The Novice vs. The ‘Expert’

Lauren B — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 04:50:09 +0000

The paper, Mobile Learning thinking: Get on your skateboard to keep up! written by Margaret Robertson begins with an unexpected insight into the world of a kid under ten years living in today’s society. The observations made by this child support the trends of which we are all aware. Robertson purports that educators require ‘constant vigilance to accommodate change’ and with colleagues, is conducting a classroom based research project. This project aims to understand the pedagogical changes that are required for educating students for the digital world and some experiences are shared in the paper. These are interesting, the novice versus the ‘expert’ teacher especially – one teacher who shows little inclination to include technology uses computers as a reward, assumes his students are engaged in the curriculum content just because they’re using computers. While the next teacher is engaging the students in the work the computers were being used as a ‘filing system’ rather than a tool that could extend understandings. These teachers aren’t effectively using the mobile learning tools of which they are provided, but then there’s the ‘expert’. This teacher has multiple tasks running simultaneously, tasks that engaged the students, enhancing their learning through problem-solving and discussion. This teacher has created a classroom community based on mutual respect and trust, allowing the teacher to utilise the mobile learning tools incorporating critical thinking and enquiry that Robertson believes is offering opportunities for ‘next generational thinking’. Robertson concludes that a constant renewal of ideas will assist students to build resilience for change, which will become a skill pertinent to their future lives.

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Pencils, Paper and Podcasts. » mobile learning

The Novice vs. The ‘Expert’