M-learning and the Elderly: Construction of Inclusive Pedagogies

The objective of this study was to identify possible pedagogical strategies for m-learning with the elderly in order to develop inclusive pedagogical practices. Each year new digital technologies, such as smartphones and tablets, are being developed and consumed by different age groups. At the same time, the number of people 60 years of age and older continues to increase. Thus, it is important to investigate possible pedagogical strategies for m-learning, aimed to include the elderly in the digital and mobile world. Therefore, this work has used a qualitative and quantitative research methodology with a case study. Five steps were adopted in the methodology to address the research objective. The study was carried out with a group of 23 elderly people that had a mean age of 70 years of age. These subjects participated in a digital inclusion course at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil. As a pedagogical practice, the research adopted the construction of applications in order to promote authorship for the elderly, as well as to encourage them to use of their smartphones and tablets as a possible way of interacting with society. Twenty-three applications were developed that addressed different themes. Self-valorization of the elderly as authors of their digital materials was observed during the course of the project, transforming them from passive to active students and including them in digital society.