Mobile learning

From time to time, I like to check out various education-related Twitter feeds to see what’s trending. One topic that seems to generate a lot of chatter is the use of cell phones in the classroom. To date, teachers’ experiences of using mobile phones in the classroom are mixed: some report great success in using them to sustain student interest and to teach content in a new way, while other teachers experience problems with students focusing not on classroom content, but on texting their BFFs instead. What to do?

Mobile tablets are one of the most innovative and versatile tech tools to come on the market in recent years, and their application to teaching and learning has made quick inroads in schools. It’s been just over two years since the first generation of iPads became available to consumers, and an entire industry has developed around the technology – much of it focused on education. While still prohibitively expensive for many public schools, other schools have been quick to adopt iPads and integrate them into the curriculum. Aside from being light, portable, and snazzy, just what types of benefits do tablets offer over laptops, desktops, and e-books?

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.”
John Dewey

I have written about this quote before, and I love how it reminds me that teaching is a dynamic career.  Teaching is not something you “get good at” so you can coast through the years.  Excellent teachers are always learning and constantly adapting the tools and techniques they use with their students.  As the world changes and technology evolves, these teachers embrace these changes and bring new tools and techniques into the classroom.

Until recently, schools banned the use of cell phones and other mobile devices by students during class hours. While some students argued that the devices could be helpful to the learning process, teachers and administrators focused instead on those students who used the devices for non-learning related tasks, such as texting their peers and trolling the Internet.  Although the abuse of mobile devices by students is still a valid concern, some enterprising educators have embraced mobile technology and are increasingly incorporating it into the curriculum.