Louise passed a copy of an interesting paper on to me this weekend from the Center for Digital Education, July 2008.
A Connected Life: A look at mobile strategies for schools, colleges, and universities. (You need to fill out a short online form to download a PDF copy.) The "paper examines the evolving landscape of mobility with particular attention to the intersection with learning and education." I think parts provide us with a guide to helping other digital immigrants understand the impact of this intersection.
Here are some of the key points, at least to me.
- Students gravitate toward online social operating systems because they invented them. ... Seventy-six percent use instant messaging.
- anywhere from 75 to 90 percent of college students have a Facebook account ... it is clear that social networks are changing not only how youth are interacting with each other, but also how they interact with their world.
- Increasingly the computing platform of choice is pocket-sized. Students are now interestedin mobile phones that double as cameras, text messaging devices, Internet-ready computers, music players, and in some cases, even video players.
- Forward-looking universities are working to move informaiton to the format that the students use: the mobile phone, and increasingly, the smartphone. (see my entry "Some Videos to Get You Thinking" for videos of how Abilene Christian U. is using the iPhone.
- The intent is to push content to students, not wait for the students to come to the school's Web site or e-mail. (this is done with RSS)
- In terms of weaving smartphone use with one's pedagogy, the point is made that academic research shows that students learn 3 ways - seeing, hearing and doing. Many of us at the UA have subscribed to this for at least the past 8 years - going back to the concept of student-centered learning. The paper makes the point that smartphones support all three and gives some examples.
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