Mobile Technology in learning

Mobile technology is now ubiquitous in our society, and to not incorporate it into learning would be missing the boat. Many teaching environments still recoil in horror at the thought of pupils using mobile phones or tablets in lessons, yet this is where it can have a huge impact. My own children, and others about to enter primary school are completely at ease with technology, and do not know a world without it. Secondary and further education students are often good indicators of future trends in technology. They are incredibly adept at seeking out alternatives to popular apps once their use spreads to other demographic groups - very few teenagers are comfortable with their parents liking their every post on Facebook, for example!

This familiarity with technology needs to be redirected from a purely social use into a more educational paradigm. "Chalk and talk" can have its place in a scheme of work, but a broader range of learning styles can be catered for if the tutor can access video clips, online seminars, charts, images - the list goes on. Students can participate in real time, by writing blogs, or commenting on material posted by the tutor. Assessments can be recorded as a video for those students who may struggle with the more traditional methods of assessment and evaluation.

Source - http://www.educationnews.org





Rather than opposing, or even banning technolongy in classrooms, as appears to be the case in some instistutions, educators need to work with what technology has to offer. Primary schools seem to have grasped this  - it now needs to be embraced by secondary and further education to ensure a seamless transition through the system.

On a personal note, I have seen both sides of the coin. As a parent, I have always tried to encourage my children to use mobile technology to complete homework assignments, either as a research tool, or by recording work to submit. This has not always been met with enthusiasm, with some teachers insisting on written submissions, and refusing to accept work that my children (particularly the youngest) have spent a lot of time doing on their tablets or laptops. Others have been incredibly supportive and have embraced the different ways of presenting work. I do appreciate that there is a need to produce handwritten work for some lessons or for specific assessments, but surely if a child has worked hard to produce a poster or a diagram using technology, then this should be accepted as a satisfactory method of completing homework? The disparity between primary and secondary attitudes towards technology needs to be addressed, as I mentioned earlier in this post.