http://spark.qualcomm.com/salon/why-mobile-will-transform-learning-classroom-future
The main point of the article was to discuss how mobile learning devices can tranform the way schools teach students. It stated that we are still using the "industrial-era model" of teaching and that is not the best fit for the needs of the next generation entering the work force. This is important to discuss because the article stated "The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 65 percent of grade school kids in the United States will end up in jobs that have not yet been created". This projection tells us that we need to create learners who are able to problem solve in order to keep up with continuously developing resources.
A mobile classroom was defined as one in which students had constant access to a device that would connect them to information, their teacher, classmates, and different formats to show learning. The emphasis was to combine this technology with a curriculum that is more real-world based so students could have a greater connection to the content.
To test the impact of this style of learning, two studies were done on two groups of students. One group was of low-scoring, high school math students in the U.S. The other group was a third grade room in Singapore. The aim of both classes was to allow students to take responsibility of their own learning and make the teacher more of a mentor. The students used social networking to create podcasts, send instant messages, create videos, and more to show one another how to solve a problem. The teacher could post assignments and offer feedback as well. In both cases, the students experienced great success.
I agree with many points of this article, especially the importance of allowing students to problem solve using current resources. It is very important that they are given the opportunity to learn this way under the guidance of a teacher, as they will be required to do so on their own after they leave school.
Diving into this sort of learning head first at an elementary level may be difficult. However, parts can be adopted by giving students a topic, having them look up information that interests them online, and creating a presentation to show their understanding. The presentations could be a biteslide, podcast, Youtube video, etc. This could replace a teacher lecture format simply because the information is now avaible for them to find and interpret rather than the teacher being the only resource of knowledge.
I like that this article reminds us that we are preparing students for the future. The percentage given by the U.S. Department of Labor is a bit startling. It's amazing how quickly technology advances, it is very important we prepare students to enter this type of work force.
There is no doubt that mobile technology will transform learning, but again, the problem is the lack of monetary funds to be able to do that, and the lack of professional development that is offered to educate teacher on these devices.
ReplyDeleteThis movement also allows for the student directed approach to learning which I believe is kind of hard for some teachers, including myself. I catch myself to often wanting the kids to do it MY way because that's the right way, when in all honesty we know that often, there are many ways to do one task.