Techspiration

As I have sat down to work on this Summary of Learning post a number of times, I am betwixt and between as to how to present the vast amount of knowledge that I have gained as a result of the exchanges we have encountered over the past eight weeks of class.  I wanted to try something new, but I couldn’t determine what would be the best path to follow.  So, when all else fails, blog about it.

I want to start you off by the introductory video that I created using Animoto.  This video truly touches the surface of our discussions and really looks at pre-knowledge that many of us had when we entered into our weekly conversations at the beginning of June.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Take a look:

Within our virtual learning environment, as learners throughout the process, we were exposed to a number of different learning environments.  On our own, we read the assigned course readings.  We blogged about those readings as well as about the mobile tools of the week, which we explored on our own.  During synchronous course conversations, we shared information that we had learned and discovered.  We had an opportunity to learn from each other by reading other’s blog posts that were often on the same topic, yet had a different twist or insight that we needed to consider. Sharing didn’t stop there, links, videos, readings, websites were all shared within social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Diigo (a crowd favorite).  Wherever you looked, knowledge could be found.  Which makes it so difficult to nail down exactly what I learned from all of these different sites, from my professor, and from my colleagues!  There was so much information.

To start my reflection on what we learned, I went back and re-read all of the blog posts that I had written specifically for this course.  It got me thinking about all of the topics that we covered and all of the insight that was necessary to build the knowledge base that I currently have, eight weeks later.  After reading them all, I decided to copy and paste the text into Wordle.  Here’s what I got:

The main words that jump out are students, mobile, devices, learning, and information. This sums up the main themes of the course, in my opinion.  All of these words are so intertwined that it will be hard to separate them out to discuss them distinctly, but I will try.

• Students: The base and the root of all of our thoughts.  As teachers, we do everything for our students and to assist in their development.  Throughout the course, we constantly challenged our knowledge to build upon how mobile devices would affect the students.  What will this change for each student?  Our students are changing.  They are growing up in this fast-paced, constant society and have come to rely and depend upon their mobile devices. Thus, teachers need to adapt to meet the growing needs of these students.
• Mobile:  Being mobile makes learning ubiquitous.  Learning can occur wherever, whenever, however, when devices can be mobile.  During Week 2, we specifically looked at and discussed how to teach with mobile devices.  What will change by bringing mobility to learning?  Everything.  From our discussions and reading other classmate’s blogs, things are already changing in their learning environments because of less restrictions and because learning can be constant.  It can transcend the classroom walls and be significant experiences in the lives of our students, all by putting a device in their hands.
• Devices:  Often viewed as just a tool for learning, the device (in my opinion) often matters significantly because of the features, capabilities, and restrictions that come with these devices.  When talking about cloud computing, the device might not matter, but we are not entirely there yet.  I still see cloud computing as the future.  So, for now, we need to consider the device.  If our students are using iTouches and iPhones and other touch screen devices, then we need to respond by providing them with outlets for using them as learning devices.  Download apps that are educational and will provide content in addition to skills.  If our students are using the laptops, how can we significantly engage them to learn?  That’s the future.  That’s what we need to determine.
• Learning:  How doesn’t learning change?  In addition to changing the physical structure of the learning environment, teachers now must understand various issues in regard to security and privacy because the world is at the finger tips of our students by providing them with mobile devices.  Policies must be enhanced to augment the new types of learning environments.  Most importantly, though, learning will become more authentic, more genuine, and hopefully more engaging for our students because they will be given the freedom to inquire and search for their wisdom on various topics and ideas within the curriculum.
• Information: As they say, knowledge is power.  This couldn’t be more true.  The types of information and knowledge will readily change as mobile devices enter the equation of education and schooling because the devices will open up the information beyond just the teacher in the classroom.  Information is everywhere – students just need help finding that information and harnessing it appropriately.

What is it?

From all the reading and watching I did on augmented reality, I found that this video (although slightly humorous) explained the topic of augmented reality best with examples of the uses and the future of augmented reality as well:

Mashable provides a list of their top 10 Augmented Reality Apps for the iPhone.  I worry about the educational value of these apps, however they show the depth of augmented reality and it’s presence within our society thus far.  That being said, the virtual sky app could see great benefits in astronomy classes or science classes that occur during the day.  Students can still study the stars during the day by incorporating this app into the curriculum.

How do we meaningfully integrate?

In order to meaningfully integrate augmented reality, schools and students will need to be equipped with devices to utilize augmented reality.  While the information and tools can be deployed on laptops, I would suggest that schools need to adopt other mobile devices to truly transform the learning process.  iPhones or iTouches will best suit the ability to modify real world objects in this new world.  It appears that augmented reality is better used when able to modify the screen using touch recognition, which most laptops do not necessarily afford.  What I like best about augmented reality in terms of integrating into the curriculum is that students can be exposed to What if? scenarios by changing real life situations and adding an abnormal object to see the affects of that object on the situation.  This would be great in the study of history by looking at whether or not something had occurred how that might alter the course of history.

There is certainly significant ways that this can be deployed within school systems, I just wonder whether or not schools are ready for augmented reality…perhaps time will tell.

“Mobile learning has reached the stage where the ‘early adopters’ and ‘early majority’ (Rogers 2003) are making the use of mobile and wireless technologies visibile across a broad range of contexts and applications.”

As we think about mobile devices (I think I’ve mentioned this on this blog before), there are so many to choose from and they are so commonplace within our culture and society that we often are underwhelmed with their abilities.  Most use the simple features of cell phones, PDAs, and smartphones – SMS, MMS, email, quick searches, photo sharing – but rarely do we see them being fully implemented in teaching and learning.  This next step is the critical part of the equation that many are missing.  I chose to start this blog post with a quote from “Mobile Learning: Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training” edited by Mohamed Ally because I think it’s true and something that we must seriously consider as educators of the 21st century. We need to harness the energy and engagement that these devices provide to our learners and show them how to constantly learn from and with them on a daily basis.

The technology is out there and our students possess the capabilities to carry around mobile technologies.  Let’s face it…most of them are more tech savvy than us because they have grown up in this age that actively promotes their usage and have some sort of mobile device.  However, the shift that we need to be thinking about is using them instructionally as opposed to on the peripheral.  Mobile devices are not necessarily the answer if not being used effectively and appropriately, nor are we going to be able to move forward from the ‘adopters’ and ‘majority’ without professional development.  One thing I know for sure though is mobile devices make learning more ubiquitous and happen 24/7 because knowledge is always at your finger tips.

How do we encourage and promote this change to occur within our schools? How do we insist that mobile devices are the right choice to foster a new learning environment?

And most importantly, how do we transition from ‘early majority’ to eliminating the ‘early’ so that the majority of educators are using mobile devices within their classrooms as educational tools that foster increased learning opportunities and innovative teaching styles?

I’ll quote Dr. Evangeline Pianfetti: “We need to be change agents.”  This topic resonates with me because I have heard Vanna say this in the classes that I have been fortunate enough to take with her, but still hits home to me every time I hear it.  Agents of change are a must to transition our educational system into something more innovative, more challenging, more creative.  The change starts with each one of us that is willing to promote change.  We must be the ones to be proactive in nature.  We must be the ones pushing for the inclusion of mobile devices within our school settings and we must the ones that promote active, involved learning.

When I think about the word cloud computing, I am constantly drawn to Apple’s latest announcement of the iCloud – coming to a computer near you in the fall; however, that, in my opinion, is a different type of cloud.  Apple’s version of the cloud is going to push information to various devices synced together (ex. Music will be stored in the cloud, and then automatically pushed to your devices).  Therefore, the device matters in this regard because of the necessity to push content to the various devices.  The more popular form of a cloud is where the device doesn’t matter.  I think of that cloud in comparison to GoogleApps, where a user can log on from any device and access all of the information necessary.  The latter type of cloud will be much more sustainable in nature because of the myriad of devices once could choose and still access the content.  Hence, the Chromebook.  These devices are primarily built for utilizing and browsing the Internet; thus, the cost is lower and access via 3G of WiFi is available on most of the devices.  I really like the functionality of these Chromebooks and the cloud itself because I know that I have been the victim of losing information or forgetting a flash drive, when I really needed a document.

As the main IT person at my school, this video brings a smile to my face where education and cloud and Chromebooks are heading.  These benefits will be significant in the long-run, especially for schools.

Impact on Teaching

One of the primary tasks that I will charging my teachers with (aside from our 1:1 deployment) is to find suitable Internet-based substitutions for their CD and site licensed software to cut back costs, but to also make the programs more accessible for our students.  One of the primary tools that is used is Inspiration for diagramming and creating other visual representations, but the issue is that the program is only going to be installed on the students’ computers.  Therefore, the students won’t be able to work on assignments while away from their computers or at home.  So, I’ve tried to showcase other options to my teachers like MindMeister and Bubbl.us, which are web-based programs.  With the emergence of the cloud, hopefully, more and more teachers will begin to rely upon the cloud and move their own teaching materials there for student access.  Additionally, I see the cloud becoming beneficial for teachers that currently need VPN on their work computers to do work at home.  This means that teachers can always have their materials available for them with the click of a button and a couple of passwords.  The ease of use will make the flexibility and fluidity of teaching that much easier!

Redefining Learning

Following the cloud computing model, learning will truly become more ubiquitous in nature because information will be constantly available.  Students will have 24/7 access to the information they need for all of their classes and to explore on their own.  Students will be able to learn at all hours of the day or night in order to fully immerse themselves in the learning process and engage with the course material.  The first step is to make the devices available to the students, but then will need to make the cloud available to them as well.  Learning will be a brand new process with access not being an argument for students across the country once given the opportunity to possess a Chromebook.  As 1:1 is a current trend in education, the time is now to truly define the cloud and access of knowledge for our students to see how that will alter the course of education and the need for all face2face meetings between teachers and students.

The app that has currently been catching my attention is the OverDrive Media Console. Avid readers, this one is for you!  While I am trying to read more, I think I a going to wait until I finish up all of my reading for my two graduate school classes this summer.  However, I have hooked my mom and sister onto OverDrive!

It’s an excellent app for reading eBooks and listening to audio books for FREE!  You utilize this app to checkout and download books from your local public library.  The book then downloads directly to your mobile device for access anywhere you are with that device.  Your bookshelf will house all of the books that you currently have checked out, so you can read multiple texts at the same time! So, you can see what’s on my list here!

A couple of things to know:

• You can only have five books checked out at any given time.
• You check out books for 14 days.
• Not all titles are available.

Then, you can enjoy reading on the go with all those books and only carrying around one thing!

Check out these other articles for more reading about uses within the library system:

• Libraries add, expand electronic book services by Darla Slipke
• Digital content gives libraries an opportunity to lend e-readers a helping hand by Peter Lewis