Beyond Mobile Learning: Identity Construction and the Development of Social Awareness

Contemporary research on Mobile Learning focuses mainly on issues such as the acquisition of knowledge, the development of cognitive skills, and the efficiency of these tools with respect to the achievement of specifc educational goals. Nonenthless, the consequence of the adoption of a technology within a learning context for educational purposes should not be reduced solely to the cognitive dimensions implied in its use, nor shuold it be measured only in terms of goal achievement. Technologies are complez social objects that redefine the context, the activity and even the identity of the actors. When educational institutions adopt mobile technologies they propose more than a supposdly effient educational tool or technology formatted content. They introduce a <<form of life>> (Wittgenstein): a repertoire of possible uses, meanings and even intended actors that the user may adopt. A technolgy is than a condensed social context per se, where learning takes place. What kinds of learning are at stake? To grasp the richness and the complexity of the learnong involved in using mobile devices we need a larger definition of learning that goes beyond simply acquiring knowledge or particula topics, or processing information for some formal education purposes. Reporting data form an empirical reasearch on a sample of students using the iPod for educational purposes, this chapter focus on the social and cultural dimensions involved in such a learning practice. It showes how these dimension are ofte