5 Ways Classrooms Can Learn From Mobile Apps

Mobile phones have historically been banned from the classroom and seen as a distraction to education. But with new developments in education apps, there are some very powerful mobile concepts that can be transferred the classroom. 1. Provide instant feedback Mobile technology allows users to receive instant feedback for almost anything. 2. Build contextual lessons Anyone that has learned a language in an immersive environment knows that learning from your surroundings is far more powerful than reading vocabulary in a book. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “you learn by living”. 3. Break lessons into bite-sized pieces Mobile technology is nothing if not convenient. Content is available in doses as small or as large as you want. During a ten minute bus ride you can catch up on CNN’s world news. In two minutes between phone calls, you might be able to play four rounds of Angry Birds. Everything is quick and easy to consume. 4. Personalize lesson content to students’ interests The beauty of mobile apps are that they are extremely personalized. Apps often learn from your interests and actions so that they can provide different experiences to different users. Voxy for example, a mobile language education app serves sports lessons to sports fans or pop culture lessons to socialites. 5. Incorporate a social aspect Apart from the giants of Twitter and Facebook, many mobile apps are tapping into social media. For example, you can play Dice With Friends on your phone or chat online during World of Warcraft to reach a goal together. Skype connects students wishing to learn a foreign language, and Pinterest allows you to share dreams with pinners worldwide. While you may not physically be together, mobile apps allow you to be constantly connected to those around you. This is a guest-post by Jess Weeg from Voxy.com, an innovative language learning platform; image attribution flickr user iamlamont.com, welsmissions, and havefunteaching. Source: http://www.teachthought.com/learning/5-ways-classrooms-can-learn-from-mobile-apps/