Rationale | byodenglish

‘Mobile learning is the exploitation of ubiquitous handheld hardware, wireless networking and mobile telephony to facilitate, support, enhance and extend the reach of teaching and learning.’ (MoLeNET:2014)

In recent years, the way that we communicate has totally changed. Nowadays, the majority of people in the developed world own some kind of mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablets (In some countries, people even own multiple devices). This is especially true of ‘digital natives’, those born after around 1980, who have grown up being familiar with this technology.

We use smartphones on a daily basis to do a variety of things. For example, in the last week, I have used mine to –

Take photos
Record a video message
Send messages
Check and send emails
Check the weather
Use the internet
Track my running progress
Read the news
Check my bank balance
Make a phone call
Book a ride share

What have you done in the last week using your mobile device?

With the endless possibilities that smartphones offer, coupled with the ability to instantly access a vast amount of date, it makes sense to me to take advantage of this technology with our students. Integrating mobile technology in class can-

‘embed learners in a realistic context at the same time as having access to supporting tools’ (Futurelab: 2004)

To discover more about the benefits of a BYOD model, see Benefits/Challenges