Aboriginal and torres strait Islander pre-service teachers’ views on using mobile devices for tertiary study in very remote communities

Abstract

This chapter discusses qualitative findings from doctoral research undertaken in Australia with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pre-service teachers about integrating mobile devices within their tertiary studies and compares responses from those living in Very Remote communities and Inner Regional and Outer Regional locations. There are five categories of remoteness, used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics: Major Cities, Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote and Very Remote. These are based on road distance from five various sized centres of service delivery. Participants came from community-based Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs in two states: Queensland and South Australia. The focus of this chapter is on the practice and preference of research participants about the use of mobile devices to provide elements of content material, administrative support, academic support and personal encouragement. The pedagogic implications for higher education institutions are explored, and technical ramifications are briefly mentioned, as are organisational policy issues. This research about the use of mobile devices is important in the context of a national initiative to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school teachers. Moreover, the research is significant as it addresses similar concerns of remote and marginalised communities throughout the Asia-Pacific Region. In addition, the research engages with global educational issues such as agency, collaboration, the supply of mobile devices and the cost of using them.