To those who have been working to promote mobile learning the claim that mlearning is here to stay is no surprise. The fact that we use many different names to describe the use of technology to enhance the learning environment, which exists all the time everywhere, is also no surprise because the pendulum swings in education result in many old ideas becoming new again. This blog post and the hundreds more like it are part of the assurance that we have reach a tipping point with mobile learning. Perhaps the key to why mobile learning is here to stay is that it is a very empowering ideal that places the control of learning back with the individual–where is always should have been.
Another wonderful take away from the post is the citing of the EDUCAUSE definition for mobile learning:
Using portable computing devices (such as laptops, tablet PCs, PDAs, and smart phones) with wireless networks enables mobility and mobile learning, allowing teaching and learning to extend to spaces beyond the traditional classroom. Within the classroom, mobile learning gives instructors and learners increased flexibility and new opportunities for interaction. Mobile technologies support learning experiences that are collaborative, accessible, and integrated with the world beyond the classroom (EDUCAUSE Editors, 2012).
The key in this definition is that the learner is once again in control and people outside of the learning theory community are finally recognizing and accepting that learning happens in the world OUTSIDE of the classroom.
Read the full post…
EDUCAUSE Editors. (2012). M-Learning and Mobility. EDUCAUSE. Retrieved February 21, 2012, from http://www.educause.edu/ELI/LearningTechnologies/MLearningandMobility/12397
