Mobile applications as pedagogical resources: Design and learning

Abstract

(Re)thinking pedagogical resources is a constant task for every education professional, either because it changes students, or updates the classes content  or perhaps the school context. Whenever one of those elements destabilizes the system totality, a new balance is required, which impels the teachers, the planning agents and designers, to seek solutions that bring a new stability. The school, due to its social representativeness, naturally reflects changes at all levels in society. In this sense, Digital Information and Communication Technologies have become a relevant element of influence in the school context. Mainly because of the access expansion to different types of mobile devices – notebooks, tablets or smartphones – these technologies approach students and teachers in a consistent and concrete way, inside and outside the school. Thus, in this work we focus on mobile applications as an educational resource for use in class, analyzing them as a potential for innovation and motivation for learning. For this, we have developed a bibliographic research, presenting a current overview of the design of educational applications, with the intention of understanding the paths and options that teachers can envision in their practices.