Technology and Mobility – Mobile Learning 17th February 2009

I have categorised some of the thoughts I had about Mobile Learning into the advantages and disadvantages of technology in relation to learning and mobility.

Advantages of mobile learning/Pro’s:

• Facilitating learning – It’s great to be able to learn anywhere, anytime. You may come across some unexpected free time when a flight got delayed or something like this. You can then use this time to learn with the technology available.

• Often I find myself and other asking random questions like for example what the average size foot is for a woman. We can look it up instantly online or with a phone that has internet, most commonly the iTouch. It helps learning on the spot rather than thinking to oneself, I’ll look that up later and forgetting to do so. I believe that is easier for people to store information when their mind is actively interested in the topic at the time rather that try and re-call the interest at a later time to look it up. The emotional desire to find out the information and the reasoning behind it can often be forgotten by the time you look it up. I think that technology helps us access snippets of information that we question in our daily lives. Giving us the facility to absorb random interesting information at anytime and anyplace.

• You can create your own environment because the mobile technology allows you to locate where you are comfortable learning rather than being in a specific controlled environment. I feel this is more beneficial to creative learning as you are not under pressure to just get the work done so you can leave the controlled environment that has the tools you need but may be uncomfortable. The work may be more efficient in a controlled environment but less creative or have a lack exploration. The Design and Implementation of a Mobile Learning Resource by Sharples, Corlett and Westmancott gives an example of this “Microsoft of school students given laptop computers found that they used computers at home for a wider variety of learning tasks than a comparable control group with desktop machines.”

• We can collaborate with others around the world to educate each other and learn together. With no limit on time or location we are able to achieve this.

• It is very flexible and easy to work nearby people that we may need to have face to face interaction with at the same time as using technical tools if they are mobile.

• With no limit of location or time students are able to ask questions that they may not have thought of in class.

• We could always study in different places. Mobile learning was always there but now we may not have to carry around 300 papers. We can just bring around our laptop or bookmark all our resources online. Technology makes mobile learning more accessible and easier for us.

Disadvantages of mobile learning/Con’s:

• Studying in an unfamiliar I find there to be a lot more distractions. I find it harder to concentrate and fully benefit from the study as I would from an environment that I am used to working in. When I’m in a new environment I want to learn about that space so I get very distracting by everything going on in it. When I become accustomed to it then I am able to shut out the distractions and create my own place of work. I used to travel by train for forty minutes to and from college everyday. I found this time great for me to study and brainstorm. The fact that I was unable to do anything else on the journey encouraged me used the time to brainstorm or study. I was also used to using this space as my workplace and found it easier to sit anywhere and work.

• The presence of technology that allows us to work/learn anytime anywhere takes away defining boundaries between the work and recreational parts of our lives. It blurs the lines dividing work and home/recreation in our lives. We take away from our home lives by putting off work/study that we could do in college until we get home. We don’t separate our lives as clearly anymore. Equally as shown in the you tube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o) we don’t give as much attention in class if we are distracted by our social lives on the internet. We allow this to distract us knowing that we’ll catch up later on somewhere else. More than likely at home where we can relax a little more. The outcome is less beneficial classes and lack of focus on our work or recreational lives at a moment.

• We have to plan that all the resources are there for you to complete your work/study where ever you are. This was the same before technology though. You would have had to make sure you had all your learning tools before as well.