The year was 1973, Alice Cooper’s
Schools Out was a favourite amongst the younger generation, Bob Dylan was
Knocking on Heavens Door and the iconic Freebird by Lynyrd Skinner was flying
over the airwaves for the first time. It was then that Martin Cooper, a
Motorola engineer made the ‘first’ mobile telephone call on a device that
weighed in around 1 kg, had 35 minutes talk time for 10 hours of charging and
cost a mere £3,995. Who could have predicted the advancement of mobile
technology and its impact on the lives of every human being on the planet.
Of course it wasn’t until the
arrival of the iPhone in 2007 that the mobile technology boom can be said to
have exploded with an impact similar to the first atom bomb tests. Today,
mobile technology is as much a part of daily living that there are those who
joke that wi-fi should be counted as one of the basic needs alongside food,
water and shelter, for how are we to survive without access to the digital
domain?
How has this technology impacted
the classroom environment and the learning styles of today’s students? Well the
days of chalk boards and heavy textbooks are almost extinct, replaced by
whiteboards and IT suites, with almost all students having access to the
internet at home or via public libraries. But what of the transformation of
e-learning (electronic learning), to the more updated m-learning (mobile
learning) and what are its advantages?
Well, what educators recognise
and cannot dispute is that introducing mobile technology within the learning
environment is not only advantages for students within their adult life, it can
be argued that it is a vital part of their education as some career paths rely
heavily on its use. The use of mobile tech, such as smart phones and tablets
provide the students with instant up-to-date access to news, information and
statistics at the touch of their fingers, are quicker and much more reliable
than referencing out of date, hard copy published text books. It also is easier
on the growing development of these young bodies, by not having to cart around
a ton of paper in book format from class to class.
A key advantage of mobile
learning is that is takes the learning experience outside the classroom and
into the wider arena. With wi-fi access available across campuses, studies have
shown learning continues especially when students are involved with group or
project work. One such study conducted by Matt Britland of Kingston Grammer
School, showed just how effective the use of mobile technology can be within
the learning environment.
Teachers’ results showed that:
- · 91% of teachers saying they would use iPads as part of the teaching resources again
- · 64% of teachers stating that their students were very engaged whilst using the iPads
- · 82% Stating that their students were more engaged than usual
- · 100% of teachers enjoyed using the iPads as part of their teaching resources
And students’ results showed
that:
- · 82% reported a positive learning experience when using the iPads
- · 77% stated that using the iPads helped with their understanding of the subject
- · 92% stated they were very engaged or engaged with the lesson
- · 88% of the students would like to use the iPads more often during lessons
Overall the project was seen as a
huge success by both students and teachers as can be seen in the published
report found here. So should we presume from this one example that mobile
technology is beneficial to modern teaching? Well I’ll leave that decision to
you. Hopefully over the next few posts I can highlight the pros and cons of
such technology and where future developments may lead us, and you will be able
to make a more informed decision.
