Improving the Work Integrated Learning Experience through Mobile Technologies

Abstract

The inclusion of technological solutions in higher education has led to a vast array of options for educators. An educational problem has driven each solution and the associated research into defining the effectiveness of those solutions. This chapter describes some of the problems faced by a teacher education program, triggered by the use of Work Integrated Learning (WIL), to connect theory taught in universities to the realities of a teacher's life. The underlying beliefs of the authors are that there needs to be critical discourse about the teaching and learning models used to engage students in the art of workplace learning, that this critical discourse needs to be based on facilitating a teaching and learning environment that is highly effective, and that the nexus is that the student's Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experience will not be counterproductive. This chapter highlights a concrete example of how one university implemented these beliefs in a structured and proactive manner.