“ ITZ GD 2 TXT ” How To Use SMS Effectively In M-Learning

1. “ITZ GD 2 TXT”How To Use SMS Effectively In M-Learning Andy Stone Learning Technology Research Group Kingston University, UK a.stone@kingston.ac.uk European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

2. Outline of presentation • Introduction: LTRG/M-learning • The experiment • Results • Analysis of responses • Further observations European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

3. Introduction (i) • LTRG: Learning Technology Research Group • Set up 2001, within School of Computing And Information Systems, Kingston University • LTRG research interests include: • the effective use of multiple media in teaching and learning • evaluation from a user-centred perspective • actively engaged in the effective use of mobile telephony as a medium to support the above European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

4. Introduction (ii) • Current m-learning work includes: • Grounded Theory as a means of user-centred research – used for MLEs, now m-learning • Supporting students on placement year • Optimising interactivity and response (TODAY) • What combinations of technologies work best? • Provision of timely, relevant support services • Just-in-time, just-enough “cue card chunks” • Short tests, revision timetables, more to come European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

5. The Experiment: Optimise Interactivity and Response using SMS text messaging • Late 2001: experiment undertaken with a major UK youth brand • Objective: test the effectiveness of different styles of two-way SMS campaign • Partners: KU and The OTHER Media • 4 main objectives of experiment: • evaluate the effectiveness of SMS as a data collection mechanism for the youth brand • compare different data collection processes • produce guidelines for future SMS activities • compare email, SMS and the web as ways of announcing SMS campaigns European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

6. Outline of the experiment • 1000 mobile phone users involved • Had to send 4 pieces of data by SMS • Sample group was divided into 4 subgroups to test the effectiveness of different types and lengths of SMS interaction • One other subgroup included: those who followed a link to the campaign on the website European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

7. Outline of the experiment • The subgroups in the experiment were as follows: • Group 1: • Announce campaign via email, request all info at once • Group 2: • Announce campaign by SMS, request all info at once • Group 3: • Announce campaign by SMS, 2-step process • Group 4: • Announce campaign by SMS, 3-step process • Group 5: • Campaign announced on website, 2-step process European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

8. Research Questionsto be Addressed by Experiment • How well and how quickly do the selected audiences respond to the SMS campaign? • Does increasing the number of steps in the process improve the quality of the data? • Does increasing the number of steps in the process reduce the number of responses? • How does the method of announcement affect the participation, quality of the data and the speed of response? European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

9. Replies obtained • Relative failure of email vis-à-vis SMS • SMS replies much higher than other forms of media used in direct marketing practice • Education isn’t the same as direct marketing… • …but results support other research work in progress within LTRG, supporting feasibility of using SMS to support our students. European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

10. Correct Responses • a “correct” response may require human intervention to “clean” the data: • Group 2 (all info at once) was surprisingly high • Keyword usage • Essential for more complex interactive applications – at least 93% for all groups • Correct punctuation • Also important for machine processing of data • Examples were given in outgoing SMS messages • Again, group 2 (perceived as “hardest task” group) produced highest quality responses European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

11. Speed of response (i) • Median for all groups – about half an hour • Median more useful here: • This indicates the time by which half the respondents had responded • Helps us estimate expected response times where interactivity is required • Can discount “outliers” that would greatly increase the mean statistic. • Such anomalies may be due to illness, lost phones, or lack of interest in completing the exercise. • Students may be more motivatedto support their own learning, so median is the most useful “average” to use European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

12. Speed of Response (ii) • we anticipate SMS m-learning applications will be those which are quite time-sensitive; e.g. • placement support applications • short revision mini-tests • reminder/notification messages (time management) • other scenarios where the exchange of information within a narrow time-scale is essential. • Distribution of responses over time also useful European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

13. Distribution of Response Times – SMS much faster! European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

14. Other observations • A few respondents clearly believe that their messages are being read by a person because they include chatty comments and punctuation; e.g. • “thanks!” • “thanx” • “who is this?” European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

15. Other observations • Multi-part dialogues do not appear to reduce respondents' willingness to participate. • Mobile users are prepared to co-operate with fairly complex interactions and to supply accurate information. • Despite constraints of SMS, effective applications may be developed using current technologies European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

16. Other observations • As this generation of users moves on from education to work… • … they have grown up comfortable with a notion of m-learning… • …as technologies improve, the sophistication of applications can increase • Managed properly, this could lead to a strong m-learning culture supporting e-learning and ubiquitous computing. European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham

17. Contact Information • We welcome feedback, collaborations, funding, and visits!  • EMAIL: a.stone@kingston.ac.uk • TEL: +44-208-547-2000 ext 2838 • Feel free to contact me for more information! • Thanks for listening – enjoy the rest of the workshop… • .. and the England-Brazil match (thanks Mike!) European Workshop on Mobile & Contextual Learning, Birmingham