Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) can be an amazing experience for those who may not have the opportunity to experience activities they wouldn\u2019t otherwise be able to do. This could be simple leisure activities like walking in a variety of different outdoor environments, engage in sports, cook, play, exercise, or interact with others. These experiences could even be outside of our reality like flying, traveling through the galaxy, having superpowers, or dangerous survival games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While going through the posts, content, and resources under the Knowledge Mill, I found that there is not a lot of material regarding Mobile Learning in Special Education. Perhaps this idea can be integrated into the current and temporary definition of \u201cMobile Learning\u201d in this course: \u201cExemplary Mobile Learning is any learning experience supported by wireless networks and mobile devices that is unambiguously superior to an equivalent learning experience available on fixed devices and wired networks that meets the needs of all users\u201d. <\/em>I believe that these technologies should be designed to meet that needs of all users, especially to those with disabilities that restrict learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The article “Analysis of Documents Published in Scopus Database on Special Education Learning Through Mobile Learning: A Content Analysis” in the International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning<\/em> was very informative on how technology plays a significant role in Special Education. This study analysis a variety of articles published in the Scorpus database regarding Mobile Learning and Special Education, just like I will be using the UBC’s Knowledge Mill to analyze and synthesize the same topic. The data collected in eighteen documents all share the overall conclusion that Mobile Technologies have the potential to improve students’ academic outcomes (Gen\u00e7, Masalimova, Platonova, Sizova, & Popova, 2019, p.200).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Knowledge Mill, only two posts had a connection between Mobile Learning and Special Education. Evelyne Tsang<\/a> (2021) mentioned that web and app developers need to follow strict guidelines when designing content to meet the needs of people with disabilities. This document is known as The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) established in 1999, focuses on topics such as seizure safety, navigation options, text alternatives, sound and visual alternatives, among many other adaptability requirements. These guidelines would allow people with disabilities engage in Mobile Learning, either through phone, laptops, websites, or VR, AR, and MR, without the worries of not being able to use it because of visual, auditory, or dexterous impairment. If this technology is not adaptable to meet the needs of students with disabilities, then they will feel left out and feel self-conscious of their disability (Gen\u00e7 et al., 2019, p.193). Everyone has the right to experience the same learning, but as educators it is our responsibility to ensure that we create the right educational environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, new technologies are being proposed, like Wireless Brain-Sensing Technology (Juliano Ng<\/a>, 2020, Knowledge Mill), to benefit people with disabilities, \u201cespecially people whose disability affects their speech or mobility\u201d. There are many challenges of using VR, AR, MR in education like cost, technical support, staff training, safety, implementation, and many more. However, despite all the challenges that Mobile Learning can bring to Special Education, the big idea here is that hopefully one day these resources will be available and will positively impact everyone\u2019s learning. Gen\u00e7 et al. (2019) emphasizes that “mobile learning can be a part of the solution to this resource problem, however, for the technological solution to work, technologies need to be designed and implemented in new ways” (p.194). Therefore, we need technology to continue advancing so that we can find new ways of adapting the technology for the students who need it the most to assist in their learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n