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  CoMo: Supporting collaborative group work using mobile phones 

in Veterinary Training

Yishay Mor

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The CoMo project

• PI: Niall Winters, London Knowledge Lab• 2007-2008, collaboration with Kim 

Whittlestone, Royal Veterinary College, • funded by Centre for Distance Education, 

University of London

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

Context: The RVC rotations

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modeling Workshop , Haifa, May 2011 4

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Methodology• Observe: ethnographic study of the particular context of learning. Following 

learners through their daily routine, recording their actions with video and stills, interviewing students and tutors inaction.  

=> identify the existing ecology of resources, common practices and needs.• Identify: gaps in existing practice, which can be addressed by new technology.• Blend: how will the new technology, & new practices derived from it, fit in with 

the existing ecology.• Sketch: draw visual scenarios of specific activities in which the new technology 

plays a part.• Poll: present these sketches to as wide an audience as possible, collect feedback 

and adjust the design.• Enhance: deploy the technology, guide learners in using it to improve their 

learning experience.• Perturb: challenge learners and teachers with new possibilities emerging from the 

technology as they have adopted it.

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Stage I: Teacher Interviews

• Collect narratives of current practices• Construct thick descriptions of learning 

contexts (user stories)• Identify teacher ( & learner) concerns

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Example: teacher input

Year 4 and 5 students spend most of their 2nd term on rotations, in groups of 5-6. Each week each group joins one hospital department or get distributed between vets in the field, and participate in clinical work.

During hospital rotations students have tutorials, where they meet with their academic tutor and discuss the cases they saw.

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Example: User StoryElizabeth is out on EMS and is being driven by her supervising vet to a farm

where they have a cow which they suspect may be pregnant. Whilst in the car Elizabeth uses her phone to log into her myPad and searches for Haptic. She locates an entry see made whilst she was in the 4th year about her experiences of using the Haptic cow to feel a pregnant cow. She discusses her findings with her supervising Vet.

The Vet raises some interesting points regarding feeling for pregnancy and so Elizabeth sends an SMS noting the points to her myPad.

Later on Elizabeth logs onto myPad from a full browser and locates the Haptic entry she was viewing earlier whilst in the car on the way to the farm. She edits the entry and adds the note that she sent into her myThoughts area earlier. She uses the formatting options to quote the points the supervising vet made to her and comments on her feelings towards them.

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Student Concerns• Highly motivated and dedicated to the profession.

Seeking ways to improve their learning.• Concerned about the responsibility they will face

as novice clinicians. • Need to master detailed procedural knowledge

for a very broad spectrum of situations.• Not confident in their knowledge and their peers.

Seek authority.• High study load. Very little free time during

rotations (but a lot of dead time).

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Teacher Concerns• More concerned about students' meta-skills:

o observation, diagnosis, analysis• Want to promote reflective practice and

collaborative learning.• Keeping in touch with students on rotation is a

challenge

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Stage II: Ethnographic Observations

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What’s in your pocket?

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Current Practice

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

Taking Notes Tutorial

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Stage III: Scenario-based Interview

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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The Cafeteria Procedure

Distributed scenarios to groups of students with the instructions:• Go through the scenario, "put yourself in the

picture".• Ask for clarifications where they are needed

(if you don't understand something - it's our fault!)

• Add your comments on the side.• Add your details on the top if you wish to be

contacted / participate in the experiment.

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

The Como scenario

• Snap• Tag• Blog• Revisit• Review• Co-Reflect

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

Snap!

During clinical session, one student uses the camera phone to take visual notes, while the others  use the clipboards as usual.

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

Tag!

Tags: dog, cat scan, epilepsyDescription: notice the twitching leg.

The same student quickly tags and uploads the visual note

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

Blog!

Notes are collated on group blog, to serve as anchors for subsequent reflections.

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

Revist

Students use "dead time" to add questions and observations from their notes as comments.

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

Review

Question: ....?Observation:..Observation:..Question: ....?Question: ....?

Tutor reviews students contributions in preparation for tutorial session.

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

Co-Reflect (tutorial)

Using remote conferencing, and referring to the blog, tutor addresses issues which emerge from this week's experiences.

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Stage IV: design & deploy

• Collated student feedback to scenarios.• Collected teacher responses to student 

feedback.• Updated scenario & implemented:

– N70 phones + ShoZu + Flickr– Short induction period for each student group

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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CoMo

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

Student use

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011 25

Social: social relationships between student are an important support frameworkMemory jog: snapshots of key incidents facilitated group reflectionClinical subjects and procedures were documented for discussionTemporal analysis: students documented case progression over time

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Note taking

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Documenting Procedures

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Documenting Procedures

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modeling Workshop , Haifa, May 2011 29

Tracking a Case

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Capturing Data

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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The New Tutorial

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Social

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Learning Gains

• Allowed tutors and students to discuss “the case presentations”

• Gave teachers a “window on what the students’ attention was” 

• “I took a picture of something I didn't think would be that interesting, something we do everyday . . . it reminded [student A] of a point in rounds she wanted to bring up”

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Questions

• What can we do now that we couldn’t do then?

• What do existing off the shelf technologies offer in terms of learner modelling, and how can LM augment learning?

• Is the methodology relevant for you?

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011

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Acknowledgements• Niall Winters, CoMo PI• Natasha Lackovic, researcher• Kim Whittlestone, Senior Lecturer in Independent Learning• Dr. Matthew Pead, Senior Lecturer in Orthopaedic Surgery 

and Head of the Small Animal Medicine and Surgery Group• Arthur House, European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery 

and Lecturer in Small Animal Surgery• Richard Coe, European Veterinary Specialist in Surgery and 

Temporary Lecturer in Small Animal Surgery• All our student participants 

Yishay Mor - CoMo – Ubiquitous User Modelling Workshop, Haifa, May 2011