Keynote Speaker

Mobile learning revolution: implications for pedagogy

Agnes Kukulska-Hulme - The Open University,
United Kingdom

Abstract:

Mobile technologies enable ingenious and unobtrusive ways to interweave the demands of life, work, and learning, but their increasingly widespread adoption disrupts established educational and social practices. We are therefore challenged to assess the value of a mobile-assisted education. Investigations of mobile learner attitudes and behaviours in both formal and informal settings suggest that smartphones and other personal devices may facilitate learner self-direction, contributing to the development of more active and mature dispositions towards learning. This is rekindling interest in teaching approaches that draw on the erstwhile ideals of andragogy and heutagogy, which have privileged learner self-determination. The talk will make special reference to language learning, a personal and often lifelong endeavour which stands to benefit from novel combinations of personal technology use with episodes of formal and informal learning. Our mobile learning research and development work at The Open University has built expertise around pedagogical innovation in tandem with advancements in technology. Combining teacher-led, developer-led and learner-led innovation, we aspire to develop pedagogies that recognize the specific characteristics of design and support for mobile and contextual learning.

Biographical Information:

Agnes Kukulska-Hulme is Professor of Learning Technology and Communication and Associate Director (Learning and Teaching) in the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University. She is President of the International Association for Mobile Learning. She has co-edited Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers (2005) and Researching Mobile Learning: Frameworks, Tools and Research Designs (2009). Her recent work includes guest editorship of special issues of ReCALL, Research in Learning Technology, and Open Learning, all concerned with research and practice in mobile learning, as well as leading numerous projects investigating innovative practice with learning technologies in post-16 education, distance education and informal language learning.