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Mobile phones in the classroom? "They help!"

Knee-jerk response to the idea of  letting kids take their cellphones into class: "No way!" But according to a panel at last week's Mobile Learning Conference, that may be the wrong response.

“Mobile broadband technology is increasing efficiency and productivity for businesses across the country, and this year’s Mobile Learning Conference strongly suggests that the same can be true for America’s schools,” said David Diggs, Executive Director of The Wireless Foundation, a MLC09 co-sponsor, in Washington.

In a report posted by the Wireless Foundation after the conference, it became clear that the academics aren't actually suggesting that kids should sit and text each other during lessons. Instead, they are looking at mobiles as ways of accessing the Internet.

Tuesday’s session included a number of notable presentations covering a diverse range of topics and viewpoints from a distinguished line-up of speakers, including Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs, Co-Founder and Chairman of Qualcomm; Dr. Elliot Soloway, University of Michigan professor and education visionary; Carly Shuler, a fellow of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop; Carolyn Brandon, Vice President of Policy for CTIA-The Wireless Association; and Marc Pensky, internationally acclaimed speaker, writer, and designer of novel approaches to education and learning.

One initiative highlighted at MLC09 was Project K-Nect, a pilot project that used advanced mobile wireless technology to improve math skills among at-risk ninth grade students in select North Carolina schools. The project is supported by Qualcomm through its Wireless Reach initiative. “Social networking for educational purposes turned out to be one of the more useful outcomes of Project K-Nect as students reached out via their smartphones to get help on their math problems,” said Dr. Jacobs. Quote from the report:

“If there’s any technology that is going to bridge the digital divide, it’s mobile technologies,” said Dr. Soloway during the “What is Mobile Learning?” panel presentation. In addition to holding appointments within three colleges at the University of Michigan, Dr. Soloway, along with Dr. Cathleen Norris, also a speaker at MLC09, founded GoKnow Learning, Inc., which is focused on developing technology-pervasive, standards-based, scientifically validated curriculum and educational tools, with the goal of enabling children to use their mobile, handheld devices for essentially 100% of the classroom’s teaching and learning activities.

“We were so excited to learn this week from educators that utilizing wireless broadband services and devices for learning isn’t just a trend, but rather a sustainable solution to educational technology that can enhance the classroom experience for millions of students in all areas of the country,” said Ms. Brandon.

“We are at the tipping point for mobile learning,” said Ms. Shuler. “Just as television was a fundamental part of children's lives when Sesame Street introduced millions of children and their families to its educational potential, mobile devices are part of the fabric of children’s lives today. When Sesame Street started, the question they sought to answer was 'How can emerging media help children learn?' This question is just as relevant today as we consider the role of mobile devices in the education of 21st century children.”

Ms. Shuler’s paper, “Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children’s Learning,” was published in January by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.

The 2009 Mobile Learning Impact Award was presented to David Whyley, project director of Learning2Go, for the initiative’s innovative use of pocket computers in education. Learning2Go is currently the largest collaborative mobile learning project for pupils in the United Kingdom.