Listened to this talk live – interesting to see it in the THE:

Students have so many devices: sector must be smart and tap them, says expert. Chris Parr writes

Harnessing the power of the technology that students already have in their pockets could revolutionise the way universities teach – but more research into how best to do so is needed first, a technology expert has said.

Richard Noss, director of the UK’s Technology Enhanced Learning Research Programme and professor of mathematics education at the Institute of Education, said he knew of universities in the US that were encouraging students to bring their own smartphones and tablet hardware to lectures.

Such an approach could ultimately mean that universities would “no longer have to buy technology”, thus saving them millions of pounds while creating a more direct technological link to students.

“The machines that everyone enters their educational lives with in their pockets are much more important than just a way to access Facebook,” Professor Noss told the Association for Learning Technology’s annual conference, held at the University of Manchester earlier this month.

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