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Beyond Mobile Learning: Identity Construction and the Development of Social Awareness

Beyond Mobile Learning: Identity Construction and the Development of Social Awareness

André H. Caron, Letizia Caronia, Pascal Gagné
Copyright: © 2011 |Pages: 13
ISBN13: 9781616928490|ISBN10: 1616928492|EISBN13: 9781616928513
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61692-849-0.ch004
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MLA

Caron, André H., et al. "Beyond Mobile Learning: Identity Construction and the Development of Social Awareness." Mobile Technologies and Handheld Devices for Ubiquitous Learning: Research and Pedagogy, edited by Wan Ng, IGI Global, 2011, pp. 45-57. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61692-849-0.ch004

APA

Caron, A. H., Caronia, L., & Gagné, P. (2011). Beyond Mobile Learning: Identity Construction and the Development of Social Awareness. In W. Ng (Ed.), Mobile Technologies and Handheld Devices for Ubiquitous Learning: Research and Pedagogy (pp. 45-57). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61692-849-0.ch004

Chicago

Caron, André H., Letizia Caronia, and Pascal Gagné. "Beyond Mobile Learning: Identity Construction and the Development of Social Awareness." In Mobile Technologies and Handheld Devices for Ubiquitous Learning: Research and Pedagogy, edited by Wan Ng, 45-57. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2011. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61692-849-0.ch004

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Abstract

Contemporary research on mobile learning focuses mainly on issues such as the acquisition of knowledge, the development of cognitive skills 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 intended 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 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 on 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 123 Canadian university students recruited from different disciplines (on the basis of data coming from diaries and focus groups), this chapter focuses on the multiple consequences of the introduction of this technology as an educational tool in students’ academic life.

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