They're fun!
Mediascapes are fun, students enjoy both experiencing them and making them.
Collaboration
They are excellent tools for developing cross-curricular and collaborative activity, as they link subjects in a meaningful way - some are more obvious, like history and geography, how about linking music and PE?
New perspectives
Mediascapes encourage new interactions with the environment - they give a new perspective on the space in which they are set, especially those that tell hidden histories.
Versatility
They can be used for any form of content that can be spoken, sung, written, performed or photographed.
Across the board
All age groups can engage with making and using mediascapes. It may depend on the ability of the students, but it is possible to cater for different ages and abilities on the same project.
Different sizes
A whole class or an even wider group can be involved in different ways - it encourages collaborative work and skill-sharing. One user could edit images, one could create sounds, while some others create the mediascape, and others test the mediascape on PDAs
The whole school can be involved
Different teachers and year groups in the same school can work together and contribute different elements - you have space for writers, researchers, performers, artists, linguists
ICT skills
The process of producing mediascapes improves digital literacy skills
Creating mediascapes can give an introduction to ideas of logic and programming - you have to think about what will switch on where, how long it will last, and what it fits with.
For information on positive uses of PDAs in education, see:
Becta research on portable ICT devices in teaching and learning
Futurelab Literature Review in Mobile Technologies and Learning