Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Developers, Educators, and Learners (Wiley and SAS Business Series)

by Scott McQuiggan

Third, to be creative, students must be able to take risks. Utilizing mobile as a venue for simulations is a great way to mitigate the potential costs of failure. Simulation apps such as those offered by Exploriments provide a space where students can experiment with physics and chemistry concepts without the risk of injury or chemical combustion or the need for a vacuum space. Similarly, students also must feel safe taking such risks, and in this case, we see mobile as a powerful tool for overcoming the social anxiety surrounding failure. Apps like Socrative or Padlet allow students to make comments or ask questions within the app, which can take a large part of the intimidation factor of contributing in class away from shy students. With mobile, students are free to experiment and brainstorm within the privacy of their device, mitigating fears of looking dumb or being overpowered by more eager, outgoing students. For example, when teaching young students to write letters, mistakes using a writing app, as opposed to paper and pencil, feel like less of a failure when being able to undo, erase, or start over is a simple button press, not throwing away the paper. Creativity Is Neither Person Nor Domain Specific—Everyone Is Capable of Creative Thought To foster creative thought, create lessons that allow students to work individually or in small groups on activities and projects that appeal to their personal interests. Creativity is often dependent upon background knowledge; ...