The question of whether or not Saudi students need smart devices can be, in my opinion, answered very resolutely – no. Does anyone truly need “smart” devices to learn? Again, the answer is no. For centuries students and other learners have learned in a more traditional way, and this has worked well. These new technological devices may enhance learning, but are they needed? Absolutely not.
The gap between the uses of mobile technology at home and the uses at school are huge. Very rarely would students willingly use an application for learning on their own free time. Mobiles are mainly used for social media, and not in a way that is conductive to learning.
This being said, it is not to say that using mobile devices for learning is completely hopeless. In fact, there could in fact be a few potential benefits IF these devices are used correctly and most importantly, monitored. The fact that mobile devices are almost always with students is one benefit. If these students could use just a fraction of this time to open up, for example, an app that would help them with grammar, or one that could teach them new vocabulary, the results could be staggering.
However, I do not believe that educators in the most general sense are willing to allow this sort of fundamental change in the educational system. They are hesitant, and why wouldn’t they be? From an educator’s point of view, mobile devices are time wasters that distract students from their work. Until it is proven to be otherwise (and here the work mainly falls on the students) this
educational technological revolution will not ever have a change to happen.
Adapting this technology to an educational system would involve reaching out to students who are not already convinced that phones and other mobile devices are mainly used for entertainment purposes. From there you would be able to teach them to use these devices in a beneficial way. In order to take mobile learning to another level (or even a starting level) the educational system has to be taught in a different, more technology centered way to students, and teachers themselves will have to relearn how to teach.
The gap between the uses of mobile technology at home and the uses at school are huge. Very rarely would students willingly use an application for learning on their own free time. Mobiles are mainly used for social media, and not in a way that is conductive to learning.
This being said, it is not to say that using mobile devices for learning is completely hopeless. In fact, there could in fact be a few potential benefits IF these devices are used correctly and most importantly, monitored. The fact that mobile devices are almost always with students is one benefit. If these students could use just a fraction of this time to open up, for example, an app that would help them with grammar, or one that could teach them new vocabulary, the results could be staggering.
However, I do not believe that educators in the most general sense are willing to allow this sort of fundamental change in the educational system. They are hesitant, and why wouldn’t they be? From an educator’s point of view, mobile devices are time wasters that distract students from their work. Until it is proven to be otherwise (and here the work mainly falls on the students) this
educational technological revolution will not ever have a change to happen.
Adapting this technology to an educational system would involve reaching out to students who are not already convinced that phones and other mobile devices are mainly used for entertainment purposes. From there you would be able to teach them to use these devices in a beneficial way. In order to take mobile learning to another level (or even a starting level) the educational system has to be taught in a different, more technology centered way to students, and teachers themselves will have to relearn how to teach.
