Ubiquitous learning uses interactive technology and holistic lesson plans to create an environment where students can learn at their own pace and level. Teachers act as guides rather than leaders, and subjects are intertwined to create a total learning experience.
Ubiquitous learning involves placing students in an environment that encourages constant stimulation through visualization and comprehension techniques. These environments are generally designed so that each student can learn at their own level and pace. In theory, this helps each student to learn faster and retain information much more easily. Most ubiquitous learning environments contain very advanced interactive technology, but this type of learning can also take place in a technology-free zone. Teachers in ubiquitous learning centers often play a very different role than a teacher in a traditional classroom.
The word omnipresent means constant, ever-present, and continuous. An environment that encourages this type of learning often helps students to engage in the learning process with very little direction. Students interact with the learning stations to better understand key concepts. When done correctly, students may not even realize they are continuing to learn. The ubiquitous learning techniques not only seek to help students learn at their own pace, but also try to mix subjects. Math, science, language, history, music and art are often intertwined to create a total learning experience.
A ubiquitous learning classroom might contain four or five interactive learning stations. Each student can be given a small wireless computer tablet that monitors their progress. The student logs into the learning programs at each station with a password and uses the tablet to interact with the lessons. As the student works, his pace and learning style are analyzed, recorded and transmitted to the other stations. When the student moves on to the next station, the idea is that the lesson is tailored to the student’s skill level. In this way, students of various skill levels can all share the same classroom.
The term ubiquitous learning also refers to holistic style lesson plans. For example, a student at a history station might be learning about the Renaissance. When he or she moves to the art or music station, that station will likely contain lessons on Renaissance art and music. The same goes for language, math, and science – the student will learn about what kinds of related advances academics were making at that time. In this way, students not only learn concepts, but also come to understand how, where, and why these things happened.
Understanding why is also a very important part of this type of learning. Even in an environment without technology, students can learn this way to improve their understanding. For example, in a non-technological ubiquitous learning experience, the teacher can create activities to help students discover why seeds grow in some environments and not in others. This would likely involve experimentation, hypotheses and a lot of discussion. In any ubiquitous learning classroom, the teacher acts more as a guide than a leader, allowing students to work at their own pace, asking the teacher for clarity when needed.
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