New era of mobile learning is here, conference told

"For the generations of children born in the 21st century, book learning has taken on a whole new meaning." summarizes Rose Simone, Record staff.

Photo: Waterloo Record

Books are now apt to be tablets or smartphones, and they contain more than words and pictures. The new generation of “digital natives,” as Kunal Gupta, chief executive of Polar Mobile calls them, expects to also have fun while learning.

 Gupta, who was speaking at a “Mobilize” conference hosted by the Waterloo-based e-learning solutions company Desire2Learn on Monday at Bingemans conference centre, says the fact that these digital natives are practically born tethered to mobile devices is changing everything.

The conference was attended by about 500 people, including educators and students interested in digital media jobs.

The conference also dealt with issues such as making the learning environment equitable for students from less affluent homes and how to ensure the content on smartphones and tablets brought to school remains appropriate for younger children.
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Source: Waterloo Record