Les usages et les représentations sociales de l’apprentissage mobile chez des futurs enseignants brésiliens et québécois

Mobile learning is seen as type of learning that takes place in multiple contexts, whether formal or informal, through social interactions and content using electronic and personal devices (Crompton, 2013). For UNESCO (2012), it is one of the solutions to contribute to teacher training capable of meeting the educational needs of the 21st century. In addition, due to the lower cost of mobile devices and the enhancement of digital networks, mobile learning has become a tangible reality (Johnson et al., 2011). This is the case in Brazil and Canada, two countries with high statistics related to mobile broadband subscriptions and ownership of mobile technologies. In the educational context, the legislation of the government to the initial teacher training in these two places highlights the importance of the use of ICT in order to support the learning of the future teacher, as well as its use for future teaching. In addition, mobile learning projects are already a reality in schools in the province of Quebec, Canada, and in the state of Ceará, Brazil. In this context, based on the declared uses of mobile technologies for learning and taking as a reference the theory of social representations (Moscovici, 1961), this research aims to better understand the pedagogical uses of mobile technologies and the social representations of future Brazilian and Quebec teachers on mobile learning. To better understand how this type of learning can support future teachers, it is important to know what benefits and challenges are perceived by those who practice mobile learning. Their perceptions can generate positive attitudes about the pedagogical use of mobile devices or stimulate negative attitudes towards these same technologies. A mixed approach methodology was used with the administration of a questionnaire to 189 Brazilian and 149 Quebec students as well as a semi-directed interview with the total of 36 students, 18 students from Bachelor of Education courses of a Brazilian university and 18 students of bachelor's degree in teaching from a Quebec university. A descriptive statistical analysis was carried out using the quantitative data and a content analysis of the qualitative data collected. The results show that future Brazilian and Quebec teachers are very mobile, that is, they are very equipped with mobile devices and very connected to the Internet. We find that for both groups, mobile learning is already a reality in their student life, as they report using it in several activities for learning purposes. As for their social representations of mobile learning as students, both Brazilians and Quebecers perceive it as a type of learning that complements their studies during their initial training. They also highlight several advantages of mobile learning: increasing access to information and resources, facilitating research, learning at all times and enabling communication. However, they indicate that mobile devices can promote distraction and hinder their studies. A few even suggest strategies to overcome this disadvantage. Other challenges, such as technical problems, lack of human contact and reliable research are less mentioned by students. We also note that future teachers in Brazil and Quebec have positive attitudes towards the use of mobile technologies in education. Most intend to use them in their own teaching, since they believe that these devices can improve their teacher performance. However, at the same time that future teachers are open to the use of these technologies to teach, they are concerned about the distraction they can cause to their students. Finally, we find that, despite some differences related mainly to the various socioeconomic contexts of the two countries, similarities are evident. Both groups of students are already very mobile and open to learning and teaching in mobility.

Keyphrases: Mobile learning, Pre-service teachers, Social representations, Initial training, Mobile technologies, Uses, Brazil