As an advocate of technology in the classroom in general and cell phones in particular, I’ve often argued that a phone is no longer just a phone. Kids can do anything on a cell phone that can be done on a computer. Banning what is perhaps our country’s most ubiquitous technology just doesn’t make sense as cells can be a powerful answer to providing all kids with equity and access to a powerful technology that enables collaboration, information, sharing of resources and creation never before possible. However, in addition to the fear of a cell as a distractor that can be used inappropriately, there are also safety issues.
Today, Dr. Phil shared a technology that addresses this concern called My Mobile Watchdog which allows adults to monitor text messaging to help keep kids cyber safe. Dr. Phil makes a smart observation saying the problem is not the use of technologies but rather the misuse. This is an extremely interesting and powerful technology leaving me with many questions. As an advocate of using mobile phones and technologies in education, I wonder how schools and districts interested in using cells might be able to utilize this type of technology to help mitigate some common fears such as using cells for cheating, or other inappropriate use.
I also wonder how I feel about adults having the ability to read student’s messages and reflect upon my own adolescent years and my yearning for privacy. However, after a bit a thought and investigation, I think that a K-12 child's parent or school should have the right to monitor a minor's use for a few reasons. First, this not spyware because the students/children are aware they are being monitored. Additionally, the adults can discuss with children what will be monitored so a child could negotiate unmonitored conversations of those who parents trust. Additionally, just knowing adults are in this world acts as a deterrent to inappropriate behavior and several kids admitted to liking the fact that a trusted adult was watching out for them.
My Mobile Watchdog offers special programs to assist law enforcement across the United States, and awareness programs for school, church and youth groups which educators may be interested in investigating further. This is a promising technology that has potential for helping bring us closer to being able to safely prepare students for the 21st century. The cost is $9.55 a month.
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InsideSchools recently reported on a teacher at Beacon High School in Manhattan who has created a ‘green’ classroom, where all work is accomplished online, on screen, and entirely without paper. This is possible in part thanks to a laptop, projector and, inexpensive flash drives for students to ‘carry’ assignments and projects back and forth, and a tech-literate student body (only one of 139 students lacked computer access at home; another who had a computer but no internet found ample ‘net resources at school, in libraries and internet cafes, and at the homes of relatives and friends). Books, readings, and other classroom materials are provided on line and via the school’s internet portal; so far, essays, tests, and homework have been assigned and returned electronically.
In the post, called, Doing more with less the teacher has noted a more interactive, engaged classroom experience reporting that kids are doing as well or better without paper, he says, even with the challenges of glitch-fixing. In a note to InsideSchools, he added, “I’ve not used a single handout or Xeroxed paper, or printed anything out other than college recommendations that had to be submitted in hard copy.” No copies, no printouts, no paper, no waste.
With the cost of laptops plummeting and more and more one-to-one initiatives springing up (more than two dozen in NYC), I hope this idea, touted as an “unusual classroom experiment,” becomes a lot more “usual” and a lot less “experimental” and takes ground in other schools. This is an idea that is not only good for the environment; it’s one that’s also good for preparing students for the 21st Century.
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Now, it looks like the idea of using cell phones to enhance teaching and learning is gaining new momentum in a recent report which highlights five opportunities to seize mobile learning’s unique attributes to improve education.The report Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children’s Learning, by Cooney Center Industry Fellow Carly Shuler, makes the case that our nation’s leaders should not overlook the role mobile technologies can play, if well deployed, in building human capital and in helping to stimulate valuable innovation.Report highlights include:
Key Opportunities in Mobile Learning
1. Encourage “anywhere, anytime” learning
Mobile devices allow students to gather, access, and process information outside the classroom.
They can encourage learning in a real-world context, and help bridge school, afterschool, and home environments.
2. Reach underserved children
Because of their relatively low cost and accessibility in low-income communities, handheld devices can help advance digital equity, reaching and inspiring populations “at the edges” — children from economically disadvantaged communities and those from developing countries.
3. Improve 21st-century social interactions
Mobile technologies have the power to promote and foster collaboration and communication, which are deemed essential for 21st-century success.
4. Fit with learning environments
Mobile devices can help overcome many of the challenges associated with larger technologies, as they fi t more naturally within various learning environments.
5. Enable a personalized learning experience
Not all children are alike; instruction should be adaptable to individual and diverse learners. There are signifi cant opportunities for genuinely supporting differentiated, autonomous, and individualized learning through mobile devices.
5 Goals for Mobile Learning
The report makes a case for wider experimentation and new investments in the design and deployment of mobile technologies to advance children’s learning in the U.S. and outlines five goals — learn, develop, promote, prepare, and stimulate — and an action plan to transform mobile learning from state of uneven and scattered innovation into a force for dynamic educational impact.Below are some of the reports major goals, strategies, and action items to transform mobile learning from a state of uneven and scattered innovation into a force for dynamic educational impact.
1. Learn: Understand mobile learning as a unique element of education reform
Handheld technologies and their learning applications require a systematic research inquiry to determine how they can become an important driver of technology integration in education. There should be public and private sector support for needed R&D.
2. Develop: Build mobile learning interventions
Mobile devices have features that are distinctive, and developers of applications must leverage unique mobile assets and surmount special challenges. Industry should be given more powerful incentives toward this end.
3. Promote: Engage the public and policymakers in defining the potential of mobile devices for learning
Though numerous studies and a growing number of experts believe that mobile devices have significant potential to transform children’s learning, most parents and teachers do not yet view these devices as educational allies. To promote public understanding and prepare for the effective use of such devices, government, industry, and philanthropic organizations should expand resources.
4. Prepare: Train teachers and learners to incorporate mobile technologies (MYFAVORITE!!!)
Often the bulk of spending in incorporating technology into education is on the technology itself; however, preparing teachers and learners to use these technologies effectively should be a higher priority. Recommendations include:
• Modify and gradually eliminate classroom bans – Most school districts limit cell phone use in classrooms and some have banned their use altogether. We recommend the gradual introduction of mobile devices in schools. By devising established norms of behavior, we can build acceptance among teachers, parents, and students themselves to discover mobile devices’ educational value.
• Build capacity: Digital teacher corps – Teachers cannot teach what they do not know, and most have not been trained to use new technologies in their classrooms or afterschool settings. It is not just a matter of showing teachers how to use the devices; rather, it is crucial to provide them with methodologies for ways in which they can incorporate technologies within their curriculum. Professional development is essential to the future of mobile learning. To build professional capacity, we recommend the creation of a “digital teacher corps,” which would be established to enable educators to help students learn to transform information for discovery and problem-solving by working with a range of digital media.
• Integrate mobile themes in media literacy curricula – State and school leaders should educate students on mobile etiquette and capabilities, expanding media literacy to include a new “mobile literacy.”
5. Stimulate: Generate new leadership support for digital learning
As a new administration that has committed to improving education and rebuilding public infrastructure for economic renewal begins, we recommend that priority be placed on how mobile technologies in particular, and digital media more generally, can advance children’s learning in the global economy.
The report concludes…
“Mobile devices are an integral part of children’s lives and they are here to stay. The social and cultural phenomena, market opportunity, and, most importantly, the “pockets of educational potential” documented in this report must not be dismissed. Our national debate must shift from whether to use these devices to support learning, to understanding how and when they might best be used. Just as Sesame Streetintroduced generations of children and their families to the potential of television as an educational medium two generations ago, today’s children will benefit if mobile becomes a force for learning and discovery in the next decade.”
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