Advantages of Incorporating Mobile Apps in Education – Tutorial

In today’s day and age, technology is at the forefront of learning and is standard practice. With the continuous progression of education in today’s society, the policymakers, teachers, and parents are finding innovative ways for children to learn, and get the best out of them by utilizing technology. The use of technology in schools has almost become fundamental. However, there are other choices offered outside the classroom, such as educational apps. 

“Teaching in the Internet age means we must teach tomorrow’s skills today.” – Jennifer Fleming

Fleming has summed it up aptly in this quote. Education, today, means to train the child for tomorrow. With educational apps, the learning is diverse and flexible, it provides for children of all ages and abilities. Educational research scholars want students to focus on subject-oriented studies. Gone are the days when good education was associated with a good chunk of money. In today’s times, even average families can afford smartphones that provide for mobile applications. A great education is no more out of reach. Educational apps cover a wide range of topics such as maths, reading, writing, and even foreign languages. These apps work on a range of devices such as tablets and smartphones and can be downloaded from the play store very easily. However, choosing the best apps to monitor your skills and gather knowledge remains a hefty task. 

If we talk about schools, teachers have picked up the modified version of teaching students and simplifying their day-to-day tasks. Students are seen with tablets in schools and mobile apps provide for a natural progression. Teachers also use tablets to monitor assignments and allow children to focus on their primary subjects. This also reduces the amount of paper used. 

As per a recent survey, educational apps are highly sought after among kids between 5 to 10 years. Slide back a few years and mobile apps were a matter of concern for parents and teachers, but it’s not the case anymore. The use of mobile learning applications has grown immensely over the last few years. Apple App Store boasts of a whopping 65200 educational apps available for use by the iPhone and iPad users, which makes 8.47 percent of all apps. On Google Play Store, Education is the most popular category with around quarter-a-million apps.

The world is at your fingertips. It is extremely easy to consume the kind of information you seek, it’s just a click away. Students are keen and driven towards e-learning. Therefore, it makes sense for us to discover and highlight the benefits of using mobile apps in education.

Remote Learning

It is extremely important in today’s times for kids to be able to learn and utilize available technologies and resources at their disposal. Learning away from the traditional classrooms allow students to enhance their ability to use technology in the form of apps, and it also assists them to progress faster. The apps can be used at all times, so students can use them in their free times as well during the holidays. 

Parent-Children Communication 

For a long time, parents have been complaining that their children don’t engage with them. Well, experts say that using mobile apps make children more interactive and there are chances of better engagement with the parents. Parents can sit down with children while they learn and complete tasks together. This helps in strengthening their bond and parents can also contribute to the learning of their children.

Parent-Teacher Communication 

With the extremely tight schedules of both the parents and the teachers, it is almost impossible for them to maintain a rapport through physical meetings. Parent-teacher communication apps allow them to maintain relations as well as constantly discuss the growth of the children. This leads to transparency as well as teachers catering to the queries of parents. 

Availability 24/7 

Now, the classroom is portable. You can roam around anywhere and sit in comfortable positions while learning from mobile apps. There is no need to follow a tight schedule, it’s not time-bound and leads to a relaxed and easier form of learning. Children only need to pick up their phones and reach out to the apps whenever they feel like learning. 

Entertainment 

Studying is no more passive and boring. Children no longer need to follow the monotonous routine of attending classes. Mobile apps provide entertaining illustrations and graphics, which have proved to enhance the interest of children towards learning. Children also feel less stressed with no teachers regularly checking on them. They feel more relaxed while learning with mobile apps which leads to better learning. Various studies have shown that mobile educational apps combined with entertainment, instils more determination in children to learn and pass on to the next level. 

Online Resources

The power of digital platforms lies in its resources. The knowledge-seekers can absorb information from wealthy educational apps. The freedom to select the content you desire to read is available in various formats such as eBooks, PDFs, etc. Gone are the days when you had to go to libraries seeking books and carrying them around. Mobile apps provide enough space for you to store as much information as you want.

Make Children Tech-Savvy

According to Edison Research, the number of smartphone users below the age of 18 has increased by 600% from 2009 to 2014. It is the need of the hour for children to become tech-savvy. The use of educational mobile apps allows children to gather a fair bit of technical skills to use apps, and also prepare them for the use of similar gadgets such as tablets. It provides familiarization with technology. 

Portability 

As we have already discussed, portability is one of the most beneficial facets of mobile phones. Mobile apps can contain thousands of books and study material and with the world gaining access to the world wide web, it is becoming easier for people to access these resources. Studying is no longer confined to classrooms. 

Systematic Learning 

All mobile educational apps have their own unique features and elements, but what remains common in them is systematic learning. Systematic learning is the next step after smart learning. App-based learning enables both. There is a coherent structure that all apps follow and students learn in a very systematic way, avoiding any haywire possibilities without even realizing. 

Better Earth 

With the number of environmental issues we are facing, app-based learning is the way forward. The traditional method of learning requires a large number of trees to be cut down every year. Governments can cut down on this aspect and move towards eco-friendly learning. Mobile learning is a much more effective way of learning and is just a download away. We need greener and more sustainable earth for our future generations. Therefore, mobile learning apps become even more important in the educational sector.