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APP-roaching Digital Age: FORMULATING AN APPLICATION FOR IMMACULATES’ EDUCATION
In partial fulfillment of the requirements in
English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Submitted by:
Alec Daniel E. Cruz
Submitted by:
Ma’am April S. Juating
November 7, 2017
APP-roaching Digital Age: FORMULATING AN APPLICATION FOR IMMACULATES’ EDUCATION
CHAPTER I
As the 20th Century passed, much has transformed innovatively, especially the students’ and teachers’ approaches in education. Learning institutions adapted to the continuous advancement of technology; 21st Century schools started altering traditional learning methods and embraced the rise of the Digital Age. Countries have incessantly researched the best methods to achieve enhanced-quality education for knowledge is believed to be the key towards productivity and progress. Hamidi (2013) believes that it is obligatory to scrutinize at schools and education and see if education is advancing in step with the world that is revolutionizing and progressing quickly. As observed, schools have adapted to the Digital Age by applying E-learning (Electronic Learning) specifically M-Learning (Mobile Learning) in imparting knowledge to 21st Century students. According to Goksu (2013), positive changes in extend of pedagogical, technological and economic aspects have been caused by the inclusion of e-learning in the learning process and its becoming widespread as a component of traditional education. The research conducted by Ericsson (2012) shows that the data transmitted through mobile networks have compounded dramatically which indicates that people are using mobile technologies more often and they usually favor to use these in order to access information. Those mobile technologies include the use of mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
In the Philippines, the number of schools utilizing electronic learning and mobile learning is relentlessly proliferating. Most senior high schools and colleges already use e-books (electronic books) for students’ readings and different applications for answering homeworks and quizzes. In Immaculate Concepcion School of Baliuag (ICSB), which is the researcher’s focus, laptop is the mainly used mobile device. Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, Google and Google Scholar, and E-books are frequently the features of E-learning utilized by Immaculates. The researcher believes that more features of E-learning could be applied in ICSB to better provide education to students.
According to research conducted by Bowen (2012), students prefer mobile applications more than mobile web browsers in using social networking, reading news, and entertaining themselves with games and music. Moreover, students still preferred mobile apps more than mobile web browsers for course-related tasks like accessing course schedule, grades and announcements, reading articles, textbooks and course materials, taking notes and quizzes, turning-in assignments, and sharing documents with other students. The largest percentage of students indicated that mobile apps are both faster and easier to use in accessing information on their mobile devices. In short, instead of Immaculates just using laptops in creating documents or accessing the internet for information, the author believes that the use of mobile application in learning would better deliver knowledge to ICSB students.
The researcher, being a student of ICSB, believes that this concept paper could be of great help not only to himself and future students of ICSB but also to other Filipino students. This paper would be relevant to institutions, teachers, parents, and students for this will present the possible methods for effective and efficient learning; this concept paper will also make the readers aware of the importance of technology in learning especially M-learning. This paper aims to present the methods in formulating the mobile application that could be used by the students. The concept of using the proposed mobile application will be tested by Junior and Senior High Immaculates if it would be advantageous, which in turn will benefit themselves and the future students of ICSB and the Philippines.
CHAPTER II
This chapter is about formulating an application for Immaculates’ Education. Specifically, it aims to answer:
- Is the use of mobile application for most course-related activities more beneficial for Immaculates than the traditional way of using pen and paper or the senior-high approach of using laptops in some activities?
- What features could the eyed application be composed of?
- Do stakeholders prefer to have mobile applications to assist students’ education?
CHAPTER III
In this chapter, the answers to the problems will be stated. The answers will be based on related literatures and preliminary researches. The research questions stated are the bases whether the concept will push through; as the concept gets ratified, the research will push through to prove whether the answers based on related literatures and preliminary researches are veritable. Moreover, the research that would be conducted could also determine what specific aspects of the concept specifically the application could be improved.
The first question is: Is the use of mobile application for most course-related activities more beneficial for Immaculates than the traditional way of using pen and paper or the senior-high approach of using laptops in some activities? The answer in this question will be divided into two—whether mobile learning specifically mobile application is better than the traditional way—and whether it is better than e-learning alone.
It is evident that these technologies are not always used to their full capacity even if educational technology has the potential to enrich both teaching and learning; there will always be advantages and disadvantages on both the traditional learning and mobile learning. One advantage of mobile learning includes enlivening the classroom setting, stimulating learning, providing immediate feedback for students, allowing students to work in small groups with their peers (either in the classroom setting or globally), and establishing a classroom environment where the teacher’s role is that of facilitator rather than lecturer (Firmin, 2012). According to Genesi (2012), another benefit that educational technology brings is amplified parental immersion and teacher professional development. For example, with the aid of technology, parents are able to interconnect with teachers and view their child’s assignments, attendance, and work online. As students are dared to take ownership and responsibility for their learning, they find themselves becoming more and more betrothed in the learning process than ever before. In fact, they are able to excavate their knowledge so that they can meet their own personal needs and interests as students seek to access more information through technology. E-books, which is a part of electronic learning, also proves that technology is easier for students than the traditional method. According to Embog (2012), E-Books benefit them physically, academically and psychologically. An e-Book reader can compress the matters of a conventional textbook. Physically, the reduced weight enables the students to grow healthily without any detrimental effects such as lower back pain, poor posture, and spinal distortion over time and back problems in adulthood. In terms of learning, students who are engaging on e-Books may find that the procedure is entertaining due to e-Book attractive features (i.e. user friendly functions; attractive graphics; enlarged text size; plug-in speakers). These feature learning autonomy. Ally (2014) states that to create and share information with each other, mobile technology can be used to connect students from different parts of the world. Technology has undeniably helped the advancement of education. More schools continue to change methods from traditional learning to technology learning because they see its tremendous depth of beneficial effects. Electronic learning and mobile learning may have downsides, but the downsides are not consequential compared to the number of benefits that can be reaped through traditional learning. In short, electronic learning or mobile learning could benefit Immaculates too more than the traditional approach.
To answer whether mobile learning specifically using applications is better than electronic learning alone, Chuang (2009) enumerated its benefits. It is said that the general mobile devices are almost always with the learners; people want to carry mobile devices with them because they want to be reachable. Since the mobile device is so easily reachable makes it a great tool for note taking or problem solving. Learners can merely make a phone call or text their instructors or friends to acquire their opinion or advice. The easy access makes a mobile device also a great tool to benefit learning occur at anywhere and anytime. Students may play gaming simulation and other interactive applications, listen to podcasts, watch videos, read the news or even join discussion. When learners start to think and guide their learning, the mobile learning model becomes much more efficient. Learners may read an e-book or listen to a podcast with an objective to acquire something from it. This kind of informal learning can take place too outside the traditional learning environment. Learning materials that are delivered on mobile devices may stretch to many people that can be hard to reach with any other media. For example, teachers may offer educational mobile games, podcasts or video clips for their target groups. In addition, several schools and universities are now using mobile devices to manage learning related tasks, such as calendars, reminders, announcements, registration, and school-home communication. According to Pistilli (2012- ), students have a strong preference, in almost every way, for using native mobile apps. His surveys conducted show that students always prefer mobile applications than mobile browsers alone; therefore, mobile learning especially the use of application would be beneficial for Immaculates too more than just electronic learning where students do not always use their devices in learning.
The second question is: What features could the eyed application be composed of? According to Bowen (2012), the features that could be applied in the application are course-related tasks. Those tasks are as follows:
- Access course schedule
- Access assignment grades
- Review course announcements
- Communicate with other students in a study group
- Access course recordings
- Engage in course discussion
- Ask instructor questions
- Share documents with other students in a study group
- Read assignments, articles, and textbooks
- Find answer to a question during lecture
- Take course notes
- Turn in assignments
- Take quizzes/assignments
The third question is: Do stakeholders prefer to have mobile applications to assist students’ education?
According to Goudar (2015), the most important and critical factor at the moment of the movement concerning using mobile devices in education are undoubtedly the teachers. The skilled teachers that can take a mobile device and incorporate it from the paper-based or blackboard based classroom lessons, into student-centric learning deployed via mobile devices are what is lacking today, but he said that the mobile device teaching is encompassed into existing teacher training curriculums. To comprehend how to teach differently, teachers are required to undergo training. He added that parents and politicians who are attentive on learning outcomes and not the new mobile device technology and what it can do are also necessary because irrespective of how many applications or how easy the technology is, he fears that using mobile devices in education initiative will be misused. Mobile devices are unquestionably an exciting way to interact with technology, especially, when they are touch screen enabled. The user fears are greatly eased and user adoption is facilitated with the intimacy and immediacy of the personal screen and the ease of use and intuitive design of modern touch screen operating systems. Technologists and educators get excited with its ease of use; both of whom are inventing new ways to use technology like the mobile devices in educational systems of the evolving world.
Having answered the questions by related literatures and preliminary research, it would still be crucial to conduct research to analyze the problem as a whole; Researching will enable the researcher to discover more about the concept. Moreover, aside from just answering the questions, researching will also give access to tremendous amount of new ideas that would consequentially help the advancement of education around the world.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ally, M. (2014). Mobile Learning Applications in Higher Education
Bowen, K., Pistilli, M. (2012). Student Preferences for Mobile App Usage
Chuang, K., (2009). Mobile Technologies Enhance the E-Learning Opportunity
Embong, A. (2012). E-Books as textbooks in the classroom
Ericsson (2012). Ericsson Mobility Report, [Online]. Retrieved from http://www.ericsson.com/res/docs/2012/ericssonmobility-report-november-2012.pdf
Firmin M., Genesi, D. (2012). History and Implementation of Classroom Technology
Goksu, I. (2014). Need For Mobile Learning: Technologies and Opportunities
Goudar, S. (2015). What is the Potential Impact of Using Mobile Devices in Education?
Hamidi, F. (2013). Information Technology in Education. P. 1