Flexible
Screens
The Future of Mobile Flexible Screens
Foldable EReaders
Flat screen eReaders such as Kindle and Kobo have been on the market for years. These mobile readers are generally lighter and smaller than a tablet with non-glare screens that are easier to read.
Using OLED technology, eReaders are in development that users can fold. Within online education, this open book format could be especially useful while reading textbooks that include diagrams and text on different pages.
(Cheng, 2021)
Rollable Mobile Phones
Rollable screens on mobile devices will provide users with a larger tablet screen while also having the ability to roll back into the size of a compact smartphone.
The rollable screen will enable students to meet many of their educational needs from one device. Presently, they require a larger tablet for completing lessons and their mobile device for personal communication.
Flexible SmartWatch
In 2020, the first flexible screen smartwatch went on the market. The Nubia Watch has a screen that wraps around the wrist (Sheth, 2020). The flexible screen design allows for a larger display without making the watch wider and bulkier.
While the size of the smartwatch limits usability for online learning, the use of wearables has applications in big data and biometrics. Check out the A2: Big Data OER for more on the potential uses of biometrics in education such as monitoring heart rate and eye gaze to measure attentiveness.
(Sheth, 2020)
All Videos
(Futurism, 2018)
Analysis
Flexible screens have the potential to change how students are able to learn about the environment around them. Place-based approaches to learning connect learners to their local environment, using the community as a classroom, and “restore[s] essential links between a person and her place” (Lane-Zucker, 2019).
As a biology teacher, rollable screens would allow my students to take a lightweight, large interactive screen out into the field. Depending on their location, the addition of a 5G network would give them the capability to more easily:
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collect data measurements
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complete mapping activities with applications such as ArcGIS
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share ecological observations and complete citizen science projects with programs like the Alberta based Naturelynx
If you are interested in learning more about place based education, please check out my group ETEC 510 project. Note: It is still in the development stages.