Mobile Technologies

Mobile technologies provide instructional designers the access to learning and design tools at their fingertips. Designers can update training and learning materials more easily through the use of mobile technology. Mobile learning also allows learners the ability to personalize and take charge of their own learning, leading to higher engagement and retention of information. Mobile learning provides easy access to information and materials, is cost effective, and allows learners to take in new information in short bursts, reducing cognitive overload (American College of Education, 2022).

Below is an example of an implementation plan of the Zello app in k-12 school settings. The use of this app on mobile devices can improve communication amongst teachers and school personnel for behavior and safety emergencies within classroom and school settings.

Acquiring new skills, knowledge and information through the use of mobile technologies is known as mobile learning (Qarkaxhja et al, 2021). Mobile learning has many benefits in workplace settings, such as increasing communication and collaboration amongst employees, as well as aiding in the delivery of employee training. Mobile learning also allows learners the ability to personalize and take charge of their own learning, leading to higher engagement and retention of information. Mobile learning provides easy access to information and materials, is cost effective, and allows learners to take in new information in short bursts, reducing cognitive overload (American College of Education, 2022).

This paper will outline a plan for implementing mobile technologies to solve a communication problem in k-12 education settings. Currently, most teachers need to use the landline provided within their classroom to contact the office in case of a behavior or safety emergency within their classroom. The office then needs to contact the behavior team or other school personnel equipped to handle the situation. By incorporating a communication app such as Zello, teachers will be able to communicate directly with the behavior team or other personnel in their school. This will save time and allow for the behavior or safety emergency to be handled much faster.

The overall goal of implementing Zello within a k-12 school setting would be to enhance the speed of communication between teachers, admin, paras, and safety care teams. In order to implement this mobile technology, a proposal will be given to the administration with the information on the Zello website. Upon approval, a training session would be held for all teachers where they will be able to download the app and sign in using their district email. They will add the contacts of the necessary teachers, admin, paras, and safety care team and learn how to communicate with them in case of an emergency.

With the growing possibilities of using mobile devices for learning and workplace settings, it can be hard to understand the best use of ethics before every situation. According to Farrow (2011) “educators need to continually use their own judgement when dealing with ethical issues and dilemmas that arise in the context of teaching and learning” (p. 9). There are some ethical dilemmas that could potentially challenge the implementation of Zello in k-12 school settings. Every employee would need to utilize their own mobile device, as opposed to a designated device provided by the school. This would mean that every employee would also be using their own personal phone number and would have access to the phone numbers of their employees.

One benefit of Zello is that it can be downloaded on any device and work on any network. It also has safety features which help to encrypt communications without interception or interference. The Zello account used by employees can be connected to the school Wi-Fi to only be used while on the school premises. Employees personal mobile device information will be secure with the use of the app, and employees can choose to use their own data when accessing features on their device not related to the Zello app.

In the 21st century, the use of mobile technologies in educational and workplace settings have the power to foster and promote collaborative environments with open communication (Farrow, 2011). Learning to navigate these technologies and incorporate them into learning environments can prove to be beneficial in facilitating connectiveness and positive learner outcomes.

References:

American College of Education. (2023). DL5763 – Trends in Instructional Design: Module 5 [Video Presentation]. Canvas. https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1899433/external_tools/118428

Farrow, Robert (2011). Mobile learning: a meta-ethical taxonomy. In: IADIS International Conference, Mobile Learning 2011, 10-12 Mar 2011, Avila, Spain.

Qarkaxhja, Y., Kryukova, N. I., Cherezova, Y. A., Rozhnov, S. N., Khairullina, E. R., & Bayanova, A. R. (2021). Digital transformation in education: Teacher candidate views on mobile learning. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 16(19), 81–93. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v16i19.26033