Mobile Technology Belongs in the Classroom Because it is the Classroom!

As noted in this article, mobile technology offers a lot of interactive and creative ways to increase engagement in the learning process. A key, it seems to me, is to reverse engineer mobile tools. Let's teach "students" how to use mobile technology for better education results -- enhanced engagement via posing questions and reflection. Rather than teach how to use technology to increase access to content in a blended classroom, let's show how to use the tools people are already using (Facebook and other social media tools) to increase the teaching/educational content and value. From there it will be just a logical step into the classroom. When students are handing in learning projects with their mobile technology, it will become obvious that these tools not only belong in the classroom, the tools are essentially the classroom. 

We are already using these tools for advocacy and as we realize that advocacy is one of the most potent forms of learning (engagement, passion, message, purpose), then the more advocacy assignments, the more mobile tools will be used. 

Recent upsurge in violence around the world also reminds us of the importance of safety in the classroom includes getting to and from class. With mobile technology, participants do not have to congregate in one classroom (with added possibilities for those wanting to disrupt class) and also they do not have to travel to and from a central place. Mobile learning is decentralized. 

An article in the New Republic "How Silence Became a Luxury Product" reminds me of some of the subtler reasons that online learning can be a benefit. There is just so much less hassle associated with the online experience, at least most of the time. I understand that sometimes the Internet is down and sometimes a person's technological skills are not what they should be, but to me at least, learning in the relative quiet of my home or other location can be quite relaxing when we spend so much of our time engaged in life. This ability to focus can help us turn some of that engagement onto ourselves and our learning.

Improved access to quality education should be a real advantage for social mobility -- it is an answer to a number of struggles that those that have been economically marginalized because it provides access. So much has been made about the fact that you need a computer and internet access to fully participate in online learning. What is forgotten is that to participate in f2f learning you need access to car, car insurance, gas, etc.

Obviously, blended and online classes have to be academically rigorous and challenging. I wonder though if we are giving the same analysis to our f2f classes. I think there should be oversight for all classes, while retaining academic independence.

Let's not forget also that it is not only what we learn in terms of content but where we learn. "Inside the Executive Brain," by Andrew Blackman, published in the Wall Street Journal notes that "39% of people do their best thinking at home." Some people may not perform at their best cognitively in the classroom setting, especially at night. Online/Blended learning will give people the opportunity to tackle academic topics when they feel most able to be creative and do the work necessary.

Online learning has the potential to open up access to a large number of underserved populations -- including those with disabilities that limit access to f2f classrooms. These include those with mobility disabilities, of course, but also includes those with disabilities that might limit success in any traditional classroom, such as those with issues talking in class, interacting with authority, etc. This is not to say that online does not have to make any accommodations to those with special needs, just to say that online learning offers solutions to many learning barriers.

One solution to accommodations within the online environment is the notion of universal access, which is the instructional design mechanism to make sure that online learning situations are navigable to all.

In terms of instructional design, some schools are moving away from the essay/paper as the best way to measure learning because students have become so adept at giving instructors what they want to hear in papers. The Wall Street Journal's July 3, 2014 "Want to Get Into Business School? Write Less, Talk More"  focuses on the move away from evaluating people on the written word and using alternative methods like interviews and quick response writing that measures people's ability to think quickly and express themselves well and authentically. Perhaps other academic assessments should also be moving towards a more blended approach to measuring effectiveness.