Every year more and more technology products are being developed to enhance the learning experience. The newest technologies, such as machine learning, aren’t just influencing the students, but are changing the whole view on the usual educational process. With such an increase in the prevalence of modern technology, traditional teaching methods seem to take a less prominent role.
Technology and access to educational resources outside the classroom encourage students to become innovators, develop critical thinking and creativity, as well as problem-solving and team working skills.
Teachers always strive to approach each student individually. Using technology, they can make learning even more personalized by accessing real-time student data, learning materials, and other learning materials. Nowadays, teachers can create blended learning environments and use digital tools for midterm and final grade control, which leads to the creation of new learning and teaching methods.
Mobile learning is one of the popular educational methods. According to Webopedia, m-learning implies using mobile devices, both separately and in combination with other information and communication technologies, regardless of place and time. This technology allows the teacher to be mobile.
The learning process is organized using portable devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets) and involves students accessing educational resources, using mobile applications, websites, communicating with other users, creating interactive content in the classroom and beyond. The principal goal of mobile learning is to make the learning process flexible, accessible, and personalized. The main tasks of mobile learning are:
- communication at any time and anywhere, which expands the possibilities of teamwork
- optimization of the use of technological tools available to students
- easy storage of learning materials
- intensification of the learning process
- correspondence of the development of the level of education to the students’ lifestyles
Students get very excited when they hear that they will be studying with the help of mobile learning. But it is only after they try it, they realize that it is not as easy as they thought it would be. Students hope that they would be able to cheat and get higher marks when teacher evaluate their knowledge using such a technology.
If a student has got used to buy dissertation online from a paper writer, no modern technology is going to stop that student from ordering such a paper again.
Benefits of Mobile Learning
Some of the most useful advantages of using this type of learning include:
- a possibility to apply the latest technologies in the teaching-learning process
- the ability to use lightweight, compact, portable devices
- mobile learning is well suited for a wide variety of learning activities
- support for teaching in any format
- mobile learning can be a good supportive tool for educating people with special needs
- mobile learning is well suited for youth
- allows you to reduce education costs significantly
- makes it possible to use new ways of developing educational content
- provides continuous, targeted learning support
- allows you to create an interesting educational experience.
Drawbacks of Mobile Learning
- the small size of the screens and keys on mobile devices
- problems accessing the Internet
- amount of memory available on mobile devices
- security issues
- risks associated with the loss of a mobile device
- not all students can afford to buy a suitable device for educational purposes
- problems associated with the assessment of learning results
- the too rapid development of mobile technologies
- lack of development of pedagogical theory for mobile learning
- conceptual differences between e-learning and mobile learning
- problems associated with the security of personal information
- the need for constant updates
Thus, one way or another, a lot can be done in the format of mobile learning. For it to be truly successful, the educational content must either be specifically created for this format or carefully adapted.
If everything is done correctly, then mobile learning can be an excellent tool for delivering educational content, collaborating, improving corporate communication, conducting surveys, tests and evaluating learning outcomes, providing tools to support productivity, exchange knowledge, and much more.
Conclusion
In recent years, technology has been developing at an insane rate. The same applies to the increasing role of technology methods in the education system. One of such teaching methods is them-learning. It has every benefit that both a teacher and a modern student would want – flexibility, great cost, and amazing results.
According to the HurixDigital, with the help of portable technological devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, and others, students get a chance to have a more personalized learning experience. This teaching and learning method can approach many educational issues that are clearly seen with traditional methods.