Are you sick of having to tell students to put their phones away? Tips are being shared now by a veteran teach that shows students how to use their mobile devices as learning tools.
This teacher, who has been teaching for 22 years, has been working on transitioning his ninth-grade AP Government and World History classrooms into an environment that is mobile device-friendly for the past 5 years to enable students to implement modern technology into their learning experience. He says that although not all classrooms can be able to utilize laptops each day, smartphones can be useful for teachers even if students have to pair up.
In the last few years, the number of kids that possess mobile phones has increased dramatically, he adds. Only a couple years ago, if students had phones in his classroom, it was only a phone where you could dial and maybe text on. Today, it’s all about smartphones.
Prior to smartphones, only personal digital assistants (PDAs) and cell phones existed. You would use cell phones to text or make calls only; PDAs were only used as organizers and create to-do-lists or keep contact information. PDAs did, however, have the ability to receive and send email since they could connect wirelessly. Then time went on where PDAs gained features of a cell phone and cell phones began acting more like small computers; hence the introduction to smartphones.
Mobile Learning
Defining mobile learning:
Each day, there are more people who are purchasing gadgets to allow them to hook up to the digital world. These gadgets can be anything from music players, smartphones, laptops, tablets, netbooks and more. If one of these gadgets is used for the purpose of learning and productivity, that is considered mobile learning.
Additionally, learning does not have to end in the classroom, it can occur anywhere, anyplace. Students can learn in their own living room, in a museum on a bus or at a zoo. These gadgets are portable and can be taken wherever the person goes. Today, you can hook up to academic resources with a mere swipe of your finger.
What Students do with Their Smartphones to Learn
Students are able to take notes and share them online to their study group or transfer them to their laptop. Teachers are able to create flashcards or presentations. Students can use their smartphones to try custom writing at WritePro.net to get their essay writing done. They have access to multiple websites to get any of their questions answered. If students are given video assignments, they can easily film and record using their smartphones and then send it to their computer when finished for editing.
Learning on the smartphone presents a lot of opportunities for students. There is a gateway of tools available with mobile learning. It personalizes the learning experience for the students and bridges over the gaps between them and their teachers. The best part is that the students have access to unlimited amounts of online content anytime they need it.
So, with that said, are smartphones a good idea in the classroom? Does it provide students with a valid learning tool or will it simply be another contributing distraction to social disengagement? In 2012, Apple alone reported that there were over 35 billion downloaded apps and the number has increased to over 75 billion this year. Overall, you can get access to over 1.2 million apps all over the world with 10 percent of them being for reference or educational use. What does this mean? This means, that students have over 150,000 educational apps at their disposable to learn from.
