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The College Route
1
Another Class…with so much knowledge
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.
Overall, this class providing an excellent opportunity for personal and professional growth in the area of mobile learning. I thank everyone that contributed by letting me enter their lives a little bit through their blog posts, Facebook, Twitter, Diigo. Without everyone’s contributions, the class would not have been as power as it was. I look forward to continuing to follow your thoughts, aspirations and ideas in the coming weeks, months, and years. I look forward to hearing about all of your apps on Monday!
Augmented Reality
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.
Always Moving Forward
“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.
The Chrome and The Cloud
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.
What’s Good to Me?
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
Mobile Devices to the Rescue
On Friday evening, I was stuck in Chicago Midway’s airport for numerous hours due to east coast weather affecting my plane’s arrival into the Midwest. While I was sitting there, I was continually drawn to my mobile devices for information – about the unknown in the conversation I was having with my wife, updates of flight status information, tracking of the plane that was supposed to arrive, and everything in between.
The power of information and knowledge is something that often goes understated when looking at these devices. One of my cousins said “once you get an iPhone, you don’t have to think anymore.” Although I understand her point about the ease of use and availability of different types of apps, I correct her viewpoint by stating that we think differently when utilizing a mobile device. When using these devices we can perform certain searches to have the information that we need to answer questions or be on the cutting edge, but we still have to think about the information that we are reading.
In Dr. Burbules’ class last week, a discussion ensued about collective knowledge and seeking knowledge as opposed to information. I found the conversation quite thought-provoking, yet saw it come to fruition on Friday night. As I was sitting there searching for endless information, I realized that I was only searching for information not trying to gain knowledge. I wanted instantaneous feedback on quick instances of information by doing quick Google searches or uncovering information within the Southwest app. Sure, I consumed a lot of my time by doing this, but shouldn’t I have spent the time reading the book that I checked out through my OverDrive app? Or the assigned readings for either of the grad school classes? That’s the knowledge that I could have applied in this situation.
So, next time I have a couple of hours to kill while waiting in the airport, I know I need to be more proactive with my time in searching for knowledge as opposed to information. Yet, the thoughts remain the same, I needed my mobile devices to do either!
What’s Good to Me?
As blogging continues to be an ebb and flow, content becomes available every day, and my yearning to continually seek new ways of learning for myself, I want to expand my blogging horizons! I think I have found my answer after sorting through my GoogleReader today – What’s Good to Me?.
I want to thank Angela Maiers for her inspiration to add a new aspect to my blog on a consistent basis. I have been extremely excited to read her “Tools I’m Lovin’” series on her blog about various tools and apps that she loves to use. I am constantly on the lookout for new things to write about or a new discovery that I can share with my readers (however many there are of you out there). So, I am going to start a new series – What’s Good to Me? – next week!
I am hoping that this will expand my own learning by looking at new tools and apps, considering them in the light of mobile learning, as well as assist everyone else!
One Laptop Per Child
Although I know that there is an organization known as One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), I tend to think of this in terms of one mobile device per child, not necessarily a laptop. Additionally, I think that while the aims of OLPC are a good one, I tend to focus more on the development of our own country first, before looking globally. There are many students that don’t have access due to their geographic locations (rural or urban), low income areas, and other reasons! Why not focus our attention there before looking at developing countries? Shouldn’t access, regardless of means or location, be fundamental for our students so that their connections can continue to thrive?
In her blog post, Anna, discusses how 1:1 deployments and initiatives are “all the rage” these days within school districts, mine being one of them. I am looking forward to our deployment because of the power that mobile devices will have on teaching and learning. As mentioned in “Teaching in a Wireless Learning Environment: A Case Study” by Tzu Chien Liu, “the application of mobile learning devices has been found to enhance students’ learning processes, support students’ completing schoolwork, and improve students’ conceptual understanding.” These gains in learning and within the classroom are phenomenal reasons as to advocating for mobile device implementation into our classrooms. We bring the technology to the students, make the learning and technology an active part of the process!
CHALLENGES
Although there is great power with mobile devices and a 1:1 ration, a number of challenges come to mind. The major roadblock is affordability and sustainability. When purchasing these mobile devices, the cost of the device is not the only cost to consider. School districts must enhance their wireless infrastructure, provide professional development for teachers on how teaching isn’t going to be able to be status quo anymore, and change is going to be a must! Then, the devices must be sustained through becoming out-dated and damaged. These are considerable reasons to look closely before proceeding with a mobile device selection.
Personally, I believe that the power of one laptop per child outweighs the challenges to implementation, but thoughtful consideration must be applied before making a decision!
Organization is the Key to Success
The final chapter of Christensen, et al provides some serious considerations to the types of changes and organization that a school can make in order to be effective and as the title suggests “innovative.” As one of my teacher’s says on a daily basis to her students, organization is the key to success.
Available under Flickr Creative Commons from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/macbeck/3985839229/sizes/m/in/photostream/
I think that that is a true statement for students that are looking at determining how to be successful, organizations figuring out how the make the best decisions, or keeping order within a household. We all have our own organizational strategies that work for us; however, we are challenged as a collective unit to determine what is the most effective for our organization to become innovative. What is best?
Within my district, we have an incredible amount of “lightweight teams” that make in-roads on various topics and some that do not. Committees are formed to look at technology, Response to Intervention, department heads, writing across the curriculum, advisory initiatives, and a host of other options. These lightweight teams represent various disciplines and grade levels in order to make the best decisions possible for the good of the students. As students are our primary responsibilities and goals, teachers often overlook the importance of their committee work and the outcome that their decisions will have on students.
I look at our administrative team as the “heavyweight team” within my district because, coupled with the Board of Education, the primary decisions are made there. Having a group coordinating the effort and goals of the district as well as making the major decisions is a collective good thing. That being said, I feel as though this summer I have joined a “heavyweight team” with our technology roll out in the fall, I have been able to make decisions and assist in the planning across discipline, for all teachers. It has been an excellent experience!
What I think is often the hardest is to promote an architectural change within a school district. These changes can often have a significant impact of teachers, their schedules, the number needed, and the like which makes it that much more difficult to promote an architectural change, especially in this climate. However, the ways of the past are going to hold back students and teachers. Students must be exposed to 21st century learning skills, utilizing computers, and experiential learning opportunities. As one of my colleagues said, so eloquently, last year – the train is moving out of the station, either jump aboard or get out of the way. I am not a supporter for that extreme thinking because as educators we want to move forward together, as one, therefore we want to get everyone on board with change and innovation, especially with emerging technologies.
So, what’s the best way to organize a school? Is it depending upon your school climate and culture? Does it matter? I think so.
TechQuality
There is so much writing on what it takes to be an excellent teacher; school districts ask in their online applications about the three qualities that make an outstanding teacher. These questions are so subjective because one could focus on so many attributes – organized, communicable, personable, content expert, innovative, experienced, inspiring, and the list goes on and on. There are so many factors that go into creating great, excellent teachers that it is hard to narrow that down, but I bet they are different from Charlie Brown’s experience!
When I think about technology, however, I think of two at the forefront that all teachers that are going to integrate technology into their classrooms should possess in order to be successful:
Try New Things
Teachers that are willing to try new things will be more successful than those that are okay with the status quo. As technology is constantly changing, Web 2.0 brings out new programs, software rapidly changes, we seek those that are willing to run programs on a trial basis or implement programs without necessarily knowing all of the answers. This past year, I decided to test out Edmodo with my seventh grade students for the last quarter and I didn’t know everything, but I was willing to try. That’s the mentality that I use when working with teachers in my district, will you at least try? If you are willing to try Glogster, Prezi, Evernote, Storybird, etc., I will work with you to make sure that it is successful for you and your students. Good teachers will try out new things to see how it will impact their teaching and in turn the learning that will go along with it. Thus, I urge everyone to try one new thing every quarter within your classes. If you can try new things, you’ll be amazed at how you will expand your knowledge and skill set!
Adaptable
With technology, things happen – servers go down, the Internet stops working, or hardware malfunctions. Thus, teachers need to be adaptable in order to be fully successful with technology related aspects of learning. Most teachers are adaptable and willing to change a lesson when something goes awry, but with technology teachers need to be flexible and adapt to their situation. Perhaps a website you utilized once is no longer working because of firewall or it went down because someone else didn’t maintain it, then the teacher needs to adapt to the current options that are available.
My hope is that as more teachers seek to include technology as an every day part of their classroom, they will try new things and be adaptable!
Access…
As we begin to talk about OLPC in my graduate school class this week, especially with a focus on the developing world, I cannot help but think of my own issue today. As I woke up to another violent storm sweeping through the midwest, I suddenly realized that there was no power. Yet, I could still access the Internet for a few hours, amazing that my battery back-up kept the Internet alive without the power coming into the house. But to no avail, batteries only last a little while and see we are caught without electricity, connection to the outside world, or Internet. I felt completely unconnected (that was until I turned to my iPhone and iPad to rely upon the 3G network).
While I would never presume to compare my situation (lack of internet) to that of a developing country, I do see some parallels in regard to access. Here in a well-established country, we come to rely upon the power of the Internet, count on it being there to provide answers to our questions. (How do I call ComEd when the power is out – I don’t have their phone number and I don’t have a phone book?) It’s always there, right? Shouldn’t we always be able to acces the Internet (provided that we pay our bills)? It’s amazing how quickly we come to rely upon it and want it to always be there. What would happen if you didn’t know the power of the Internet because you had never had the option or availability, not always at the touch of your finger tips?
I think about the mission of One Laptop per Child “[The students] become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future.” As educators, it is our duty to connect our students outside the walls of our classroom and even more so in developing countries to show them their potential and the possibilities that they might be able to achieve in their lifetime. By providing affordable laptops to children in need, both in the United States and outside of it, children will be exposed to the opportunity of a lifetime. They will be connected to a larger, global world filled with unique experiences, customs, and traditions that are waiting to be shared.
1:1 Is Two Months Away
I am excited and nervous about the fact that our 1:1 initiative will kick off in approximately two months, with the start of another school year. There is much to do in order to get ready, but I am confident that it will get done.
We need to…
- get the equipment
- tag the equipment
- update the equipment
- provide professional development to the staff
- discuss procedures and protocols with the staff
- talk about how this will change teaching and learning (dramatically)
- and a whole host of other items that go with this deployment
I am hopeful that we will be ready and excited for the challenge. This initiative will be of significant benefit for not only our students, but our staff as well. As many positive results we see with the students will be the result of many hours of preparation! This all being said, I am also nervous about how the students will handle the devices and the educating that will be necessary of the students to understand the significance and the responsibility that our students will have with these devices. It is an exciting time to be an educator in my district, but also what seems to be one of great change!
An App Review: Angry Birds
I feel like I don’t have to say anything else. The game is ever so popular with all age groups. There was even an “Angry Birds” boat in the Dewey Lake Fourth of July boat parade this year where the occupants flung water balloons off the boat and had the decor of boxes falling. It was quite amusing. That’s beside the point, I want to take a look at this app in the learning context. According to the Rovio website, “Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 120 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy.” I think this says a lot for the development of the game because it goes into the developers mindset that perhaps the game was not meant to be addicting, where people sit around and play the game all day, or talk about it constantly and the dialogue of how someone beat a certain level. Perhaps there was an educational intention behind this development.
Although the game is widespread in the traditional media and will most likely go down in the record books of pop culture, I’d argue that there is some legitimate reasons to integrate Angry Birds into the classroom. According to Herrington, Herrington, and Mantei (2009), Design Principles for Mobile Learning, there are eleven major design principles when looking at the creation of a mobile learning environment. I believe that Angry Birds fits the bill for the following principles: Real world relevance, Mobile contexts, Whenever, Wherever, Whomsoever, and Personalise. Angry Birds provides users with the ability to have some real world application when looking at the construction of the various structures that are “under attack.” These structures are obviously not sound and hence require additional support. Additionally, as this article suggests, the birds are being “flung into the air. Thus, providing physics teachers will real world support for their discipline and engaging the students through something they are already familiar with. In conjunction with the real world advantages, the other five principles go hand in hand with this app being available on mobile computing devices ranging from Palm, to iPhone, to iPad, to laptop, etc. which makes the game and learning environment constantly available to any user that has access to his or her own mobile device.
Barbara Fernandes in her blog provides some excellent out of the box thinking in her integration of Angry Birds into classes that aren’t physics, but language arts with writing and reading strategies that can be deployed when working collaboratively on the game itself. I’d like to argue that other disciplines could be included as well. What about integrating Angry Birds into art class by drawing your own level or background for the game? The integration is endless as long as you are creative and purposeful in your decision making.
In the creation of the many versions and “seasons” of Angry Birds, I feel as though Rovio has undergone the same user feedback and interaction as discussed by Bradley, Haynes, Cook, Boyle, and Smith in their chapter “Design and Development of Multimedia Learning Objects for Mobile Phones.” Albeit not drastic changes, changes have been made with later releases of this app, which perfects what they are working with and how they are crafting this app as fully-functional with limited down time or interruption, making the game that much more addicting to users.
Overall, Angry Birds was developed incredibly well to engage a user. The users continue to compete for higher level advancement, more stars (by becoming more perfect and receiving a higher score), etc. It’s only time until Angry Birds and Rovio continue to advance, upgrade, and change this game into a true learning experience for all.
The QR Code
I distinctly remember a conversation that I was having with my school librarian at the end of two school years ago, where the topic of QR Codes emerged into my knowledge for the first time. She asked me if I had known a thing about them or how to even read one. To be honest, I didn’t have a clue and after a little investigating about what they are, I circled back and told her not to worry these wouldn’t enter the education realm anytime soon and seemed to me to be a fluke.
Fast forward to the present….I was wrong! After doing some more research as a part of my graduate school class this summer, I am amazed at how powerful QR Codes are. For those of you that are unfamiliar, according to Wikipedia it stands for “quick response” where an individual can capture the code with an app on their smartphone which will lead them to the encoded data, whether it be a link, website, text, or other data wishing to be shared. The premise is certainly exciting, having access to information easily without worrying about searching through a search engine or misspelling a URL while skimming a magazine or some other snafu. Instead the information is readily available with the snap of a photo (now the world of QR codes, also alienates those without smartphones that cannot access QR codes).
I’m thinking that for starters, I am going to make my syllabus on day one a QR code and see how my students react to being immersed into it firsthand. See who has smartphones and who will be able to actually figure out what to do with a QR code…quite the technological experiment.
There are other ways that QR codes will transform the way that we teach and learn.
Take for instance this video below. Look at how the reading of a book becomes much more engaged and interesting through the use and inclusion of a QR code. The codes included within the book bring you directly to more knowledge. I can see this becoming a significant aspect in the travel industry, but also in education.
Michael Bromby suggests some interesting approaches to including QR codes within his classroom. I especially like the use of contact information. I can see the practicality of that much better at a university level than I can at a junior high level, but I still like the idea of storing all of the information necessary and then printing it out on a QR code and business card. Think about the information that one could share – your entire LinkedIn profile, CV, ePortfolio, or resume!
Teachers could provide QR codes on homework assignments. I think that makes the learning more ubiquitous because students will have the opportunity to have answers to their questions without necessarily needing to reach out to the teacher right away. Students will be providing with more ownership of their learning to go to the websites and resources that teachers choose for additional support on their homework assignments.
Teachers already appear to be integrating these devices into their classrooms and as a part of instruction, we need to think about what we want these QR codes to do for our students. Perhaps we want them to be links to important topics or maybe videos, or other websites that will add additional flare and support to our students’ instruction. Most importantly, we want to have our students understand the importance of these codes and not shrug them off as something that doesn’t really matter. Perhaps as we begin we might want to focus on the usage of QR codes for additional support on homework assignments or in-class activities, which can then give way to creating assessments and other projects using QR codes. They do matter and much like many of the other aspects of mobile devices and mobile learning, we will see that these assist in the development of educating around the clock with wherever and whenever learning.
E-Learning or Face2Face Learning….My Experience
For the past seventeen months, I have been engaged in eLearning through the CTER program at the University of Illinois. Today, I began a six day course in adolescent psychology through the DuPage TIDE program.
Boy, what a difference.
From me experience in CTER, I have become accustomed to engaging with the (as my wife calls it) “mysterious voices” emanating from my computer screen in heated discussions and debates about educational technology, its impact and importance to the learning environments across the globe.
- I have “met” my classmates through Skype and other video conferencing and live chats with GoogleDocs and Sync.in.
- I have read their blogs, taken an insight into philosophies on education, as well as their person.
- I feel as though I know them better by interacting with them in social networks (i.e. Facebook and Twitter).
- I have created collaborative and multimedia projects using Jing, wikis, and the like.
My experience online has provided me with a glimpse into my classmates that I never thought possible. At first, I was wary of the online experience. Would I feel as though I could interact with classmates? Well, looking back on my past courses and my current two courses, I can say that I feel as though I engaged in dialogue with my classmates much more than I would have sitting in a traditional classroom with four walls. In fact, I have really enjoyed the conversations with educators from across the country and the world for that matter.
Today, I had to re-think my learning ability and focus on the 30 other individuals sitting within the room. I was away from my computer, matching voices with their mouths moving, seeing the reactions on their faces from my commentary within class. It was certainly a culture shock, once being accustomed to something different. I remarked at the beginning of the class how different this was for me and the adjustment that I had to make in terms of reading textbooks (not blogs, videos, articles) from my computer or mobile devices, sit in a room for six hours a day for the next six days, and hear the differing opinions.
I’ll definitely report back on the progress of my adjustment.
Happy Independence Day, America!
The fourth of July is always celebrated as the birthday of our country because of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolutionary war in the 18th century, but in reality, the holiday did not become a federal holiday until 1941. From the beginning of time, America became a country, deeply rooted in the principles of freedom and democracy, away from the control of tyrannical British government. We take this day to think back about the sacrifices made by many Americans during that time.
Today, we think about this celebration with all of the pomp and circumstance that goes along with the day (or weekend, for that matter) – cookouts, parades, fireworks, concerts, etc.
I want to thank all of the members of the U.S. Armed forces, past, present, and future, as well as their families for their constant care and protection of the freedoms bestowed upon Americans and their ability to keep us safe.
I am proud to be an American.
Trying New Things
Work in my graduate school classes has continued to push me to newer levels and heights. I enjoy the challenge, yet I also have some trepidation when it comes to trying new things, scared of the unknown, and uncertainty that comes with new technologies. I prefer to know what I am using, how to use it, and make it the best that I can. However, I decided to test the unknown these past few weeks when looking at creating an app case study.
I went back and forth over the app that I wanted to use – iMovie, Evernote, Civil War Today, Angry Birds, and the list continued. I couldn’t determine which would be the best one that I could write the most about. Well, I started the project on Evernote, but then I decided that there is so much out there that I wanted to make a case study on something that wasn’t widely discussed to provide a new resource. So, I went to iMovie (what was I thinking?), but realized that I had previously blogged enough about it’s merits and the application itself. Plus, this is my family’s year of trying new things. Therefore, I decided to set on my track of The Civil War Today.
The next big decision, what platform should I use? Well, I know how to write a blog post, so I could do that! But, that is something I do multiple times a week. One of my classmates, Joanne, mentioned a static page on my blog. That could be exciting. Already have one of those. What about Glogster or Prezi? I love those tools. But, I’ve already added those to my repertoire. So, what about a wiki? Well, I’ve already used wikispaces so much, so that wouldn’t be anything new. But, I hadn’t used PB Works before, why don’t I try this? So, I did. I ended up making my app case study on something that wasn’t widely published (something new) and I decided to create a a wiki with all of my information for the case study (something new).
I’m excited about trying new things and versing myself in a variety of technologies. I hope it will help me out along the way!
And a VERY happy….
social media day to you!
According to Mashable, today is the day when we recognize social media and all of the technological advancements within the social aspect of media. So, the end of June is not just my cousin’s birthday, but also a day to recognize social media.
Who would have thought that we would have a day to recognize social media?
Martin Luther King, Jr. – Yes.
Washington’s Birthday – Yes.
Lincoln’s Birthday – Yes.
Veteran’s Day – Yes.
Independence Day – Yes.
Social Media Day – I guess so…
In honor of social media day, I encourage you all to utilize as many social media applications as humanly possible today to connect and reach out with as many individuals as possible (sounds like a homework assignment, doesn’t it?). In all sincerity, today, remember what social media does and how it can transform the way in which we live, do business, and educate children. We are no longer alone, yet always surrounded by our networks of friends, colleagues, and family with a couple of quick keyboard strokes and a click of a button, they can all see you message.
Enjoy the day!
Are mobile devices safe?
Mobile devices are everywhere. One can hardly walk down the street, into a coffee shop, go to the grocery store, or other daily task without seeing someone using a cell phone, someone listening to their mp3 player, or looking at an iPad or other tablet. They are constantly around us and an integral part of everyday life. I am an adamant support of the use of mobile devices and cell phones within the classroom as learning tools and even more convinced after reading Special Issue from District Administration Magazine – Mobile Device Learning Guide. The articles written here speak to the ease of use of mobile devices as well as of converts who were against the use of cell phones to ardent supporters, and some that are still opposed. These are the stories from those in the field, working with the students and devices, that show testament to the need for more mobile devices.
That all being said, I do wonder about the safety of these devices. For the most part, I believe that these devices do their best to transmit data securely and with some encryption in order to keep identities and information safe. One of the common strands of advice that I have read about the security of mobile devices is the common sense of the user, as mentioned by the Float Team. And, an EDUCAUSE article speaks to the issue by stating “Users need to understand the trade-o ffs between security and functionality in order to make informed decisions about the things they do with mobile devices and the risks those activities incur.” A specific example of this is the social networking application Foursquare (similar to the Facebook “check-in”). Users can “check-in” to their specific location and see where friends are located or might be in the same location. This is a nice feature for functionality, but in terms of security, not so much. Especially if your accounts are unprotected, you have just told the world exactly where you are. Therefore, everyone knows that you are not at home (prime break in target) or that you are traveling or your exact location. A number of security threats enter into this decision to share your location. With GPS and other global positioning included on most mobile devices, a simple click can share your location, but is it really worth it? What do you get out of sharing with everyone where you are at that exact
Photo taken from Google Maps search of current address
moment in time? I view this as a security issue because of potential ramifications from this information. Now, as an informed mobile device user, you can also turn that feature off or opt to not use it. If I were to check-in, right as I am writing this blog post, this is where the coordinates would lead you.
This is just one example of security issues with mobile devices. As with any piece of technology or new initiative, it is better to be safe than sorry and use proper judgment. While all have security issues, if you are smart about it, then you will be fine.
Users need to understand the trade-o s between
security and functionality in order to make informed decisions
about the things they do with mobile devices and the risks those
activities incur.
