This work is based on the efforts of Dr. Chee- Kit Looi and his colleagues at the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and on the vision and cooperation of Chun Ming Tan, Principal of Nan Chiau Primary School, and Gene Lim, head of department and teacher at Nan Chiau. Two of Dr. Looi’s associates, Gean Chia and Peter Seow, in particular, have played major roles in the creation and enactment of the mobilized curriculum used at Nan Chiau. And we wish to acknowledge Jenny Lee and Shirlyn Cheng, teachers at Nan Chiau for their leadership in being early adopters of the mobilized curriculum. We (Norris and Soloway) proudly work with all the above as members of CERA—Center for Education Research and Action. CERA is a unique collaboration, housed at Nan Chiau Primary School, among academics, administrators, teachers, researchers, and commercial concerns. In a conversation with us at his home in Atlanta, Mark Weston (Rivero 2010) used the term “essential” in reference to the computer’s role in learning. Thank you, Mark, for sharing and for that pivotal conversation.
Portions of this book chapter appeared earlier in Education Technology Magazine in an article entitled: Using Smartphones as Essential Tools for Learning: A Call to Place Schools on the Right Side of the 21st Century, Norris, C., Hossain, A. & Soloway, E., Educational Technology Magazine, May/June 2011.
Portions of this book chapter appeared earlier in a Conference paper entitled: Under What Conditions Does Computer Use Positively Impact Student Achievement? Supplemental vs. Essential Use, Norris, C., Hossain, A. & Soloway, E. Proceedings of the SITE 2012 Conference, Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, Austin, TX.