Recording Mobile Learning: An Evaluation of the Number of Audio Recorders Needed in an M-Tel Study

Data collection in M-TEL (Mobile Technology Enhanced Learning) studies is associated with great challenges, as both the learners and data collectors are mobile. One context for M-TEL is outside the controlled environment of the classroom, meaning disturbing sound and noise from the environment, which forces the research community to re-evaluate how the community collects data. This study evaluates how many audio recording devices are needed when collecting data for a subsequent qualitative analysis of an M-TEL study; in the author’s case through interaction and conversation analysis. The author analyzed how much of one learner’s speech was recorded by an audio recorder attached to that learner, and compared this with how much that learner’s speech was recorded by her peer learners’ audio recorders, as well as by a close-up video camera. This article presents a quantitative analysis of the material from different points of view; consecutive in time, the proximity of the learners, activity of the learners, a union between audio recorders, and a union between video and an audio recorder. The author’s conclusion is that in a group of learners, it is necessary to let every learner carry an audio recorder to sufficiently record their speech for later qualitative analysis.