The obvious response to this question to me is that
learning does not only take place in the confined walls of a classroom. Learning happens in every day
experiences. Why not tap into these
opportunities to enhance the learning that takes place. Have students actively participate in the
community and their surroundings. Let’s
empower them to be active participants and leaners vs. passive observers.
We are faced with 21st century learners
that live and learn in a different world than what our industrial model of education
is based on. Getting Smart (2012)
provides us with a descriptor of 21st century students.
They are:
- · Globally connected to their peers via
social media innately flexible, and expect flexibility from institutions they
are associated with more accepting of diverse populations
- ·
demanding instant contact with people and
information
- ·
always connected in a seamless, virtual
world of friends, information, and entertainment
- ·
consuming most media on mobile devices
- ·
likely to prefer interactive media
- ·
wired for the fast delivery of content and
information from computers, video games, and the internet
Mobile devices are readily available to most
students. Taking advantage of a device
used every day by our students seems to be not only advantageous but
necessary. If mobile devices are not
readily available to any given student, there should be a plan and policy to
lend these students a school owned device.
If we don’t use mobile devices and incorporate mobile
learning into our teaching style we are at risk of setting our students up for
failure and worse, dropping out. The American system of education was built for
a society and an economy that no longer exists (National Education Association,
2012). As of 2007, only 75% of public high school students in the U.S.
graduated on time; the 25% of students who dropped out stated that: 1) they did
not believe their coursework was relevant; 2) the teaching they were subjected
to did not match their learning styles; or 3) they experienced a lack of
personal attention (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014).
Finally, the realities of 21st century
learners are requiring us to change our fundamental approach to how we
teach. These changes include the
integration of 21st century skills into the core curriculum. The list of skills usually includes:
We need to do more than pay lip service to the mission
of preparing our students for college and career. We must produce college and career ready
graduates that reflect the future these students will face. We must facilitate learning that align with
defining attributes of this generation of learners. (Larson & Miller, 2011)
If we are to adhere to rigor and the standards set
forth by our states and Department of Education, it is imperative we
incorporate mobile devices to achieve learning objectives for any content or
curriculum. A few examples of using
mobile learning:
·
science class
o
take pictures while walking through the
community for plant life and animal life (taxonomic identification)
·
art class/design
o
examine the buildings in one’s
community/design/architecture
§ could
be paired with history class. Compare architecture from earlier centuries to
modern day.
o
visit city’s art museums
·
history
o
visit the city’s history museum
o
record parents and grandparents or
neighbor of times past… life stories
As we implement and require mobile device use to
achieve learning objectives we need to acknowledge and be mindful of five
proponents
1. TURNING
MAJORITY MINORITY
Ø Recognize
and accommodate the diversity that 21st century learners represent
Ø This
generation of students will become the most ethnically and racially diverse
group in American history
Ø Planning
for the academic success of this generation requires attention to specific
needs of English Language Learners (ELL), learners with disabilities, and
low-income learners
2. ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Ø The
fasted growing population segment in public schools (NEA, 2014)
Ø ELL
enrollment in U.S. schools will exceed 10 million by 2025 (NEA, 2014)
Ø ELL
students come from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds and can
face challenges in the classroom
i.
Murphy, DePasquale, and McNamara (2003)
state that technology can be a particularly effective tool for ELLs
3. LEARNERS
WITH DISABLITIES
Ø When
21st century students with disabilities are unable to achieve the
academic and behavior goals expected of them, it is important for us to
recognize the need to integrate tools and supports that will allow them to
successfully learn (Edyburn, 2005)
Ø Using
both high and low-tech devices to facilitate academic and social change
Ø Use
of mobile devices and technology can be less threatening to students on the
autistic spectrum
4. LOW-INCOME
STUDENTS
Ø Despite
growing up in the digital age, 21st century learners from low-income
communities and underserved minority groups are still less likely to have
computers and Internet access, and generally have fewer adults around them with
skills to support technology-based learning at home (Warschauer, Matuchniak,
Pinkard, & Gadsden, 2010).
i.
Policies must be in place to lend students
mobile devices to provide more opportunities to engage in mobile learning with
mobile devices
ii.
Technology providers have acknowledged
this challenge, and responded. For example, Comcast’s Internet Essentials
program offers low-cost internet service and computer equipment as well as free
digital literacy training to families with at least one child eligible to
participate in the National School Lunch Program.
iii.
Leveraging the assets of the
community—through community centers, religious organizations and analogous
institutions is another effective access strategy. Yet, success in such
endeavors requires intentional teaching and learning efforts, an infrastructure
to support outside-of-school learning, and a leadership and culture that
embraces the school’s relationship with its community. (roadmap21, 2015)
5. THE
21ST CENTURY LEARNER’S FUTURE
Ø In
this digital age, it is not enough for 21st century learners to master only the
traditional core curriculum (National Association of Elementary School
Principals, 2012); organizations such as the Partnership for 21st Century
Learning, which is dedicated to advocating for21st century readiness for all
students, suggests fusing the traditional three R’s with the four C’s:
creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.
Ø Employers
not only agree, but are increasingly demanding that our nation’s schools
respond to this need (Casner-Lotto, Barrington & Wright, 2006).
Ø Employers
recognize new skills are vital in a society and workplace that has seen a rapid
decline in “routine “work.
Ø There has been a rapid increase in jobs
involving interactive communication, non-routine skills (such as abstract
reasoning and collaboration), and analytic skills (National Education
Association, 2012).
Ø Twenty-first
century students need access to a constantly evolving set of technological
tools, and to engage in activities that demand problem-solving,
decision-making, teamwork, and innovation (National Association of Elementary
School Principals, 2012).
Lastly, we need to adhere to
the following guided principles when requiring the use of mobile devices to
achieve learning objectives:
Ø Learning is personalized
o Address each individual student’s needs
o Provide a learning experience that is effective,
efficient, motivating and possible for the student to master
o Students engage actively in their own learning at a
deep and personally meaningful level
Ø Learning is rigorous
o It challenges students to meet defined, high
expectations, while supporting them along the way
Ø Learning is flexible and adaptable
o Adapts to students bringing diverse prior knowledge
to any learning experience and to students learning at different rates, and can
quickly refocus as students’ understanding grows (roadmap21, 2015)
Ø Learning is open-ended and inquiry-based
o Requires students to be active learners by
investigating questions, solving problems and mirroring the kinds of inquiry
that real world requires (roadmap21, 2015)
o Students
have ample opportunities to make choices and exercise control over appropriate
aspects of them learning experiences.
o Student
learning connects to the local, national or global community, and might
incorporate work experiences, such as job shadowing and interning.
Ø Learning
is ongoing
o it
involves students engaging outside the traditional classroom as much as they do
within the four walls of the classroom.
o They
make connections in the real world and benefit from the content and
connectedness technology provides.
References
Digest of
Education Statistics, 2013. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2017, from
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_203.50.asp
Edyburn, D.
(2014). Assistive Technology Devices. Encyclopedia of Special Education.
doi:10.1002/9781118660584.ese0202
Larson, L.,
Miller, T., & Ribble, M. (2010). 5 considerations for digital age leaders:
What principals and district administrators need to know about tech integration
today. Learning & Leading with Technology, 37(4), 12-15.
Murphy, K. L.,
DePasquale, R., & McNamara, E. (2003). Meaning connections: Using
technology in primary classrooms.Young Children on the Web, 58(6),. 1-9.
National
Association of Elementary School Principals: Serving all elementary and
middle-level principals. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2017, from
http://www.naesp.org/
Renfro, A. (2013,
September 16). Meet Generation Z - Getting Smart by Adam Renfro - social media.
Retrieved June 24, 2017, from
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Special Education
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The NCES Fast
Facts Tool provides quick answers to many education questions (National Center
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