Q&A with Mark van 't Hooft, SIGHC Chair
 We sat down recently with SIGHC’s chair, Mark van 't Hooft, to discuss SIGHC and using mobile computing devices in education. Below is an excerpt from that conversation.
Q: Why are you passionate about handheld computing?
A: My interest in handheld computing started with the involvement of my employer, the Research Center for Educational Technology at Kent State University, in 2001. Being able to put readily accessible technology into children’s hands really showed me what the potential of technology can be for teaching and learning. Ever since, I have seen kids do many amazing things with mobile devices, as long as you give them the chance.
Second, unlike other technologies that have come and gone, I think mobile technologies are here to stay. Mobile devices may look and function very differently from the ones we use now, but the concept of mobile technology is a very promising one for education.
Q: How do you see handheld computing devices shaping education now and in the future?
A: From the work I have done in the area of mobile technologies, I have found that small, wireless, and portable devices have real potential to transcend the boundaries between school and society, and therefore, between formal and informal learning. This potential to transcend is really their strength, and I think we will be able to say that mobile technology has succeeded in doing so when we no longer have to talk about such boundaries.
Q: What kinds of innovations have handheld makers had to implement in order to be able to cater to students?
A: Personally, I think the inclusion of wireless and multimedia capabilities are going to be the most successful innovations for education. Regrettably, it seems like some companies have chosen to no longer focus on the multimedia capabilities, at least in the United States. This development is unfortunate because members of our society, and therefore kids, are becoming more and more visually oriented. The rise in popularity of sites like flickr and YouTube are two excellent examples.
Q: What’s the most interesting use of handhelds that you have seen?
A: That’s a difficult one to answer. I’ve seen lots of interesting and cool uses of mobile devices. I think the best uses are those that happen spontaneously, where a handheld device serves as a learning tool, with the focus being on learning and NOT the tool. I especially like uses of handhelds where learning is collaborative or shared. This can be as simple as sharing and peer editing a piece of writing, or as complex as a project like Frequency 1550 (http://www.waag.org/project/frequentie), a city game using mobile phones, GPS technology, and an ultra high-speed broadband mobile phone network in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The game teaches teenagers about local history by sending them on a trip through the city, completing tasks and creating and sharing knowledge along the way.
Q: What is the biggest opportunity or challenge you see in your professional specialty area in the next five years?
A: The biggest challenge I foresee is to maintain the momentum we’ve built up. The most important issue is going to be to change the mindset in education with regards to mobile, wireless, and connected technologies and what their impact will be on learning. The kids are not the problem, they’ve already figured out that digital tools are great for all kinds of learning; it’s the adults that need to be convinced. Too often there is a culture of fear in schools with regards to children using technology. While some of this fear is justified, much of it really isn’t. If education is not going to deal with this issue, “it will be digitized out”, to put it in the words of my colleague Graham Brown-Martin, and become obsolete.
The key to mobile and wireless technologies is the fact that anybody can now create content for learning. We can no longer be tied to state or national standards and curricula. For example, why should a student get excited about a science textbook when he/she can find the same content online that contains rich media and interactivity? Why should a student be engaged in a history lecture when he/she can use mobile technologies to create digital (his)stories? And the list goes on and on….
Q: How has participating in ISTE leadership opportunities enhanced your professional career?
A: The best part of serving ISTE in a leadership role is being able to network with a wide variety of education professionals worldwide. I’ve made more connections and built more relationships than I can count since becoming the Chair of SIGHC. These relationships have led to all kinds of opportunities in the area of mobile computing for education.
Q: What idea or contribution to your profession are you most proud of?
A: Without a doubt, that would be the work I have done with my colleagues in the area of ubiquitous and mobile computing in the past year. Since many people use the term in many different ways, we have been trying to figure out how the idea of ubiquitous and mobile computing best fits the educational arena.
So far, this work has led to two interesting products. One is a DVD entitled “Ubiquitous Computing in Education: How Anytime, Anywhere, Anyone Technology is Changing Education.” I like this piece because it contains about a dozen great examples of what ubiquitous computing for learning can look like (and a lot of it involves mobile devices), and because it is a multimedia piece, not just another research paper. Even so, the content is based on a lot of the research I have done with my colleagues at RCET over the past two years (http://www.rcet.org/ubicomp/intro.htm).
The other product is a book entitled “Ubiquitous Computing in Education: Invisible Technology, Visible Impact.” I co-edited this book with my colleague Karen Swan. It contains contributions by many of the top academics in the area of handheld and mobile computing, including Elliot Soloway, Cathie Norris, Chris Dede, and Yvonne Rogers.
Finally, I am very proud of any publications and presentations I have been able to do with teachers. I have been able to build up relationships with many teachers in Northeast Ohio over the years, and it’s always a privilege to be able to visit their classrooms and share the great things they do with a larger audience.
Mark van 't Hooft can be reached by sending email to mvanthoo@kent.edu.
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