Response to MALL

I agree with the author that short lessons that can picked up and do when they have a few minutes is the best way to reach students who use mobile devices for learning.  The key is how to make that school to home connection where the students find what they are learning is a benefit to both. 

They talk about a pull type of smartphone feature that would couple the GPS feature of the phone with an app that would pop up vocabulary or information related to the location of the user.  I have an app that kind of does that now called Foursquare.  Wherever I go it pops up information that users have added about the places I am near.  So for example, today I was at Costco so Foursquare located me and up popped a recommendation about the great deal they have on DirecTV over Time Warner Cable.  That wasn't of interest to me because I already have DirecTV but there are other user uploaded comments that might be of interest if I would click on the app and open it up.  We are always talking about finding real life, authentic language learning opportunities and Foursquare is definitely one of them.  I love my smartphone but sometimes the push features of my apps drive me crazy.  The amount of notifications I get are sometimes bothersome.  I would worry that sometimes they would ignore the push features if they happened too much. 

The author talks about QR codes and while for a time I thought they were really going to take off I haven't really found them very popular.  I don't see them around much or maybe I don't pay attention to them because I don't use them. 

I can see MALL as a benefit for teachers and students but only if all the students have the ability to participate.  If not, then I would see it as something extra that students could do to improve their language skills.