One of the trends in instructional technology that I found fascinating
is mlearning. Mlearning is a means of
distance instruction using a handheld device.
For me, mlearning is not just about using a mobile device, but it is
about creating new forms of pedagogy that facilitates learning that is more personalized,
situated, authentic, flexible, and participatory. For example, there are so many barriers to
providing training and support to educators in remote areas and there are so
many possibilities for creating formal and informal learning communities using
mlearning in these areas. Interestingly, 2/3 of all digital subscribers live in
developing countries which indicates a great potential for disciplines, like
teacher training, that are needed in under-resourced areas that do not have
access to professional development opportunities.
How will it impact learning and education?
In my field of teacher training with non-traditional
students, mlearning has really opened my thinking about course delivery as well
as about my own philosophies of teaching and learning. Mlearning focuses on the needs of the learner
and provides such quick access to a feedback loop. It can also focus a lot on the collaboration
potential of learning communities across settings that have been routinely
isolated. I think that the challenge of
using mlearning is going to be not only in improving access to education but
maybe more importantly in exploring how the use of mobile devices is going to
create new approaches to learning. I think that new instructional methods will
need to explored and I think that our methods will need to become more
collaborative and participatory for mlearning to have an impact beyond the
benefits of distance learning.
As an
instructional technologist, what do you need to do to keep up with this trend?
In
order to keep up with this trend, I will need to attend conferences and network
with other individuals who are using mlearning.
I met some researchers at a recent technology conference who were funded
to develop a mlearning program at a private school in India as well as a
researcher in India who was investigating attitudes towards mlearning as part
of a dissertation. I also think I will
need to start experimenting myself with mlearning modules in my classes…perhaps
during the second summer session with a group of grad students (classroom teachers)
in a child development class. Summer
session for teachers has the feeling of summer camp sometimes, and innovative
experiences seem to be more readily embraced during July!
Provide
three resources (an article, web url and a video) that provide more information
on this trend and explain why these resources stood out to you.
This
wiki article documented a study of mobile learning combined with other modes of
distance education at the Bangladesh Open University. The developers compared traditional TV
programming version of distance learning and a combined TV version and mlearning
(SMS). The interactive aspect of
mlearning was the factor that contributed to the enhanced performance of the
individuals who were in the combined group.
The combined traditional distance learning materials supplemented by
mlearning support a demonstrated in this study would be so beneficial to my
rural remote nontraditional students.
This
video refers to Roamable projects, and is a professional development approach
to supplementing training. Learners
forget much of what is taught in a classroom, yet with a mlearning app that
provides real-time solutions to situations where a learner is stymied. When the learner is stuck, they can pick up
their mobile device and can “roam” their way through the lesson to the point
where they need immediate assistance.
They can review the information and even contact the trainer to receive
input/feedback on the spot. This would
be an incredible approach to supporting first year teachers!
Valk,
J., Rashid, A., Elder, L. (2010). Using mobile phones to improve educational
outcomes: An analysis of the evidence from Asia. International
Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 11(1).
An
article that I read reviewed mlearning projects that were underway in several
developing countries in Asia. I enjoyed
learning about the specifics of each project as well as the outcomes that each
researcher reported. They all looked
into access issues as well as new pedagogy approaches. For the most part, students in the various
studies found (a) the scheduling freedom important in terms of the other
responsibilities they had in their lives, (b) the interactivity was enjoyable,
and (c) the immediate feedback was very motivating. This article is important to me in my work
with nontraditional students and my interest in international teacher
education.
Design one activity using this trend that can be applied for
teaching and learning. One way that I want to use mlearning this summer with my
class is to collaborate with them in developing an mlearning tool that we could
provide to parents regarding common topics or issues in child development. I think that parents are often busy and
sometimes overly busy, and a mlearning option for a “chunk” of interactive
parenting education could be one of those “just-in-time” learning experiences.
Re-use
information that you shared for your main post in the discussion forum.
