Mobile learning in the classroom...sound odd to you?

The iPad on a table in the Apple case (Photo credit: Wikipedia)I have just finished reading a post (and comments) that was recommended by Greg Carroll, and found it a thought-provoking read: Amidst a Mobile Revolution in Schools, Will Old Teaching Tactics Work?. It was a little odd, however, that the main focus of the article was that students brought the mobile devices with them to a classroom. Hmmm - the article discusses and calls for shifts in pedagogy and teacher practice, but fundamentally the key model is that of bums on seats in a physical classroom (although, to be fair, mention is made of a student-created guided tour, and use of QR codes).

The wine in my mind is indeed the same, even if the pedagogical bottle is slightly re-shaped. There is a sense that the writers may have not taken the endgame far enough to really explore mobile learning when it perceived as a set of principles that can enhance formal and informal learning opportunities, rather than a series of devices. Learning then becomes:

• Spatial - learning across space (anywhere)
• Temporal - learning across time (any time)
• Cognitive - learning across domains (any topic) (source)

Once this shift is made, the conversation changes from one where the concern is “new technology [applied] to old pedagogy,” (Soloway), to one where learning and the student become the focus.