MC-Lesson 3: Embodied Learning
MC-Lesson 3: Embodied Learning, Hand-held Wireless Technologies, Virtual Realities and Haptics
Describe the nature of the activities that may have been central, in your opinion, to the learning experiences described in the papers you read.
From the readings, the nature of the activities described includes seven major themes that mobile technologies add to the learning experience for the learner:
1. Opportunities to get out of the classroom
2. Opportunities for students to engage in multi-sensory (perhaps whole body) learning experiences
3. Novelty of using mobile technologies is highly motivating for students
4. Supports authentic real-life learning activities
5. Supports independent exploration, discovery and investigation to learn the topic easily and efficiently
6. Supports collaborative learning through team work
7. Afford visualizing and investigating math and science in a dynamic way
Mobile learning (m-learning) has emerged as mobile technologies and apps have become widespread in today’s society ( Zhang, Looi, Seow, Chia, Wong, Chen, So, Soloway & Norris, 2010). These mobile devices include anything from iPods, iPads (tablets), portable laptops or notebooks, PDA’s, and of course cell phones. My school has purchased a number of iPads for the Special Needs students and our ‘severe’ students but the rest of our student population does not have access to them. The motivation for these students is very high when they are able to use the iPads to practice their learning through simulations, learning games and such. As well, a middle school in my school division has been doing research through a two year research grant and they received a class set of iPhones and iPads. They have successfully been using them for the past 2 years of this research pilot. They actually speak at conferences and PD day workshops. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to explore mobile technologies until now.
Mobile technologies can amplify, augment, and even extend our capabilities and help students construct new knowledge and create meaning in new ways through experiencing the concept visually and interactively (Zhang, et al., 2010). Mobile technologies and apps, simulations and the like provide students with multi-sensory and dynamically visual learning experiences that they would not otherwise be able to experience. Touching screens, changing and manipulating data, student’s perceptions and motor skills are on high alert as when playing an exciting video game – more of the senses are involved (multi-sensory). This allows us to break free from the brick & mortar classroom and expand our learning activities to include what we use and experience in our everyday lives – our mobile technologies. Limitless learning opportunities (formal and informal) are now available to anyone, anywhere, anytime when we include platforms such as mobile devices to motivate and encourage students to use their own devices as learning tools to engage in authentic and purposeful inquiry-based learning opportunities. This type of real-life and meaningful learning that can largely be interest based can encourage a journey of and show the importance of life-long learning for our students.
One specific motivating factor that Bayaa and Daher (2009) discovered is the novelty of using mobile phones for learning. In their study, this alone motivated and engaged grade eight students in the mathematics more and this resulted in the students being pleasantly surprised that they could learn math quite easily and independently while having fun on their mobile phones. With mobile technologies, students (users) are able to experience learning using more of the senses than just their eyes and ears. As Embodied learning theorists posit, the whole body may play a role in understanding the concept (Winn, 2003). Learning is described as multi-modal and multi-sensory engaging every part of our body and senses (spatitial, touch, sound, visual, etc.).
In my experience as a teacher, students havedifferent perceptions and views points depend on their background experiences, traditions and upbringing and the environments they are exposed to. Winn (2003) acknowledges these different perceptions that students have and suggests that they may visualize and conceptualize differently as well. Accordingly, we, teachers, should customizes the learning environment including opportunities for collaboration and peer discussion so that students can formatively check their understanding and adapt it if necessary. As Zhang et al., (2010) suggest, traditional teaching may not prepare students appropriately today for inquiry-based and self-directed learning required when using mobile technologies perhaps in collaborative authentic learning experiences, thus, the need for a guide (the teacher). As such, customizing these mobile technology activities, teachers must guide students through the inquiry process in the beginning.
In my opinion, the best suggestion to ensure that mobile technologies & apps are meaningfully integrated into a lesson is to embed them within teaching strategies that are pedagogically driven, established by learning theories and educational outcomes so that the technology isn’t being used just for the sake of using technology or the latest fad. Further, learning and understanding can be reinforced by collaboration. Students can check their misconceptions against a majority and have a chance to re-visit the learning situation to modify and adapt one’s understanding to accommodate and assimilate the new learning. Handheld devices allow students to engage in data collection, analysis, collaboration, etc. – they can also organize their data (perhaps on a wiki or Google Doc) and create real artifacts and scientific data that real scientists would collect and analyze. Mobile technologies are moving us closer to a more student-centered and self-directed learning approach than the traditional teacher-centered approach (Zhang, et al., 2010). Very exciting opportunities for students today!
References
Bayaa, N. & Daher, W. (2009). Learning mathematics in an authentically mobile environment: The perceptions of students. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 3, 6-14.
Winn, W. (2003). Learning in artificial environments: Embodiment, embeddedness, and dynamic adaptation. Technology, Instruction, Cognition and Learning, 1(1), 87-114.
Zhang, B., Looi, C-K, Seow, P., Chia, G., Wong, L-H, Chen, W, So, H-J, Soloway, E. & Norris, C. (2010). Deconstructing and reconstructing: Transforming primary science learning via a mobilized curriculum. Computers & Education, 55, 1504-1523.