Thursday, November 21, 2013

Efficiency but not necessarily motivation: Student attitudes to using mobile devices in their learning

The infographic below was developed by the Australia-based organisation, Open Colleges. The things that caught my attention were some of the statistics, which, while fairly meaningless on their own, do present an attitudinal 'picture'.
  • 59% of students said that they would like to bring in their own mobile devices to enhance learning
  • 86% of students believe they study more efficiently with access to mobile technologies
  • 77% of teachers believe that access to technology boosts student motivation
  • 76% of teachers feel it enhances the material that is being learned
It was interesting that the students didn't report increased levels of engagement or motivation, but rather focussed on efficiency and organisation, which raised some questions for me around 'how' students were being encouraged to learn in these tech enabled spaces.

The infographic also reports on the results of a study whereby when teachers integrated digital games into lessons, students raised their average test scores from 79.1% to 91.5%.

The picture sketched here is one of increased engagement and motivation...although some of the bigger questions around, for instance, community involvement and culturally responsive design are not mentioned, and the development of blended learning sessions and approaches is only alluded to (e.g. there is a brief mention of Problem Based Learning).

It would be good to hear what your reactions was, overall, to the infographic, but also what else you feel is missing.

Enhanced by Zemanta

No comments: