Abstract:

Most teacher education programs do not promote an understanding of how to incorporate mobile learning experiences into Early Childhood classrooms. For one reason, most U.S. public school classrooms contain not so much a group as a collection of individuals – understanding is reached by individuals on distinct, if not divergent, paths toward a common goal. Despite significant research on the importance of the social nature of learning (Brown & Campione, 1994; Rogoff, 1990; Slavin, 1996; Vygotsky, 1978), curriculum and instruction remain constructed around the individual as the unit of learning (Edwards et al., 1994; Nimmo, 1998; Scardamalia et al., 1994). Mobile learning has the potential to transform education and teacher education.
Over the past two decades, there has been increasing interest among American educators in such approaches to group learning as cooperative and project-based learning (Edwards et al., 1998; Johnson & Johnson, 1995). More recently, digital technologies have opened new windows into complex possibilities in classroom contexts (Ito, et al, 2008; Lenhart, et al, 2008). Insights are emerging as to the value of technologies and their connection to the social nature of learning among schools’ youngest participants. This paper extends this work into the a University context, specifically forging a link between preschool classrooms and teacher education. Both of these connections- context and educational level- offer opportunities for new understandings and practices that can support how individuals learn from and with each other. Thoughtful design of mobile learning coursework and professional development opportunities will be a powerful means of making visible—and shaping—individual and group learning processes and products (Ally, 2009).
Common expectations and practice in teacher education overwhelmingly identify students (of varying age) as members of the learning group, while teachers remain somehow outside that process (see, e.g., Damon, 1984). The explicit expectation that learners and teachers are all members of the mobile learning group challenges this notion. Such challenges often lead teachers to make significant changes in their teaching that are more in line with constructivist practice, such as giving students more voice and choice (see also, Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993; Hubbard & Power, 1999; Weinbaum et al., 2004). One of the obvious benefits of mobile learning is the freedom of an individual to pursue an interest or line of inquiry, but mobile learning technologies also afford increased opportunities for such individuals to connect, collaborate and communicate with others (Ally, 2009; Klopfer, 2008). The confines of classroom walls and socio-cultural boundaries need no longer exist as obstacles to learning. Discussions relating to pedagogy should include young children as well as adult learners in various educational settings. Evolving questions and tensions tend to revolve around reconciling current digital media use with the traditional notions of early childhood classroom practices: What are the fundamental tools that are used by children and families, and how can these be made most accessible to children in early childhood settings? How can mobile learning experiences enhance and extend learning and meet educational and developmental objectives/standards? What are the best ways to introduce and promote the use of mobile learning in early childhood and teacher education learning environments?

Keywords:

m-learning, mobile devices, mobile learning, handheld devices.