Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:58:56.985Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mobile Devices for Tertiary Study – Philosophy Meets Pragmatics for Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2015

Philip Townsend Open the ORCID record for Philip Townsend [Opens in a new window]
Philip Townsend*
Affiliation:
School of Education, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
*
address for correspondence: School of Education, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

This paper outlines PhD research which suggests mobile learning fits the cultural philosophies and roles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who are preservice teachers in the very remote Australian communities where the research was conducted. The problem which the research addresses is the low completion rates for two community-based Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs in South Australia (SA) and Queensland (Qld). Over the past decade, the national completion rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in teacher training was 36 per cent, and in these two community-based programs it was less than 15 per cent. This paper identifies the perceptions of the benefits of using mobile devices by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who are preservice teachers in very remote communities. They report ways in which mobile learning supports their complex roles and provides pragmatic positive outcomes for their tertiary study in remote locations. The paper describes the apparent alignment between mobile learning and cosmology, ontology, epistemology and axiology, which may underpin both the popularity of mobile devices and the affordances of mobile learning.

Keywords

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islandercultural philosophiesmobile learningremote communitieswomen
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 44 , Issue 2: Red Dirt Revisited: Examining remote learning and education experiences , December 2015 , pp. 139 - 149
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anangu Tertiary Education Program. (2013). Graduates from stage 3. Retrieved May 14, 2014 from http://w3.unisa.edu.au/antep/graduates3.htm#Stage3a.Google Scholar
Arabena, K. (2008). Indigenous epistemology and wellbeing: Universe referent citizenship. Research Discussion Paper. 22, AIATSIS, Canberra. Retrieved May 11, 2012 from http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/research/docs/dp/DP22.pdf.Google Scholar
Arbon, V. (2008). Arlathirnda Ngurkarnda Ityirnda being-kowing-doing: De-Colonising Indigenous tertiary education. Teneriffe: Post Pressed.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2011). Australian statistical geography standard (ASGS): Volume 5 -remoteness structure maps. 1270.0.55.005, July 2011, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved August 2013 from http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/2B9F179C6CFA2431CA257B03000D7F21/$File/1270055005_2011_remoteness_structure_maps.pdf.Google Scholar
Australian Communications and Media Authority [ACMA]. (2008). Telecommunications in remote Indigenous communities 2008, Canberra. Retrieved September 8, 2015 from http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/_assets/main/lib310210/telecommunications_in_rics_2008.pdf.Google Scholar
Bainbridge, R., Whiteside, M., & McCalman, J. (2013). Being, knowing, and doing: A phronetic approach to constructing grounded theory with Aboriginal Australian partners. Qualitative Health Research, 23 (2), 275–288. doi: 10.1177/1049732312467853.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bannan, B., Cook, J., & Pachler, N. (2015, April 7). Reconceptualizing design research in the age of mobile learning. Interactive Learning Environments. Published online. doi:10.1080/10494820.2015.1018911.Google Scholar
Baran, E. (2014). A review of research on mobile learning in teacher education. Educational Technology & Society, 17 (4), 17–32.Google Scholar
Bokova, I. (2013). Technology, broadband and education: Advancing the education for all agenda, Paris. Retrieved June 11, 2013 from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002196/219687e.pdf.Google Scholar
Brady, F., & Dyson, L. E. (2009). Report to Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire council on mobile technology in the bloomfield river valley. Sydney: Brady and Dyson.Google Scholar
Brady, F. R., Dyson, L. E., & Asela, T. (2008, 24–27 June 2008). Indigenous adoption of mobile phones and oral culture. Paper presented at the Sixth International Conference on Cultural Attitudes Towards Communication and Technology, Nimes, France.Google Scholar
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.Google Scholar
Danaher, P. A., & Umar, A. (Eds.). (2010). Perspectives on distance education: Teacher education through open and distance learning. Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning.Google Scholar
Donovan, M. (2007). Can Information communication techological tools be used to suit Aboriginal learning pedagogies? In Dyson, L. E., Hendriks, M. & Grant, S. (Eds.), Information technology and Indigenous people (pp. 93–104). Hershey: Idea Group.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyson, L., & Brady, F. (2009). Mobile phone adoption and use in Lockhart river Aboriginal community. Paper presented at the ICMB 2009. Eighth International Conference on Mobile Business, Dalian, China.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, W. H., & Underwood, B. D. (2006). Changes in education as hunters and gatherers settle : Pitjantjatjara education in South Australia. In Dyer, C. (Ed.), The education of nomadic peoples: Current issues, future prospects (pp. 101–119). New York: Berghahn Books.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Featherstone, D. (2011). The Ngaanyatjarra lands telecommunications project: A quest for broadband in the Western Desert. Telecommunications Journal of Australia, 61 (1), 4.1–4.25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ford, P. L. (2010). Aboriginal knowledge, narratives & country: Marri Kunkimba Putj Putj Marrideyan. Tenneriffe: Post Pressed.Google Scholar
Gale, M. (1996). AnTEP comes of age. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 24 (1), 17–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ganley, L. (2014). Connect, innovate and support: The keys to digital inclusion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In Ormond-Parker, L., Corn, A., Fforde, C., Obata, K. & O’Sullivan, S. (Eds.), Making connections: Essays on Indigenous digital excellence (pp. 11–24). Freemantle: Vivid Publishing. Retrieved September 8, 2015 from http://www.vividpublishing.com.au/makingtheconnection/Making_The_Connection_eTXT_screen.pdf.Google Scholar
Godfrey, A., Vos, J., Phillips, T., & Giusti, J. (2014). Mobile learning policy handbook: An insider's guide to the issues, London. Retrieved May 12, 2015 from http://www.gsma.com/connectedliving/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/mLearning_14_07_14-1.pdf.Google Scholar
Guenther, J., & McRae-Williams, E. (2012). Making the most of technologies for learning in remote context. VOCAL, The Australian Journal of Vocational Education and Training in Schools, 9 (2011–2012), 88–95.Google Scholar
Hall, L. (2015). What are the key ingredients for an effective and successful tertiary enabling program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students? An evaluation of the evolution of one program. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 55 (2), 244–266.Google Scholar
Hall, L., & Maughan, C. (2015). Going where the students are already - Reimagining online learning where students and lecturers co-create an interactive teaching and learning space. The International Journal of Technologies in Learning, 22 (3), 51–61.Google Scholar
Huijser, H., & Bronnimann, J. (2014). Exploring the opportunities of social media to build knowledge in learner-centered Indigenous learning spaces. In Feller, S. & Yengin, I. (Eds.), Educating in Dialog: Constructing meaning and building knowledge with dialogic technology: Dialogue Studies (24) (pp. 97–110). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Imtinan, U., Chang, V., & Issa, T. (2014). Envisioning mobile learning as the future of teaching and learning via technology: A literature review of mobile learning. In Issa, T., Isaias, P., & Kommers, P. (Eds.), Multicultural awareness and technology in Higher education: Global perspectives (pp. 324–341). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
International Telecommunications Union. (2014). The world in 2014: ICT facts and figures. Retrieved February 9, 2015 from http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2014-e.pdf.Google Scholar
Johnson, G. M., & Oliver, R. (2013, June 24). Cognition, literacy and mobile technology: A conceptual model of the benefits of smartphones for Aboriginal students in remote communities. Paper presented at the World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Victoria, Canada.Google Scholar
Kearney, M., Schuck, S., Burden, K., & Aubusson, P. (2012). Viewing mobile learning from a pedagogical perspective. Research in Learning Technology, 20. 14406. doi: 10.3402/rlt.v20i0/14406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kral, I. (2011). Youth media as cultural practice: Remote Indigenous youth speaking out loud. Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2011 (1), 4–16.Google Scholar
Kral, I. (2012). Talk, text and technology: Literacy and social practice in a remote indigenous community. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kral, I. (2014). Shifting perceptions, shifting identities: Communication technologies and the altered social, cultural and linguistic ecology in a remote indigenous context. The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 25 (2), 171–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kral, I., & Schwab, R. G. (2012). Learning spaces: Youth, literacy and new media in remote indigenous Australia. Retrieved September 8, 2015 from http://epress.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/whole1.pdf.Google Scholar
Martin, K. L. (2008). Please knock before you enter: Aboriginal regulation of outsiders and the implications for researchers. Teneriffe: Post Pressed.Google Scholar
McGarvie, N. (1991). A preliminary report on the establishment of the remote area teacher education program (RATEP) at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sites in North Queensland. Aboriginal Child at School, 19 (1), 27–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNair Ingenuity Research. (2014). Media usage amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Crows Nest: McNair Ingenuity Research.Google Scholar
Mitchell, G., & Linkson, M. (2012). RATEP - community based teacher education. Paper presented at the MATSITI Teachers are deadly! conference, Adelaide. Retrieved from September 8, 2015 http://matsiti.edu.au/ratep/Google Scholar
More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers Initiative (MATSITI). (2014). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teacher workforce analysis, Canberra. Retrieved May 6, 2015 from http://matsiti.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MATSITI-Data-Analysis-Report-2014.pdfGoogle Scholar
Moreton-Robinson, A. (2011). The white man's burden patriarchal white epistemic violence and Aboriginal women's knowledges within the Academy. Australian Feminist Studies, 26 (70), 413–431.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naismith, L., Lonsdale, P., Vavoula, G. N., & Sharples, M. (2004). Literature review in mobile technologies and learning. opening education series. Report 11, futurelab. Retrieved August 7, 2015 from http://www.futurelab.org.uk/sites/default/files/Mobile_Technologies_and_Learning_review.pdfGoogle Scholar
Nakata, M. (2010). The cultural interface of Islander and scientific knowledge. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 39 (Suppl.), 53–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakata, M. N. (2007). Disciplining the savages: Savaging the disciplines. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.Google Scholar
Patton, W., Hong, A. L., Lampert, J., Burnett, B., & Anderson, J. (2012). Report into the retention and graduation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolled in initial teacher education, University of South Australia, Adelaide. Retrieved December 14, 2012 from http://www.matsiti.edu.au/docs/MATSITI-ACDE-2012-Report.pdfGoogle Scholar
Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee. (2008). Regional telecommunications independent review committee report 2008: Framework for the future. Retrieved September 8, 2015 from https://www.communications.gov.au/sites/g/files/net301/f/2008_Glasson_Report_RTIRC.pdf.Google Scholar
Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee. (2012). 2011–12 Regional telecommunications review - regional communications: Empowering digital communities. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee. Retrieved September 8, 2015 from https://www.communications.gov.au/sites/g/files/net301/f/Regional_Communications-Empowering_digital_communities.pdf.Google Scholar
Rennie, E., Crouch, A., Wright, A., & Thomas, J. (2011). Home internet for remote Indigenous communities, Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, Sydney. Retrieved September 30, 2012 from http://accan.org.au/files/SWIN-CLC-CATHomeInternet.pdfGoogle Scholar
Schuck, S., Aubusson, P., Kearney, M., & Burden, K. (2013). Mobilising teacher education: a study of a professional learning community. Teacher Development, 17 (1), 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teddlie, C., & Tashakkori, A. (2010). Overview of contemporary issues in mixed methods research. In Tashakkori, A. & Teddlie, C. (Eds.), SAGE handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research (pp. 1–41). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.Google Scholar
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Institute for Statistics [UIS]. (2014). Wanted: Trained teachers to ensure every child's right to primary education. Policy Paper 15/Fact Sheet 30, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Montreal. Retrieved March 17, 2015 from http://www.uis.unesco.org/Library/Documents/fs30-trained-teachers-to-ensure-right-to-primary-education-en.pdf.Google Scholar
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Institute for Statistics [UIS]. (2015). Women in the teaching profession. UNESCO eAtlas of teachers. Retrieved May 4, 2015 from http://tellmaps.com/uis/teachers/Google Scholar
Vaarzon-Morel, P. (2014). Pointing the Phone: Transforming technologies and social relations among Warlpiri. The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 25 (2), 239–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vosloo, S. (2012). Mobile learning and policies: Key issues to consider. Working Paper Series on Mobile Learning. Retrieved September 15, 2012 from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002176/217638E.pdfGoogle Scholar
WorldBank. (2012). Information and communications for development 2012: Maximizing mobile, World Bank, Washington, DC. Retrieved September 26, 2012 from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTINFORMATION-ANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Resources/IC4D-2012-Report.pdfGoogle Scholar
York, F., & Henderson, L. (2003). Making it possible: the evolution of RATEP: A community-based teacher education program for Indigenous peoples. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 32 (2003), 77–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yunkaporta, T. (2009). Aboriginal pedagogies at the cultural interface. (Doctorate of Education), James Cook University. Retrieved December 9, 2014 from http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/10974/2/01thesis.pdfGoogle Scholar