November 2020 TLC teaching tip: How can mobile devices be used in education?
Posted: October 28, 2020
Mobile learning, or m-learning, is a term to describe when mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops are used as learning tools in an educational setting (Davison & Lazaros, 2015). Mobile learning is flexible in that it can be used for just-in-time learning, and is not limited to a specific environment or context (Crompton and Burke, 2018; Martin and Ertzberger, 2013). The portable nature and prevalence of these devices creates enormous potential to harness this technology to improve student learning.
What are some examples?
- A small group of students collaborate on an iPad using Google Docs to construct an outline for a patient encounter and discuss the necessary physical examination skills. From this outline, they use Google Slides to create a presentation to support the content they plan to cover with their classmates.
- Educators ask students to use their mobile phones or laptops to participate in a Poll Everywhere poll during a live lecture. The purpose is to check on students’ knowledge of a specific topic as an informal assessment during either an in-person or virtual class.
- A clinical educator designs a grand rounds activity by asking students to present evidence on their assigned topic and share via Twitter using the hashtag, #grandrounds.
If you would like to learn more about mobile learning and how this technology can be employed in an educational setting check out the following articles below.
Crompton, H., & Burke, D. (2018). The use of mobile learning in higher education: A systematic review. Computers & Education, 123, 53–64.
Davison, C. B., & Lazaros, E. J. (2015). Adopting mobile technology in the higher education classroom. The Journal of Technology Studies, 41(1), 30–39.
Martin, F., & Ertzberger, J. (2013). Here and now mobile learning: An experimental study on the use of mobile technology. Computers & Education, 68, 76–85.
Pimmer, C., Mateescu, M., & Gröhbiel, U. (2016). Mobile and ubiquitous learning in higher education settings. A systematic review of empirical studies. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 490–501.