Mobile technology in secondary education: A conceptual framework for using tablets and smartphones within the informatics curriculum

Mobile technology provides an opportunity for a fundamental change in education away from occasional use of computers in a specialized classroom towards more embedded use in the standard classroom and beyond. The distinctive features of mobile devices that cannot be found on classical wired computers (portability, touchscreen, and various input sensors) add a new dimension to learning activities that can be supported, both because of the personal and portable nature of the devices themselves, and because of the kinds of interactions they can support with other learners and the environment. In this paper, conditions of integrating mobile technology with the actual teaching practice in Slovak schools are presented and a conceptual framework for using mobile devices in formal educational context with focus on the Informatics curriculum is suggested.