{"id":2413,"date":"2012-05-04T21:36:42","date_gmt":"2012-05-05T01:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/?p=2413"},"modified":"2012-09-27T10:39:00","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T14:39:00","slug":"unesco-working-paper-series-on-mobile-learning-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edutechdebate.org\/mobile-learning-initiatives\/unesco-working-paper-series-on-mobile-learning-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"UNESCO Working Paper Series on Mobile Learning: Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fifth and sixth papers in the UNESCO Series<\/a> (introduced on EduTechDebate here<\/a>) examine mobile learning in Europe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Mobile devices and policies<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first paper, Turning On Mobile Learning in Europe: Illustrative Initiatives and Policy Implications<\/em><\/a>, describes a range of mobile learning programs in the European Union and explores how these programs address educational needs in the region. It also surveys national and local policies related to mobile learning and analyzes their impact.<\/p>\n

As detailed in the paper, many European countries have adopted policies that restrict the use of mobile technologies in education, particularly at the lower grade levels. In this context, it is meaningful that the few countries which have lent serious government support to mobile learning saw explosions in innovation and levels of use. The paper describes a massive initiative in the United Kingdom (UK) called the Mobile Learning Network (MoLeNET) which spanned three years, involved 7,000 staff and 40,000 learners, and had a budget of 12 million British pounds. <\/p>\n

The initiative spawned a panoply of smaller mobile learning projects and experiments, many of which were shown to improve student retention and lower drop-out rates, two goals of the overarching initiative. Although MoLeNET was shelved in 2010, its influence continues to reverberate not only in the UK but across Europe. The paper explains that the Netherlands and Denmark have also invested public money to improve education with mobile technology. Tellingly, both countries are considered to have some of the most advanced and impactful mobile learning projects in Europe.<\/p>\n

Yet despite these examples, mobile learning projects are generally perceived as being less reliant on government funding than earlier efforts to integrate technology in education. They are commonly characterized as bottom-up, rather than top-down initiatives. As the UNESCO Working Paper Series makes clear, a large number of projects have grown up in the \u201cperipheries\u201d of education: many initiatives start small and aim to help learners outside the structures of formal education.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

This approach has had advantages: projects tend to be original and diverse, and they are able to respond quickly to the needs and challenges of particular contexts. However, by tracing the impact of major government-supported initiatives, the Turning on Mobile Learning in Europe<\/em> paper suggests that public money may be crucial to efforts to move mobile learning from the margins of education to the mainstream.<\/p>\n

What do you think?<\/strong><\/p>\n