How Do E-Book Readers Enhance Learning Opportunities for Distance Work-Based Learners?.

We report on the incorporation of e‐book readers into the delivery of two distance‐taught master’s programmes in Occupational Psychology (OP) and one in Education at the University of Leicester, UK. The programmes attract work‐based practitioners in OP and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, respectively. Challenges in curriculum delivery included the need for more flexibility in the curricula, better access to essential readings and maximising the benefit of learners’ limited study time. As part of a suite of pilot changes to curriculum design and delivery, 28 Sony PRS‐505™ e‐book readers were pre‐loaded with course materials and sent out to students. The evidence suggests that the students’ learning experiences improved as a result of four key benefits afforded by the e‐book readers: enhanced flexibility in curriculum delivery to accommodate the mobile lifestyle of our learners, improved efficiency in the use of study time, especially short breaks during the working day, new strategies for reading course materials and cost. We discuss the opportunities and limitations associated with the e‐book readers used and the challenges encountered in the study. 10.1080/09687769.2010.548506

[1]  Forbes Gibb,et al.  E-Book Technology and Its Potential Applications in Distance Education , 2006, J. Digit. Inf..

[2]  John Russell,et al.  Design, Development and Evaluation of Mobile Learning at NKI Distance Education 2000-2005 , 2005 .

[3]  Lyn Brennan.  Integrating work based learning into higher education: a guide to good practice , 2005 .

[4]  Lucy Yardley,et al.  Content and thematic analysis , 2003 .

[5]  G. Kelly.  The Psychology of Personal Constructs , 2020 .

[6]  Richard E. Boyatzis,et al.  Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development , 1998 .

[7]  Carol Russell,et al.  A systemic framework for managing e-learning adoption in campus universities: individual strategies in context , 2009 .

[8]  Sandra Schruijer,et al.  The use of cognitive mapping in eliciting and evaluating group cognitions , 2010 .

[9]  J. Hills,et al.  Bridging the Gap Between Degree Programme Curricula and Employability Through Implementation of Work-related Learning , 2003 .

[10]  Elaine Harris,et al.  Facilitating Innovation Through Cognitive Mapping of Uncertainty , 2009 .

[11]  Graham Walton,et al.  Using mobile technologies to give health students access to learning resources in the UK community setting. , 2005, Health information and libraries journal.

[12]  Frank van Kouwen,et al.  Computer-Supported Cognitive Mapping for Participatory Problem Structuring , 2009 .

[13]  Lee Andresen,et al.  Experience-based learning , 2020, Understanding Adult Education and Training.

[14]  J. Bryson,et al.  Visible Thinking: Unlocking Causal Mapping for Practical Business Results , 2004 .

[15]  Tony Tin,et al.  The Athabasca University Digital Reading Room: Library resources for mobile students , 2005 .

[16]  Alejandro Armellini,et al.  The role of podcasting in effective curriculum renewal , 2010 .

[17]  M. Baglin.  All You Need to Know about Action Research , 2007 .

[18]  John Lam,et al.  How usable are eBooks in an mLearning environment , 2010 .