Mobile Learning

 

I'm going to discuss the definition of mobile learning, its advantages and disadvantages and whether we can use it at schools.

 

We have taken the definition of ML in our technology class and it's as follow:

 

“learning that happens across locations, or that takes advantage of learning opportunities offered by portable technologies” (Chuang, 2009, p. 51).

What I have understood from the definition is that ML is the learning that we can get through any device of technology that we can take with us whenever and wherever we want. For example, we can learn from our smart phones because we can download different educational program. For instance, we can download electronic dictionaries, grammatical rules, English idioms, stories and other things. Even if we can't download them, we can access internet and use them! So this is learning. Another device that we can learn from and we can take with us is laptop. Through laptops we can access internet, there should be connection of course, and search for what we want. Without internet connection, we can use different programs for our study. For example, we can use Microsoft Word to write our assignments or Power Point to design our presentation. We can do so any where even in the car or bus.

Examples of mobile devices

 

So if we consider that we our learning is this kind of learning, what are the advantages?

# It's student-centered which means that students are taking responsibilities for their learning and the teacher is facilitator. So they change from being passive to active.

# It enhances students' motivation. Students feel more motivated whenever they use technology. They find it enjoyable.

# It is at anytime and anywhere. We have done this in our technology course through Whatsapp. We discussed an educational topic and we were in different places (anywhere) and there wasn't a specific time to chat, at anytime.

# less expensive. I disagree with this if the country is the one that provides the devices. How many students do we have?! Not only that, if the device is broken or doesn't work, who will pay for that?! If it's the country, then it's better to learn in the normal way, through books. However, If students have to bring their devices, then we have to think about poor students who don't have enough money to buy, so this will be a challenge for them.

The following short video shows how Mobile Learning is useful. There are other videos about Mobile learning on Youtube

What are the disadvantages?

# Students may use technology to cheat in exams. For example, the exam is through mobile phones, students may send the answers to one another through Whatsapp. Also, students may cheat if the test is online. I saw those who cheated last year in one of the courses. The course was on moodle and we have everything there. On the day of the exam which is also on the moodle, I saw many students open the materials and looked for the answers from there. The instructor made a mistake that he forgot to remove the materials of the course from the moodle since he trusted his students.

# It can distract students. Sometimes the teacher asks students to do a certain task but they surf on the internet, doing something else. They don't only distract themselves but also the students sitting beside or behind them if they are using computers. Actually, this happened this semester in our technology class. Some of the students surf the internet while the instructor was explaining when he asked us to do a group discussion.

# If students' learning is through technology only, we will hinder their thinking, creativity or cognitive skills in general, how is that? Supposedly, I'm teaching them reading; they will use online dictionaries to find the new words instead of trying to guess the meaning from context. They choose the fastest way.

Can we use Mobile learning at schools?

Yes, we can but the government should reconstruct schools in a way that facilitates the use of technology. Also, teachers and students should be trained to use the technology.

If I think about my future, I don't think that I'm going to use this learning. Personally, I prefer the normal way of teaching. I may integrate technology within my teaching but I will not totally rely on technology. However, if the system will be changed in all the schools of Sultanate, I would use it but I will first find programs that enable me to know the students who are off task or who are cheating. I would also encourage students to develop their cognitive skills, not to hinder them.

I have learned in our technology class that there are 5 ways in which mobiles are used in education. They are the following:

 

1. Audience Response Systems

2. Camera: Stills/Videos

3. Voice Recorders: Podcasts, etc.

4. Applications

5. Research via the internet (Google, Wiki’s, blogs