Times are changing, and more and more students are using their smartphone apps for nearly everything. Today, accessing an education has expanded beyond the gates of schools and universities into the online world, and learning anything can be accomplished independently of a textbook.
This might still seem very strange to many educators, but we can’t deny that change is here as evidenced by:
Diminished frequency of library visits
Onlinedegrees increasingly earned outside of a traditional classroom
Virtualsocializing and collaboration are just as commonplace as live interaction
Anyone can see that, today, students learn differently with a wealth of knowledge literally at their fingertips. Learning has transformed and given rise to eLearning via mobile apps. While some educators still identify lots of challenges with mobile apps, a study conducted by Professors Howard Gardner and Katie Davis has shed light on a number of emerging advantages:
Self-Paced Learning Learning is a continuous process, but not every student learns at the same pace. The introduction of mobile apps in the education space has enabled students to seek and acquire knowledge at their own pace, while also valuing the many different perspectives offered on any subject.
Identity Formation Today’s youth are exposed to a wide range of different identities and cultures in the online world. This has led to more understanding and acceptance of human diversity, even helping some youth better understand and shape their own identity, or persona.
Enhanced Communication Communication between and among youth, their peers, teachers, and parents, is made easier via technology. Mobile apps have facilitated responding to student questions, group collaboration, and parent inquiries, thus increasing transparency in the education sector.
Creative Imagination Gardner and Davis compared graphic creations of youth from 20 years ago and to creations of youth today using a complex coding scheme. The results showed an increase in youth creativity from 48% to 78%.
Intimacy & Acceptance At times controversial, mobile apps have helped youth connect with their peers socially. Distance and social circumstances are no longer a barrier to connecting with others, or even maintaining close relationships.
Helping our students make the best use of technology and mobile apps is a reality we can’t ignore as facilitators of their educational, social and emotional growth. But, has technology gone too far in driving that development? It’s a debatable point. There’s a fine line between being app-enabled and app dependent, something we will explore in our next issue.
There are thousands of apps that we can engage with every day, but Aimee does things a little differently.
While students build their bios, educators can use their Aimee pageto facilitate growth and learning! Educators can seamlessly:
Engage with students in their own digital space
Communicate anywhere, and share feedback directly
Encourage student collaboration and reflection on their learning
Share and celebrate diverse points of view among students
Evaluate student understanding of key concepts
Have some time to spare? Here are two videos directly from Professors Gardner and Davis, where they talk more about what they call “The App Generation.”
