Can Smartphones Support Smart Learning ?
Epic, a UK based elearning product and services provider, recently hosted a debate about smartphones and their applications in elearning. Interestingly those assembled voted by a small majority that learning via smartphones was more about the pedagogy than the technology.
Smartphones, at a minimum could provide a way to fit learning into "gaps" in peoples' lives, whether waiting on train (if you commute in London you will have plenty of time), at a bus stop, in a supermarket car park, at an airport and so on. While the technology and its reliability on key factors such as battery life and signal strength are still being refined, it is unlikely that there will be major investment by companies in smartphone learning applications in the immediate future.
The ability to interact with online content on the move offers a range of vocational and lifestyle applications. From a company or organizational perspective, a mobile learning strategy could benefit both the employer and employee.
With a smartphone, employees off-site could reference company policies and directives and view instructional manuals, contributing directly to employee capability and performance. Alternatively, employees could use the medium for motives of self interest, such as promotion, by undertaking exam practice or aptitude tests to expand their knowledge directly related to their area of expertise.
Language learning is a good example, as it often straddles both learning camps: leisure and work-based necessity. Within language learning there are four key areas: writing, listening, reading and speaking. Clearly the first three can fit neatly into smart phone applications, while speaking may not be so easy on the go. Imagine trying to read out French phrasal verbs on a packed commuter train. Only those with the thickest of skins would attempt it.
With large providers such as Adobe investing in things like their elearning Suite, which provides an authoring tool to allow the creation and publication of Smart phones, the potential is clearly there for content creators. However, the technology may have to deliver an increased level of robustness to realize it.
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