Mobile learning goes beyond the mobile device
Mobile learning is not about the device. It is the door that the device opens to learning. It is about the technological opportunity it provides people to become lifelong learners. Mobile learners learn on a device like an iPad, or smartphone in any environment including the classroom, a train, the back seat of a school bus, in a restaurant or in any other place in which they feel comfortable learning.
Mobile learning in the classroom eliminates the need to haul students to the computer lab to access the internet. It is also a promising method for students who want to veer away from the classroom. Mobile learning provides learners with access to virtual learning on a small device in any environment.
For example, if a student misses a class the teacher post a video, audio, or notes online for the student to access from anywhere. It provides teachers the opportunity to flipped learning by feeding the lesson to the students the night before so that they can interact with it the next day in class groups. Students do not need to be at home to access this information.
“Mobile learning has huge business potential, but the most exciting and rewarding aspect of these solutions is that students of any age or background might have the chance to pursue knowledge that is meaningful and relevant to them. Integrating technology, and specifically, mobile technology early and often prepares students for the new reality.”
Mobile learning is for everyone
For those who are not in school, mobile learning provides instant access to learning. When we a GPS to find our way, or an app to translate a language or search for a quick answer to an obscure fact, we are mobile learners. Transfer the ease that mobile learning in this context provides us to the classroom and you can see its benefits.
Mobile Learning and e-learning
Mobile-learning in conjunction with e-learning changes how you learn, where you learn, and when you learn. E-learning on a mobile device personalizes learning by giving students more control over how they pace themselves. It gives some students the chance to rewind or review what material without holding up the class. It gives students time to practice a task until they reach mastery rather than missing the mark because of the pressure of having to learn at someone else’s predetermined rate. Mobile learning allows that the pace in which someone learns does not determine how smart they are. It allows the student to take learning beyond the classroom.
Mobile-friendly Mobile learning
When mobile technology emerged, people tried to turn desktop information into something you could shrink to a size for a mobile device. When you find educational software that claims to be mobile friendly, check to see that it was made for a mobile first and not for a desktop first. Software made for desktops first tends to be sluggish. Mobile-first software feels comfortable to use on a phone or tablet.
What makes mobile learning effective?
Effective mobile learning is carefully constructed to engage the learner. Disengaging content includes watching a video lecture, or a teacher do all of the problem-solving rather than the student. Engaging content asks the students to answer questions, make inquiries, and interact with what they learn. Effective mobile learning enhances problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Try: interact with a lesson
Engaging the student
Engaging content also provides instant feedback to students, teachers, and parents. Students not only have instant access to their progress and grades, but they also get feedback to the questions they answer and the problems they solve. Engaging content can provide a universal or global audience for whom the learner can share his or her work through games, presentation or chats.
The beauty of mobile learning
Mobile promotes learning in all venues, at all times for all people. It takes education out of the public-school systems and universities and moves it across generations and nations.