Launched with five schools in 2015 and extended to 16 schools in 2017, Telenor’s digital education programme Hipersuli provides innovative methods to help young people in learning and teachers in teaching. Based on the results of a recent survey[1], in addition to emotional and practical factors students attribute a large number of other benefits to using smartphones in the classroom.
“We are learning without knowing it”
The majority of secondary school students have a smartphone and teachers increasingly use smartphone apps in education. Besides using phones for demonstration purposes, smartphone apps can help students become more engaged and more active in the classroom. Using smartphones can also make the curriculum more exciting and easier to learn.
The key benefits of using smartphone apps mentioned by students include immediate feedback on work, the possibility to get good marks faster, easy access to exercises and easier and more efficient learning.
Emotional aspects were also mentioned by students. Remarkably, they don’t like using smartphones in the classroom because it is cool. They claim that smartphones make lessons more special and interactive. They are less anxious and stressed when they take smartphone-based tests. Another important benefit is that smartphones create a playful environment where students are learning without even knowing it.
The survey also asked students about the practical aspects of using smartphones. Young people believe that flash tests completed using smartphones help them get prepared for large tests, smartphone-based exercises are faster to complete and enable them to get immediate feedback on their results. This process is much slower and time-consuming with paper-based tests. Students also added that smartphones make it easier to understand teachers’ expectations and they also offer an environmentally friendly alternative to using paper.
“Now we use smartphone apps regularly, at most lessons. I believe that if they ’only’ improve students’ attitude to learning and classroom work, this alone is a benefit that makes it worth experimenting with mobile devices”, said András Havassy, secondary school teacher of geography, participant of the Hipersuli programme who annually polls his students to learn their opinion.
“The survey confirms Hipersuli’s initial concept based on the assumption that using IT in education makes learning more enjoyable. As a result, students become more motivated and get actively engaged in classroom activities. The Hipersuli programme is busy also during the summer holiday. The teachers involved in the programme will have their annual meeting in August. At this event, participants can share their knowledge and experience, ensuring the continued growth of the programme”, said Balázs Koren, head of Telenor’s Hipersuli programme.
More information: https://www.hipersuli.hu/
[1] The questionnaire was completed by 236 students aged 13 to 19 in 2018. Source: András Havassy: Students’ opinion about using smartphones in the classroom (2018); https://havassy.wordpress.com/2018/07/02/diakvelemenyek-az-orai-okostelefonozasrol-vol-3/