CDETG Panel Questions (June 3rd 2011)

I was asked to talk about trends in mobile devices in education by the Capital District Educational Technology Group. Here is what I talked about as one panelist of many exploring related topics.

CDETG Panel Questions (June 3rd 2011)

My Summary - Technology Trends

• Moving Target (Full time job keeping track of the trends and predicting which ones will benefit you the most)(impact, staying power, etc...)
• HTML5 (gaining strength in the industry, supplanting Flash, more secure, more programmers, support on multiple platforms)
• Web Conferencing (Adobe Connect Professional)
• Remote Computing (GoTo My PC)
• Should be done with an eye toward learning theory (learning outcomes based, active learning, collaboration, solving problems, and student lead)

What is the rationale for implementing mobile learning technologies?

• Learning will need to occur where the student needs it to occur. 
• Learning will shift from remembering facts and figures to understanding and applying concepts and skills as the ability to look up information from reputable sources will replace rote memorization. (Dependent on a complete overhaul of the education system of many countries including the U.S.). 

Will increased use of shorthand in synchronous and asynchronous communication affect students' writing ability in the long term?

• Yes, I believe it already has. 
• Many experts with brilliant minds will be needed to ensure this does not occur or damage student writing in the future. 
• Continuing the require long form submissions (papers, and other long writing based learning activities) from students is one key tactic. 
• A shift to voice controlled mobile applications and similar technologies may shift society away from shorthand.

Will brevity of expression trump depth of knowledge?12

• Once again learning will shift from remembering facts and figures to understanding and applying concepts and skills as the ability to look up information from reputable sources will replace rote memorization. (Dependent on a complete overhaul of the education system of many countries including the U.S.), so yes expression along with demonstration of skills and concepts will trump knowledge.

Will it become easier for students to cheat during tests? Is this issue relevant to twenty-first-century learning?

• I think this will hold a lot less relevance in twenty-first learning. Practical application of skills and concepts designed to be assessed on a mobile or in person method could authenticate a students’ mastery. 
• It does depend upon the assessment method and type. One would design an assessment that evaluates that particular student and thus may evaluate something slightly different and once again shy away from facts, figures, dates and rote memorization less.

What course content is suitable for transmission to mobile computing/communication devices?

• All course content. It all depends upon how it is designed. The paradigm of valuing a student for how much they can memorize must dissipate in favor of mastery of skills, concepts, thinking critically, problem solving, evaluation, and application. 

Will the quality of communication and interaction be enhanced or diminished by adopting mobile learning pedagogy?

• Well, we know the quantity will increase but it will depend heavily on the method of content delivery. 
• Some studies have suggested that the wallflowers interact more in a mobile classroom than they would in a brick and mortar classroom. 
• If the learning activity (perhaps a debate discussion) is designed to ensure interactivity by requiring it for higher or even passing evaluation then I see this being successful. In fact at Excelsior College a few of our better designed and redesigned courses are already increasing substantive interaction over older first round versions of the same courses. 

Do mobile devices allow students to interact with peers and instructors at the same level and quality as if they were participating using a PC?

• I believe mobile devices give more opportunities for students to work on an assignment. Think back to when you were in college, if you were out with friends and you forgot to complete an assignment you were forced to remember when you arrived home to complete the work. ith a mobile device at the very least you could make yourself a calendar entry with e-mail or sound reminders. In addition one could actually complete the learning activity now with mobile applications such as Mobile Bb Learn Blackboard application or a simple mobile web browser with CMS sites such as Moodle 4iPhone or Android applications. 
• I used to take long plane rides back from college for holidays and could have tied up any loose ends to my courses during the flight with mobile learning except of course during takeoff and landing. I also used to swim for SUNY Oswego and during long bus rides had to work clumsily in note books and carry a large school bag in addition to my food and swim bag. 

Will a shift in emphasis from e-learning to mobile learning increase the gap between the haves and have-nots?

• This is a good question and I think the answer lies once again in how an educational institution handles this issue. Some educational institutions have already started to issue iPads or Android tablets to starting freshmen and some of those institutions have rolled that cost right into tuition. Similar programs have begun in K-12 schools as well. 
• Cell phones are even more common so by accommodating any “smart phone” platform you should be able to bridge the gap to most of those than do not have much as I think in most cases they have at least that communication device back to Mom and Dad. 
• Schools could use a service such as Gabcast to ensure even those with out a mobile phone can use a land line (payphone, or local public library) to participate in class. 

Will the quality of the instructional content be improved, enhanced, or downgraded by transferring to a mobile-compatible format?

• Simply moving to a mobile platform without a complete shift in the learning paradigm will not improve the quality of instructional content. 
• This movement toward mobile learning is an excellent time to make a fundamental shift in our think about how students learn, what is important to bring out into the field, into the more than eight jobs per lifetime that a student will see, and to enable a student to shoot for mastery in a given area of study but always be accepting of lifelong learning. 

What types of resistance to change will faculty and students experience?

• I think it will be very hard for faculty to learn to teach differently from the way they were taught. It has been many years since the phrase “guide on the side rather than sage on the stage” was coined and yet I personally do not see much movement toward acceptance of what that really means. 
• I believe students will have an easier time adjusting. Students are already learning from their mobile devices albeit from perhaps a commercial or gaming sense. It is still learning. A student can start to understand the concept of supply and demand or competition in business by using mobile applications such as Groupon, Foursquare, Google Latitude, and more. Weather applications for an earth scientists are a boon as every student if carrying around a mobile weather station complete with radar. 

How will the instructor's role change?

• Classroom management will change to asking probing questions, ensuring student to student interactions are effective, efficient, constructive, and positive. 
• Instructors moving to teaching online after teaching “on the ground” tend to mention how much more students write and thus they must read, evaluate and respond, quite a moderate amount without interfering with student to student mentoring, constructive criticism and more. 
• Once again it is very important to design these courses to prompt interaction, learning of concepts, mastery of skills, synthesis of knowledge, evaluation of peers, evaluation of self, and application of concepts and skills. 

12 Citations Corbeil, J. & Corbeil, M. (2007). Are You Ready for Mobile Learning? Frequent use of mobile devices does not mean that students or instructors are ready for mobile learning and teaching. Educause Quarterly Magazine, v30 (2).