Journal 7

"Envisioning the Future of Education" by Mark van ‘t Hooft
Learning & Leading with Technology, March/April 2008

The author of this article features the idea of ‘learning while mobile’ in a world that is increasingly complex and ever changing, where with each passing day we find it more and more challenging to function without access to the Internet and tools such as mobile phones, media players, and wireless computers. With respect to education, ‘learning while mobile’ which he defines as “learning with a mobile device such as a handheld computer or a mobile phone,” means that learning opportunities, possibilities, and experiences are more numerous, personal, and more often collaborative, portable, and available; providing “a bridge between formal and informal learning,” (p. 13). He points out two critical facets of ‘learning while mobile’ as ‘conversation,’ referring to the ability to discuss and share understanding of one’s knowledge and ‘context,’ referring to temporary or rapidly changing locations (e.g. classroom or museum) where knowledge and resources are acquired and exchanged.

To demonstrate his point, van ‘t Hooft cites three examples in MyArtSpace, a service that allows students to exchange learning between the museum and classroom with each other, Frequency 1550, an interactive digitally-guided ‘treasure hunt’ in 16th century Amsterdam, using cell-phones with GPS and multimedia tools to exchange clues, collect multimedia artifacts and collaborate, and a context-aware guiding system in the Taiwanese National Museum of Natural Science that recognizes a visitor’s location and automatically downloads content relating to the exhibit to their mobile device.

The author explains the challenges in terms of policy and pedagogical needs to deal with what he calls the “participation gap,” or the lack of access to skills, knowledge, and experiences that actually teach our youth how to use digital technology for learning (as opposed to entertainment purposes), the “transparency problem,” or the difficulty that students might experience in recognizing how ads and news media shape their opinions and beliefs, the “ethics challenge,” or the collapse of the formal preparation that once taught our youth how to act as ethical members of the community, and “fear factor,” or concern by adults about the possible, unpredictable misuse by youth of current and future technological advancements. He makes recommendations and offers a list of resources to encourage students and schools “to learn how to navigate their world…in safe, ethical, and productive ways,” (p.16).

To a future educator, what are the foreseeable drawback(s) of ‘learning while mobile’?

While I can appreciate the author’s enthusiasm about the unstoppable progress occurring in ‘learning while mobile,’ I worry about what our students and society are losing by using all these wireless devices and digital options available nowadays. I wonder what we lose by not having face to face socialization, by not writing as much print or longhand, but rather typing and texting instead. I wonder what we will loose by no longer relying as much on memorization. And I think that it is ironic that the author uses the words ‘learning while mobile,’ yet so much of the actual use of the wireless and digital devices mentioned require that you stand still rather than using large sweeping motions of gesturing in conversation with others, or as in performing old-fashioned research. Finally, to expand on the author’s ‘transparency problem,’ I am concerned about the desensitizing of our youth due to uncensored exposure to aggressive behaviors shown in the media and accessible with any portable multimedia device.

How can we avoid widening the achievement gap while using mobile and wireless technologies?

While the technology is available everywhere, the devices with which to access it may be available to some only through the school or institution being visited. Besides heeding the advice in the author’s recommendations, we must also consider the socioeconomic background of our students and make certain that access to digital tools is equitable to all students.