Mobile learning

Mobile learning

Mobile learning is learning in the classroom with the aid of tablets, smart phones, and mobile technology. It is learning that is collaborative and accessible anywhere. Mobile learning is the ability to obtain or provide educational content on personal pocket devices such as PDAs, smart phones and mobile phones. Educational content refers to digital learning assets which includes any form of content or media made available on a personal device. Mobile learning using handheld computers is in its infancy in terms of both technologies and pedagogies. As a result there is still some dispute amongst industry advocates in how mobile learning should be defined: in terms of devices and technologies; in terms of the mobility of learners and the mobility of learning, and in terms of the learners’ experience of learning with mobile devices. Most researchers and educators probably view mobile learning as the immediate descendant of e-learning. Pinkwart, et al. (2003) for example, defines e-learning as ‘learning supported by digital “electronic” tools and media’, and by analogy, mobile learning as ‘elearning that uses mobile devices and wireless transmission’. Quinn (2000) defined it earlier, as simply learning that takes place with the help of mobile devices, or the intersection of mobile computing (the application of small, portable, and wireless computing and communication devices) and elearning (learning facilitated and supported through the use of information and communications technology). In line with this definition, several authors (e.g., Turunen, et al. 2003) view mobile devices as a pervasive medium that may assist us in combining work, study and leisure time in meaningful ways. Traxler (2005) defined it as “any educational provision where the sole or dominant technologies are handheld or palmtop devices.” How is that different from e-learning? E-learning has come to define any dissemination of educational knowledge over the Internet. This makes e-learning a subset of technology-based training. It also incorporates a number of learning activities conducted on the Internet, of which mobile learning is one part

Differentiating e-learning from mobile learning E-learning can be real-time or self-paced, also known as "synchronous" or "asynchronous" learning. Additionally, e-learning is considered to be “tethered” (connected to something) and presented in a formal and structured manner. In contrast, mobile learning is often self-paced, un-tethered and informal in its presentation. e-learning m-learning lecture in classroom or internet labs learning anywhere, anytime e-mail-to-e-mail instantaneous messaging private location no geographic boundaries travel time to reach to internet site no travel time with wireless internet connectivity Because mobile devices have the power to make learning even more widely available and accessible, mobile devices are considered by many to be a natural extension of e-learning. Mobile Learning – A timeline To understand why we’re in an exciting period in mobile learning education, it is important to take a look at the technologies and developments that have gone into making learning accessible to people on the move. This convergence of mobile information and enabling technologies has significantly impacted the way users interact with information on a daily and immediate basis.

Benefits of mobile learning

•     Students can learn when they are alert

•     Students can learn from anywhere and at anytime

•     Encourage lifelong learning

•     Reach learners in remote locations

•     Learning is learner-centered

•     Cater for different learning preferences

•     Students learn in context

•     Educate the special needs

•     Remove barriers to learning

•     Educate females

•     Engage “lost” youth

•     Educate the displaced due to natural and human disasters

•     Education is human rights

•      reduce illiteracy

•     Productive society

•     Improve quality of life

•     Raise people’s self-esteem

•     Change the world for the better

•     Increasing use of open educational resources

•     More peer to peer tutoring

•     Cloud tutoring

•     Smart learning

•     Effective learning

•     Digitization of e materials