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Applying information to a Middle School Science Classroom

As we advance further into the course I continue to build a larger personal database of information and application I can use and incorporate in my own teaching. My first reading by Guo et al (2011) brought about some insight on how to further the idea of student centered learning through mobile devices. In their article they mention something called “smart objects” these objects are, “sensor-augmented everyday objects…smart objects can provide various assistance to people’s lives” (260). All though my idea for them is not game based as the article suggests, I think of the various pieces of lab equipment and safety devices in the science classroom that are foreign to many middle school students at the beginning of the school year. Linking objects such as: beakers, graduated cylinders, eye wash stations, etc to an app on a mobile device can allow students to direct their own learning as they interact and attempt to make meaning as to what these different tools could possibly be used for within a science classroom.

One of the major themes I have gotten out of this course to this point is the different types of learning (formal, informal, implicit) that can take place through the use of mobile devices. Bonk (2012) introduced me to another type of learning known as extreme learning. As defined by Bonk (2012), “extreme learning is the idea of developing activities that involve learning with technology in unusual or unique ways.” Of the many goals mentioned with extreme learning the one that had the most relevance to me was the idea of multi cultural and diversity awareness. Teaching in a school district that is home to the US Army War College, we are privileged enough each year to have several students join us from countries all around the world. These students often do not get a chance to share parts of their culture with their classmates. Using some of the ideas mentioned in the article, I see it possible for students to incorporate and teach their peers about their cultures to illustrate the many similarities and differences. Whether that be multimedia presentations, video chats with peers from their native country, anything at all to enhance student’s understanding and appreciation for diversity and different cultures.

Finally I would like to briefly reflect and compare my view on mobile learning from week 1 of the course up to now. In the first week I defined mobile learning as,

“mobile learning is the idea and practice of using available technology allow learning to take place anywhere at anytime. It also has the ability to enhance, and extend on existing learning by allowing the users to connect concepts in both formal and informal settings. It allows learners and educators access to material that would otherwise be difficult to express or visualize without the assistance of user friendly user devices.”

For the most part I strongly agree with my earlier definition.Mobile learning is something that extends learning outside the classroom to more informal settings and the idea of augmented reality allows a visual element to it that is otherwise difficult to illustrate without the assistance of mobile devices. If I were to add anything to my definition, I would include the idea of personalization and the building towards 21st century skills. Mobile learning creates a more student lead environment in which learners direct themselves based on their own interest and curiosity. It allows them to develop creativity and problem solving skills as they develop into lifelong and independent learners.

References:

Bonk, C. J. (2012). Technology enhanced teaching: From tinkering to tottering to totally extreme learning. Proceedings of the 1 st International Conference on Open and Distance Learning. (pp. 1-33). Manila, the Philippines.

Guo, B., Fujimura, R., Zhang, D., & Imai, M. (2011). Design-in-play: improving the variability of indoor pervasive games.Multimedia Tools and Applications. doi:10.1007/s11042-010-0711-z

 

The Importance of Appropriate and Personal Mobile Devices

When reading the two articles this week by both Kearney et al (2012) and Looi  et al(2010), I took time to reflect on what I felt was a very important theme among each reading. Something that stands out to me as an integral part of learning is the importance of the personalisation and a sense of ownership over one’s device. As Kearney et al (2012) mention when discussing personalisation as one of the three distinct features of mobile learning they claim, “Users enjoy a sense of intimacy and convenience with their personal devices and the flexible, autonomous, often individually tailored activities lead to a strong sense of ownership of one’s learning.” In other words, each device has a ” just enough, just-in-time, just-for-me” factor to it. Having access their own device is what helps make each learning experience more intimate to the users and therefore can have a greater impact. With a greater number of students possessing their own smartphones each year, the opportunities for more custom and intimate learning opportunities exist.

For school districts who have not yet adapted such policies where students are able to have their personal devices on them during the school day, the need for them to have devices for students to use and have the ability to feel a sense of ownership and intimacy toward that device becomes important. Among one of the technical issues found by Looi et al (2010) when reflecting on their research was the fact that school districts need to choose devices that are appropriate for certain age levels based on the functions that they perform. Keeping such information in mind they also mention the importance of purchasing devices that are relevant in an ever growing mobile device market. They mention, ” With the rapid obsolescence of personal digital assistants and cellphone models, a challenge for researchers is investing in research using that device for, eg, 2 years, but the device becomes no longer in vogue or popular use after the period of research”(163). This excerpt stood out to me due to the fact that it immediately brought up personal feelings about the devices that administrators in my school district choose to buy.

In my school district each eighth grade student receives a Lenovo ThinkPad.download.

The laptops are great for word processing and performing standard computer functions. They can be flipped and turned into tablets as well. Despite all of the features they have, it is my opinion that these devices are a poor choice when it comes to promoting seamless learning. Besides the fact that these devices are not allowed to be taken home by students, they are simply too big to be taken into outdoor settings, museums, ect. This takes away from an important part of seamless learning. As Looi et al (2010) mention, ” The learning space is no longer defined by the ‘class’ but by ‘learning’ unconstrained by scheduled class hours or specific locations” (156). In my opinion many school districts are still under the traditional assumption that simply having access to a computer is enough to promote learning while using the technology as a tool. School Districts need to put more emphasis on letting students have access to their own devices in classrooms to allow students a more personalized learning experience or purchase devices that are handheld and allow the opportunity to be used out of school settings in order to create more informal learning and bridge the gap to more seamless learning environments.

References:

Kearney, M., Schuck, S., Burden, K., & Aubusson, P. (2012). Viewing mobile learning from a pedagogical perspective. Research In Learning Technology, 20:1, 1-17. doi:10.3402/rlt.v20i0/14406.

Looi, C.-K., Seow, P., Zhang, B., So, H.-J., Chen, W., & Wong, L.-H. (2010). Leveraging mobile technology for sustainable seamless learning: A research agenda. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(2), 154-169. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00912.x

Mobile Technology Integration and Social Media Sites

For my blog post this week I choose a wider variety of articles to read in relation to mobile technology. As a Science teacher, my interest was immediately directed on the article by Ahmed et al (2012) in which they introduced a new mobile app named “ThinknLearn” to high school science students. The goal of the app was to develop students critical thinking skills and scaffold them into generating a hypothesis while conducting an experiment in a similar fashion to an actual scientist. As a teacher myself I see first hand on a daily basis the difficulty students have with generating a hypothesis for an experiment. The app itself provided visual cues and  helped scaffold students through multiple choice problems and questionnaires in order to assist them with their experiment. In this example the mobile app serves not to conduct the experiment for them, but to help make it more interactive and engaging while using their devices to help students think more critically about the experiment.

When doing research on my own I stumbled across a STEM based lesson plan in which the teacher used IPADs to measure thermal energy levels from model homes. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/stem-lesson-ideas-heat-loss-project the Heat Loss Project involved students using their IPADS as both thermometers and thermal energy readers to determine which parts of their household were losing the most heat. Unlike ” “ThinknLearn” in which the device was used as an extension to the learning , the IPADS in the heat loss experiment were essential in order to even perform the experiment itself. The technology available on the device allowed students to see a visual representation of what is otherwise a very abstract and difficult concept to visualize in terms of energy. When connecting both of these Science related mobile apps, its clear that there is not one way to use mobile technologies to impact learning but instead the avenues are essentially endless. As mentioned in previous weeks readings, mobile devices have the ability to be used in formal, informal, and even implicit learning settings.  The challenge as an educator is to try to utilize mobile device in as many different contexts as possible to reach the many different needs and learning styles of students.

For my two empirical articles of choice, I went with a similar theme of social media and in one article specifically Facebook. Both Hew (2011) and Pierce (2009) study the effects social media has on daily social interactions for students. Something that is often not mentioned in social media contexts is the effect a teachers social media use can have on students. Although it is considered a taboo for students and teachers to interact on social media sites, Hew (2011) made the following findings, ” Results showed that students tend to attribute higher perceived levels of teacher trustworthiness and teacher caring qualities to a teacher who willingly disclosed more information about herself than one who did not.” To me this is an example of using social media to build rapport with students and make connections. Sharing similar interests with students and understanding how they use and view social media is an important way to build deeper connections with students. This doesn’t mean that teachers should go around and friend request students (if your experience is similar to me, I have had students look me up on Facebook and try to request me) but teachers needs to be aware of how sharing information about themselves on social media can impact students. In Pierce’s study (2009) research is done between social media and social anxiety. As mentioned in previous week’s reading, multitasking with devices and prolonged exposure to them can have impacts on social development of students. Individuals who have social anxiety often see social media as a preferred way to communicate with others which for them seems to be a more comfortable environment. Something that  I can take away from this reading is potentially using social media sites as a way to get students to open up more and express themselves. Each year I have several students who appear to be shy and hardly say anything throughout the school year. Using social media could serve as means to get these students to open up more not only academically but reveal more about their own lives and out of school problems they may have. The school I work at has a SAP (Students Assistance Program) in which one of the features allows students to report problems electronically instead of face to face communication.

References:

Ahmed, S., & Parsons, D. (2012). Abductive science inquiry using mobile devices in the classroom.Computers & Education. 63: 62–72 Doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2012.11.017.

The Heat Loss Project: A STEM Exploration. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2016, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/stem-lesson-ideas-heat-loss-project

Hew, K. F. (2011). Students’ and teachers’ use of Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(2), 662-676. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2010.11.020

Pierce, T. (2009). Social anxiety and technology: Face-to-face communication versus technological communication among teens.Computers in Human Behavior, 25(6), 1367-1372. Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2009.06.003

 

Digital Badges and Wearable Devices

In the ever evolving field of technology enhanced learning as well as the mobile framework of learning, Gamrat and Zimmerman (2015) proposed new badging system to enhance STEM knowledge within a group of  K-12 educators. The idea itself initially appears elementary in the fact that users receive stamps or badges for mastering certain skills within the STEM field by completing tasks or attending webinars. However, after reading their report, I feel connections can be made to use a similar system for K-12 students.  The program has many features including self directed learning opportunities and collaboration amongst users of different levels of expertise. Something that stood out to me particularly was the idea of personalization especially in a school setting when students have such a variety of ability levels. Having the ability to earn a stamp which is represented by mastery of a lower level skill is still a way to include all students within the digital environment. As Gamrat et al (2015) mention from the teachers perspective, “We posit that by providing teachers the ability to make decisions about their assessment (high or low levels of mastery) provided them the flexibility to personalize their PD to align with their existing and desired expertise teachers needed for successful teaching” (18). The badging program proved to have high impact results when it came to supporting personalized learning. As a STEM teacher myself I see great value in this program and would have liked to be a participant myself in order to assess my own understanding of these topics and the opportunity to collaborate with other STEM teachers.

Keeping the theme of technology based learning in mind, another research study was conducted by Schaefer et al (2016)  attempted to promote learning in an even more personal way by launching Project GETUP. The goal of the project was to educate and promote physical activity amongst urban adolescence. Each child was given a Fitbit to track their physical activity over a period of several months. Their attempt to turn the idea into a game for the participants an provide them incentives for physical activity, proved to have unsuccessful results. In their findings they contributed several factors to why their experiment did not yield better results. On page 14 they list several reasons including: lack of motivation, the participants not being able to think abstractly enough, as well as socioeconomic factors as well and the lack of support from their households.

Both experiments sought to incorporate technology based learning through a self directed format to promote learning amongst the users. All though each of them had varying levels of success, the point behind both of them is to continue to research and evaluate different ways to incorporate technologies with both formal and informal learning environments. As this relatively new field continues to expand and develop, experiments will continue to come back with negative results despite their hypothetical intentions. Continuing to propose new ideas and testing them will eventually move use forward to find the best ways and practices to get the most out of mobile devices as tools for learning.

References:

Badging: Gamrat, C., & Zimmerman, H. (2015). An Online Badging System Supporting Educators’ STEM Learning. In D. Hickey, J. Jovanović, S. Lonn, & J. E. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Open Badges in Education co-located with the 5th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (LAK 2015)(pp. 12–23).

Wearables/exergames: Schaefer, S. E., Ching, C. C., Breen, H., & German, J. B. (2016). Wearing, thinking, and moving: Testing the feasibility of fitness tracking with urban youthAmerican Journal of Health Education47(1), 8–16.

 

 

APP Review #5

  • Smash Your Food
  • Reviewed by Jeff Aglow
  • Details: Food N’Me Octave Media International, 2010 ,available on iOS, Andriod, and Microsoft Devices
  • Free
  • Smash Your Food is an interactive approach to informing elementary aged students about nutrition. It allows users to either input their own food or select from choices and literally smash it open to discover how much sugar, salt, protein, fat, etc is located inside of the food. It can allow users to keep track of their food intake which could serve great value in a health of physical education classroom. The app promotes high levels of health literacy among users as well as high levels of communication and collaboration among classmates but other users around the world. Teaching children the importance of healthy eating and lifestyle is an essential key for all 21st century learners.

APP Review #4

  • Sky Map
  • Reviewed by Jeff Aglow
  • Details: Sky Map Devs, Updated on 6-12-16, available on iOS, Andriod, and Windows devices.
  • Free
  • Sky Map brings astronomy to life as users simply use their device and point it up at the night sky to see an entire new world come to life before their eyes. The app identify many starts and objects in the sky and can also lay out a map of the constellations available to them. Due to the main restriction only having access to the full features of the app at nigh time, the app is best suited for enrichment outside of the classroom. Although Sky Map does not offer the same collaboration levels of other apps, it is high on information literacy and self directed learning. It allows users to explore the universe and direct themselves based on self interest and curiosity.

APP Review #3

  • Kahoot!
  • Reviewed by Jeff Aglow
  • Details: Kahoot!, Updated 10-25-15, Available on iOS, Andriod, and Windows Devices.
  • Free
  • Kahoot! is a competitive multiple choice based answering game in which participants respond to questions in the fastest time possible in order to receive the highest score. Topics can vary across and subject, and users have the ability to create their own quizzes in addition to playing hundreds of thousands of published quizzes from users around the world. Although it is possible to use this App for question and answer review, I have seen more benefit with having students create their own Kahoots! for classroom use. It offers high levels of both creativity and innovation and self direction when students are challenged with designing their own quizzes and are challenge to incorporate media into their quiz and to think of misconceptions in order to generate appropriate wrong answers.

APP Review # 2

  • Brain it On 
  • Reviewed by Jeff Aglow
  • Details: Orbital Nine, Updated 6-7-16, Available on iOS and Andriod devices.
  • Free with in app purchases
  • Brain it on combines logic and problem solving skills with several fundamental physics and geometry concepts. The game challenges users to solve a puzzle or complete a goal by drawing in objects to interact with the environment. For example as a bowling ball is dropped, you need to quickly draw a ramp in between the path of the ball in order for the ball to jump over a gap in the roadway. Haven’t not used it personally in a classroom setting yet, I imagine it being used upon the start of a physics or geometry course in order to activate background knowledge on material. The app incorporates many components of STEM which is an essential part of 21st century learning such concepts include: science, physics, problem solving and collaboration through media devices as players can record and share their ideas with the community.

 

APP Review #1

  • Alchemy
  • Reviewed by Jeff Aglow
  • Details: Andrey ‘Zed’ Zaikin, updated on 10-10-14, available on iOS, Android, and Windows
  • Free
  • Alchemy is a game based program in which users combine four basic elements(fire, water, earth, and air) to build other more complex elements. The game serves as an introduction to chemistry as the foundation of combining different items can create new ones (ex: hydrogen + oxygen= water) is created and practiced with. I was initially introduced to the app by students I saw playing it in class. At first I imagined it was just another ridiculous game, but upon further review i found that many of my students who frequently played the game, developed a larger background knowledge on basic chemistry principles. The game gives the users the ability to self direct and engage based on their own interests and curiosity and serves as a valuable informal learning tool to students upon beginning any chemistry related course.

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I’m sure I am not the only person guilty of this, but going an extended period without your phone makes you feel stranded and alone (Tom Hanks in Castaway). After finishing the reading from this week I found myself personally reflecting on the amount of media and use, and how much I rely on my phone. To most people their phone is their metaphoric lifeline as they rely on it to be with them at all times.