In many of my posts and comments I take a decidedly low-tech/no-tech approach to mobile technology and learning — I think the social component of mobile is more germane to its impact on teaching and learning — but sometimes more technology really is the answer. If this can come cheaply, easily and accessibly, and can make genuine contributions to the learning environment then I’m all in. And if it’s free, DIY, student-centred, open source, or requires only some creative thinking, that’s a bonus.
I’m currently fascinated with smartphone hacks. Not the familiar (and often malicious) software/privacy hacks, but ways of making a smartphone into something else. Ignoring telephony for a moment, they’re basically small computers with high resolution screens, powerful graphics processors, one or more cameras, a microphone, wireless connectivity, and in most cases an accelerometer, GPS functionality, gyroscope, and a compass. When most learners, even in developing areas, have access to such a collection of interconnected technologies then it’s possible to design and develop aftermarket “add-ons” or modifications to leverage smartphone technologies into a different tool altogether.
Below is just a tiny sample of things to add to, do to or do with a smartphone. The possibilities, particularly for primary and secondary education, seem unlimited.
Google Cardboard
Perhaps the granddaddy of smartphone hacks, these cardboard Virtual Reality goggles permit anyone with a few bucks, or some cardboard and a few other common items, to explore the immersive world of VR without breaking the bank.
https://arvr.google.com/cardboard/get-cardboard/#build-it
Turn your Smartphone into a Microscope
It’s already got a pretty decent camera. A bit of scavenged optics can open up new tiny worlds. Not only can users see small things, they can snap a photo and share them. Who can find the weirdest looking critter in a vial of pond water?
https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Microscope-Using-Smartphone/
Or, if you don’t mind spending a few dollars:
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/5/20/11719450/blips-smartphone-microscope-attachment
Use Your Cell Phone as a Thermal Camera
Take your pet’s heat fingerprint. Check to see where your windows are losing heat. Find out who in your class is running a fever (OK, just kidding; don’t really do that). Not cheap, but totally cool.
https://www.thermal.com/compact-series.html
Science with a Smartphone: Accelerometer
Finally, if you don’t care to build anything or buy anything, this article demonstrates that there are still learning moments to be had just exploring some of the gadgetry already built into your phone.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-with-a-smartphone-accelerometer/
Hi Sean, I agree with you regarding accessing the utility of the smartphone, rather than clutter the wallpaper with additional apps. As Brittany mentioned the sheer computing power of the phone alone has the potential to afford additional functions rather than being merely a very expensive gaming device. A few unique features I have used in the classroom have been the measuring featuring of the iPhone in a MAth 10 class on measurement. We had a group use the phone and another group use tape measures and we compared and contrasted the methods and the measures. Another unique use of the smartphone was in Introductory Photography. I was teaching students about shutter speed and they used the flashlight while keeping the shutter open in a dark room to basically write and draw with light. One student deadpanned when asked how they made the light red, ” I used my blood”, which is to say they merely shine the right through a fingertip. The bottom line is, we need to be creative with the built in features. Many of us hardly explore the potential capabilities of the smartphone as were probably too busy texting or scrolling.
I agree with you Sean. With so many features on one’s smartphone who knows what one can create with these useful and simple hacks. For my first post this week, I had to tinker with recording a short story mode lesson for Duolingo. When I asked my boyfriend how to do it, he said you will likely have to download an app. I thought, are you kidding me? A device with over half a TB does not do this? Just a moment. I looked up the simple hack and sure enough the record screen function was already built into the phone. Now I am monkeying around with what else I can do. If will be fantastic if I can record and add graphics to my A1 presentation entirely using my smartphone, which is why I have ensured to space my time out to do so incase I need to move to plan B.
Hi Sean. I absolutely agree that there are more tools in a Smartphone that could be leveraged for education. The compass and the level are already on almost every mobile device and could be applied to any number of math and science learning opportunities. Think about combining an AR distance measuring app with the level used as a clinometer and you have the tools to find the height of a building or a tree in an applied trigonometry lesson. My instructor for an avalanche training course last winter pulled out his phone to measure the temperature, the slope of the mountain face we were on, and the direction of the slope aspect, and within minutes everyone in the course had figured out how to do the same. Of course, there’s the concern about battery life of a Smartphone in cold weather, but what a great example of experiential learning.