Innovation

 in  Methods, Technology and Assessment 

Theories on cognition and learning have evolved in parallel with the emergence of new technologies. Today is the social context much more prevalent in the educational evolution, highlighting students collaborative construction of new knowledge, understanding and competence with their peers in addition to the interaction with the material. 

Mobile technology is pushing instruction in the classroom in new ways. The HiST Mobile innovation process pushes the development of educational technologies and models, by constructing new prototypes, testing them in new teaching environments, and finally, evaluate learning effect by introducing new assessment models. 

HiST Mobile dosent intend to overcome all barriers to innovation, as well as implementation of technological innovations, new learning methods, and new assessment models in classroom.  Like anything that is new, there is going to be a learning curve. The challenge is maybe not as huge as YOU believe, if you join the mobile learning community, and spend some time on testing mobile technology and mobile learning methods developed through HiST Mobile before entering the classroom floor.  The HiST mobile R&D team needs external feedback from teachers and organizations that may help us to improve our solutions through testing and validaton. 

Keep in mind that innovation usually has many dimensions and many contributors. As this example illustrates, who is actually the Innovator ?

• Leonardo da Vinci, who made more than 100 sketches similar to modern days planes and helicopters in the 1480`s. The Ornithopter flying machine was never actually created!                 
• Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier- the First Hot Air Balloon in 1783. The first passengers in the colorful balloon were a sheep, rooster and duck. It climbed to a height of about 6,000 feet and traveled more than 1 mile.          
• The first flight in an airplane was achieved by the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903. The first heavier-than-air flight traveled one hundred twenty feet in twelve seconds.
• Charles Lindbergh who fly Spirit of St. Luis from New York to Paris in 33,5 hours (5790 km) on May 20-21, 1927.       The plane was designed with extra fuel tanks with one thought in mind: to get to Paris. "NYP" is an acronym for "New York-Paris," the object of the flight. The crossing was a major breakthrough, leading to the foundation of transportation of people and goods    
• Those who invented commercial airplanes, thus really connecting people by changing the way many people travelled by making international ports accessible for a cheap amount of money.