Educators have always been trying to find a way to help the learners in the educational process. Going back to the 5th century Greece, they started with a simple but efficient way to enhance calculation – an abacus. But that was long before the technological revolution and the introduction of personal computers. Back in 1950’s the first Computer Based Training programmes were invented initially for the aviation industry. These programmes were simple and gave the learners the opportunity to access some documents in an electronic form. That was sufficient enough to support traditional delivery and the trend started to evolve slowly till 90’s. With the rise in the accessibility to PCs more and more educational institutions as well as corporate organisations started to adapt CBT and take it on board. The notion of training with an electronic device as opposed to the student was there but not fully explored. Then the World Wide Web (WWW) came to light and caught like fire all over the world. That revolution made the world shrink but also enabled better communication and collaboration. The educational changes had to come and as early as 1994 the first Online High School was opened in the states which enabled students to access their courses online, without the need to leave their houses, learn at their own pace. The scenario seemed perfect but still what was missing was some interactivity and engagement –which was provided by Web 2.0 or eLearning 2.0 tools – multimedia that allowed to embed videos, animations, create motivating quizzes and many more online.
Then another trend emerged – smartphones followed by tablets of different makes. People started using their smartphones on the go, just in time when they needed it which gave the beginning to mobile learning (mLearning). Mobile learning is nothing but the use of portable, mobile devices for learning. In corporate settings people started to use their own devices for checking emails, browsing the Net but also for learning. The mlearning trend started to be more and more popular in English language training as finally English was widely accessible to people from all over the world at lower costs. Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) started with using short message systems (SMS) for teaching English and moved into microblogging, social networking sites, using multiple applications. MALL seemed to be a perfect solution for small, digestible language lessons, Web 2.0 tools as well as multiple apps on multiple devices allowed for practicing all skills at an individual pace. Still language schools were struggling to get the costly devices for their students and were asking themselves if the investment was really worth is. At the same time tablets and smartphones became more accessible, as their prices dropped and the WIFI connectivity improved all over the world. That allowed students to buy affordable and well performing devices and they preferred using them from the school- owned ones. That is why Bring You Own Device/ Technology (BYOD/BYOT) found its way to both private and public educational institutions. BYOD/BYOT needs preparation and planning, as we need to take into consideration the individuals, their skills as well as the school and the whole infrastructure. How to set up for the implementation? Go here to see the published paper on how to enhance an intermediate syllabus for ESL students with BYOD interventions.
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How to Start?Here you will find my short blogs on how to start with ICT in TESOL. You will also learn what is out there with regards to mLearning. Archives
November 2017
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