Mobile Literacy:
A Lens on a Mobile/Immobile World
Language teachers have long focused not only on teaching language itself, but on the literacy skills necessary to use language effectively. Nowadays, literacy requirements have expanded to include a whole suite of digital literacies which go well beyond traditional reading and writing skills. However, it is sometimes challenging to keep abreast of these literacies, which have been rapidly evolving over the past decade of sociopolitical and technological changes.
In a world marked by overlapping forms of mobility and immobility, mobile literacy stands out as a key skillset which language teachers and students need to develop. Drawing on the Framework of Digital Literacies, first proposed by Gavin Dudeney, Nicky Hockly and Mark Pegrum in 2013, now used in a range of language learning initiatives in Europe and elsewhere, and subsequently revised in 2018 and 2021, this presentation will elucidate the concept of mobile literacy. In tandem with related literacies, including information literacy, intercultural literacy, ethical literacy and attentional literacy, mobile literacy serves as a lens for understanding and engaging with the world around us. The presentation will also emphasise the growing importance of all literacies being informed by a critical perspective.
It is apparent that mobile learning opens up the possibilities for active, collaborative, situated learning at all levels of education. At the same time, it opens up both the need and the opportunity to help students acquire the mobile literacy skills which are essential not only to supporting their learning, but to supporting their personal, working and civic lives in a mobile/immobile world.
Biodata
Mark Pegrum is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at The University of Western Australia, where he is the Deputy Head of School (International), with responsibility for overseeing offshore programmes and international connections. In his courses, he specialises in digital technologies in education, with a particular focus on mobile learning. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and his teaching has been recognised through Faculty and University Excellence in Teaching Awards, as well as a 2010 national Australian Learning & Teaching Council (ALTC) Excellence in Teaching Award.
His current research focuses on mobile technologies, digital literacies, augmented reality, and mobile learning trails and games. His books include: Brave New Classrooms: Democratic Education and the Internet (co-edited with Joe Lockard; Peter Lang, 2007); From Blogs to Bombs: The Future of Digital Technologies in Education (UWA Publishing, 2009); Digital Literacies (co-authored with Gavin Dudeney & Nicky Hockly; Pearson/Routledge, 2013); Mobile Learning: Languages, Literacies and Cultures (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014); and Mobile Lenses on Learning: Languages and Literacies on the Move (Springer, 2019).
To date, some of his work has been translated into Chinese and Portuguese. He is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments, a member of the Editorial Boards of Interactive Technology and Smart Education, Language Learning & Technology, and Technology in Language Teaching & Learning. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Laureate-Cambridge Online Language Learning Research Network (OLLReN); a member of the International Academic Advisory Board of the International Academic Forum (IAFOR); a member of the International Review Panel for mLearn; and the Co-Convenor, with Hayo Reinders, of the AILA research network Mobile Gaming in Language Learning & Teaching.
He currently teaches in Perth and Singapore and has given presentations and run seminars on e-learning and m-learning in Australia and New Zealand, Asia and the Middle East, the UK and Europe, and North and South America. Further details can be found on his website at https://markpegrum.com/about-mark-pegrum/biodata/.