RESEARCH WINDOWS |
September/October 2013 | Learning & Leading with Technology 39
Development, “Integrating Technology into K– 12 Teaching and Learning:
Current Knowledge Gaps and Recommendations for Future Research,”
many typical technology issues, such
as access, beliefs, time, vision, and professional development, will also be a
barrier to the use of mobile technology
in education. Access is a barrier in that
the school may not own the technologies, or they may not work properly. A
teacher’s beliefs about the usefulness
of technology can cause the teacher to
choose not to incorporate it. Lack of
time is a hurdle because teachers need
Challenges of Mobile Learning
FIVE LEARNING APPROACHES
Learning Types Description Example
Contingent Students respond to the changes in environment
and experiences.
A student can be walking down the street and may see a word
on a billboard that interests him, so he looks it up then and there
on his mobile device. Learning was not planned, but it happened.
Situated Students learn in an environment appropriate to
their learning.
Students listen to a podcast about erosion as they examine rocks
in a quarry.
Authentic Tasks are directly related to the learning goals. Students use the vibration meter app as they learn about
earthquakes.
Context-Aware Students interact with the environment using the
tools on their mobile devices.
On a visit to a museum, a student scans a QR code to find out
more about a warrior helmet she is looking at.
Personalized Learning is customized to the preferences and
needs of each student.
As the students in the class are watching a short video clip
on their mobile devices, one student, who is hard of hearing,
realized his sound was too low. He stopped his video, turned
up the volume, and then continued to watch the video.
time to learn how to use the technology, and many feel that it requires even
more time during lessons to deal with
student misbehavior when technologies are in use. Lack of vision can also
be a barrier if there is not a strong administrative vision supporting the use
of technology, and professional development can have a negative effect if the
training lacks a connection to actual
classroom practice.
With every new initiative and idea,
it is always advisable to consider the
positives and negatives. In the case of
m-learning, many of these changes are
driven by the students’ desire to use
tools they are familiar with from
their everyday lives. They do not
want to power down as they enter
the school. The use of mobile devices
also offers many unique opportunities
to transform learning and teaching
into a more meaningful, authentic
experience.
The challenges will always be there,
but we can avoid many with appropriate planning. After all, the Apollo
mission likely had much larger challenges, but it was worth figuring
them out to reach the moon.
