“Let us know what is the position of your workplace regarding the use of mobile devices in the classroom/for learning. Who is allowed to use mobile devices: teachers, students? What for? What are the obstacles? Are there any success stories? How does the use of mobile devices change the way we teach and learn?”
I can say that I am very lucky to be working in a school district that embraces technology and is not afraid of change. The Vancouver School Board has a district wide policy on the use of mobile devices, but it is up to the teacher on how it is implemented in the classroom. This allows me the flexibility and the freedom to decide when and how I want to use mobile devices; ie. cellphones, iPads or iPods. I personally am ‘all for’ using mobile devices in the classroom. Our school has 2 iPad carts containing a total of 50 iPads for student use and we just received a mobile iPad educational cart that will replace all overheads, TV’s and projectors.
One tricky obstacle that I do face is in my grade 7 classroom where I job share at the moment with another teacher. Her policy with mobile devices is different than mine. I allow my students to occasionally listen to music with their earphones in, since some students are more focused this way. If they are doing their work and not distracting anybody then why not? If the iPad’s are not available (already booked by another teacher), I will allow my students to use their cellphones to do research or look up something for an assignment. Some students also never write down in their agenda and it’s like pulling teeth to get them to write their homework down, so I will allow them to take a picture of the homework board with their cellphones. My jobshare teacher does not allow this.
Traxler (2007) mentions that, “…mobile learning delivers learning to the learner when and where they want it” (as cited in Ciampa, 2013, p. 92). I completely agree with this statement. Most of my students own a phone so allowing them the flexibility of using their own technology is very convenient. My class also has a SMART Board and I will use this if I want to show something to the entire class. I don’t completely agree when Ciampa (2013) states that the teacher named Natasha doesn’t see the same focused activity of her students when using other devices such as the SMART Board. My students love it. I use it throughout the day and I’ve had students come up to me to say that they like how I always use it and in the manner that I do. After watching the video in our week 5 Module which mentions the website Poll Everywhere, I asked my students the question, “Should cellphones be allowed in class?” We were all able to see the results instantly and it was a hit amongst them.
I’ve taught in many classrooms before where there was not one piece of technology to use. I can’t imagine now not being able to use or teach with some type of technology; let alone the students not being able to use it.
Ciampa, K. (2013). Learning in a mobile age: An investigation of student motivation. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(1), 82–96
Hi Sean,
You are lucky and it seems you fearlessly embraced technology in your classroom. I like how you accommodate your students by being flexible in how they use technology as long as it’s for a purpose.
I want to comment on two similarities with your situation and mine. First, I also disagree with the teacher described in Ciampa’s study. I didn’t mention the SMART Board in my post because I take it for granted–we have one in every classroom and I use it every day. Our school mandates that we make use of the SMART Board in each class and, when not used as an expensive whiteboard, I find my students more engaged than when I’m lecturing or writing on the board. My students LOVE the Senteo controllers that go with the SMART Board–we use it like Poll Everywhere, which is great for us since their cell phones are confiscated most of the time and we don’t have wifi. I think it just takes planning and practice to use the SMART board it to its full potential.
The second point that reminds me of my situation is how you mention that everyone has different policies surrounding technology and its use in the classroom. While I am plagued with never-ending and constantly changing rules, I’m also faced with every teacher (our students have about 15 different teachers) having different rules. When we do have some sort of technology available I often find the students hesitant to use it because they fear they will get in trouble with their homeroom teacher. I’ve even had the homeroom teacher come in the room and tell my students to put the Senteos away and start copying notes (not sure what notes they thought needed copying…). So, my question for you is, how do you and your job share teacher handle your opposing policies? Do you “butt heads” so to speak, or do you tolerate each other’s approach?
One last thing: I found your final thought sort of funny because I’ve watched teachers meltdown when technology fails because they also couldn’t imagine not teaching without it. Some of my best lessons came from technology failing. The week our lab was off limits due to potential water damage resulted in the much-loved IT Class Challenge (a trivia/minute-to-win-it, team work extravaganza that many students say is their favourite class of the year) being created. It’s now an annual tech-free event in my class.
I agree that SMART boards are a great tool for student engagement. They can be used in so many ways. I think that too often, SMARTboard are disregarded because a large amount of teachers cannot or will not use them to their full potential. Now that SMART notebook has gone mobile, it opens so many possibilities. Students can do a SMARTboard activity on their iPad. With their latest Notebook 15 version, there is also the possibility for students to answer quiz or survey questions on any device that has a web browser (like with Polleverywhere) which is a great add on.