Compact. Lightweight. Powerful. Smartphones are the most sophisticated learning devices ever created.
But smartphone use in the classroom is tricky. On one hand, they give our students access and allow them to communicate with the world. On the other, they are the ultimate distraction device. How then, can we leverage phones in learning and minimize the distractions they present?
mLearning or Mobile Learning is fast becoming a significant part of training delivery for organizations, as tablets and smartphones are increasingly becoming the preferred mode of learning.
Last week, following the release of a video showing a sheriff's deputy body-slamming a South Carolina high school student over her use of a cellphone in class, we asked teachers to tell us how they handle mobile technology in the classroom.
Benjamin Banneker Academic High School is a D.C. magnet school, established in 1981 despite grumbling that a school for only the best students was elitist. It has Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes, and ranks in the top 2 percent on The Washington Post's list of America's most challenging high schools.
My best friend recently went back to school after a bit of a hiatus and was sharing her first week frustrations with me, mainly commenting on the annoying in-class behavior of one of her peers.
May 1, 2015 iPad Monthly is finally out today and we are sharing with you one excellent lesson it covered in its first edition. iPad Monthly is "a professional development [subscription-based] newsletter for teachers using iPads in the classroom". iPad monthly is authored by Apple Distinguished Educator and inspiring keynote speaker, Paul Hamilton.
During one of our first visits to an iPad school, students told us that their favorite use of the tablet was for note taking. They had an app that enabled them to leave their paper notebooks at home and organize their notes in one place. We're not opposed to gains in productivity, but if all tablet computers do is replace notebooks with notebook apps, we're unlikely to look back on the United States' investment in tablets with much enthusiasm.
Occasionally my colleagues bemoan their student's addiction to their cellphones. I've seen it, too. The sly under-the-desk move, the obvious Snapchat selfie, the random laugh at a tweet snicker. Some of my colleagues have their students warehouse their cellphones at the front of the classroom every day.
Editor's note: Joe Mathewson cofounded learning platform Firefly when he was 14. These are heady days for education technology. In fact, with big investments in outfits like Everspring and Udemy, I'd say 2014 was the biggest year yet in edtech. However, if you thought that was impressive, you haven't seen anything yet.
Erin Scott As mobile learning programs become more ubiquitous, international attention is focusing on how different countries integrate mobile devices into formal schooling. Last month, United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a comprehensive report called UNESCO Working Paper Series on Mobile Learning on the state of mobile learning around the world.
Just a few years ago, mobile devices were almost unheard of in classrooms. Over time, teachers and administrators have been experimenting with how to make mobile devices into powerful learning tools, and have come up with some strategies.
Two teachers have incorporated mobile devices into their lesson plans. The first wheels a cart of iPads into the classroom, sets it aside for later and begins lecturing. The second hands out the devices immediately and says, "You have all the knowledge I have on your iPad. Now go."
Beth Holland Instructor & Communications Coordinator at EdTechTeacher Author's Note: This post expands on ideas that I originally shared last year on Edutopia. With the start of school approaching and the looming expectation of incorporating iPads into the curriculum becoming a reality, the big question many educators are asking is: "Where should I begin?"
Are you harnessing the full power of your mobile learning devices? If you're like many educators, probably not. Starting a mobile learning program can be overwhelming, and there are a lot of details to think about. It's also tempting for schools to try to limit what students can do on their devices.
If the past year has taught us anything, it's that while we can't control what students do at home with their school-issued mobile devices, we do need to plan for it. That's why getting buy-in from parents and the community is a critical element of any mobile learning program.
ED Pulse Poll Results: Should Cellphones Be Allowed at School? ASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. A recent ASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll asked readers if they believe students should be allowed to bring and use their cellphones at school.
New statistics suggest that mobile learning is more accepted and supported Mobile technologies are increasingly gaining support among school administrators, who opt for one-to-one initiatives and BYOD programs to help deflect the costs of maintaining a mobile device initiative, and to let students use technologies they're already using in their personal lives.
It is pretty much a given these days that students have mobile phones, tablets, and e-readers. Leveraging what your students already have and already know how to use is a smart idea - even if you aren't implementing a full-on BYOD classroom environment. There are probably hundreds of ways, if not more, to have students ...
Knowing what to do and where to start can help your mobile program succeed Successful mobile learning initiatives are more and more prevalent in districts across the nation. And while the same initiative won't necessarily work for two different districts, mobile learning best practices repeatedly prove that successful initiatives share a number of the same steps.
The last thing educators want to see is one of their students hurt or taken away in handcuffs Several years ago, a school's greatest concern regarding cell phones revolved around the risk of them ringing in class. Today, there are much greater worries that educators, parents and students themselves need to be aware of in and out of the classroom.
NEW CARROLLTON, Md. - New national research indicates that training teachers to integrate mobile technology into instruction may have a positive effect on students' standardized test scores and academic achievement. The research comes from an evaluation study, conducted by the International Society for Technology in Education, a nonprofit organization serving educators and education leaders, of an innovative and comprehensive teacher professional development program, Verizon Innovative Learning Schools.
According to the Forrester report on mobile adoption "66% of employees now use two or more devices every day, including desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets. A smaller, but notable 12% percent said that they now use tablets at work".
Ed Tech Research | News A Third of Secondary Students Use School-Issued Mobile Devices New research indicates virtually all middle and high school students have access to mobile devices and are using them for schoolwork. And nearly a third of them are using mobile devices issued by their schools.
Teens + cellphones = Instagram and Twitter. Or at least that's been the reason schools have banned the use of these mobile devices during class.
