The value of mobile technology in teaching and learning

It was inevitable that with the popularity of mobile technologies within our culture today that they would then find their way into our classrooms as well. The ready availability and use of these devices has changed human communication, socialising and entertainment to such an extent that is it rare to find a person in western society who does not own at least one such device (Herrington et al, 2009). This shows that the majority of us are regularly using mobile devices in everyday life anyway, so is there the potential for this to be successfully integrated into the learning environment?
According to Walker (2013), the use of mobile technologies in education is becoming more widespread with each year that passes. For example, teachers in higher education in the UK have already made use of SMS (short messaging service) as prompts for course requirements, polling classes and pop quizzes with some universities experimenting with phone exams where the user’s voice print identifies them as the test taker (NMC and Educause, 2008).

The ‘‘Tablets for Schools’’ project published some initial findings online from a study of ‘‘Children’s Perceptions of One-to-One Tablets’’ with the following results:

·      ‘‘greater motivation to learn’’; ‘‘more fun’’; ‘‘creative’’; ‘‘variety’’

·      ‘‘collaborative’’; ‘‘feedback from their teacher’’

·      “classroom environment has improved’’

·      ‘‘improvements to communication’’; ‘‘closer to their teachers’’; ‘‘friends are supportive’’ (Tablets for Schools, 2012).

Another study, carried out by Walker (2013), attempted to find out whether pupils used their mobile devices to help their learning and if they thought that the inclusion of mobile devices in the learning environment could help them further. The study found out how much pupils are already using mobile devices whether allowed by their school or not. There is clear evidence that many pupils feel that they are deriving educational benefit from the use of their devices. They are using many of the features of their devices and often finding creative ways to employ these features in their schoolwork, both at home and at school. The study also shows that pupils themselves believe that mobile devices help with their learning and that they are convenient and useful. However, pupils also acknowledge their potential for disruption and for harm (Walker, 2013).

The author believes that there is definitely potential for mobile technologies to be used more extensively within the learning environment. They are an obvious tool to enhance the learning experience for certain people. As already spoken about, there are risks and certain issues that need to be overcome, however, there is strong evidence that the use of mobile technologies in teaching and learning can be valuable.

Reference List

Herrington, J., Herrington, A., Mantei, J., Olney, I., & Ferry, B. (2009). Using mobile technologies to develop new ways of teaching and learning. In J. Herrington, A. Herrington, J. Mantei, I. Olney, & B. Ferry, New technologies, new pedagogies: Mobile learning in higher education (pp. 1-14). University of Wollongong: Faculty of education.

New Media Consortium and Educause. (2008). Horizontal Report 2008: Australia - New Zealand. Austin: TX: NMC.

Tablets for Schools. (2012, July ). Key Findings, Stage 1. Retrieved October 5, 2013, from Tablets for Schools: http://www.tabletsforschools.co.uk/?page_id_680

Walker, R. (2013). Research in Learning Technology. "I don't think I would be where i am right now". Pupil perspectives for using mobile devices for learning , 21, 1-13.