Media Education

Games are a current topic of discussion nowadays. It is not just playing games that are discussed here, but the learning outcomes and group dynamics of playing today’s games. Furthermore, a facilitator is always fascinated with learning that is the outcome of group dynamics. Everything that facilitator does involve two important parts: content and process. I have observed in the past that we mostly focus on content and forget about process, and by process I mean here, group dynamics. I have decided to take video games as an example to discuss this type of learning, because today’s video games are teaching our children techniques as group dynamics that will benefit them in their future life.

This article aims to develop and update a reindeer herding study programme in a vocational school in Lapland, Finland in cooperation with the teachers and students. The possibilities for developing motivating learning environments are investigated in the context of reindeer herding, with the ultimate objective being to enhance student interest in their studies and working life through the use of digital technologies. Educational design research is optimal because it is founded upon the needs and challenges of education providers, and solutions can be developed through cyclical processes involving reindeer herding study programme students. Data were collected through focus group interviews. During the development process, particular attention was given to indigenous Sámi pedagogy to consider the students’ sociocultural backgrounds and the ecocultural learning environment. The Triple E framework (Kolb, 2017) is applied to analyse the results in terms of how technology (a) motivates st...

Children lose 99 times out of hundred in almost every commercial game they play yet they do not stop playing games after such failures (McGonigal 2011). In fact, the more they fail the more they want to play games. The case is different when it comes to computer educational games. Children do not play them as often as these games are meant to be played. Therefore, the perceptions of the teachers who teach through such games are the focus of this study.

In this study, the aim was to investigate in terms of m-learning what kinds of pedagogical knowledge and experiences teachers have and what kinds of challenges and opportunities they experience in their teaching practices. The study focused on finding out the teachers’ perspective to the following questions: according to the teachers, 1) how have they implemented mobile learning in their educational practices? 2) what kinds of knowledge and experiences have they had on m-learning? 3) what are the opportunities of m-learning? and 4) what are the main challenges to m-learning? For primary data collection, nine qualitative one-to-one interviews of teachers at the University of Lapland and Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Finland, were conducted. Based on content analysis of the interviews, the study revealed a lack of pedagogical knowledge and experiences, lack of supporting devices and lack of media literacy as the three main challenges for implementing mobile learning in higher education. However, teachers are highly interested in using m-learning both in their teaching and personal life. It was also found that institutions’ official platforms are not experienced by teachers taking part in this study as user friendly while other mobile learning platforms encourage students to participate actively in learning. Evidence also showed that out of the participants of this study, the older teachers were more active in m-learning than their younger counterparts. To overcome these challenges the higher education institutions and educators must rethink their current pedagogical strategies as well as how they view mobile devices and the concept of m-learning in teaching and learning.

Keywords: mobile learning, m-learning, higher education, information and communication technology (ICT).

This article addresses how, in the Arctic regions, indigenous traditional educational approaches focus on the cultural background of the people and their social learning customs in today’s context. The development of Arctic pedagogical approaches is discussed in light of experiences collected in Finnish Lapland in 2017 with the Sámi people. Particularly, the significance of social interactions in indigenous pedagogies is explored. We ask how social interactions benefit technologically enhanced learning in the Sámi cultural context. The findings suggest that social interactions have the potential for improving learning even when learning with and through information and communication technologies (ICTs).

In this paper, we explore the experiences and lessons learned from Sami Game Jam 2018. Sami Game Jam 2018 was organized in Utsjoki, in a small Sámi village next to the border of Finland and Norway. The group of 44 jammers consisted of local Sámi participants and Finnish as well as international game students and professional developers. The event had 12 Sámi themes to explore that were divided between the teams and the event resulted in six games all combining two. The jam was stressful for the participants and organizers, both Sámi and non-Sámi, but in the end created an invaluable space for rich experiences, learning and self-discoveries. Furthermore, the jam provided a platform for indigenous game development and local game education and a platform to develop Sámi Pedagogy further.