes/