Mobile Computing, Visual Diaries, Learning and Communication: Changes to the Communicative Ecology of Design Students Through Mobile Computing

Berry, M. and Hamilton, M.

How students learn and what encourages them to communicate and reflect on their learning provide continual challenges for teachers. If we can find ways to enlighten this process, we can encourage and foster a better learning environment for all concerned. In this paper, we discuss the influence that Tablet PCs have had on the way multimedia students learn concepts and approach their design development work through their communicative ecology. As part of their course, these students are required to write visual diaries as reflective practice on their design process. Among other things, access to the Tablet PCs greatly enhances their contributions to their visual diaries by allowing them to develop their draft diagrams quickly and easily and integrate them into their blogs to achieve a comprehensive work portfolio.

Cite as: Berry, M. and Hamilton, M. (2006). Mobile Computing, Visual Diaries, Learning and Communication: Changes to the Communicative Ecology of Design Students Through Mobile Computing. In Proc. Eighth Australasian Computing Education Conference (ACE2006), Hobart, Australia. CRPIT, 52. Tolhurst, D. and Mann, S., Eds. ACS. 35-44.

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