Blog #17

The essay I chose, titled “Preparing Teachers for a Mobile World, to Improve Access to Education” and written by Mohamed Ally, Margarete Grimus, and Martin Ebner, discusses how mobile technologies have the ability to increase access to education around the world. Currently, there are disparities in access to education, especially in developing countries. However, mobile technologies have the potential to change this. Through mobile devices, the world is becoming more connected. They enable us to gather information and communicate with one another, no matter where we are in the world. And in developing countries, people are subscribing to mobile plans in order to become connected to the rest of the world, something they were not able to do previously. This results in them receiving information that they were not able to before. Increased accessibility to information improves access to education for those living in remote and developing areas. However, in order for mobile technologies to be effective within education, teachers and educators need to be instructed on how to teach with them. Their role within the classroom will change as well, shifting from a lecturer to a facilitator of learning. Only then will the nature of learning be understood as part of a mobile lifestyle.

I chose this essay because it offered a different perspective on solving the disparity in education throughout our world. I believe that everyone should have access to education and with today’s technological advancements, there should be no excuse as to why we are not doing our best to provide that access. Education is the key to freedom because learning information enables you to make your own independent decisions, giving you the knowledge to decide ‘right from wrong’. Those without access to education will never be able to reach their full potential as information that will help them understand the world is prevented from reaching them. Furthermore, this essay shows how both science and art can contribute to solving this problem. Educating those living in developing regions in the sciences will enable them to comprehend the world and its phenomenons. And the arts expand ones’ thinking beyond the scope of reality, offering different perspectives and discovering hidden meanings in what seems like the obvious. This way of thinking that the arts teach will allow those in developing regions to realize that they are capable of achieving so much more than what was thought possible of them. Also, it allows educators to realize that education needs to be looked at from a different point of view. Currently, our methods of instructing are unable to reach everyone in the world, though with the increased use of teaching through mobile devices, that may change and the access to education is improved as our world becomes more and more connected with one another.

This source is a trustworthy source. Not only are its author’s listed, but their credentials as well. Furthermore, it was recently published in 2014 and all the information is up to date. The information within it is accurate and supported by evidence which was cited and a reference list was included. There are no misspelling and grammatical error and it was scholarly and peer-reviewed. Also, the title of this essay reflects its content which is organized throughout.