Teaching and learning have been taking place in human cultures since the advent of humans as a species; a lovely definition of teaching is a 'high-fidelity transmission of information, skills, and technology between individuals, facilitating both cumulative knowledge gain and normative culture' (Fogarty et al, 2011). Anything that can aid this process will be of value.
Here, we will explore mobile technology as a means of aiding the teaching process.
First, it will be useful to have a definition of mobile technology. Traxler (2005) contends that m-learning (mobile learning) takes place when the 'sole or dominant technologies are hand or palm-held devices.' He goes on to provide a list of devices that this definition could cover. As may be expected, this includes smart-phones, tablets and laptops, and excludes desktop computers. So, mobile technologies are those which are portable and are able to access the internet.
This portability means that m-learning can take place in many locations. However, it would be naive to propose that m-learning can be at any place at any time, because some environments are not suitable for mobile devices and indeed are not suitable for teaching or learning. This is the first indication that m-learning is not a panacea and considerations for ensuring the learning environment is appropriate need to be taken into account when utilising m-learning.
One of the biggest benefits of m-learning is the potential for distance learning. Thomas (2013) in her Guardian article, discusses the benefit that students on an MSc had from being able to access all there course materials on iPads that they were given before they set off to remote parts of the world. The same article also discusses the benefits of 'social learning'. This social learning can take the form of students having access to each other's annotations on a piece of reading, or allowing them to see where other students are on campus.
There can be unintended consequences when introducing technology to students. Routet et al (2001) argue that learners may expect any technology they are using to be able to solve all of their learning problems, and that they may become dependent on it to the point of ignoring other methods of learning. This is something to be wary of when using m-learning. The ability to google answers does not mean that it should always be used as a way of getting information and answering questions.
Gardener (1983) proposed a theory of multiple intelligence. He suggested 8 aspects to intelligence: spatial, linguisitic, bodily-kinaesthetic, logical-mathematical, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic. M-learning, which makes use of devices that are able to store video, sound and text files, is able to appeal to aspects of a learners intelligence profile that traditional teaching methods cannot.
With innovations in any field, it is important to test what is possible and to determine what benefits will accrue from their use, as well as exploring any possible downside. M-learning is no different, and indeed from this short exploration we can see that there are some seemingly great benefits to be had. The ability for learners to be at a distance from their teachers is particularly useful. However, it is important to acknowledge that as beneficial as m-learning may be, it is not revolutionary, so attention still needs to be given to the core aspects of quality teaching.
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References
Fogarty, L., Strimling, P., & Laland K.N. (2011) The evolution of teaching Evolution 1:1-11
Gardener, H. (1983) Frames of Mind New York, NY: Basic Book Inc
Keengwe, J., & Barghava, M. (2013) Mobile learning and integration of mobile technologies in education Education Information Technology 19:737-746 Springer Science
Routet, J. F., Levonen, J., Biardeau, A. (2001) Multimedia learning cognitive and instructional issues Oxford:Elsevier Science Ltd
Thomas, K. (2013). Students stuck in remote parts? There's an app for that. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/feb/18/distance-learning-through-technology. Last accessed 25 Nov 2014
Traxler J. (2005) Defining mobile learning IADIS international conference on mobile learning Retrived from http://iadis.net/dl/final_uploads/200506C018.pdf
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