Learning Conversations

This recent video (see below) considers 20 ways to use an iPod (and other mobile devices) in education. It’s interesting to consider new technologies like this and where they currently fit into the ‘Hype Cycle’. Will iPods (with associated applications) and other mobile devices follow technologies such as blogs and become well accepted amongst the education community as potentially powerful learning technologies (depending on how they’re used, of course)? If this does happen, will schools opt for cheaper ‘class sets’ of iPods rather than purchasing more expensive laptops or less flexible desktop arrangements?
More importantly, it’s interesting to analyse videos like this one and explore how many uses might approach Hedberg’s (2006) ‘generativity’ level of ICT use (see Table 1 on p5) ie. use of ICTs to encourage “learners to construct their understanding of phenomena” (p5) as distinct from presentational and representational uses of learning technologies. A couple of uses approaching this level were flagged in the Youtube clip (see below), although there were many others that seemed to replicate traditional instructionist approaches. One interesting example shown was the use of a mobile device to capture, view and review video footage (eg. of your own teaching).

Hedberg, J. G. (2006). Searching for disruptive pedagogies: matching pedagogies to the technologies. Paper presented at the Curriculum Corporation 13th National Conference. Retrieved 6/8/09, from http://cmslive.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/Hedberg_Paper.pdf