Written by Todd Hitchcock and Bill Zobrist

Continued from Part I, Part II and Part III.

In planning for this article, we identified numerous ways that mobile learning will transform learning (based on evaluating hundreds of apps in the app store and assessing numerous existing educational technologies). We have categorized these into four key areas:

1. Connectivity/Access While online learning extended access to quality education beyond the traditional classroom, access is not truly everywhere for most users. Learners needed to be in a location where wired or WiFi access is available. While that is more convenient than getting to campus, learners are still required to plan ahead to insure they are in a location that provides adequate connectivity. WiFi enabled mobile devices remove this barrier and further increase access and truly provide for everywhere learning.
2. Immediacy One major advantage of the iPad/tablet is the speed at which the device powers on. “Instant on” allows for a small, but significant mental and physical barrier of “logging on” to work. Like the quick twitch muscles of 100-meter sprinters, learners often want to jump in quickly, complete an activity (such as a blog post, discussion, reading, video, or activity), and then jump back out to something else. Instantaneous access provides the learner with the immediacy desired for quick twitch learning. Removing this latency results in more frequent engagement with others and with the content.
3. Learning Modality Just as the web has opened up a new array of tools for learning, so will the mobile device. Of the hundreds of apps we reviewed, we found examples for visual/spatial learners, auditory learners, tactical/ kinesthetic learners, and interpersonal learners. Touch screens and altimeters will add new and innovative ways for learning to be delivered to the learner.
4. Continuous Learning In North America, when we think of the word learning, for the most part we think of formal educational institutions. Elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities all come to mind. What we don’t often think of is the continuous learning that is occurring nearly all of the time outside of traditional educational institutions. Whether someone is a student perusing formal education or is in the workforce, constant learning is required to both subsist and remain competitive.

Cradling a 10-inch screen in your hands, touching the glass, the instantaneous responsiveness, we are seeing a new frontier of learning where Application may have to be re-thought. Powerful Evaluation engines can be at work determining whether the user has Synthesized the concepts and Analyzed them properly. While most apps have simple assessment, before long, assessments will be done in real-time as the user is working. As a learner seeks to Apply their understanding, an evaluation engine will provide immediate feedback.

Written by Todd Hitchcock and Bill Zobrist

Continued from Part I and Part II.

Defining learning on a mobile

So far, we’ve seen mobile learning at its earliest stages. Whether you call it content snacking or short form content, many of the most popular apps can be defined within

Bloom’s Taxonomy at the lowest levels. Largely, learning apps are comprised of activities like study content, flash cards, and quizzing. There may be some video, but it essentially replaces content that traditionally you would expect to read. We already know people prefer viewing over reading as their main form of consumption.

In this respect, most apps fall into the categories of Knowledge and Comprehension. Simple activities like those mentioned have physical world equivalents. The value of using a mobile device for these equivalents is debatable except for the tremendous convenience they afford the learner. The importance of which is not to be underestimated. But, is there any change to learning? Have we changed the process?

Where learning on a mobile can begin to substantially redefine the model are in areas of higher order on Bloom’s. With the recent release of the iPad and the forthcoming onslaught of Android devices, Windows and others, change is upon us in deeply significant ways. The footprint of a tablet signals a shift in learning to a comprehensive model that allows for deeply personal interactions, which in turn should lead to comprehensive digestion. By this, we mean that a tablet allows learning to take place like never before and in a deeply meaningful way.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s the learning management system launched a new era in education – online learning. Online learning has revolutionized education, increasing access to educational opportunities for students that they otherwise would not have had. Online learning broke down the barrier between time and space and blew up the agrarian calendar that had been the mainstay in education for hundreds of years. Mobile learning will extend the online learning model exponentially.

This article appears in the Experts’ Guide to the Postsecondary Market a new publication of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). To read the article in its entirety, download it here. This article was planned, collaborated on, and written using mobile devices and apps.

Todd Hitchcock is Vice President of Pearson Learning Solutions. He has been working in the educational technology field for the past twenty years. He has held a number of leadership roles in the United States and Canada, including Technology Officer for a large suburban school district, Director of Account Management at eCollege, Vice President of Global Services at Florida Virtual School, and for the past three years, Vice President of Online Solutions for Pearson Education. Todd is an advocate for educational improvement through innovative technologies and currently is on the Board of Directors for the International Associate for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) and the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA).

Bill Zobrist is the Director of Online and Emerging Product Strategy in the Pearson Learning Solutions (PLS) group of Pearson. Bill envisions and builds new educational technology products and services. Presently, he is crafting mobile learning products. Bill can be reached at bill.zobrist@pearson.com or followed on Twitter: @bzobrist.