The good news is that we are starting to see more openness to mobile devices in classrooms. Teachers are more open to leveraging mobile devices and administrators are starting to relax their knee-jerk reactions to the dangers. The bad news is that you still have to cobble together systems and websites to start using mobile devices – and those tools might be different from one classroom to the next.
But what if all of the mobile devices – as well as laptops, desktops, and other devices – could communicate with each other, no matter what they are or what software they are using?
Apparently, this is a problem that emergency responders have also had. So researchers at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies (in partnership with many other universities) have developed a set of tools that will let people communicate with each other using whatever device or operating system they want.
The details are in the article and they sound promising. This is what we will need in the classroom of the future – the ability to connect all of the different devices students could bring in and let them communicate with each other. Even if the Internet connection goes down, students could still connect and network. Obviously, future web apps and programs will need to be able to adjust to this new technology seamlessly. But the educational potential is very interesting.
Matt is currently an Instructional Designer II at Orbis Education and a Part-Time Instructor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Previously he worked as a Learning Innovation Researcher with the UT Arlington LINK Research Lab. His work focuses on learning theory, Heutagogy, and learner agency. Matt holds a Ph.D. in Learning Technologies from the University of North Texas, a Master of Education in Educational Technology from UT Brownsville, and a Bachelors of Science in Education from Baylor University. His research interests include instructional design, learning pathways, sociocultural theory, heutagogy, virtual reality, and open networked learning. He has a background in instructional design and teaching at both the secondary and university levels and has been an active blogger and conference presenter. He also enjoys networking and collaborative efforts involving faculty, students, administration, and anyone involved in the education process.