A means of personalising learning: incorporating old and new literacies in the curriculum with mobile phones

Abstract

This article explores a notion of ‘personalising learning’ which puts the learner at the centre, supported by mobile technology and teacher mediation. It reports a small study in the Northern Territory of Australia, with indigenous students who were given mobile camera phones to capture aspects of their everyday lives and bring them into school. It found that they created a range of narratives that linked their traditional literacies with ‘new literacies’. The article argues that, using tools like these, students can contribute to their curriculum. However, it raises issues of cultural differences between teachers and students, and the importance of developing critical literacy in conjunction with new communication forms and other new literacies. Finally it points to the important role of teachers in leading change in school cultures, and particularly assessment, that will allow these personal contributions to learners' curricula.

Keywords:

• curriculum
• mobile technologies
• new literacies
• personalisation

Acknowledgements

This research was conducted at the University of Melbourne. We acknowledge the support of Nokia (Finland), which provided a set of camera phones.