Mobile gaming in the classroom

Sarah Perez at ReadWrite Web has posted a short introduction to mobile gaming centered on Eric Klopfer’s book Augmented Learning: Research and Design of Mobile Educational Games. Perez does a good job outlining some of the difficulties that face instructors who want to use mobile phones in the classroom. Although the students she discusses appear to be K–12, the same issues apply for the college classroom.

Even as children get older, there are still the issues of various mobile plans and the cost of data use—details that the students may not be aware of, racking up charges that parents won’t be happy about all because the child’s teacher told them to break out their phones for today’s lesson.

Finally, the digital divide between the ”haves” and “have-nots” would become more apparent in a classroom if students had to provide their own phones. Imagine the privileged kids pullinig out their iPhones, others pulling out ancient clamshells, and still others having to raise their hands because they are without.