Title:	BEYOND MOBILE LEARNING: IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION AND THE DEVELOPMENTOF SOCIAL SKILLS IN STUDENTS’ DISCOURSE ON THE IPOD
Author(s):	André H. Caron , Letizia Caronia
ISBN:	978-972-8924-77-5
Editors:	Inmaculada Arnedillo Sánchez and Pedro Isaías
Year:	2009
Edition:	Single
Keywords:	Mobile Culture, Mobile Learning, iPod's.
Type:	Full Paper
First Page:	65
Last Page:	72
Language:	English
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Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	The growing adoption of mobile information technologies by educational institutions, and the proliferation of distance education and e-learning programs warrant a thorough investigation of the consequences of these phenomena. Contemporary research on mobile learning focuses mainly on issues such as the acquisition of knowledge, the development of cognitive skills, students’ motivation to participate in teaching/learning processes, and the efficiency of these tools with respect to the achievement of specific educational goals. Nonetheless, the consequences of the adoption of a technology within a learning context for educational purposes should not be reduced solely to the cognitive dimension implied in its use, nor should it be measured only in terms of goal achievement. Even if conceived as purely educational tools, technologies are complex social objects that redefine the sense of the context, the activity and even the identity of the actors engaged in their use. When educational institutions adopt mobile information technologies as strongly recommended or even mandatory tools for learning, they propose more than a supposedly efficient educational instrument or technology-formatted contents. They introduce a form of life. By form of life we mean a repertoire of possible uses, actions, meanings and even intended actors that the users may adopt. A technology is then a condensed social context within which learning takes place. We might then ask, what kinds of learning are at stake? To grasp the richness and the complexity of the learning involved in using mobile information devices, we need a larger and holistic definition of learning that goes beyond simply acquiring knowledge of particular topics, or processing information for some formal educational purpose. Learning through mobile devices is a larger and complex process that involves different aspects of an individual’s psychological, cultural and social development. How does the use of an iPod affect the students’ identity? How does it contribute to the development of social skills and social awareness? Drawing on research involving 120 university students recruited from different disciplines, this paper focuses on the complex and multiple consequences of the introduction of this technology as an educational tool in students’ academic life. On the basis of data coming from diaries and focus groups, we will address how the use of mobile learning devices in a mostly academic setting is strongly related to crucial issues such as users’ identity, peer community membership and the creation of social codes governing the use of mobile devices in public places.
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