Mobile Learning

Activity 1: Mobile Learning

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Growth

Technology has grown tremendously in the last decade - decade and a half. Think back to 1999 and Y2K. Man wasn't that a joke, and yet it seems like not that long ago! During the 90’s computers and the internet were on the rise. These technologies then are just a fraction of the possibilities that we are capable of now. Below is a list of some consumer electronics that came out between 2000-2010. I know 2010 was five years ago and since we are in the middle of a decade it is harder to find the new technologies from 2005-2015.
The list on the left is from pcmag.com and the ones on the right are from digitaltrends.com

pcmag.com	digitaltrends.com
Flat Screen TV’s	iPhone
DVR’s	Google
Hi-Speed Internet	Windows XP
Wi-Fi	Social Network
Smartphones	USB Flash Drive
Bluetooth	GPS
Online Media (Netflix, Hulu, etc)	TiVo
Online Gaming	iPod
Social Networking	Wii
Flash Storage	Wi-Fi

Both of these lists mention smartphones. Smartphones were around in 2010 but didn’t really see their growth until the last 4-5 years. Now, in S.Korea you can see kindergarten children walking around with phablets! If I were to guess,  90% or more teenagers and adults have a smartphone. Since so many people have them they can be such an effective tool to use while teaching!

Benefits to using smartphones in the classroom.

When the older cell phones started becoming popular every teacher forbid them in class. As a result when smartphones started coming out this was more of a reason to ban them. They could have the internet at their fingertips which would mean they would all cheat! Possibly it was because now there are countless games that can be played on smartphones and would just distract the students and their attention would now be elsewhere. This is true there are negatives to allowing smartphones in the class, but the positives greatly outweigh the negatives in my opinion. Like mentioned before internet and games at the fingertips… that is a GREAT tool to have if done correctly!

Here are just a few benefits to having smartphones in the class:

• Access to the internet
• Access to email
• Take a picture of the board / Homework assignment
• Take video during the class
• Apps like Evernote to store, catalog and annotate photos
• Apps like ResponseWare that convert smartphones into classroom ‘clickers’ that can answer multiple choice questions
• Record lectures with Voice Memo and other third-party note-taking apps
• Use QR codes to find relevant websites
• Keep track of schedules and dates

(Hennessy, paragraph 7)

And a couple more reasons:

• Students learn in a way they are comfortable. Smartphones are young-person intuitive. More and more students know how to use them, and they are becoming the most used “tool” by teens.
• Students can get answers quickly. Smartphones provide the ability to get answers quickly. In some situations, a student may not ask for clarification to a question he or she has in an open classroom. Use of a smartphone in a classroom setting can provide those answers.
• Audio and video can bring learning to life. Audio and video capabilities of smartphones can put a voice to John F. Kennedy, a dramatic video image to the Hindenburg disaster, and allow students to hear the music of Chopin or Al Jolson. They can even connect with other students from around the globe and expand their learning world.
• Smartphones allow for social learning. Smartphones can allow students to work in groups on projects, sharing information and discoveries. They can move toward a common goal, again, in a format they are comfortable using.

(4 Benefits, paragraph 8)

How I use smartphones in the classroom.

Working as an ESL teacher in Korea, nearly every middle school student has a smartphone. One activity we do is read a passage out of a textbook then they have to translate it back into Korean. Before we read aloud I allow the students to look up any words or phrases they do not know in their smartphones. They really enjoy this time because many of their other teachers make them put their phones away during class, whereas in my class we use them.

How to use smartphones in other classes.

In other classes outside of a language class, students can use any apps that correlate with the subject that the teacher might find. In a science, history, or geography class they could use it for research if they are working on a project. Then there are other functions like the camera, audio/video recorder, and the calculator that can be used. One good tool to use for math homework would be to record a video of how to do a problem. They would show their work and solve the problem in the video. They could then upload that video to youtube to be seen by their classmates and the teacher.

There are many useful ways to include this technology rather than shying away.

It is up to the teachers to not be afraid of change.

Cognitive Flow

Cognitive Flow

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What is Cognitive flow?

Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi, a psychologist that has been studying this for numerous years describes flow as, being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost. (Cherry)

Many people can experience flow in different ways, reading a book, exercising, playing sports, drawing/painting, writing, playing games, etc…

Csíkszentmihályi, came up with a diagram that depicts how to enter or engage in flow.

You can see in the diagram where Flow is. You experience flow when you are being challenged and also using your skills at a high level. So many athletes before a game try and ‘get in the zone.’ Performance/Learning/Happiness are all best had when that person is in flow or in the zone.

Educators are trying to incorporate flow into the schools. But how? It seems that students are getting less and less interesting in education and schooling. Games are a great way to learn. When people play games many of them can experience flow because great games are designed in a manor to hook the audience and keep them engaged without realizing how much time has gone by or the fact that they missed dinner.

James Paul Gee, a professor at Arizona State University has 13 principles that games use to hook and engage people. He breaks these 13 principles into three categories. Below is a 23 min video as well as all of his principles outlined.

Category 1 - - - Empowered Learners

         Principle 1: Agent/Co-Designer

-       When learning/playing they must feel like what they do matters.

Principle 2: Customization

-       Playing and learning in a new way.

-       Allow you to try new things

Principle 3: Identity

-       Who am I? What am I going to get from this?

-       Trying on new skills & multiple possibilities

Principle 4: Manipulation

-       The choices you make change the outcome.

-       Games provide tools to involve body & mind

Category 2 - - - Problem Based Learning

         Principle 1: Well-Ordered Problems

-       Giving proper problems that allow more complex ones to be added later on

-       Sequencing

o   Nobody starts on the last level. You build your way up.

Principle 2: Pleasantly Frustrating

-       When you feel a challenge and some accomplishment when you solve it.

-       You know if you put enough effort into it, you can do it.

-       This is primarily where flow happens

Principle 3: The Cycle of Expertise

-       Challenge => Practice => Knowledge => Mastery

-       Learning is best displayed when you are given a Challenge. You then Practice this challenge until it becomes basic knowledge. Once it becomes basic knowledge and you have mastered it then you build upon it with a higher degree of difficulty.

Principle 4: Information

-       Just in time

o   You get information when you need it.

-       On Demand

o   I’m lost I need help

Principle 5: Fish Tank

-       You start with a sample or base then add more complexity over time

Principle 6: Sandboxes

-       Safe place to try new things and take risks w/o being judged

Principle 7: Skills as Strategies

-       Focusing on skills and practicing with a goal in mind.

-       Not focusing on how much you practice but rather accomplishing your goal

Category 3 - - - Deep Understanding

         Principle 1: System Thinking

-       Thinking how variables come together to solve problems and accomplish goals

Principle 2: Situated Meaning

-       Things we do and see / Actions without only verbal meaning

-       Many times we are flooded with text and learning is best done my doing, seeing, and experiencing.

o   ‘A picture paints a thousand words’

I really enjoyed this video because for me playing sports and playing (video or board) games I experience flow much more often than I do at other times. For me, I thoroughly enjoy engaging in sports and can often play without realizing how much time was actually spent. Since I also experience this while playing video games I liked the way Gee broke down the learning and engagement that video game designers put into the game. It was a great visualization of how I as a teacher need to engage my students. Students are disinterested in todays format of teaching. Not that I agree with this form of teaching in any decade but now more than ever with how ADD we are as a society (technology and modern living having has a primary effect of that) we need to change the way we educate people. Simply standing in front of the class will NOT cut it anymore. So this format of introducing games more into the classroom as a fundamental form of learning is great. People truly learn and engage what interest them. Lectures do NOT interest them. To be honest, this lengthy blog entry is entirely what 21^st century teaching is not about.

Learning will be done once children engage and enjoy what they are doing.

High Skill Level + High Challenge = FLOW

21st Century Education

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21st Century Education

21st Century Education

The 4 C’s are a fundamental part of the 21st-century education. By effectively implementing the 4 C’s within our education standards, we will be able to better impact the children of tomorrow.

Critical Thinking

Creativity

Collaboration

Communication

“tell me and I might forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

-Benjamin Franklin

Critical Thinking

When students are thinking critically they are:

• using higher level thinking
• solving problems
• brainstorm
• compare & contrast
• categorize

When students are given time to develop these skills, they are able to be better equipped to ask the right questions and express their own opinions.  

Critical Thinking Video

Creativity

There have been so many TED talks and forums circling the internet about how kids are taught out of creativity. We as a society are educating our children to not be creative. With the 21st-century education model, schools and educators are wanting to integrate creativity more into education. With the lack of creativity comes the fear of failure.

Students need to know that it is okay to fail. When we fail we are able to learn from our mistakes and gain knowledge from them. Risk taking is an essential part of creativity. By taking risks, they can come up with new and improved ideas.

Creativity Video

Collaboration

Collaboration is a vital tool in today’s society. People that are able to collaborate with one another will be able to excel much further in life. The expression ‘two is better than one’ really hits home with this topic. Many employers are not looking so much at just content knowledge but more at how people are able to collaborate with one another.

Collaboration in the classroom helps students to become effective listeners, clear communicators, and team players. When students work together and collaborate they are learning more skills than just the topic at hand. Working together with people and being able to share your ideas in a group setting is a skill in and of itself. Student-centered classes are one of the best ways to establish collaboration in the classroom.

Collaboration Video

Communication

There are many ways to establish communication within the classroom. One thing to remind students is that the message is the key element to communication. What are you trying to say or get the listener to understand? Nonverbal communication is just as important as verbal. Many times this is overlooked but practicing body language and nonverbal communication important for a person to become a great communicator.

The best thing about all four of these C’s is that if done correctly they are all intertwined together to support and strengthen each other. Although it is possible to really excel at one ‘C’ more than the others they all work together to better educate the learner. The world is rapidly changing and these skills are geared for these rapidly changing 21st-century learners.

Communication Video