Word Wizard: iPad for Education

This blog will discuss the Word Wizard; an apple application which helps children with their spelling. This is a much simpler program than those mentioned in my previous blogs. It has bright colours and easy to see letters, a very useful primary ages application. As the description on the Word Wizard website states, it turns your iPad or iPhone ‘into a talking typewriter’ (BUCKLEITNER, 2011). There is a cost in purchasing this application of $3.99 and it is only accessible on Mac software but if neither of these are a problem for you, it is a great resources (BUCKLEITNER, 2011).

Children simply drag each letter up to the middle of screen and once in place the iPad or iPhone will pronounce the letter for you (BUCKLEITNER, 2011). Once a word is in place the device will also pronounce the word (BUCKLEITNER, 2011). This software is great for young children learning to read and pronounce words. Although some students may know how copy words, they may not be able to pronounce the word properly themselves. Although, this may be a problem if the application speaks in an American accent and Australian children use it and vice versa.

The other features of this application, besides collating words include: spelling quiz, and a talking spelling test (BUCKLEITNER, 2011). There are great features in developing both young and slightly older children’s spelling abilities. Overall this would be a great application for any class to have on their mobile device in developing students’ literacy skills through basic word construction through to challenging quiz’s and tests.

Compiled by Katrina Gordon

Best Practices for Teachers Using Mobile Devices

Today’s education is constantly being bombarded with media based tools to help improve student learning, to join education to the student social network and to simply ‘keep up with the times.’ It is hard to determine which ones are right to use and which ones are just going to take up more space. The School Technology Action Report discusses ‘mobile learning best practices’ in their September 1, 2011 issue. There are a couple of main points discussed which we will be looking into below.

The first technological advancement this article discusses is the smart phone use of K-nect; a program used for helping students with understanding maths and developing their skills (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). A study was undertaken in one particular school which found that after students started using K-nect they not only improved in their maths but across all subject areas (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). Originally, they had brought in this technology for remedial students but the whole class ended up taking it on board (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011).

In accordance with using applications available in smart phones and iPads, the article goes on to look at the advantages of these devices for different students within the class:

-          Intervention: Maths Drills can be used to help students struggling in maths with comprehending the content (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). This application would work for a range of age groups as you can change what you want the student to focus on in completing the maths drills (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011).

-          Enrichment: Miss Spell’s Class is the application used to give gifted students a challenge (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). It tests whether or not they can correctly tell if a word is spelt correctly or incorrectly (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). This will also help them with their everyday spelling as well as help them when it comes to proof-reading their assessment tasks as they will be able to pick up their mistakes easier and faster.

-          Assistive Technology: iPads can be used as a tool for children on the autistic spectrum in order to break down communication barriers as well as help them to focus on one task for a prolonged length of time (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011).

-          Digital Literacy: Although students use mobile technologies in their everyday social lives, it is a worthwhile endeavour to help educate students in using these technologies in a ‘productive manner’ (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). Students will be using technology but if we just teach them how to use other aspects of it without teaching them some of the basics such as safe use, ways of using it to benefit their lives as opposed to just their social status then we have not accomplished anything in bringing in these new technologies.

As teachers, the best practice we can do, involving mobile media is to educate our students on the best uses for these tools, what is available to them in order to help them with life skills and what to watch out for. We need to be doing the research behind the applications available to choose the most appropriate ones for our students.

Compiled by Katrina Gordon

Just Keep Swimming

‘Just Keep Swimming, just keep swimming;’ how true are the words from Finding Nemo’s beloved Dory (Finding Nemo, 2003). We too find ourselves in a sea of uncertainty, obstacles and misunderstandings and just as Dory has stated, we need to keep swimming because we will see light again. The world of education is continually being bombarded with new ideas, concepts, must does and technologies, we can only grab parts along the way as we try to teach our students how to use a myriad of resources to compile assignments and learn the necessities for life. So what are we to do; where do we begin; and how do we keep on swimming?

McKenzie (2003) emphasises that as educators our pedagogies should be concerned with the ‘art of teaching’ or how we ‘orchestrate classroom learning.’ I am elated to see someone come out and state exactly what pedagogy is and what we should be focussing on as educators. For the benefit of others and not just myself the following table is included from McKenzie’s article to help us all focus more on our pedagogies rather than on the tools we use within them. There is a lot in this diagram to take in but it will help a teacher wanting to do what is right by their students. This is part of that ‘just keep swimming’ attitude; this is one of those concepts that you can choose to grab along the way or leave behind; the choice is up to you.

So where does this leave me and my pedagogy? Honestly, back at the beginning. This is where I sit down and renegotiate my tactics, to stop focusing on the products the students can use and start focussing on how these products or tools can be used to give the students the best chance in developing great works that demonstrate their diverse and unique abilities. My pedagogy will now look at the new innovative technologies as but a small part of the overall innovative pedagogies that we as educators are developing through the use of these technologies. We can have students text study notes and record interviews on iPhones, but unless there is a truthfully enriching and engaging real world application, we are simply allowing students to use their ‘gadgets’ during what should be a learning experience for the future.

Now technology is the next big surprise in our journey as educators, it will continue to enlighten us on the varying applications it can do for us, so how should we approach this new found tool? With careful consideration in regards to the effect it will have on our students, both positively and negatively. There are many great reasons why technology should be incorporated into our learning but we need to be careful that we keep a balance. Pedagogically speaking, it would not be wise to introduce technology simply for ‘down time’. Fun and games are great but there is a time and place. If we wish to incorporate technologies into our pedagogy then there needs to be reasoning behind why we use it. Therefore, I would state that after looking at a variety of articles and their pros and cons in relation to this topic there is much evidence that such technologies as an iPad2 would be of great value to the classroom.

I would bypass the phones and PDAs as the iPad has all of those features. It is also friendlier for reading e-books, completing assignment, researching on the internet, emailing class groups, having web conferences and texting study notes. It would also benefit the child who was sick for a week and needs to catch up or the child who needs extension work; they can simply upload the information they need to their iPad; you may even consider taping some important lessons. I believe that both my students and I would benefit as a whole class from this device in orchestrating that classroom learning environment that I am looking for. No longer do my students need to be communicating within a restricted timeframe, they can discuss matters outside of school. If they get something all mixed up they can discuss it with either their classmates or the teacher in order to straighten things out.

Yes I believe that technology should be infiltrating our pedagogy to enhance classroom practices but it needs to be done in a simple and practical way. As an educational tool I am not convinced that having your class be part of a group in a variety of social networks would be worth all the extra effort. I believe it might be worthwhile have a whole class Facebook account to upload photos, share experiences from an excursion and the like but to have a Facebook account, Twitter account, Ning group, be part of a forum, blog, texting circle and email system is just an overload of technological systems that we as educators don’t need to be diving into. As I said earlier, there are many barriers, but we need to ‘just keep swimming’ and find the parts that work for us. We can’t attach ourselves to everything; therefore, using our pedagogical focus, we need to determine what is best for our students and their learning needs. Find out what is important to your students and start with that. You will be surprised where your students take you and where your learning journey through ‘the big blue’ goes (Finding Nemo, 2003). So remember when you think there is too much out there to delve through, just keep swimming and you’ll make it eventually.

Maximising Learning by Getting Mobile

Learning has been debated throughout the decades; beginning in the times when students sat absorbing information to today, where students learn through interaction, multimedia, distance education, and so on. This blog discusses the next step in developing tools for education called mLearning and what this new style has to offer students and teachers across all sectors. Although this can be stated as the next tool for education, Mellow (2005) was discussing this topic back in 2005, however, even today in 2011 mobile learning is still not widely known or understood.

MLEARNING DEFINED

MLearning has been described as mobile, miniaturised, and media based learning. This description denotes the fact that this type of learning explicitly relates to mobile phones/devices which are miniaturised enough to fit in your pocket along with housing a variety of media based applications (Mellow, 2005; E-Learning Council, n.d.). Mellow (2005), states that the iPhone is a great example of mLearning as it incorporates the aspects of a phone with texting capabilities, alongside the musical applications of the iPod, together with the attributes of a PDA. Mellow was looking into the future of iPhones back in 2005, since then we have all been witness to the incomprehensible abilities a simple phone can do. There have also been further developments in creating the iPhone 4 along with the Sansung Galaxy and the Blackberry Storm. Other mobile endeavours that can be used within education also include the iPad and iPad 2. The iPad2 incorporates augmented reality software which Horizon has stated to be one of the educational tools to be looking for in the next 2-3 years. Technology is moving faster than anticipated back when it was first rearing its head with radio and colour television. Teachers of today can no longer sit back and expect students to take in what they are saying, the social networks that today’s students spend their lives entrenched in are now the places where teachers need to be using as educational tools to reach their students.

FLEXIBLE EDUCATION

In today’s world of fast passed living, education needs to be flexible; not simply to keep up with the times, but to empower students in their own lives (Forrest, Pope & Gatfield, n.d., para. 4). Teachers need to educate within a new realm of social media, wireless internet, and easily accessible data. The idea that students need to come and sit in a room for 8 hours a day listening to a person up the front lecture them about e=mc2 is no longer suitable. Educators have tried to leave technology out of schools and universities for years but slowly, they are realising that this technological trend isn’t going away and each generation will have a new and wonderful ‘gizmo’ to occupy their time. However, all is not lost for the educational world. Some have embraced the technological boom and discovered the educational positives that technology brings with it.

So how does mobile technology increase flexibility in education? There are several aspects to focus on. Mobl21 is an organisation which was developed in order to help educators use mobile technologies. They have outlined 7 ways in which to use mobile technology within education. Sometimes it’s as simple as swapping paper for mobile in sending out assessment tasks and hand outs, ‘providing visual guides’ for remedial students, multiple choice tests for study, quick reference links, communicating information through diagrams and formulae in a simple and easily accessible tool, and even supplementary material can be accessed from a phone (Mobl21, 2010). The list is endless on how mobile phones can help education become flexible. This is especially beneficial for those students who might be struggling, or who excel in general classroom topics, for those who need to work, active students and those who find writing difficult. Students of today still want to learn like students of the past, their lives however, are altering and the education they receive needs to cater for the changes students are facing.

 A TOOL FOR EDUCATING

So where does all this technology, compacted into one device leave educators? Looking at a device which can be used as a tool to engage students, interact with them, develop deeper understandings of topics through media based examples, and broaden communication through texting and email along with much more. Geddes (2004) states that there are 4 key advantages to mobile learning and 3 ways of using mobile learning to communicate with students:

Now that teachers know the advantages and some of the positives and negatives of the above systems, they also need to know how mobile learning is being used. There are several website that have been created to help educators use mobile media; we will look at what some of them have to offer below.

·         StudyTXT

This type of learning is where students are sent text messages to help them study, whether it be through multimedia messages, web links, multiple choice questions and so on. This type of texting is part of the push system where the institution would pay for the text messages and students would receive as many as are sent.

·         Mobile Phones in Education

The University of Wollongong has put together a website which discusses the pedagogies of mobile media and how educators can use mobile phones, iPods and PDAs. Some of the ways they have stated include texting; image and video capture; record interviews, historical songs, guides, learn new languages; as well as deconstruct or construct texts.

As seen from these above two sites, there is a range of ways to use mobile media in education. It is vital that educators learn the different advantages to using mobile media in order to broaden the learning dynamics. There is not better way of becoming more aware of your students than using the tools that they use every day for socialising and fun as part of your learning journey together. Watch the following slideshare clip regarding mobile learning and feel free to go to the links provided below as they are all helpful tools for you as you start your mobile learning journey.

 

Mobile Learning Sites:

-          http://mlearning.uow.edu.au/

-          http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/coffs00/papers/jarmo_viteli.pdf

-          mLearnopedia

-          http://www.m-learning.org/

Compiled by Katrina Gordon (October 2011)

Many thanks to my fellow bloggers.

Karen and Catherine,
Many thanks for your comments on my blogs, Catherine I like the term 'nomophobia'! I wish I could work out how to have my comments accepted, I've tried many times and continually get the same message - 'your account (learningonthego...) does not have access to this page. So here are my comments:

What a thought provoking article Karen, I would agree with Rob Ridley that young people have no idea of the repercussions involved in taking photos of themselves and/or friends in compromising poses.  I recently joined Facebook and added my daughters as friends, which has proved to be an informative and educative experience!  Most of the photos posted are downloaded from their mobiles and some of the photos could definitely be labeled ‘sexting’.  I don’t think they are aware that some of these photos are bordering on an illegal activity and so our family will be having a discussion on the legal ramifications of posting/smsing photos that show themselves or friends in unsavoury dress/poses.  As a teacher, it’s also important to discuss this issue with our classes, emphasizing the legal consequences of sexting.

Janye

I’ve seen QR codes in many places and wondered what they meant and what they were used for and now I know thanks to you, Catherine.  The YouTube video on what one school is doing with QR codes was inspirational.  The fact that you can load so much information on them including audio, videos, pictures and websites makes it an exciting learning tool.  The way the language teacher has used the QR code in the corners of worksheets, enabling her students to practice vocabulary and pronunciation anywhere, anytime means that in the classrooms where mobiles are banned, students can use there mobiles at home, on the bus or anywhere to access revision of lessons or homework.  My prediction would be that students would not be able to help themselves when they see a QR code.  Curiousity can assist learning but not all students are curious and this is one way to grab their attention, in what could otherwise be termed a boring lesson, ‘Not vocab again.’

Janye

Out of My Hands – Exploring New Pedagogical Approaches to Mobile Learning

Catherine examines new approaches to her teaching practice...

 http://www.slideshare.net/ASLAonline/mo 1

This assignment on Mobile Technology has highlighted several areas that I need to address in my own teaching practice. So, it is with Doctor Joyce Valenza’s words (above) in mind that I embark on changes in my collaboration with students and teachers alike. Paradoxically, the future is both in my hands and out of my hands. The change is occurring whether we like it or not. Therefore, it is incumbent for schools to engage with mobile technology and address this shift in pedagogy. This must take place on two distinct but related levels: on the one hand, it is important that students leave school equipped with new literacies in their increasingly digital environments. On the other hand, and in order to develop such literacies, it is necessary that schools themselves explore ways to authentically model technology use in their learning and teaching environments.

Mobile devices do present a challenge to the traditional paradigm. However, students need to be collaborative, communicative, creative and critical to be life-long learners in the 21^st century. Educators such as Prensky (2001a, b) and Oblinger & Oblinger (2005) have raised significant challenges for those responsible for facilitating learning for the emerging ‘digital’ generations. They emphasise that the use of digital technologies affords high motivational advantages in the classroom. However, the challenges are significant – high learning curves for teachers, the “fear” factor among staff, the new technology may be a new package for the same old dull and boring content – just to name a few. Yet if appropriately facilitated, mobile technology can benefit students by providing learning anywhere and anytime. Teachers and students  should be “participants in the conversation of learning” ( The JISC infoNet Mobile Technology Information Kit ) so that new learning pathways become more personal, collaborative and life-long.

With these ideas in mind, I have decided to focus on these aspects of my teaching practice:

Adapting Pedagogy

“The teacher is no longer merely the one-who-knows, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow.” (Freire, 1996, p. 61 as cited in The JISC infoNet Mobile Technology Information Kit, )

http://www.k12mobilelearning.com 

Freire’s words continue to resonate with me as I strategize in my role as Co-ordinator of Library and Information Services and Chair of our school’s Technology Committee. Teaching about and with mobile technology is indeed a joint responsibility.  It is clear that we systemically need to make mobile technology relevant to our curricula. Therefore, it has become part of our curriculum mapping process (which is, of course, mandatory for current curricula as well as the new Australian curricula.) At our Heads of Department meetings, we continue to engage in a collaborative approach to mobile technology and endeavour to embed our 1:1 approach in all subjects. I concur with Karen D’s comments on the Mobile Me that “the pedagogical implications of mobile learning will be that teachers will have to look at changing from “being transmitters of knowledge to facilitators of learning “(Corbeil and Valders, 2007)

Digital Citizenship

amdigitalcitizenship.wikispaces.com 

With Digital Citizenship being recognised as an essential new literacy in mobile technology use, I have made a concerted effort to map our approach to this across all KLAs and Year Groups. The Lismore Catholic Education Office has supported us very strongly in this area. Just recently, we surveyed Years 7 and 8 on their use of mobile technology and social networking. This led us to incorporate more explicit teaching in terms of “netiquette” and ethical and responsible use of mobile phones and social networking sites. There is further scope to survey Years 9-12 so that we can explicitly addressed the issues of cybersafety and digital citizenship in all age groups. It is essential that we address these issues especially if school leaders such as me espouse the use of devices such as mobile phones in the classroom as constructive rather than destructive.

Cloud Computing

sybase.com 

In keeping with the SAMR model by Ruben Puentedura, I am working towards “redefinition” in terms of how I use mobile technology in my collaboration with teachers and students. Just yesterday, I worked with the Modern History teacher and her extension class setting them up for their HSC research task. I introduced them to Evernote, signed them up to Gmail and them set up Google Alerts for their chosen topics. I also explained Google Advance search and Google Scholar. All of these tools would not have been used prior to mobile technolgy.

QR Codes

These intriguing little squares are going to be the basis of my “redefinition” of Year Sevens’ introduction to the library next year. I have already started gathering the mobile devices – sixteen iPods – to use to access the codes. My next task is to devise ways these codes can guide students through the library. I am even excited that some new novels arrived yesterday with their very own QR Codes! My Student Librarians have begun helping me create the codes as well as the scavenger hunt activities.

Augmented Reality

This wonderful app enables students to create customized 3D pop-up books. I will use webcams with Year 7 English and they can simply click on the 'Augmented Reality' button at the top of the screen and watch as the book appears in the palm of their hand!

So, from into our hands to out of our hands, the future of education is mobile! I am so thrilled to be teaching in this digital age.

References

http://www.slideshare.net/ASLAonline

Prensky, M. (2001b, Dec.) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II. On the Horizon, Vol. 9,

No. 5. NCB University Press. 

Oblinger, D.G., and J.L. Oblinger. (2005) Is it age or IT: First steps towards understanding the

Net Generation. In. D.G. Oblinger and J.L. Oblinger, Educating the Net Generation.

The JISC infoNet Mobile Technology Information Kit

.