Mobile devices in schools to come full circle
Mobile devices in schools to come full circle
Oct 05, 2005: Portable devices, like iPods and mobile phones, will become essential pieces of equipment that every student at school, TAFE or university will need to own, rather than disruptive devices that should be banned from educational settings, as they are typically treated now.
That is according to a report prepared by the national government agency education.au for the ACT Department of Education and Training (ACT DET), which found exciting education and training uses of technologies and devices like these both in Australia and overseas.
“In some ways the education and training sector hasn’t kept up with the technologies its students are using on a day-to-day basis and appropriated them for education and training purposes,” said Gerry White, CEO of education.au. "It’s starting to happen, but it will be some time before the technologies students are using as a matter of course are also a regular part of their formal learning experiences.”
In the future, schools are anticipated to take advantage of the next generation of MP3 player, which probably won't look quite like the current generation of devices but instead more like a memory stick with a roll out screen, and have a memory capacity many times today’s ceiling of 60GB. This would be enough to carry not only a student’s lifetime of notes, but all her/his essential references, assignments, presentations, portfolios - all in rich media - along with a vast personal library of songs, audiobooks, photos, and movies. This would make the device an essential requirement in the digital backpack of students in the future.
The report provides an overview of new and emerging technologies that could or do have education and training applications – from infrastructure technologies like wireless LANs through to identification technologies like Smartcards and RFID, to devices and technologies students of all ages and types will use as part of their day-to-day learning experiences.
“Infrastructure and purchasing decisions by education departments and organisations must take into account the technology future on our doorstep,” said White. “On the one hand we need to utilise student’s digital literacy for learning purposes, and on the other manage the risk of deciding on a particular solution. Once an organisation commits to an infrastructure and set of devices then they have to be maintained, upgraded and supported. With the wide variety of devices and technologies currently available, new ones constantly appearing, and the fast rate of change, being able to predict the future is becoming part of the skill set needed by those responsible for developing strategic directions and making purchasing decisions. This report helps ACT DET look into the future and provides a framework they can use to evaluate the relevance of emerging technologies to their needs.”
The report identifies a number of key trends for consideration such as mobility, interoperability, and convergence, and points out the importance of the wider environmental context in making technology choices. It also provides examples of how educational use of new and emerging technologies can have benefits for disengaged youth, distance education students, students with disabilities, and so on.
“There are huge potential benefits for students if educational organisations harness emerging technologies for teaching and learning,” added White. “Today’s students are already ‘digital natives’ and the education and training sector needs to ensure that students’ educational experiences are relevant to the modern knowledge economy and to their experiences outside the formal education environment."
Related Article: