I’m very pleased to have had as many as 140 responses to the survey. The answers to the multiple choice questions were fairly predictable:
The transition to mobile is well underway, with the usual spectrum of early- to late-adopters.
iPads are where it’s at, but the strategy really has to embrace everything. At least no-one said “Google Glass” yet.
As always, the insights were to be found in the comments. Some teachers see no benefit whatever to mobile
…everything you can do on a iPad or Android device can be done on a PC.
whilst others are looking into an exciting future, even if they don’t yet know in detail how to manifest it
Less didactic teaching – more project based, providing resources, more group work, personalised learning, learners making choices about when they take assessments, learners choosing the materials that suit them best…
and of course many simply express uncertainty.
It seems most teachers at the start of the process are asking themselves the question “Can I (or how can I) run the existing system more efficiently with this new tool?”
Those further down the track are starting to discover that usage evolves under its own logic, if you let it
My sixth form students already use their own devices,initially the biggest change I found that when asked a question they unsure on they turned to Google, but they altered as they settled in to the use in the classroom, attempting to answer first and then googling to see who was right, it was nice to see the development from reliance on the device to using it to support the knowledge they had. (It wasn’t an easy path though!)
What I hope to see if we run the same survey next year is that a few have moved beyond the current framework, and instead are looking outside education for inspiration. Apps and services like Foursquare, Google Goggles and Ease into 5k use a mobile devices’ sensors and capabilities to deliver experiences that are simply not possible in any other way. None of these three are particularly intended as educational apps, but each has potential. More importantly, they inspire us to look beyond classroom and curriculum, and into a new way to develop the minds of our young charges.
Yacapaca 