Cover image credit: "learn"by Mark Brannan is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
What?
This reflection is in response to articles by Haniya, & Rusch (2017) and Wishart (2018) on the benefits and challenges surrounding ubiquitous learning (UL).
Digital technology is embedded in society, it is everywhere, or ubiquitous - a natural part of our everyday life. At home, my children regularly ask “Alexa” questions that lead to ongoing conversations. One such example involved checking the time in New Zealand to see if it was an appropriate time to call cousins. This led to discussions about night and day, time zones and seasons. Haniya & Rusch (2017) highlight that this example is a common learning experience that occurs in many households around the world.
So for the context of this reflection, UL is often referred to as “on-demand” and can be defined as learning anytime, anyplace, and nearly anywhere (Haniya & Rusch, 2017; Wishart, 2018). This just-in-time culture situated in the “Knowledge Age” that we live in provides both informal and formal educational opportunities and challenges. For example, not all have equitable access to the Internet which the United Nations (2011) and 79% of participants in a global survey (BBC, 2010) recognize as a human right.
According to Haniya & Rusch (2017), embracing UL can have “the potential to be a disruptive force in K-12 schools...to empower students’ learning capabilities” (2017, p. 49), and they suggest four changes to ensure that this occurs.
Table 1. Suggested structural changes to formal education
Simply leveraging technology will not guarantee that UL occurs as there are many factors that need considering. With greater access to information, there is an increased risk of being exposed to inaccurate information and inappropriate content. There is also the chance that vulnerable students participating in online communities could be exploited. Inequitable access to information and technology are aspects that need to be considered if teachers are utilizing a blended learning model approach (Haniya & Rusch, 2017; Wishart, 2018). Lastly, mobile devices have the potential to amplify learning but use is often restricted by rule-based policies due to a number of concerns (Figure 1) that educators have. Wishart (2018) correctly states that these issues are related to student behaviour, not technology.
Figure 1. Educations concerns with mobile use
So What?
If we are to leverage technology to disrupt education, we must do so with a clear understanding of how we can support the development of all learners to be confident and competent digital citizens. Livingstone et al. (2017) point out that being born in this digital technology-infused society does not guarantee that learners know how to safely and skillfully navigate the complexities that come with it. An educational partnership between school and home is required to ensure that learners have ongoing authentic experiences that develop their knowledge and skills. Alongside this, educational institutions need to ensure that their information and technology infrastructure is safe and secure and afford learners the opportunity to access content offline.
For mobile learning policy, Wishart (2018) suggests that schools look to the value-based ethical principles of the medical profession (Table 2) for inspiration and guidance.
Table 2. Four principles of medical ethics
Source: Wishart (2018, p. 87)
Now What?
In reflection, I feel that our school positively embraces UL opportunities that technology can provide, and addresses most of the challenges outlined. For example, this year all students in our school will explicitly explore digital citizenship.
Some areas I plan to work alongside our community to review are:
Bibliography & References
BBC (2010). Internet access is 'a fundamental right'. BBC World Services. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8548190.stm
Haniya, S., & Rusch, A. (2017). Ubiquitous learning: Spatio-temporal dimensions of e-learning. In B. Cope & M. Kalantzis (Eds.), e-learning ecologies: Principles for new learning and assessment (pp. 46-64). Routledge.
Livingstone, S., Nandi, A., Banaji, S., & Stoilova, M. (2017). Young adolescents and digital media: uses, risks and opportunities in low-and middle-income countries: a rapid evidence review. Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence.
Wishart, J. (2018). Ethical considerations in the incorporation of mobile and ubiquitous technologies into teaching and learning in educational contexts. In S. Yu, M. Ally & A. Tsinakos (Eds.), Mobile and ubiquitous learning: An international handbook (pp. 81-93). Springer.
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