The Value of Mobile Technology in Teaching and Learning

This blog is called “Teaching Music in the 21st Century”. The twenty-first century is a highly digital environment and mobile technology holds a significant role within the context of teaching and learning as it serves as a “primary tool for both managing information and facilitating communication” (Summey, 2013, p. 158).  Mobile technology has become such an integral part of teaching and learning in recent years that students may not even realise the uniqueness of their learning world that they consider to be "normal". Blackboards, chalk and board dusters have been replaced by smart boards and whiteboard pens. In some classes even pen and paper are considered ancient writing implements. Technology is changing the way we teach, learn and interact and this blog will consider the value of mobile technology within planning, teaching, assessment and the experience for the learners.

                Firstly, mobile technology has been extremely beneficial to the planning that goes into each lesson for teachers. Mobile technology such as ipads and tablets provide a way for teachers to plan large scale tasks and lesson plans whilst on the go. Teachers can carry their tablets with them and have constant access to files that otherwise may have been at home saved in their computers. To encourage this “on-the-go” generation of teachers, an increasing number of institutions are providing their teachers and students with iPads for use in teaching and learning (Summey, 2013, p. 49).

                Mobile technology is also highly valuable to the teaching process itself. Jarvis suggests that the use of ICT in the classroom is “neither necessary nor sufficient for good teaching” (Jarvis, 2015, p. 11). However when used appropriately, to aid and compliment teaching rather than to be used as a substitute for teaching, ICT and mobile technology can be extremely useful. From personal experience, mobile technology is used most effectively in teaching when the process encourages class participation and interaction. One example of this is when the teacher may ask the students (in groups) to come up with a definition of a word on the board which has been displayed using Worlde.

                Assessment, being an integral part of teaching and learning, is another instance where mobile technology can be very useful. Socrative allows the teacher to instantly view the student’s scores on their iPad both individually and also in a pie chart format which indicates areas the teacher needs to revisit. Teachers are also able to use mobile technology to set and view assessment briefs and electronic submission of assignments which students can then save to their own mobile devices for constant referral (Petty, 2014, p. 364).

                Finally let us consider the way mobile technology has effected the learning experience for our students. It has been recognised that through mobile technology, not only the way we learn but also the spaces within which we learn have changed (Kidd & Czerniawski, 2010, p. 258). Students are able to search for e-books or journals whilst traveling on a train or bus. Students can also record lectures on their phones or listen back to seminars they might have missed that have been uploaded onto moodle. Thus, the learning experience has become more accessible to pupils through the use of mobile technology. This is totally radical compared to the teaching and learning experience of ten years ago. With the continuing developments of devices such as the iPad and android phones used both in the classroom and at home, “the engagement between the teacher’s pedagogical intentions and the students’ every day activity on the device is now becoming more common” (Gregson, et al., 2015, p. 185). Technology is changing and constantly evolving at a very fast pace. The task for teachers and learners, is to learn to adapt with these evolving technologies in order to stay relevant to today’s way of learning, teaching and receiving information.

 

References

Gregson, M. et al., 2015. Reflective Teaching inFfurther, Adult and Vocational Education. Fourth Edition ed. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

Jarvis, M., 2015. Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the Classroom. New York: Routledge.

Kidd, W. & Czerniawski, G., 2010. Successful Teaching 14 - 19: Theory, Practice and Reflection. London: sAGE.

Petty, G., 2014. Teaching Today: A Practical Guide. Fifth Edition ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Summey, D. C., 2013. Developing Digital Literacies: A Framework for Professional Learning. London: Corwin, A Sage Company.