Mobile Devices: An Educational Opportunity

       Technology has changed the way we live, the workplace, and inevitably, the set of skills required for 21^st century workers. We can no longer assume that traditional brick and mortar classrooms are preparing citizens for the jobs of the future, or in many cases, for jobs already on the market. Clayton Christiansen was right when he said that mobile technology is changing how we learn, and it only makes sense that it would also change how we think about teaching. Mobile devices can be valuable tools for teaching and learning because they help deliver content through platforms on which digital natives are spending more and more of their time (i.e. smartphones, iPads, and laptop computers).
       Mobile learning can strengthen the learning opportunities teachers are attempting to create both in and outside the classroom. It can help promote student participation and engagement by taking the academic content to the mobile world in which students interact. For example, an English or social studies teacher may ask students to engage in discussions about a literary piece or historical event through a Facebook discussion board or Twitter. The shy students, who in a normal classroom setting may be hesitant to raise their hand and participate, may now feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts through familiar social media platforms such as Facebook. This type of interaction can happen both in and outside of class, as exemplified in the video below. Ultimately, mobile learning can strengthen learning opportunities by creating a learning environment that promotes “anywhere, anytime” learning.

       Of course, there are also barriers to mobile learning. One of the main barriers, in my opinion, is access; both in and outside the classroom. In schools, access is dependent on the number of computers available to students, technological resources available to teachers, and internet connectivity. Outside the classroom, where teachers may have academic content posted online for students, access may be limited by whether the student has a smartphone or whether there is a computer at home or a library nearby. However, there have recently been positive advances in helping to address this issue of access. The federal government, through its BroadbandUSA program has provided grants to a number of under-served communities to help increase internet access and access to mobile devices (such as laptops). You can read a brief note here on the details of the program in one of the communities that received the grant, Miami, Florida.

      Another barrier to mobile learning are issues of privacy and/or cyber-bullying, both of which are essentially an inevitable side-effect of mobile technologies and social media. The good news is that school administrators are taking action to help remediate these issues. Each year, more and more school districts across the U.S. are developing policy documents/guidelines and regulations on how to address these specific barriers. 

      Ultimately, mobile technology it creates opportunities for both teachers and students to innovate, create, and think outside the box to enrich and supplement academic content and facilitate learning.