Mobile Learning and Indigenous Education in Canada: A Synthesis of New Ways of Learning

Dr. Pulla was awarded Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council funds for research on mobile learning mobile technology to build public and private partnerships to support Indigenous learners.

This research provided a synthesis of existing research knowledge and identified knowledge gaps relating to mobile learning (m-learning) and its applications to urban, rural and remote Indigenous communities and learners in Canada.

The research explored the potential of wireless technology to revolutionize e-learning, helping to create, deliver, and facilitate learning regardless of the location, and enable the delivery of comprehensive, individualized, and dynamic learning content in real time. M-learning is a natural extension of e-learning and has the potential to make e-learning even more widely available and accessible. For over a decade, international e-learning communities have been developing, implementing and testing innovative m-learning programs and infrastructure.

The picture in Canada, however, is much different: the research highlighted how we still do not have a comprehensive or coherent approach to align the incredible potential of e-learning and the fast-developing area of m-learning with an informed understanding of what it could or should accomplish.

Existing research and programing indicates that e-learning for Indigenous secondary school students is proving to be a successful tool to support positive education outcomes. And while m-learning for Indigenous students is still in its infancy, this research suggests that is the next step to enhancing and growing the success of these e-learning frameworks.

The overarching outcome of this research helped to contribute to a broader vision of the possibilities for building sustainable collaborative partnerships across the public, private and NGO sectors in order to better understand the potential applications of MLTs in support of e-learning and m-learning for Indigenous learners in Canada.