1. Introduction

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is evidence that the use of moblogging increases the quality of reflection for students of the Traing & Human Development study programme at HAN University of Applied Sciences (HAN) at Nijmegen, the Netherlands.  Literature suggests that young learners (learners who grew up in the computer and mobile phone era) may benefit when mobile phones are incorporated in formal learning processes. For example, Kommers (2005) argues that mobile phones have become devices that students carry with them all the time. Mobile phones have been set up according to the student’s own personal taste and beliefs, thus promoting a personal attitude towards learning. Mobile phones lower the boundaries between formal and informal learning, and by using mobile phones and social software in formal learning, we may see a more explicit attitude towards learning. Past researches into the use of mobile devices in learning processes have shown that learners show a positive attitude towards the use of mobile devices in learning processes, and in reflection processes (Attewell, 2004; Yung-Chuan & Chen, 2008).

Students of the Training & Human Development programme currently use desktop computers and / or paper notebooks to record their experiences, and to process these into a reflective analysis report. According to Bolhuis (2009), writing a reflective analysis report on paper forces a student to think about putting into words their own reflection. However, it can also lead to students viewing reflection as a task that merely has to be completed. An interview with studens of the Training & Human Development study programme held before this research shows that most students see reflection this way. Most students indicated that the reflective analysis report was usually the last product they worked before the deadline of their portfolio. They indicated that the paper-based nature of the reflective analysis report made it a dull and tedious task. They also indicated that collecting reflections during a course was something that often was forgotten.

Context

HAN University of Applied Sciences (HAN)

HAN University of Applied Sciences (HAN) is a large university (approx. 27,000 students), situated in the east of the Netherlands (see map below, map is clickable).

HAN offers professional higher education in the following domains: Education, Social Studies, Commerce, Communication, Business
Administration, Law, Economics, Engineering, Built Environment, Applied Sciences, ICT and Communication, Health, Nursing and Sports and Movement. Within these domains students can choose from over sixty bachelor programmes and fifteen master courses. Quality review programmes of the Dutch validation council (NVAO) have shown that study programmes at HAN University rank among the top ten of Dutch universities(HAN, 2007).

In recent years, higher education in the Netherlands has seen some major educational renewals. Study programmes have been redesigned to be more competency-based and demand-driven. Reasons for this are new insights into how people learn, more attention to diversity among students, to prepare students better for the new knowledge economy and to meet the demands of the work field. In 2002, HAN launched its own renewal programme to make its education competency-based; this project was named HOF. Its main principles are:

• Demand-driven education;
• Student is responsible for their own learning process;
• Competency-based;
• Realistic and complex professional tasks as starting point;
• Student proves they are competent in assessments.

(HAN Chassis, 2003)

In this competency-based education, reflection-on-action and reflection-in-action has been defined as a core qualification for every student (HAN Chassis, 2003)

The Training & Human Development study programme

The Training & Human Development study programme is a bachelor degree course which is a part of the Education domain at HAN University. The study programme focuses on the fields of Human Resource Development (HRD) and adult education. For this, three professional roles play an important part in the curriculum:

• Human Resource Development
  This professional role focuses on corporate training consultancy and strategic corporate  learning policies.
• Training & Coaching
  This professional role focuses on how to deliver corporate trainings in a pedagogically sound way, and face-to-face interaction with learners (both as groups and individuals)
• Instructional Systems Design
  This professional role focuses on the design and development of learning tools for corporate training.

After completing the course, students will usually find jobs as corporate learning managers, trainers or instructional designers.

The Training & Human Development study programme is currently the only bachelor degree course in the field of HRD in the Netherlands (HAN, 2009).

Like most other study programmes at HAN University, the Training & Human Development study programme also has a pedagogical model which is based on competency-based learning, also with reflection-on-action and reflection-in-action as a core qualification.

In the the following chapter I will take a more in-depth look at the role of reflection higher education, and how moblogging can support this.