Mobile Learning

This quote from today’s reading grabbed my attention and made me think:

“Learning while mobile sees learning as happening across contexts, people, and digital tools that are both mobile and static. It focuses not on learners and technologies, but on the interactions between them, emphasizing that learning is a social process.”

-Mark Van ‘T Hooft

I think that currently, educators (in general) are focused more on the technologies. I am guilty of it too. A new gadget comes out, we rush to get it, and then we force it into our curriculum even if it is not really a good fit. Before jumping on the bandwagon of the latest technology, we need to stop and think about how our students are going to interact with it. Are students going to be able to access the content more actively with this new tool? Will this gadget promote higher order thinking skills? Does this gadget support collaboration? Collaboration should not be limited to just students. Will teachers, administrators, and members of the community be able to interact with students in a meaningful way with the assistance of this new technology?

In the reading, Mark Van ‘T Hooft also mentions that mobile learning bridges the gap between classrooms and society. I think that some professionals in our field fear this bridge. Society is not always a safe place and it would be foolish not to be cautious but I agree with Van ‘T Hooft when he says that utilizing a mobile connection between the classroom and the rest of the world gives students an opportunity “to learn how to navigate their world in safe, ethical, and productive ways”. Students are going to use iPads, cell phones, Smartphones, social networking sites, You Tube, etc, so why not teach them how to use them in a meaningful way while at the same time making the content more interesting and applicable to their lives.

Image found via Google Images was located at:  http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://msmartlearning.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/mobile_learning7.jpg%3Fw%3D311%26h%3D442&imgrefurl=http://msmartlearning.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/pengenalan-pembelajaran-mobile/&usg=__3ZGs-KtIemkahif3Nstq70h2vFE=&h=442&w=311&sz=70&hl=en&start=1&sig2=feQRu49n7GnOWz6iJoQimA&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=3Hf3LVi_NrxEWM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=89&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmobile%2Blearning%26tbnid%3D2ZnH6CQxX4hkyM:%26tbnh%3D0%26tbnw%3D0%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1T4GGLL_en%26imgtype%3Di_similar%26biw%3D1259%26bih%3D597%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divnslbfd&ei=19HNTbCrHKTb0QGa7MCmDg

Flip (Digital Video)

Today’s class session focused on Digital Storytelling and Digital Video. I am going to save my thoughts on Digital Storytelling for a future post. I do however want to reflect on the digital video activity we did involving the Flip.

Flip Video camcorders are perhaps one of the coolest gadgets available. They are simple to use and the pop-out USB connector makes it easy to share. I have had my Flip for years and I am heartbroken that Cisco Systems has discontinued them. However, several companies have developed easy to use camcorders that are similar to Flips, so there is still an opportunity for child-friendly camcorders to be utilized in schools.

Today’s activity was creating a video booktalk. The professor showed us an example of a video booktalk that was developed in a prior semester. I appreciated the professor doing this because; we will need to do this in our own classrooms. Students can often be overwhelmed by their own creativity and ideas, so providing an example gives them just enough structure to help them organize their thoughts. The class was then divided into small groups (3-4 students). Each group was assigned a picture book and instructed to create a video that would make others want to read this book.

My group was given “The Eleventh Hour” by Graeme Base. It is a very engaging and beautifully illustrated mystery book. What makes this book so engaging? Well, it has hidden messages and codes on every page for the reader to decipher to solve the mystery. Our group really enjoyed working collaboratively to create a skit of each of us being drawn to the book and helping each other look for the hidden messages. The Flip made recording the skit a breeze and without any cords, we uploaded our booktalk to the computer in just a few seconds. We decided not to add a title page to our booktalk because we opened with a close-up of the book. However, if we needed to do any editing or adding of slides/images, Flip videos can easily be imported into iMovie, Movie Maker, or other video editing software/websites.

Integrating digital videos with traditional booktalks is an innovate use of technology in the classroom because it allows students to share their understanding of the book with a much wider audience. The video booktalks could be shared with other classrooms from different locations (in the district, state, nation, or even with classes in other countries), and students will be exposed to a greater variety of books and genres.

**Here is a video booktalk from Scholastic to give you an idea of what they could look like:

Power Point & Digital Cameras

Power Point is Microsoft’s program for creating presentations. It was created for the business world. This is nothing new. What is new is teachers repurposing this presentation program to be a meaningful tool for students in the classroom.

Today in class, we completed an activity (that began yesterday) involving Power Point and digital cameras that could be adapted for students of all ages. First, we used Scholastic’s BookFlix website to listen to the book, “Rosie’s Walk” by Pat Hutchins. Second, the professor prompted us to generate a list of position words (prepositions). Prepositions are repeated throughout the entire story and having students understand prepositions is the goal/purpose of this activity. The professor then shared that we would be using Power Point to create our own books that mimic “Rosie’s Walk”. Next, the professor divided the class into small groups, provided each group with one digital camera, and instructed us to take photographs that represent position words. The professor prompted us to recall tips for taking quality pictures. Our group enjoyed taking pictures in the elevator, up the stairs, under the umbrella, and through the gate. Once we had our photographs, it was easy to drag them into the book template that our professor created in Power Point. In no time at all, we had a pretty decent looking picture book and a greater understanding of position words. Acting out position words for the photographs will make the abstract idea of prepositions, more concrete and real for younger students. This activity could be modified to teach other content skills. The most important lesson this activity taught me is that educators need to be aware of how they present the technology to their students. Something as simple as making a template contributed to the success of this activity. If students were left to create their own book formats, they would have spent more time playing around with the Power Point program and less time focusing on the content.

We also used Power Point to create an “I SPY” page. “I SPY” is a highly popular children’s book series in which children read playful riddles and look for items in the corresponding pictures. We were each asked to bring in 5 to 10 random items to class. The professor divided us into groups and asked us to combine our items to create an interesting arrangement imitating the “I SPY” pictures. We used a digital camera to capture our arrangement and then imported the picture onto a Power Point slide. Next, we added a textbook to the Power Point slide and created a rhyming riddle to accompany our picture. Each group in the class sent a digital copy of their “I SPY” page to the professor. Our professor will combine the pages to create a class “I SPY” book. What does this super fun activity have to do with literacy? Writing a riddle requires students to have an understanding about rhyme and meter. These skills address fluency and could be used to teach elements of poetry. Working collaboratively with peers addresses social and communication skills. You could even have students role play how they would handle disagreements in their group.

**Here is a page from an “I SPY” book; notice the rhythm and rhyme of the riddle.



TPACK

Today’s class was all about a thing called TPACK. What is TPACK exactly? TPACK is an acronym for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. It is a framework for instruction researched by Punya Mishra and Matt Koehler (and others) that focuses on the relationships between the three types of knowledge: Content, Pedagogical, and Technological. Content Knowledge is the information, goals, objectives, standards, skills, etc. that the teacher wants his or her students to learn. Pedagogical Knowledge is the teaching strategy or method used to teach the desired content. Some examples of Pedagogical Knowledge are writer’s workshop, read alouds, modeling, guided reading, flexible grouping, repeated reading, demonstrations, and many more. Technological Knowledge is understanding how technologies work, for example knowing how to make a podcast, monitor blogs, operate web 2.0 tools, or downloading applications (apps) to iPads or tablets. The TPACK framework encourages educators to think about how the three types of knowledge relate to each other and balancing these relationships to increase the effectiveness of teaching.

**Here is a visual representation of the TPACK framework, courtesy of www.tpck.org

Through the readings, discussions, and class activities about the TPACK framework, I have reached the following conclusions:

1.       Technology should not be guiding instruction but enhancing it.

2.       The standards/objectives of the lesson should be guiding instruction.

3.       Pedagogy should be student-centered.

4.       Technology should be an appropriate addition to the content and pedagogical method chosen.

5.       Technologies were not made for teaching and learning. It is the educator’s responsibility to repurpose technology for educational use.

6.       Every school and classroom is different. The balance of the three types of knowledge is flexible to differences in context.

7.       Ideally, the technology is giving students an opportunity to perform a task that would not be possible without the technology.

8.       There is a wide range of “Learning Activity Types” available that integrate the TPACK framework, so there is no need to overuse one technology or one pedagogical method.

While the TPACK framework may seem complicated, the theory behind it is simple. Make sure that your content, pedagogy, and technology are working together as a team to ensure that students are meeting lesson objectives and state standards.

"Wordle"

Wow! I have always liked the idea of using technology in the classroom but after today’s class, I am eager to incorporate technology into the classroom. Why am I so eager? As we were going over the syllabus for the course, the professor was passionate about the technologies we would be exploring in the course and that passion was infectious. I believe a critical component of teaching reading and writing skills to students is helping them connect to the material. Utilizing technology in the classroom provides students with a new, creative way to make connections.

In today’s class, the professor introduced us to a web 2.0 tool that allows students to connect to text in a unique way---“Wordle”. “Wordle” allows a student to create a word cloud using text that they input. The cloud gives greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. In her online presentation, “Ways To Use Wordle In Your Classroom,” Jen Wagner provides tips on how to personalize your cloud. Wagner’s tips include retyping words you want emphasized 2 to 3 more times than the other words in your text, use dashes to group words together (We-The-People), change font choices, and determine the maximum word usage. In addition to the tips, Wagner shares ideas on how students and teachers can use “Wordle” in the classroom. One of my favorite ideas was utilizing “Wordle” as a creative way to display frequently misspelled words. As a special education teacher, I could see the word cloud being a motivator for students, as opposed to a standard list of words that might discourage or overwhelm students. I also appreciated Wagner’s example of a character poem. Students are often scared of or intimidated by poetry, so inputting their thoughts on a character into a “Wordle” is a nice way to ease into poetry. Book reports, book jackets, timelines other traditional assignments are often perceived by students as boring or as busy work. Students can use “Wordle” to show their understanding or analysis of a book in a way that is meaningful, expressive, and fun. I cannot wait to use “Wordle” with a group of students.

**Here is a link to “Wordle”: http://www.wordle.net/ and to Wagner’s presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/JenniferW/wordle-ideas

**Here is an example of a "Wordle" generated word cloud using a paragraph about myself: