M-Learning and Y Generation: The Reality behind the Myth

Abstract

<jats:p>This chapter explores “Y generation” students’ attitudes to mobile technologies in the context of education, and use of podcasts on their handhelds in particular. The authors’ intention is to investigate how students use mobile devices to support their formal and informal learning practices. One of the “Big Issues” in mobile learning that the authors address here is the co-existence of personal informal learning and traditional classroom education. After conducting two experiments and a survey, they conclude that the diversity of student attitudes towards using podcasts in education means that they are in the time of “in between years”. Learning “anytime/anywhere” and “digital natives” prove as yet to be a myth for many. The current challenge for podcasting in education is to move from information transmission to knowledge construction and sharing within a formal setting.</jats:p>