Changes in Pedagogy

I am so excited by the potential for pedagogical change made possible by the amazing capabilities of mobile media. There are so many incredible applications that it makes my head swim. I teach students in an after-school program where the majority of the students are Korean. Most, if not all, of my students have laptop computers or mobile phones and some bring both to the classroom. A small number have ipads which they love!

Many students who attend high school possess a mobile phone with immense technological capabilities. The multitude of uses and the “cool factor” of these devices provide teachers with a resource that students find enthralling.  It seems to me to be a natural progression that teachers should utilize the functions of this device to further engage students in the activities they present in the classroom and beyond. Of course there is the added benefit to the school of the no cost factor as the equipment and software are already in the classroom.

As a science teacher, I can see the potential for the use of mobile phones during excursions into various ecosystems in order to record images and sounds that would support data collection and collation by students working in groups on a digital production of their findings and conclusions. The home documentation of experiments is very useful as allows the time for the student to do the experiment at his own pace. The data in the consequent report, in the form of a blog, could be compared with those of the other class members providing a significant amount of primary data which would then be analyzed. These are authentic tasks that have the assessment embedded in the activity. The use of the mobile phone for anonymous group feedback in the classroom relating to the understanding of concepts would be a useful strategy as it alleviates many problems involving language or other cultural or individual traits.

In my experience, most students have extensive knowledge of the functions of their phones. This factor, combined with the attributes of mobility and continuous Internet access, make mobile phones a tool with unlimited potential. The active participation of students in a group situation may be enhanced by an increase of control over the environment which is facilitated by their familiarity with the mobile phone’s capabilities  (Geary, 2008).  The development of 21^st century skills that enable communication and collaboration is essential and the mobile phone is an integral part of these processes with its provision of the means to utilize time and space more efficiently. 

I have just begun to tutor a young girl in year 11 who is recovering from a brain tumor. She was unable to walk six years ago and has made great progress. She is now quite mobile and dexterous but there are still a number of hurdles in her way back to independence. The use of mobile devices such as the iphone or ipad would be extremely advantageous and would help her manage with the multitasking that is required in a normal high school classroom. There are multitude of apps that have been designed for students with special needs and this combined with a myriad of other capabilities, would definitely enhance this young girl’s education. There is also the opportunity to utilize the significant amount of time spent in travel to doctors, physiologists, hypnotists, etc. and whilst in hospital.

The cutbacks in the special education sector at her state high school, from seven to three teacher aides, has caused some problems for this young lady who still has some motor and memory issues. The ability of the ipad to record visual and audio information would alleviate some of the stress that is caused by  experiences in the classroom. This feature would also be available on a mobile phone and I suggested that she use this function in her classroom in the future to photograph the whiteboard. The mother is now looking into this possibility at her school. It will be interesting to see if the school will make an exception to their mobile phone policy which bans the use of a phone in the classroom.There needs to be a reconsideration of the permitted use of these ubiquitous devices.

The construction of a class blog is an efficient method for information dissemination and collection. The ability of the teacher to communicate information effectively to the whole class greatly enhanced through the use of appropriate postings. The opportunity to work as a group to create a product that is both content rich and visually appealing is a motivating factor, especially when familiar skills are utilised in the process. Ellison and Yuehua (2008)  have found that whilst exam results did not show improvement when blogging was employed as as teaching strategy, students reported that they had been exposed to more diverse viewpoints than previously and had increased their commitment to writing and thinking.

The use of a system such as “Blackboard” or “Moodle” which enables efficient communication between groups within the school community is not in wide spread use in high schools at this point in time. Also world of blogging has not infiltrated the vast majority of state high school classrooms on the Gold Coast (where I work as a supply teacher whilst on leave). In my experience, I have found that many teachers, especially those who have been teaching for more than 10 years have not had the opportunity or desire to become proficient at blogging. The exposure of these teachers to the potential of blogging would be valuable professional development. Training needs to be provided in order to increase the uptake in the employment of class blogs.

Karen