Using Mobile technologies to promote Children's learning
(reading)
(reading)
Having recently bought a new mobile, a Nokia E63, I was wondering if I could use mobile phones to promote children's learning. The answer is....Yes!
I read the article called "Using Mobile technologies to promote Children's learning" by Carly Shler (2009). This article opened my eyes on new learning techniques using students mobile phones. It starts by stating key opportunities in mobile learning:
Encourage " anywhere anytime" learning as mobile devices allow students to gather, access and process information outside the classroom. Reach underserved children as thanks to their relatively low cost and accessibility in low - income communities, mobile phones can help advance digital equity. Improve 21st century social interactions as Mobile technologies have the power to promote and foster collaboration and communication. Fit with learning environment as mobiles can help overcome challenges associate with larger technologies. And finally, enable personalized learning experience as there are some significant opportunities to support autonomous and individualised learning.
All of these ideas are fabulous, but did they actually have some specific examples, and the answer is yes again...
For instance, a North Carolina's 2008-2009 teacher of the year asked her grade 6 students to translate passages from classic litterature into texting speech which demonstrated their comprehension of the text (Carly, 2009). Also, a Geohistorian project used mobile technologies to link classrooms to historical landmarks. Students could use their mobile phones to take videos, photos and audio clips of local landmarks, which were then transformed into movies taht students put on internet (Carly, 2006). Moreover, it can be used as a device to inform parents about parents-teachers meetings or even to inform them of the child's progress in their education. Furthermore, mobile technologies can empower kids to explore a whole range of environments through numerous games found in mobiles. The majority of such applications involve museum game or games about another town or city.
My first thoughts was: What about the underdeveloped countries? How would they use mobiles in their classrooms? Apparently, 80% of the world's population now lives within the range of a cellular network. For example, in Africa, the access to personal computers is limited but mobile devices are inexpensive and increasingly available (Aderinoye, Ojokheta & Olojede, 2007).
There are negative points about using mobiles as a learning tool. It increases the "screen time" and with the increasinh obesity in Australia, it can be seen as a flaw. Also, the difficulty to monitor children's access to inappropriate content. The concern that mobile phones can have a negative aspect on children's health...
To sum up, I think that there were some very useful points in this article about how to use mobile phones as a educational tool. Personally, I will probably use my future students' mobile phone only to take pictures and videos to enhance their learning. It is true that (right now) a mobile phone is less expensive than a bran new Mac, so it could be more accessible to students.
I now see my mobile phone completly differently...Much more educational power than what i thought before reading this article!
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