Abstract
This chapter discusses qualitative findings from doctoral research undertaken in Australia with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pre-service teachers about integrating mobile devices within their tertiary studies and compares responses from those living in Very Remote communities and Inner Regional and Outer Regional locations. There are five categories of remoteness, used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics: Major Cities, Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote and Very Remote. These are based on road distance from five various sized centres of service delivery. Participants came from community-based Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs in two states: Queensland and South Australia. The focus of this chapter is on the practice and preference of research participants about the use of mobile devices to provide elements of content material, administrative support, academic support and personal encouragement. The pedagogic implications for higher education institutions are explored, and technical ramifications are briefly mentioned, as are organisational policy issues. This research about the use of mobile devices is important in the context of a national initiative to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school teachers. Moreover, the research is significant as it addresses similar concerns of remote and marginalised communities throughout the Asia-Pacific Region. In addition, the research engages with global educational issues such as agency, collaboration, the supply of mobile devices and the cost of using them.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
ABS. (2013, 27 January 2016). Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2011. Cat. No. 3238.0.55.001. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3238.0.55.001
AIHIN. (2016). Mortality. Overview of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status. Retrieved from http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/health-facts/overviews/mortality
AITSL. (2014). Strengthened accreditation of initial teacher education programs. Retrieved from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/initial-teacher-education/ite-reform/accreditation
AnTEP. (2013). Graduates from Stages 1–3, at December 2013. Retrieved from http://w3.unisa.edu.au/antep/graduates.htm
Auld, G., Snyder, I., & Henderson, M. (2012). Using mobile phones as placed resources for literacy learning in a remote Indigenous community in Australia. Language and Education, 26(4), 279–296.
Bainbridge, R., Tsey, K., Brown, C., McCalman, J., Cadet-James, Y., Margolis, S., & Ypinazar, V. (2013). Coming to an ethics of research practice in a remote Aboriginal Australian community. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 46(1), 18–27.
Baran, E. (2014). A review of research on mobile learning in teacher education. Educational Technology & Society, 17(4), 17–32.
Behrendt, L., Larkin, L., Griew, R., & Kelly, P. (2012). Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Final Report. Canberra: Australian Government. Retrieved from http://www.innovation.gov.au/TertiaryEducation/HigherEducation/ReviewofIHER/Pages/default.aspx
Biddle, N. (2014). The relationship between community and individual measures of wellbeing: Comparisons by remoteness for Indigenous Australians. Australian Geographer, 45(1), 53–69. doi:10.1080/00049182.2014.869296.
Bokova, I. (2013). Technology, broadband and education: Advancing the Education for All Agenda. Retrieved from Paris http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002196/219687e.pdf
Buchanan, R. (2011). Paradox, promise and public pedagogy: Implications of the federal government’s Digital Education Revolution. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 36(2), 67.
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Cooper, J. (2008). Embedding literacy in Indigenous education through assistant teachers: Lessons from the National Accelerated Literacy Program. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 37, 120–129.
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Dalziel, B. (2013, October 1–4). A multidimensional approach to adopting iPads in medical education. Paper presented at the 2013 IEEE 63rd annual conference International Council for Educational Media (ICEM), Singapore.
Danaher, P. A., & Umar, A. (Eds.). (2010). Perspectives on distance education: Teacher education through open and distance learning. Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning.
Davis, C., Woodberry, J., & Buckskin, P. (1995). Ara Kuwaritjakutu projects: Towards a new way Stage 3. A research project into the working conditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Workers report, Canberra. Canberra: Publishing Unit of the Department of Employment, Education and Training.
DE. (2014). Completion rates of domestic bachelor students: A cohort analysis. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from https://education.gov.au/selected-higher-education-statistics-time-series-data-and-publications
Dudgeon, P., Calma, T., & Holland, C. (2016). What works in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention? InPsych: The Bulletin of the Australian Psychological Society Ltd, 38(1), 18–19.
Edwards, W. H. (2012). Mission in the Musgraves: Ernabella Mission 1937–73, a place of relationships. Adelaide: Uniting Church Historical Society (S.A.).
Edwards, W. H., & Underwood, B. D. (2006). Changes in education as hunters and gatherers settle: Pitjantjatjara education in South Australia. In C. Dyer (Ed.), The education of nomadic peoples : Current issues, future prospects (pp. 101–119). New York: Berghahn Books.
Elliott, A. (2009). Empowering Indigenous learners in remote Australian communities. Paper presented at the Prato CIRN Community Informatics conference 2009. http://www.ccddesarrollo.net/newcd/dmdocuments/76%20Empowering%20indigenous.pdf
Gale, M. (1996). AnTEP comes of age. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 24(1), 17–25.
Giles, W. (2010). Teacher education in a remote community: Learning on the job. Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 11(3), 57–66.
Godfrey, A., Vos, J., Phillips, T., & Giusti, J. (2014). Mobile learning policy handbook: An insider’s guide to the issues. Retrieved from London http://www.gsma.com/connectedliving/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/mLearning_14_07_14-1.pdf
Halliday, L., Payne, L., & Linkson, M. (2015). The off-site model: Ratep – Qld Indigenous community based teacher education. Paper presented at the Continuing the journey for education workforce diversity, Adelaide. http://matsiti.edu.au/community-based-teacher-education/
Howitt, R., & McLean, J. (2015). Towards closure? Coexistence, remoteness and righteousness in Indigenous policy in Australia. Australian Geographer, 46(2), 137–145.
Hunt, J. (2013). Engaging with Indigenous Australia – Exploring the conditions for effective relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. (Issues paper no. 5 produced for the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse). Canberra & Melbourne Retrieved from http://www.aihw.gov.au/uploadedFiles/ClosingTheGap/Content/Publications/2013/ctgc-ip5.pdf
Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Estrada, V., Freeman, A., & Hall, C. (2016). NMC Horizon Report: 2016 – Higher Education Edition. Retrieved from Austin http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2016-nmc-horizon-report-he-EN.pdf
Kinnane, S., Wilks, J., Wilson, K., Hughes, T., & Thomas, S. (2014). ‘Can’t be what you can’t see’: The transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students into higher education, Final Report 2014. Retrieved from Sydney http://www.nd.edu.au/research/olt-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-transition/research-report-and-literature-review
Kral, I. (2010). Plugged in: Remote Australian Indigenous youth and digital culture (Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Working Paper, 69).
Kral, I. (2012). Talk, text and technology: Literacy and social practice in a remote indigenous community. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
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.
Leggatt, S. (2016). Overcoming the barriers of distance: Using mobile technology to facilitate moderation and best practice in initial teacher training. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(3), 432–446. doi:10.1080/0309877X.2014.984597.
Maher, M. (2010). Culturally responsive assessment and evaluation strategies for Indigenous teacher education students in remote communities of the Northern Territory of Australia. Paper presented at the reflecting on evaluation, Wellington, August 2010. http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/edu_conference/46/
MCEECDYA. (2010). The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Education Action Plan 2010–2014. Carlton South Retrieved from http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/a10-0945_ieap_web_version_final2.pdf
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.
McKay, K., & Tighe, J. (2014). Talking through the dead: The impact and interplay of lived grief after suicide. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 68(2), 111–121.
MIR. (2014). Media usage amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Crows Nest: McNair Ingenuity Research.
Mishra, S. (Ed.). (2009). Mobile technologies in open schools. Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning.
Mitchell, G., & Linkson, M. (2012). RATEP – Community based teacher education. Paper presented at the MATSITI Teachers are deadly! conference, Adelaide. http://matsiti.edu.au/ratep/
Mooney, N. (2015, October 30). Introduction to Indigenous Australia. Retrieved from http://australianmuseum.net.au/indigenous-australia-introduction
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.
Musharbash, Y. (2008). Sorry business is Yapa way: Warlpiri mortuary rituals as embodied practice. In K. Glaskin, M. Tonkinson, Y. Musharbash, & V. Burbank (Eds.), Mortality, mourning and mortuary practices in Aboriginal Australia (pp. 21–36). Farnham: Ashgate.
Myers, F., & Peterson, N. (2016). The origins and history of outstations as Aboriginal life projects. In N. Peterson & F. Myers (Eds.), Experiments in self-determination: histories of the outstation movement in Australia (Monographs in anthropology series, pp. 1–22). Acton: ANU Press. Retrieved from http://apo.org.au/node/61092
O’Brien, J. (2012). Top award for Indigenous teacher program [Press release]. Retrieved from https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/news-archive2/top-award-for-indigenous-teacher-program
OLT. (2012). Australian Awards for University Teaching. Retrieved from http://www.olt.gov.au/system/files/Awards_Ceremony_Booklet_2012_0.pdf
Osborne, B. (2003). Around in circles or expanding spirals?: A retrospective look at education in Torres Strait, 1964–2003. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 32, 61–76.
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. Retrieved from Adelaide http://www.matsiti.edu.au/docs/MATSITI-ACDE-2012-Report.pdf
RTIRC. (2015). Regional telecommunications review 2015: Unlocking the potential in regional Australia. Canberra: Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee. Retrieved from http://www.rtirc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/10/RTIRC-Independent-Committee-Review-2015-FINAL-Low-res-version-for-website.pdf
Russell, C., Malfroy, J., Gosper, M., & McKenzie, J. (2014). Using research to inform learning technology practice and policy: A qualitative analysis of student perspectives. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 30(1), 1–15.
SCRGSP. (2014). Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: key indicators 2014. Canberra Retrieved from http://www.pc.gov.au/research/recurring/overcoming-indigenous-disadvantage/key-indicators-2014.
Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous peoples (2nd ed.). London: Zed Books.
Stone, K. (2016). New Indigenous study pathway to help make career dreams reality. Retrieved from http://www.unisa.edu.au/Media-Centre/Releases/New-Indigenous-study-pathway-to-help-make-career-dreams-reality/#.VxHJ6LcrK70
Taylor, J. (2010). Demography as destiny: Schooling, work and aboriginal population change at Wadeye (0731549635). Retrieved from Canberra http://caepr.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/Publications/WP/CAEPRWP64.pdf
Taylor, A. (2012). More than mobile: Migration and mobility impacts from the ‘Technologies of Change’ for Aboriginal communities in the remote Northern Territory of Australia. Mobilities, 7(2), 269–294.
Teddlie, C., & Tashakkori, A. (2009). Foundations of mixed methods research: Integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches in the social and behavioural sciences. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Townsend, P. B. (2014, September 30–October 3). Deadly remote teacher education by mobile devices. Paper presented at the Australian Computers in Education Conference – Now It’s Personal: Innovating Education, Adelaide.
Townsend, P. B. (2015a). Mob learning – Digital communities for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tertiary students. Journal of Economic & Social Policy, 17(2), 20.
Townsend, P. B. (2015b). Mobile devices for tertiary study – Philosophy meets pragmatics for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 44(Special Issue 02), 139–149. doi:10.1017/jie.2015.26.
UniSA. (2013a). Bachelor of Teaching (Anangu Education) LBAE. Retrieved from https://my.unisa.edu.au/public/pcms/Program.aspx?pageid=277&sid=279&y=2016
UniSA. (2013b). Diploma in Education (Anangu Education) LDAG. Retrieved from http://programs.unisa.edu.au/public/pcms/Program.aspx?pageid=333&sid=437&tid=522&y=2014
UniSA. (n.d.). UniSA App. Retrieved from http://w3.unisa.edu.au/ists/new/students/software-apps/apps.htm
UniSA-College. (2016). Indigenous Participation Pathway program. Retrieved from http://www.unisa.edu.au/Study-at-UniSA/UniSA-College/Explore-our-programs/Indigenous-Participation-Pathway/
Vosloo, S. (2012). Mobile learning and policies: Key issues to consider. Working paper series on mobile learning. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002176/217638E.pdf
Walsh, M., & Yallop, C. (1993). Language and culture in Aboriginal Australia. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
West, M. (2012). Mobile learning for teachers: Global themes. UNESCO Working paper series on mobile learning. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002164/216452E.pdf
WorldBank. (2012). Information and communications for development 2012: Maximizing mobile. Retrieved from Washington, DC http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTINFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Resources/IC4D-2012-Report.pdf
Zepeda, S. J., Parylo, O., & Bengtson, E. (2014). Analyzing principal professional development practices through the lens of adult learning theory. Professional Development in Education, 40(2), 295–315.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Townsend, P. (2017). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Pre-service Teachers’ Views on Using Mobile Devices for Tertiary Study in Very Remote Communities. In: Murphy, A., Farley, H., Dyson, L., Jones, H. (eds) Mobile Learning in Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific Region. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 40. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4944-6_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4944-6_24
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4943-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4944-6
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)