On the HorizonMobile Devices:Are They a Distraction or Another Learning Tool?

Abstract

FACULTY OFTEN CRINGE AT THE THOUGHT OF SMART PHONES, iPADS, iPODS, OR ANY OF THE VARIOUS NEW TABLET DEVICES IN THE CLASSROOM. They see them as distractions, certain that students are using them to read Facebook postings or text their friends during class. Some educators have responded by banning this new technology from learning space, demanding that students turn off their smart phones and keep their tablet computers stowed in their bags (Parry, 2011, p. 16). I love my new iPad2--it is effortless to use and it weighs next to nothing. But it has made me wonder about impact mobile will have on learning. The recent 2011 Horizon Report projects mobile learning's time to adoption as one or less with two convincing statements: 2015, 80% of people accessing Internet will be doing so from mobile devices and Internet-capable mobile will outnumber computers within next year (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, & Haywood, 2011, p. 12). As educators, we need to learn how to embrace mobile both inside and outside our classrooms. As Parry (2011, p. 16) suggests, We are called on as teachers to teach them [students] how to use these technologies effectively, to ensure that they end up on right side of digital divide: side that knows how to use social media to band together Parry believes that mobile web literacy is as important as basic literacy and a necessary skill for future employment. Yarmey's (2011) research also supports idea of promoting information literacy in a mobile environment. According to Schubert, president of Abilene Christian University and a pioneer in this area, Mobile-learning strategies can reconnect students to their peers, challenge them with real-world data, and involve them in real-world conversations--all providing relevance that students need for academic, social, and professional success (2011, p. 8). To provide evidence for his mobile initiative, Schubert cited a press release about 2009 National Survey of Student Engagement, which found students whose classes used course management technologies ... or interactive technologies ... scored higher on NSSE benchmarks, participated more in deep approaches to learning, and reported higher academic and personal gains during college (NSSE, 2009). He also cited research conducted by Carini, Kuh, and Klein (2006, p. 10), which demonstrated that student engagement is linked positively to desirable learning outcomes such as critical thinking and grades As we have all read from educational research and best practices, learning needs to be active, engaging, make connections to prior knowledge, and provide authentic, real-world learning experiences. Rodrigo (201 I) states that the promise of mobile learning is ability to engage students with creative and/or sophisticated content learning activities on their multimedia production devices. To achieve promise of mobile learning, we have to stop thinking about these powerful mobile multimedia as only consumption and get students using them as production devices So, it is time to put an end to death by PowerPoint and begin to engage our students, leveraging rather than banning these mobile devices. Creative Ideas for Engaging Students By using mobile learning, educator can promote three different types of literacy (Parry, 2011). The first is most obvious, understanding information access. It is fairly easy to call upon students to access information from their mobile to answer questions or solve problems in class. For example, you might present a case study of a patient and ask different groups of students to find information, such as, what diagnoses are associated with patient's signs and symptoms, what nursing interventions are appropriate as defined by their text or evidence (research or clinical guidelines), or what patient educational materials are available online. …