Might as well get this done before Thanksgiving...
There's an App for that: Mobile Devices in the Classroom
The biggest problem I see with the increased use of cell phones in the classroom is affordability. Perhaps as the years pass devices like the iPhone will become less expensive, but at the moment it's completely unrealistic. Even if they become significantly cheaper, not every student has a cell phone, though it may seem like it sometimes. In addition, there are other alternative technologies students can use to perform the same function. The article suggests students use phones to take pictures of the stages of an experiment when a flip camera will do just as well. Lastly, cell phones are primarily communication devices: we text, e-mail, and talk to one another with them. My concern is that increased use of mobile devices in the classroom will be a distraction. You may want your students to use an application for math review, but it will be difficult to monitor that they are actually playing an educational game and not a different one.
Online Communication Tools
This particular technology was my personal favorite. When I got my Mac in June, one of the first things I loved about it was video and audio chat, because it gave me an opportunity to hear and see my friends via IM. Programs like Skype, Twitter, and IM programs allow for direct and indirect (synchronous and asynchronous communication) between people all over the world. Students in a government class could have a video chat with an elected representative in either state or federal assemblies. For history, a class could collaborate with one in another city, state, or country and a discussion board could be set up for students, allowing them to share and hear diverse opinions on different topics in history. These technologies allow for trans global communication and has the potential to increase knowledge of the social studies and different cultures.
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I really like the idea of collaborative environments. Since Emily and I did our module on blogs, I have been looking into creating an online space for students. The collaborative environment gives students the opportunity to work together outside of school. They can get feedback from other students and the teacher outside of school. The biggest problem is availability. I cannot depend on all my students having the technology available at home for assignments and help. I think schools need to look further into exploring collaborative environments. They build teamwork and individual critical thinking skills.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amanda about cell phones. I do not see there value in the classroom. I think there use is too personal to be taken seriously by students. They will be tempted to text each other or play games when they should be doing their assignment. I think cheating will grow too. Students can quickly minimize and delete texts or pictures that may contain answers to quizzes or tests.
I like the idea of cloud computing where students from all across a school district, state, country, or world can work collaboratively to solve a problem. This can be used to help students communicate with students across the world to learn about different cultures, histories, and languages. You can also have students produce a newspaper article through the different levels of schools so that you can create collaboration and mentors between high schoolers and middle schoolers, and middle schoolers and elementary students.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using online communication tools or cell phones to communicate questions between students and teachers, but I see the problem presented by Amanda and Katlin about it being used as a distraction and the accesibility of cell phones. If they were strictly for communication between students or between students, parents, and teachers, they could become helpful because they open up more lines of communication between these groups. This would help them work more cooperatively. I know one teacher who uses AIM to allow students to send him questions between certain hours on certain days. This is helpful for those shy students or those who cannot stay after school to ask questions.
I agree with Katlin that collaborative environments seem very promising. While individual practice is important in mathematics, it is unfortunate that collaborative learning is given little consideration in mathematics classrooms. I see using collaborative environments to encourage students to problem solve together. In order for this to work, I will have to find problems that challenge students and encourage them to work together, but are not impossible to solve.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katlin and Amanda that mobile devices would be hard to use in the classroom. I think most of the things that you could use the cell phone for you could do with a computer or another device. The main problems, though, have already been pointed out. While many students may own cell phones, I think the number of students who own smartphones is considerably smaller. Therefore, cost is a problem. The other main problem is monitoring whether or not students are using phones in the way they are supposed to. I agree with the article as well about using the web. While there are many ways to use it already, it will be awhile until we figure out how to give students safe computer access.
Pretty much continuing the trend of what everyone else said...
ReplyDeleteMy favorites were collaborative environments and online communication tools. I can see myself combining them to do something like finding other Earth Science classes in other parts of the world and have all the classes blog about the topography in their area and country with maybe a few pictures. I've noticed that a lot of my CT's students have no idea there is a world outside of Newport News, so I think a strategy like this would be very beneficial for all the students involved.
I also see "mobiles" as probably the most problematic. This may also be part of the reason they aren't expected to really start to be used for another 2-3 years though. I know I personally could not make use of cell phones as a technology device in my classroom. This is rather sad, but I don't have text messaging. If I, as the teacher, don't have the main feature of cell phones that would be of the most use in the classroom, I certainly cannot expect my students to make use of that technology. I know the attractive quality about cell phones in the classroom is that most students have them, but some students don't or might be like me and only make actual phone calls. I wouldn't want to exclude students just because of their cell phone capabilities. The article didn't say anything about the possibility of classroom sets of phones, which may defeat the idea that everyone has a cell phone for personal use, but it would ensure all students are able to participate.