Affordances of mobile technologies for experiential learning: the interplay of technology and pedagogical practices C.-H. Lai,* J.-C. Yang,† F.-C. Chen, ‡ C.-W. Ho* & T.-W. Chan† *Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan †Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan ‡Graduate Institute of Learning and Instruction, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan Abstract Experiential learning is the process of creating knowledge through the transformation of expe- rience and has been adopted in an increasing number of areas. This paper investigates the pos- sibility of technological support for experiential learning. A learning activity flow (or script) and a mobile technology system were designed to facilitate students in experiential learning. An experiment was conducted on two fifth-grade classes at an elementary school, one class using personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the other working without them. The results indi- cate that mobile technologies are effective in improving knowledge creation during experien- tial learning. The interplay between the mobile technology affordances and the proposed learning flow for experiential learning is thoroughly discussed. Keywords affordance, experiential learning, mobile learning, mobile technology, PDA. Introduction Dewey’s (1938) ‘learning by doing’ theory emphasizes the value of action while learning. From an experiential learning perspective, learning is a process in which knowledge is created through the transformative expe- rience (Kolb 1984; Kaagan 1999). Optimal learning occurs when people are able to link past experience with new concepts they want to learn (Kolb 1984). Experiential learning utilizes learning activity in which learners encounter tangible learning contexts rather than abstracted knowledge (Pimentel 1999). To date, experiential learning has been applied in numerous fields (Kayes 2002). However, the utility of experien- tial learning has been questioned by some educators (Reynolds 1999; Miettinen 2000; Kayes 2002). In an authentic learning context, can students be motivated to learn effectively without any careful design or guid- ance? (Lai et al. 2005) Experiential learning is gener- ally regarded as lacking a mechanism to focus student awareness in a learning context (McMullan & Cahoon 1979; Miettinen 2000). Thus, our purpose is to attempt to provide technical support to facilitate experiential learning. With the rapid advancement of technology, there has been an increase in the quantity of research into apply- ing mobile technologies to learning. The G1:1 project (Research Center for Science and Technology for Learning 2005; Chan et al. 2006) and the M-learning project (ULTRALAB and CTAD 2003) are examples of this. Researchers have argued that mobile technologies have created many new exciting opportunities for learning (Curtis et al. 2002; Kynäslahti 2003; Ogata & Yano 2004). As for support of mobile technologies for Accepted: 20 February 2007 Correspondence: Chih-Hung Lai, Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Central University, No. 300, Jhongda Rd., Jhongli City, Taoyuan County 32001, Taiwan. Email: laich@cl.ncu.edu.tw doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2007.00237.x SPECIAL ISSUE Original article 326 © 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (2007), 23, 326–337