The education sector just like many sectors in the world has been at the forefront when it comes to technology usage and uptake. The reason for this is the realization that technology offers the much-needed solutions in enhancing the quality of education and awakening critical thinking in learners. As such most if not all learning institution’s across the globe, have incorporated mobile devices into their curriculum. Some of the mobile devices that have been integrated into this case include laptops, tablets, mobile phones and personal digital assistants among others. There are need to be aware of how best to access the content to ensure success and effectiveness in the incorporation of mobile devices in learning, More so there is a need for teachers to be mindful of how to best use such devices to help their learners get the most of such devices. Consequently, the proper use of mobile devices will enhance learner participation which is essential in the 21st century education systems.
Accessing Content on Mobile Devices as a Critical Thinker
Mobile devices usually contain a lot of information about different spheres and sectors of life. As such it is likely that an individual seeking educational information could easily be swayed into other irrelevant contents. In this regard, therefore, it is crucial for a teacher to be in a position to guide his or her learners on the best practices when it comes to looking for information. A teacher will help the learners by monitoring how the learners are using the mobile devices in the learning environment so that they do not wander away and compromise the educational use of the tools. In other cases where the learning institutions provide these devices measures have been put in place to limit the content of the devices. As per Quinn (2012), only the content related to education is uploaded, or sites not associated with education are locked. In this way, learners can make the most of the mobile devices without any interruptions. Additionally, they can sift through a myriad of contents to select only the content that serves their educational needs.
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Using Mobile Devices to Develop Students Critical Thinking Skills
The student of the present era has so much exposure to mobile devices more than any other previous generation. As such, they are exposed to a myriad of content which may either hamper or improve their critical thinking skills. Teachers and trainers have an enormous role when it comes to helping learners to exercise critical thinking when using the mobile devices (McCann, 2015). The critical thinking can be achieved through leveraging such elements as connectedness, space and the temporality that these gadgets provide for the learners. In this way, learners will be able to sift through various contents available in the mobile devices and make proper judgments on how to use this information. Additionally, the learners will be able to know which information is of value to their educational process and which is not. Critical thinking especially when using mobile devices requires time to cultivate it. Quinn (2012) believes that learners must understand the four C’s that is the content, compute, captures and communicate to be excellent critical thinkers. As such teachers can help learners first to understand the content they are looking for and ways of putting it into perspective. Next, the learners should know how to capture that information in real time in its entirety and finally present it in their learning process. Following this realization the teachers can go round the learning facilities to guide learners on how to get and use the information from the mobile devices.
Using Mobile Devices in Enhancing Content Introduction
The content introduction is a very crucial element in the learning process as it determines whether the learners will benefit from the learning process or not. Well planned and exciting content introduction may translate to good reception by learners and vice versa. Mobile devices can come in handy especially when introducing content as they can spark high levels of attention and retention by the learners. As such, trainers can make use of such devices to enhance content delivery. They can do this through use of animated graphics, tables, illustrations, analogies or other techniques provided for by the mobile devices. When they do this, the content is simplified to a great deal thus making their work more accessible. The learners, on the other hand, become part of the learning process and it is likely that they will show further attention to such material even after the class hours are over. Trainers, however, need to be very skillful in learning new and innovative ways of using such devices to keep the learners interested in what they are learning.
Using Mobile Technologies to Present Concepts in Different Ways
The teaching-learning process usually employs various strategies to present concepts to diverse learners with varied abilities. They are learners who are more of visual, audio while others prefer to interact with content more practically. Mobile technologies then come in handy as they can reach all these learners by offering each learner his preferred method of accessing content (Quinn, 2012). For learners who are more of visual the mobile technologies come with graphics, illustrations, graphs among other colorful visual aids. On the other hand, learners who are more of audio, the same mobile technologies can make use of audio resources to appeal to their learning needs. As such, it is essential for the trainers to be well aware of the kind of learners he has to ensure that he diversifies content to reach all the learners in an equal measure. Consequently, the same concept can reach all learners in different ways but with the same intensity and significance.
Use of Mobile Devices to Enhance Learner Participation
The learning process is mostly learner-oriented as they have more learning roles as compared to their trainers. As such it is essential for the trainers to foster a spirit of participation in the learners throughout the learning process. According to Montrieux, Vanderlinde, Schellens & Marez (2015), mobile devices can play a significant role especially when the teachers know to incorporate them into the learning process effectively. These portable devices can improve learner participation as they open up a whole new and interactive learning process. What the trainer needs to do is to synchronize the learning process so that all the learners are aware of what their roles are in completing various learning tasks. When this is done, the learners will be in a position to handle the tasks more interesting as compared to traditional learning methods.
Incorporating Mobile Devices Into the Learning Process
As discussed earlier mobile devices are a crucial element in the education systems as they enhance the learning process positively. Therefore, there is a need for learning institutions to incorporate these devices into their curriculum to boost the quality of education. According to Sung, Chang & Liu (2015), incorporation of mobile devices requires expertise to determine which tools will be used, at what level they will be used and the extent to which they will be used. Early adoption of such devices in the education system would be the best option as it will lay a solid foundation in the education process. A considerable amount of funding should be set aside to provide systems which will support the use of mobile devices across the country. Doing this will ensure that mobile devices which are here to stay help to promote learning and thus improve the quality of education significantly.
In conclusion, the education sector has undergone through significant changes over the years thanks to technological advancement. Players in the education sector have realized the role that mobile devices play in enhancing the quality of education. However, there is a need to ensure the proper use of such devices so that the learners get the most of it. This requirement is in line with the realization that such devices contain a myriad of information which must be put into consideration by its users. As such there is need to cultivate critical thinking in students as well as ensure maximum participation from the learners. Additionally, trainers must be in a position to use these devices to introduce concepts in different ways to attend to diverse learners. In this way, the mobile devices will play a vital role in enhancing the quality of education.
References
McCann, S. (2015). Higher order mLearning: Critical thinking in mobile learning. MODSIM World, 2015 (28): 1-11
Montrieux, H., Vanderlinde, R., Schellens, T & Marez, L. (2015). Teaching and learning with mobile technology: A qualitative explorative study about the introduction of tablet devices in secondary education. PLOS ONE, 10 (12): e0144008.
Quinn, C. N. (2012). Bloomberg: The mobile academy: mLearning for higher education . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sung, Y, Chang, K, & Liu, T. (2015). The effects of integrating mobile devices with teaching and learning on students' learning performance: A meta-analysis and research synthesis. Computers and Education, 94:252-275.
