The value of mobile technology in teaching and learning

 

It could be proposed that the use of mobile technology can be valuable in teaching and learning. Mobile technology can be used in the form of mobile phones, iPads and tablets, laptops, and an increasingly higher number of electronic mobile devices. Although technology is clearly becoming increasingly popular in education, it has been presumed that teachers' motivation is correlated with their readiness of using ICT in their teaching in science and social science (Copriady, 2014). From personal experience, I agree with this, because personally, I sometimes avoid using ICT in my teaching because I feel too scared that it will not work, or that problems might arise. This decreases my motivation to use technology. I also think there may be gender differences in this, although I could be wrong. Having the ability to communicate via technology can aid learning. For example, being able to email students regarding assignments, room changes, lesson changes, and offering support can greatly assist both teachers and students with regards to learning. I always aim to reply to students within 48 hours of receiving an email, and help them as much as I can, and I know that they value this.  

            It has been argued that a teacher-centred approach to teaching does not produce the graduates that our society needs in contemporary society (Njoku & Prince, 2015). This emphasises the importance of technology within classrooms and its impact on future employees. Mobile technology means that teachers and students can access work anywhere. Submitting essays electronically means that I do not have to carry stacks of books around to mark them, I can just use my laptop. It really can make life easier. For example, Turnitin is used for detecting plagiarism and marking electronically, and it has been found to be very valuable for teaching staff whilst marking work from Psychology undergraduates (Buckley & Cowap, 2013). Despite this, several technical difficulties were encountered by staff, suggesting that improvements need to be made. Personally, I have used Turnitin at university to submit assignments, and I have also experienced some rather scary technical difficulties, and I tend to check if something has been submitted correctly about twenty times before I believe that it's true (slight paranoia possibly!). This highlights that technology may never replace the feeling of holding an assignment and marking it in red pen, which I admit is quite fun as a teacher. Marking electronically just isn't the same feeling, although it is much easier.

            An issue of mine as a trainee teacher is mobile phones. They are everywhere, every single student is seen texting, using social media, constantly on their phones. I do not agree with students being permitted to use mobile phones within classrooms, as it is evident that it distracts them from their tasks. The difficulty with the PCET sector is deciding whether it would be acceptable to confiscate mobile phones in class. Despite my negative take on the issue, Walker (2013) found that students in the UK find their mobile devices very useful in learning, and argued that schools need to adopt an encouraging approach for using mobile devices in teaching and learning. For now, I think I'll stick to my coloured pens!

 

References

Buckley, E., & Cowap, L. (2013). An evaluation of the use of Turnitin for electronic submission and marking as a formative feedback tool from an educator's perspective. British journal of educational technology, 44(4), p.562-570.

 

Copriady, J. (2014). Self-motivation as a mediator for teachers' readiness in applying ICT in teaching and learning. Turkish online journal of educational technology, 13(4), p.115-123.

 

Njoku, U., & Prince, C. (2015). Information and communication technologies to raise quality of teaching and learning in higher education institutions. International journal of education & development using information & communication technology, 11(1), p.122-147.

 

Walker, R. (2013). "I don't think I would be where I am right now." Pupil perspectives on using mobile devices for learning. Research in learning technology, 21, p.1-12.