Andrew Middleton

Smart Learning Andrew Middleton

The use of smart technologies and social media by staff and students in and out of the classroom has implications for academic practice in post-compulsory education. Unlike previous eras of learning with technology, change is being led by the students and academics themselves and this establishes a challenge to institutions. This shift demands that we reassess our understanding of formal and informal engagement, the physical and virtual environments we use, and the people we involve. Smart Learning: teaching and learning with smartphones and tablets in post compulsory education observes how personal smart technology, social media, rich digital media as well as ideas about open learning work together to form a new immersive and interactive space for learning. The Smart Learning book is a product of the Media-Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group (MELSIG) which has considered the opportunities and challenges afforded by new media in developing a forward looking Digital Age, learner-centred view of academia since 2008. MELSIG is a self-driven association fascinated and excited by thinking differently, reflectively and critically. Working informally across UK post-compulsory education around special foci, the group runs sharing and developing practice events and webinars, as well as organising collective research and writing activities about academic innovation with digital and social media. Smart Learning is made up of thought pieces, research chapters and case studies. It is punctuated with scenario vignettes, making real this new thinking about learning with personal smart devices.