Wow! What a difference a few months can make! I went back and read my first few blog posts from this class and was amazed at what I first wrote and where my thinking is now. In one of the first posts we were asked to state the definition on mobile learning. Here’s what I wrote:
“I think learning with computers allows people to take ownership of their learning. I think that if the availability of the technology is there, integrating technology into the everyday classroom can benefit the students both academically and socially. However, I think that learning with computers needs to be done intentionally and students need to be given scaffolded lessons so they know how to utilize the technology to its fullest potential.”
I definitely still see the importance of integrating technology into learning and (as long as the technology is available) making sure that it is being utilized as frequently as possible is important to students’ growth and development both academically and socially. What I disagree with is the part I wrote about lessons needing to be intentional and scaffolded. While I do think that some basic structures need to be explicitly taught, I have realized the importance of informal learning and think that students should be free to use their devices and choose which apps and functions they use for their own individualized learning.
It was also fun to see that one of the first articles I read in this class was “BYOD” an article that discussed the use of the Bring Your Own Device policy, the same policy that I will be basing my final project on. I think that this policy is crucial in the inner city where technology is difficult to come by in schools. As Emery points out in his article, “Factors for Consideration When Developing a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Strategy in Higher Education” the average person has 3 or more mobile devices. This means that if students were allowed to bring in at least one of their mobile devices to school it would decrease the number of devices that are needed for a classroom to do activities online.
I also read another article by Kong Cheung that explored the use of the BYOD in different school environments. One thing I learned from this article is the idea of using Edmodo in class with my students as a way to communicate both in and out of school. If students used the BYOD process they would potentially have a mobile device with them at all times which would then allow them to access this information whenever they wanted.
The third article I read was about developing a creative framework for BYOD. The authors, Thomas Cochrane et al. state, “A review of the literature indicates that there are yet few well-developed theoretical frameworks for supporting creative pedagogies via BYOD.” The article then goes on to examine and develop some creative frameworks such as using mobile devices to make movies in class or participate in augmented realities. Students can interact with a variety of different technology through the use of their mobile devices and have them tap into those different types of learning will make them deeper, more invested learners.
Overall, it’s been fun to see myself learn and evolve as I read more articles and do more research into mobile learning. Technology has been something I have been leery of using because of the lack of it in my classroom but also because I’m not super comfortable using it all the time. This course has taught me that it’s okay to learn and experiment with new apps and programs and that if necessary, students can become the teachers and I can use my lack of technological knowledge to let them teach me things.
Cheung, K. (2014, January 14). BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE FOR REFLECTIVE ENGAGEMENT OF LEARNERS IN DIGITAL CLASSROOM. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
Cochrane, T. (2014). Riding the wave of BYOD: Developing a framework for creative pedagogies. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
Emery, S. (2012, July 1). Factors for Consideration when Developing a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Strategy in Higher Education. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
I love that you are focusing your final project on the BYOD policy. I am interested in seeing how you are able to integrate this into your classroom since it could be something I could use with mine as well. We, too, have minimal technology and the opportunity for students to bring there own could be an instrumental first step to changing the way my classroom is currently designed. I know that for my district, students can bring their own devices but they need to register them. In order for them to be registered, students must have an active email account with the district and those are not given until middle school. I’m wondering if you know of any policies or stipulations your district already has in place for this, especially since you teach at the elementary level as well. I hope you are successful in your policy design and that your district is willing to consider it. If you wouldn’t mind sharing it with me at the end, I would be interested in looking at it to see if I can push for it in my district, at the elementary level, as well! Good Luck!
I think you have made some great points about the advantages of BYOD programs. Smartphones are so ubiquitous that using apps like Edmodo to communicate with students makes a lot of sense. The Pew Research Center released a report in April that shows how much people rely on Smartphones for daily activities. One of the most interesting findings, which I think we touched on in this course, is how smartphone reliant low socioeconomic groups are for getting online. According to the report, “Those with relatively low income and educational attainment levels, younger adults, and non-whites are especially likely to be ‘smartphone-dependent.'” Fifteen percent of smartphone users have few other ways to access the internet, so sharing apps may be a start to engage students online. However, I don’t think mobile interactions can completely fill the technology gap between students with means and those without. For instance, smartphones aren’t the best devices for research or production, especially when students are expected to produce a significant amount of text. I usually restrict phone activities to actions that only require taps, scrolling, and some typing or texting. But BYOD still has plenty of potential in the classroom. I think it’s a matter of implementing it in the right way.
Here’s the link to the Pew Report:
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/