Use of IT in Higher Education and Training - Social learning through outdoor quiz game app

ABSTRACT

Learning in higher education is no longer by listening to a professor and handing in assignments. At the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, the Knowledge Management (KM) study programme has been developed over several years. From introducing Flipped Classroom, the development has been to make the students develop their own assignments based on the issues of KM they are able to unveil at their own workplaces. The practice on this is done by working to develop short cases to solve in the classroom rather than giving lectures. The lectures over the textbook and curriculum are provided by streaming video and podcasts and the students are encouraged to download and watch/listen prior to the seminars. A short introduction is provided at the start of the seminars, but not as elaborated as in the videos and podcasts. The students tend to stay indoors and work. To investigate how breaking up the indoor stay and to continue the learning process during a 'break' outside, we have developed quizzes from the curriculum. They have to download an app and in groups solve the quizzes that pop up when they close in on the designated area on the map in the app. In the app, the areas are marked by icons in the shape of berries (blueberry, raspberry, cloudberry, etc.) on a map. They have to go to the area in order for the quiz to appear. The quizzes are up to now developed by the lecturers. The students have during the Covid-19 pandemic been working in solitude and thus lost the important factor of social learning. Attempts to make the students work in group have only to a certain extent been successful. As well as 'black screens', the number of students 'fading out' when trying to divide the students into 'breakoutrooms', to support the social learning processes, are too high. Encouraging the students to go outside and work in groups to solve the quizzes allow the student to also discuss other issues than just the curriculum, and to get to know each other outside the classroom. The data are collected our data through in-depth interviews and group interviews with the students. The collected data will show how the students perceive a) to work on the quiz, b) to solve the quiz, c) to work in groups outside the classroom and how this support a) their learning outcome and b) their social learning situation. © 2021 IEEE.