Smart Learning and the mobile Taxonomy

Research Imperatives: Building on the earlier work of Bloom (2001), Churches’ Digital Taxonomy (2008), and Alan Carringtons’ concept of the Pedagogy Wheel, this research explores and goes on to identify which apps are most useful for the creation of a Mobile Taxonomy - a visual representation of best practice within field of Visual Communication.

Insights: Knowing about students’ use of technology as well as their attitudes and experiences can help teachers and institutions develop a better understanding of students’ preferred learning methods and new ways of delivery. Once students begin using technology for learning they begin to appreciate the benefits and the further possibilities that exist within their current frame of reference. Intrinsically, it is also important to the creative profession. Meanwhile, the resulting ‘Smart Wheel’ will take the first step towards identifying smart technologies and the needs of Visual Communication professions and students alike.

Context: Students’ relationship with technology is complex. They recognise its value but still need guidance when it comes to best practice within the learning environment (Educause, 2017). For many years the only platform that we could use to work on visual communication was the desktop computer. However, thanks to the innovations and the development of Internet, we have many other alternatives, such as smartphones or tablets. However, choosing the right app is not so easy, as it takes too much time to navigate through hundreds of apps and select the best ones – fit for purpose.

Method: Research has been conducted in three stages, involving a workshop, a product trial, and an online survey. The initial workshop invited students to showcase their preferred apps and to demonstrate their usefulness. Each app was categorised according to its place and purpose. The number of apps for each category was refined to ten per category and ranked.