Archive of CRN Home Page Topics for Discussion

Oct. 29, 2004 Keitai (Mobile Phone) and the Klassroom! Hillel Weintraub, Future University - Hakodate

There are many grants available for various types of educational research in Japan. Some of them are offered by the monbukagakusho, (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), but a number of them are offered by private companies who have particular interests in various types of learning or learning populations. One of the most interesting of these grants is offered by the Hayao Nakayama Foundation for Science & Technology and Culture. It's the 12th year of their grant, which focuses on "research development concerning science, technology and culture from the viewpoint of human beings and play." (English translation by Satoko Mitobe, from the foundation's homepage.) Each year the categories seem to change a little, which show the flexibility and timeliness of these grants' focus. This is the first year to have a category relating to mobile technology and play. A collaborator, Yoshiro Miyata, from Chukyo University and I have applied in this area because we are interested in thinking about how this ubiquitous toy/tool, the keitai can be used to make learning more engaging and enjoyable. (Note: Miyata-san and I have worked together before to create various playshops for CRN.) Twenty-Five years ago, when the so called "microcomputer" was just starting to be used in schools, Seymour Papert, the author of Mindstorms, one of the founders of the AI Lab at MIT, and the creator of the Logo programming language, pointed out the power of what he called the "illicit" in the learning environment. For example, writing notes quietly in class, while the teacher is busily chatting, has long been a powerful way of communication among students. I wonder if a teacher ever considered building on these notes or somehow incorporating them into the learning environment to utilize the toys&tools of the younger generation. Of course, there is the likelihood that by making the toy part of the "normal" culture, it will be demystified and lose some of the power of the illicit that it has! However, I think this can be offset by something else which Papert spoke of - the importance for young people to have access to the powerful learning tools of the adult culture around them. My point here is a bit different from his original one about the importance for young people to have access to adult tools; in this case, the keitai is already a powerful tool for both adult and youth communities, but the power of it is only utilized in the adult working place, not in the student working place. The keitai is already like a second skin to the youth of Japan. It's beyond toy&tool; it's beyond so-called wearable media. It's already an extension of their bodies. Not to utilize it as a part of the learning environment is similar to saying, "when you come into my classroom, don't use your arm because it's too distracting and has nothing to do with what we're studying." Well, it's good that foundations are supporting research which can help develop play and learning in many different environments for many different people. Miyata-san and I hope to explore some useful ways to make keitai a part of the learningscape, whether or not we are able to get support of this grant. He has already developed a program which spins keitai messages almost instantaneously around a homepage which can be seen by anyone, and we are working on developing the ways that this and other programs can help students be expressive and receptive. I'd be happy to hear anyone's ideas about how keitai can become more a part of learning scenes! Let's Talk!

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