Days 3 and 4 – M-Learning Venture and Mobile use in the Classroom

Day 3 – M-Learning Venture

Problem – Time to review all students work, meet with students individually and provide personalized assessment, diagnostic checking and remediation activities.

Affordances: Mobiles can allow for increased accessibility and support of e-learning or mobile activities as well as provide immediate response capabilities.

Learning Theory – Constructivism (self-paced and self directed learning), Vygotsky ZPD (scaffolding- use of different levels, targeted instruction, remediation and student and teacher identification of progression needs), and some level of drills and practice (within content material and testing).

M-learning and mobile solutions: ability to create online content, accessing applications, linking to sites and delivering comments and feedback at point of access, for guided assessment and diagnostic testing and evaluation (pre organized feedback with testing, incorrect questions linked to reading, students can choose content for remediation in an area of choice, content can also be organized as diagnostic, instruction, testing, remediation), and alternative platforms such as sms services.

M-leaning solution: Based on performance (% result in preset, or on request of student). The app allows for setting of tutorial times: upload lecturers available times and slot in, new appointments are generated or linked to lecturers calendar and a new appointment message or notification pops up to the lecturer when a new time has been set. Reminders of tutorial times sent out. Test results are attached with highlighted areas for remediation and/or students can upload areas of focus desired.

Similar solution: From the mobile perspective Vclicker, Pocket school, and an open source option offer similar aspects but differ on levels of contact and setting of meetings/tutorials and self-directed topic or learning.

Challenges: Mobile with internet capabilities, design compatibility across platforms (interoperability), content created and delivered in an attractive and user friendly interface, flash capabilities.

Changes needed: Less differentiation across platforms, developing alternative methods that transmit info within sms capabilities.

Day 4 – Mobile Learning

Change needed – To adopt m-learning in my teaching and learning I would need increased operability and cheaper access. For the latter, particularly in viewing and accessing content, many of my learners do not have smart phone capabilities (although this is growing rapidly). However, a significant number do not have unlimited plans. Also, broadband capabilities and access to video content at an affordable cost for my students are severely limited. I would perhaps need a bypass system or an app that blocks or reroutes such costs incurred. For example, although not directly related, why can some phones have skype for free and not others?

Use of m-learning in my classroom: – I am really hooked on the application affordances and so I welcomed this list because at times we can indeed restrict technologies based on our individually perceived usefulness.

I can definitely see the use for:

  • Photographing apparatus and results of presentations/products
  • Photographing development of design models for eportfolios
  • Photographing texts/whiteboards for future review
  • Bluetoothing project material between group members
  • Receiving SMS & email reminders from teachers
  • Synchronizing calendar/timetable and setting reminders
  • Connecting remotely to school learning platform
  • Recording a teacher reading a poem for revision
  • Accessing revision sites on the Internet
  • Creating short narrative movies
  • Downloading and listening to foreign language podcasts
  • Logging into the school email system
  • Using GPS to identify locations
  • Transferring files between school and home

Also

  • Recording notes, thoughts and though tracking,
  • recording assignments and things to do and linking such to calendars
  • Using calendar options as study timetables, assignment completion and due date schedules and general time management

Kerry-Ann

Posted in: Week 11: Mobiles