Rationale & Reflection
In my ongoing quest to define what mobile learning (mlearning) means to me, the ideas of authenticity, collaboration, and personalization stood out. While I covered collaboration and personalization on the main page of this “product website,” I would like to delve a little further into authenticity. In other MET courses, authenticity (or lack of) was a recurring theme. Can a discussion truly be authentic if it isn’t face to face or isn’t an ongoing dialogue that goes beyond post and singular replies? How do we define authenticity in mlearning? To me, authentic learning needs to demonstrate evidence that the learner is engaged, regardless of physical or virtual contexts. With DANC(E)XERCISE, evidence of authentic learning is represented in data collected from the dance workouts, app usage, reflections written by students, and comments from teachers and parents on student writing. DANC(E)XERCISE transforms literal physical activity into useful, accurate data, becoming the bridge between the ‘real’ and the ‘virtual.’
Daughtery & Berge (2017) describes mlearning to be spontaneous, situated, connected, informal, and personal (p. 112). Apps designed for education should embody these ideas as mobile devices affords educators those very opportunities. Personal devices afford learning across multiple contexts, something that DANC(E)XERCISE takes advantage of. While mlearning is not limited to or defined by the use of a mobile phone, this fictional game uses the portable nature of tablets and phones to create new spaces for learning. By encouraging students to use DANC(E)XERCISE outside of school, any space can now become an informal learning environment, which Daughtery & Berge (2017) believe will “inspire and sustain interest significant engagement” (p. 115). Sustaining interest in something like dance or active games is especially important in light of increasing sedentary behaviour in youth due to longer periods of screen time.
Technology to track health already exists, such as measuring heart-rate through pressing your thumb over your mobile camera, or tracking steps using a FitBit. However, this type of technology is not widely used in most elementary schools (perhaps due to cost). Yet, this kind of information can be so useful for teachers who teach physical education or are trying to track the benefits of daily physical exercise. If we are to treat physical education like any other academic subject, where success is specific and measurable, then there is a need for an easily accessible application that runs on devices more commonly used (e.g., iPads).
It does not go unnoticed that DANC(E)XERCISE is a bit of a pipe dream in terms of acquiring rights from famous artists to use their songs in this game! That aside, I also recognize that similar applications already exist, like Go Noodle, and the inspiration behind this whole venture, Just Dance. Though Go Noodle focuses on wellness and physical activity too, it does not use technology to track actual physical movement. While Just Dance can track movement, it is not a truly portable game despite being available on iOS and Android devices, as it still relies on a secondary screen for gameplay since the smartphone is used as a controller. Given the existing technology, it will be unsurprising to see in our near future a fitness game application made for educators that can be played on mobile devices, with added features like monitoring heart-rate and physical activity, and can generate and store student data for teachers and parents.
Daughtery & Berge (2017) describes mlearning to be spontaneous, situated, connected, informal, and personal (p. 112). Apps designed for education should embody these ideas as mobile devices affords educators those very opportunities. Personal devices afford learning across multiple contexts, something that DANC(E)XERCISE takes advantage of. While mlearning is not limited to or defined by the use of a mobile phone, this fictional game uses the portable nature of tablets and phones to create new spaces for learning. By encouraging students to use DANC(E)XERCISE outside of school, any space can now become an informal learning environment, which Daughtery & Berge (2017) believe will “inspire and sustain interest significant engagement” (p. 115). Sustaining interest in something like dance or active games is especially important in light of increasing sedentary behaviour in youth due to longer periods of screen time.
Technology to track health already exists, such as measuring heart-rate through pressing your thumb over your mobile camera, or tracking steps using a FitBit. However, this type of technology is not widely used in most elementary schools (perhaps due to cost). Yet, this kind of information can be so useful for teachers who teach physical education or are trying to track the benefits of daily physical exercise. If we are to treat physical education like any other academic subject, where success is specific and measurable, then there is a need for an easily accessible application that runs on devices more commonly used (e.g., iPads).
It does not go unnoticed that DANC(E)XERCISE is a bit of a pipe dream in terms of acquiring rights from famous artists to use their songs in this game! That aside, I also recognize that similar applications already exist, like Go Noodle, and the inspiration behind this whole venture, Just Dance. Though Go Noodle focuses on wellness and physical activity too, it does not use technology to track actual physical movement. While Just Dance can track movement, it is not a truly portable game despite being available on iOS and Android devices, as it still relies on a secondary screen for gameplay since the smartphone is used as a controller. Given the existing technology, it will be unsurprising to see in our near future a fitness game application made for educators that can be played on mobile devices, with added features like monitoring heart-rate and physical activity, and can generate and store student data for teachers and parents.