Darin+Cissell

Mobile Technologies in Education The future of learning will definitely involve mobile technology. It would be foolish to think that future generations or even this generation will pass without using mobile technology to learn from. Students today have grown up with Iphones and smart phones in their hand since they were in elementary school and it has become their primary means of gathering information. If they don’t know something they immediately pick up a mobile device and find the answer. Mobile devices are as much a part of this generation as microwaves were to the last. You can continue to live without these inventions but eventually they will be used because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Education can try to continue to avoid incorporating mobile technologies but eventually they will have to embrace the use of mobile technologies for educational purposes. It is pretty simple, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. //“The great aim of education is not knowledge but application”// was said by Herbert Spencer around 1890 and is why I believe that it is a matter of time before mobile devices are a standard part of education. For a student to apply knowledge, they first must be interested in the knowledge. Mobile devices help engage students by entering into a world where they are comfortable. “When students are engaged, education happens” is the way Jesse Langley put it in Technology’s Role in Transforming Education**.** The problem with this shift is a lot of teachers are not comfortable engaging students in this way so they rely on traditional lecture to communicate information. It will take some time for older teachers to retire and be replaced with young ones that understand the importance of mobile technology. And when that turnover occurs, mobile devices will become standard. Mobile devices open up opportunities for all students to learn and express their thoughts not just the social ones. Teachers can reach more learners by using mobile devices to interact with the class. For example, surveys can be taken through mobile technology which can then guide a teacher’s lesson and make it more effective. Mobile devices can also allow for immediate feedback for quizzes and assessments which leads to quicker corrections and better understanding of the content. One of the biggest benefits of mobile device use is the ability to collaborate easier through these devices. Students can be at different locations working on the same project together. Education needs to evolve to fit the needs of students not expect students to change their needs to fit our education.

Langley, Jesse. (November 30, 2011) Edudemic. Retrieved from []

Darin Cissell is a Master's student at Missouri Baptist University. He has been teaching Health and Physical Education for 10 years in the Francis Howell School District and is the Health and PE department chair.