iPod Enhancement for Field Visits in Religious Studies
This chapter reports on a project to explore the potential of a mobile learning device (Apple iTouch iPod) to enhance student field visits to local places of worship, which are part of the Religious Studies degree programme. Places of worship are a valuable resource for student learning, but often the value of the visit is linked to the quality of information and the style of presentation by the faith informant. In addition, there is a particular problem for university students who need to go beyond basic information about history and artifacts to explore key concepts in situ. The project is a collaboration between staff and second year students to develop podcasts on local places of worship, which have been trialed by first year students. These podcasts include a range of media: video, audio, images, text, and hyperlinks to offer a rich learning experience. The podcasts link to theoretical issues in the study of religion to enhance the development of appropriate literacies for the discipline of Religious Studies. The chapter reports on the range of technical and other issues encounters, the way we responded to them, and our overall assessment of the potential applications for mobile learning during field visits.