The rise of popular mobile tech has had far-reaching and gigantic effects. It has without any doubt changed a lot of aspects of life. The rise in mobile app development is due to evolving market demands. The propagation of mobile devices and the limitless range of uses that human ingenuity has put mobile tech in meant a dramatic change for the different sectors of society.
With the expertise and skills of mobile app developers, mobile technology has enabled people to work better and to be more productive in the workplace. It has given us wider leisure and recreational options, and of course more opportunities for communication and personal growth, and has a great hand in simplifying our day-to-day tasks. Now, more than ever, we have more information in our hands.
It has become second nature for people to look up helpful resources swiftly via smartphones. Our gadgets additionally could even anticipate the information that we might need and present it to us when it is of most use. Mobiles have penetrated and impacted various sectors, and the education field is no exception.
How Mobiles are changing the Education Space
Mobile tech has greatly impacted the education field. The mobile tech revolution, whether in K-12 or higher education is more than ever fundamentally changing the field. The new face of education today is mobile learning.
In a study, around 80 percent of Grade 9 to 12 students, about 65 percent of Grade 6 to 8 students, and 45 percent Grades 3 to 5 are using smartphones and connected to their schools 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The statistics show a bright future in the education space, the same as in transportation, healthcare, and other industries. Mobile app development has become a booming industry indeed. Mobile app developers are sure to have their hands full as the demand grows.
Transforming the Learning and Teaching Process
#1. Students can learn anytime, anywhere
These days, students are no longer confined to their classrooms to learn. With mobile devices, they could work on their assignments while at home, while on the bus or in between classes. This is a great benefit to students in remote areas since they can seamlessly utilize learning management platforms as well as digital education from their mobiles. This way, mobile tech is enabling students to learn anytime, anywhere, aside from in the classroom.
#2. Instantaneous feedback
Before digitization rocked the education world, students had to wait for tutors and teachers to grade their assignments and exams. Now, students could get instant feedback. This is beneficial since they could promptly apply learned lessons. Student performance remarkably increases when feedback is promptly given.
#3. More collaborative classrooms
Mobile tech also has made collaboration between a student and teacher much easier. Both parties can now communicate and collaborate inside and outside the classroom in an effective and fast manner. With the help of technology and the cloud, sharing documents among students when working on group assignments, participating in discussion forums, and using video conferencing is possible. These tools make for a more successful and compact learning process.
#4. Learning becomes Fun
Traditional learning is no longer effective. Mobile gaming applications, like word puzzles, number riddles, and math games have become great alternatives to bring more fun to learning. Thus, students, these days don’t learn and play separately, they get to learn while they play.
#5. Interactive learning
Mobile tech has made learning more interactive and engaging compared to the traditional way, wherein concepts were theoretically conveyed with textbooks. New technologies, like for instance animated learning via augmented reality and apps are converting how education is becoming personalized.
These techs furthermore empower two-way interactions where educators could walk students through solving a math problem as well as exhibit new concepts with the use of mobile devices. Consider for example augmented reality that helps recreate historic events or walk through geographical locations, which enable immersive learning.
#6. Alters Student and Teacher roles
With the mobile tech evolution, student and teacher roles have altered. Now, students are more active and engaged in the process, and educators are no longer just delivering information. Tutors also have become facilitators and not just information dispensers anymore.
Five Ways to use Mobile Tech in Classrooms
#1. Audio Recording Feature
Often, students need quality and personal feedback on their tasks. The in-built audio recording features in most smart devices could be used by teachers to provide personal yet quality feedback to their students. Research proved that students not only like feedback in this manner but preferred it as well.
#2. Chats and Online Forums
Even outside the classroom, teachers could exploit group chat and forum discussion features to encourage student participation. Students could discuss and chat, with or without a teacher while at home or during weekends on a subject to boost understanding of concepts.
#3. Quick Response Codes
These QR codes are another great way to use mobile technology in classrooms. Links to solutions of tasks, more resources, and complex diagrams and images could be coded and made available to students.
#4. Making Videos
Rather than letting students write lengthy essays after they do research, where some would simply copy and paste without really understanding what it’s all about, teachers could let students do research and then make a 5-minute or even less video or audio recording of the research.
#5. Tools for Live Polling
Tools for live digital pooling or quizzing tools can be made classroom welcome and exit tickets. The tools, many of which are free could be used by educators to determine what students already know and what should be focused on. Moreover, this provides insight into students’ individual strengths and weaknesses and provides a personalized instruction should there be a need.
Mobile learning Best Practices
Enriching educational content and inventing new forms of learning in the classroom and even at home is possible with the wide range of possibilities that mobile devices offer. Mobile technology has indeed provided numerous benefits to the field of education, but there is also the relevance of following the best practices to ensure success.
- Mobile-first. Build or rethink education content for mobile adaptation, from a tech viewpoint and in line with how smartphones are used today as well. Simply, a lot of attention and interactivity should be given to the graphic design.
- Use analysis and statistics tools to track the progress of students and recognize bottlenecks. Individualized monitoring and customizing the learning path is one of the major benefits of mobile learning. This depends also on the progress of each student.
- Offer both educational content and training on the proper usage of mobile techs.
- Keep the attention of students via interactivity but also provide powerful but easily understandable concise content.
The Pros of Mobile Devices in the Classroom
#1. Instant answers
Internet access provides instant answers to questions. Children today are involved in the search-and-learn environment. When they want to know ‘why the weather changes’, they could get an answer with just a few clicks and taps on their mobile devices. Students who are hesitant to ask some questions in the classroom could get answers via smartphones.
#2. Setting a peace of mind
Parents today have some peace when their kids are at school with smartphones. They know that during an emergency, students could contact them immediately, and vice versa. Additionally, more and more smartphones have GPS devices that could be tracked.
#3. Access to videos
Classroom electronic devices could boost a student’s learning experience via instant video access. For instance, bridges being built, presidential speeches, and others could be much real and easier to digest with instant availability of video.
#4. Wide range of music
This gives students access to all music, including big band, jazz, classical as well as early rock n’ roll, not just rap or pop music. Students could get the opportunity to make comparisons and discuss style differences in a familiar way.
#5. Teacher Advancement
Teachers could have an opportunity for skills advancement and grow with their students when they use digital devices effectively in the classroom. Many teachers are earning a Master’s degree in Education Technology to take their digital literacy to the next level.
#6. Social media learning
When it comes to kids, social media could have a negative implication. There could however be an educational aspect to it as well. Social learning is a great way of sharing ideas, thoughts, and information for students. In the social learning space, shier and quieter kids could blossom.
#7. Broader information access
Children could be exposed to creative ideas with internet access. Moreover, they could learn other languages, or learn how to draw, learn to knit, and play chess. They get access to a huge range of options to help them learn and acquire the skills that otherwise they may not be exposed to. All this could be accomplished via a smartphone that could be a valuable tool for learning if used appropriately.
Conclusion
Already, the world of mobiles has influenced where, when, and how learning occurs. In today’s hyper-connected world, the influence of mobile tech continues to grow, occupying a wider and bigger significant role in the education scenario.
About the Author!
Morgan is an IT Consultant at Mobile App Development Company TatvaSoft Australia. Morgan likes to share informative and very useful articles, blogs on mobile app development. He is having seven years of experience in a Technological domain and helps the organization of all shapes.
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