Learning happens when someone wants to learn, not when someone wants to teach. Roger Schank
While you may be set in your ways of learning in a classroom situation, you would have to at some point realised how easy it is to learn using a smartphone as well. As a parent, you may have realised that your child seems reluctant to revise what was learnt at school and this is in essence a core part of learning. While thinking of new methods to employ to get your child to learn, you perhaps even considered the option of smartphone learning.
With so many tools available at our disposal today, it is a disappointment that we are not making the most of them. Have you ever considered how many apps are out there that cater to teaching core subjects like mathematics and English?
Do you have a past paper saved on your phone? Excellent, you can work through the past paper while waiting in a long line at home affairs. Having said that, you must appreciate the fact that with your smartphone in hand, you can learn something new or even recap added benefit by learning more about something you already know about from anywhere in the world.
Thanks to your smartphone, you can constantly be improving your knowledge. If you are giving the idea of smartphone learning a thought, read on.
Here we provide you with the best tips for using your smartphone to enhance learning. If you are reading this blog post on your smartphone, congratulations, you are already using your smartphone to learn something new.
What Mobile Learning Applications Can I Use?
Ever since companies have realised the real need to develop mobile learning applications that can help people to learn new things instantly, more and more of these types of educational applications have been created. In fact, there's a strong possibility that you may find an educational application for what you would like to learn as well as what you never even thought you'd be able to learn as well. So, get searching for applications that may make mobile learning a dream. You can even rely on our list of mobile learning applications as well.
Again, there are millions of applications to choose from, but you need to choose wisely. The application that you decide to use needs to be suitable for your respective learning level and must align with your learning goals. There is no point spending precious time using an application that is too complex to use, as you may be learning how to use the application as opposed to learning anything else from the application.
- Khan Academy: This nonprofit organisation offers free world class education to everyone. You can learn any school subject if you join Khan Academy. This particular educational website tends to be excellent for school learners.
- Quizizz: If you are looking for some kind of application to use to revise topics already learnt, you can visit the Quizizz site. With all types of quizzes and questions, you are bound to find an activity that makes revising work interactive and fun.
- Edpuzzle: YouTube videos do certainly help you to grasp certain topics, however, if a YouTube video could teach a concept and ask you a question about the concept taught, how great would that be? Edpuzzles are used by teachers around the world. These teachers either use YouTube videos or create their own videos. They make their videos interactive by asking you questions as you watch the video so as to ensure that you are paying attention to the concept or ideas being taught. Again, Edpuzzles is great to learn a new concept in a way that mimics the class situation, but it is an even more useful tool for revision.
- Prodigy: For children looking for something other than the classroom learning method for mathematics and English, Prodigy is excellent. The application uses evidence-based tools to ensure that children do actually learn and contains support tools for both teachers and parents who are assisting learners to learn by using this application.
- Teach Your Monster How to Read: If you are in need of an application that ensures your child learns how to read after using it, you can't go wrong with Teach Your Monster How to Read. The online application can be used for free and is a game-like application that allows children to have fun as they attempt to read. With literacy being such a big problem in South Africa, it is important to seek alternate learning methods if your child cannot seem to recognise words or phrases.
- Vooks: Also, in alignment with teaching reading and vocabulary, Vooks brings story books to life, The application has also of late become a Netflix show. but remains an excellent online application to sign up for. You do pay a yearly fee, after the 7-day free trial, however, if you want to give your child the chance to have stories read to them, but don't have the time, it's worth every dollar spent.
- Hopscotch: If you want to learn something completely new like coding, you can certainly do so with an app. Hopscotch makes it so easy for teachers to learn how to teach coding and for learners to learn how to code as well.
- Duolingo: Do you want to learn a new language? Oui Oui, well Duolingo has made language learning a breeze. It's also a free application which is an added bonus if you want to learn a new language for your own sake without having to pay the price.
From the list above which is not even an all-inclusive list, it is clear that there isn't a lack of applications for your smartphone that you choose from.
You can basically learn anything from a new language to how to read using your smartphone.
Again, learning using smartphones has become easier than you think. You just need to be wise enough to shop around for the right learning apps.
How Can Learning Happen While Using a Smartphone?
It's hard to imagine learning happening with your smartphone in hand. You also may think that learning on a smartphone is pointless since it won't replace a teacher. You are right, the possibility of learning by using a smartphone can in no way replace the need for teachers and tutors.
In fact, if you are really struggling to grasp a concept in a subject, you'd best reach out to a Superprof subject specialist to help. However, no one ever said that learning has to stop when you leave your classroom door or when your session with your tutor ends for the day. This is what smartphone learning has done, made it possible to learn on your own when you are not in the presence of a teacher or tutor who can help.
There are several ways that you can employ your smartphone as an assistant learning tool and here are some suggestions should you be relying on when using your smartphone to be your study buddy:
- By using your Smartphone, you can revise content covered at school. You don't have to have tons of papers of revision worksheets anymore when you simply revise a concept learnt by using an application or even a past paper online.
- Interactive applications mean hands on learning. When you do a past paper you still have to check the memo to see if you got an answer correct or not. There is not much feedback given on the answer in the memo. Online applications enable you to answer the question and check your answer instantly. You will sometimes even get feedback on why your answer is wrong. You are learning in the most traditional manner in this way.
- Watching a video lesson is similar to being taught by a tutor. While there is no way that your mobile app can eliminate the need for a tutor, but through a video, you can learn new content and reap the full benefit of this content by learning from someone that may be teaching in a different way to that of your teacher. Being exposed to different teaching styles also helps as you can find a video teacher who teaches in a way that you like.
- Mobile apps allow you to search for a concept that you don't understand. You can search for a particular topic online and work on that topic only. You can even utilise many different apps to help you understand the concept better.
- You don't need to schedule in time to learn, you can learn at anytime and anywhere. If you have nothing to do, the ease of pulling out your mobile phone and starting to learn something means you can learn at any place and any time.
The Best Way of Using a Phone While Studying
While it is clear that learning can happen anytime and anywhere when using a smartphone to learn, you need to be sure to use your phone in a more structured way to learn something new.
Firstly, take some time to choose the best app that will help you to learn a certain subject or a new skill. Sign up for the app or do all the necessary things to ensure that it's simple to use the app when you want to. Structure some time during your day to settle with your smartphone and start learning. Decide how long you would like to spend learning on the phone. Remember the smartphone is a great way to revise concepts or learn something new, but it cannot replace your teacher or tutor. You need to ensure you won't be distracted by your phone. Make sure you allocated your full designated time to using the app to learn and not to use your mobile phone to communicate with friends while you are learning.
Think of ways that you can get the most out of using educational apps.
The Benefits of Using Cell Phones as Learning Tools
Again, the cell phone has numerous benefits in terms of helping you to learn, so it's important to consider these advantages before you shut down the idea of learning using your smartphone entirely.
If everyone else is studying using the CAPS curriculum and you are attending a Cambridge school based in South Africa, you can reap much benefit from learning using your mobile app. There are many online apps specifically meant for helping students who are learning using the Cambridge curriculum.
With your cell phone, you don't need to have lessons with your tutor every day. You can revise concepts that you are unsure of on your own. Using your mobile phone to revise is also a cost-effective way of learning. It is an easy way of learning that can happen almost anywhere.
Learning online is fun and takes away some of the boredom attached to the idea of sitting down with your books to study or revise.
While there are several advantages to using a phone to revise and learn, you can work out an effective study plan where you work with a tutor for a few days during a week and continue learning on your mobile phone on the days that you don't meet up with your tutor.
Take a free lesson with one of our Superprof tutors to see if the tutor can suit your respective learning style.
If you are interested in learning using your mobile phone, remember, "Interest is a terrible thing to waste." Roger Schank
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