Integrating Mobile Technologies into Educational Settings
Part 1:
What I Have Learned
I’ve learned that when it comes to integrating mobile technology into the educational setting there is much more than meets the eye. There is a lot going on “behind the scenes”, what you see, is not always what you get, or what you want.
Affordances
What I mean is there is so much to consider. I used to only ask myself, “Does it work? Is it engaging and motivating? Does it serve its purpose?”. After weeks in this course I have begun to think of a wider array of affordances that affect a larger range such as cognitive, technical, media, and more. I think of the purpose, the intended learning the technology wishes to accomplish, the learning deficiency the technology hopes to address, the existing technology/infrastructure, the stakeholders who seek to benefit from this techs integration.The supports set in place and evaluate measures used to assess. There is a clear and apparent need for training for both students and educators in realizing the true potential of mobile devices in the classroom.
RASE Learning and Design Framework
Implicit/Informal/Formal
“Learning no longer is primarily the domain of schools, colleges, universities, and corporate training environments. Perhaps 80 or 90 percent of learning is nontraditional or informal” Bonk, C. (2012)
The way learners are gather content and information in the 21st Century is significantly different then the learners of previous centuries. Learning is happening everywhere, sometimes when the learner doesn’t even realize it. Mobile Technology Designers are studying habits and strategies of formal, informal and non-formal learners to develop and design their products/software. Educators are also implementing strategies once reserved for outside of the classroom and bringing them into their environments and settings. By making the learning experience more authentic and personalized the learning is becoming seamless. Students are learning wherever and whenever changing the dynamic of affect of time and space.
“If teachers want to extract the maximum learning benefit from using apps of this type and design, they should pay careful attention to how they are integrated into larger topics or units, rather than expect them to stand alone or function in isolation as [science] learning experiences.” Falloon, G. (2017).
21st Century Skills
As learners of the 21st century grow and develop technology and digital media play an important part in their lives. Tweens and teens are consuming media on average from 6-10 hours per day. They are multitasking while working, playing video games, streaming music and TV, watching online videos and socially interacting across many platforms. All these digital medias are all being consumed by these young learners. They are also connected to a communities large and small, near and far. Mobile devices give children 24/7 access to media, and not everything out there is educational, appropriate, or safe. Digital media can support growth and learning when used wisely and properly and awareness. Students require Digital Citizenship. Having digital citizenship is to help students to learn, communicate and collaborate safely and responsibly. Being a digital citizen in the community includes having email etiquette, reporting and preventing cyber bullying, learning how to protect private information, the ability to validate or vet a source’s credibility, avoid plagiarism, avoid inappropriate content, and more.
“59% of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, and a similar share says it’s a major problem for people their age. At the same time, teens mostly think teachers, social media companies and politicians are failing at addressing this issue.” Pew Research Center, 2018
Here are some 21st Century Skills our future and present learners will need to have to thrive
Part 2:
My Views On Mobile Tech and Learning
My views on mobile technology as learning devices has not wavered. In fact they have grown stronger as I have been exposed to new theories, models, topics, and frameworks. Through my interactions with my peers, instructors, and coursework I have grasped on tighter to my beliefs of authentic and personalized learning. I now consider design theories and affordances more than ever before and understand that a lot goes into to integrating mobile technology into the learning environment. This has helped me in relation to my final project when I dig deep and think about why it is a good plan or beneficial to integrate my mobile technology: WeVideo. I will be looking deep into the affordances provided, the learning problem and deficiency and my design principles plan.
References
Bonk, C. J. (2012). Technology enhanced teaching: From tinkering to tottering to totally extreme learning. Plenary presentation at the 1st International Conference on Open and Distance Learning, Manila, The Philippines.
Falloon, G. (2017). Mobile devices and apps as scaffolds to science learning in the primary classroom. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 26(6), 613–628.
Haßler, B., Major, L., & Hennessy, S. (2016). Tablet use in schools: A critical review of the evidence for learning outcomes. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 32(2), 139–156.
Pew Research Center, September 2018, “A Majority of Teens Have Experienced Some Form of Cyberbullying ”
I think like yours, my view has changed to. I believe after studying in this class and my previous class I have also startsed to look more behind the scenes. Technology for me has become more of “what’s the long term effect” rather than the “does it work” or what’s the purpose”.
Another great comparison you make is the “daytrip on a whim”. My question here becomes this… if we are trained as educators, and administrators are also trained as educators, where along the line do we determine that it is ok to just assume we can use technology without formal training? Afterall, we do not allow our students to take assessments without first teaching them material… isn’t really the same notion?