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Lesson 10 Part 2: Learning with mobile devices: My perspectives

During Week 2 of our course, I wrote my definition of learning with mobile computers as:

Learners use mobile computers for formal and informal learning anywhere and anytime to:

  • self-direct their learning
  • participate actively and positively in the acquisition of knowledge and understanding
  • develop social interactions
  • develop 21st century skills  such as collaboration and communication

Now during Week 11, I have definitely expanded my understanding of learning with mobile computers to:

Learners use mobile computers for formal and informal learning anywhere and anytime to:

  • self-direct their learning in authentic, personally relevant context
  • participate actively in the acquisition of knowledge and understanding to make connections as consumers and producers in the online network
  • develop 21st century skills
  • cultivate interactive social collaboration and sharing environments
  • seamlessly switch between different contexts, such as between formal and informal environments and between individual and social learning
  • bridge learning in- and outside of the classrooms

Lesson 10 Part 1: Designing educational environments that use mobile technologies as learning tools

Over the past decade, learning environment has been characterized more and more by learners seamlessly switching “between different contexts, such as between formal and informal contexts and between individual and social learning, and by extending the social spaces in which learners interact with each other” (Looi et al, 2010, pp. 154). The portability, social interactivity and versatility of mobile devices have, without a doubt, been a main factor contributing to and promoting this type of learning environment. The authors strongly emphasized that when mobile technology is used for teaching and learning, there is the definite need to also facilitate for collaboration and sharing. Mobile devices are unique in how they could support student-centered learning and the different kinds of interactions and learning environments. This is also in line with Sharples (2013, pp. 5) who articulated the research finding that mobile technology when used in classrooms cultivates an interactive and collaborative environment where learners have shown significantly higher achievement and motivation. Kearney et al (2012)’s pedagogical framework further reinforced the importance of collaboration by providing insights that mobile learning experiences can greatly be amplified by enforcing social collaborative activities with other learners and teachers in face-to-face and virtual conversations.

Designing educational environments that use mobile technologies as learning tools

When mobile devices are used mindfully and with purpose with the right settings and activities, research findings show that these devices can bridge learning in- and outside of the classrooms and amplify learners’ engagement with the course content.

The context for the settings and activities is a key tenet that will be used in the plan to integrate mobile technology by providing the framework of relevance for learners to learn seamlessly, bridging the learning in- and outside of classrooms, developing connections not just with the topic at hand but also with other learners. Bransford et al (2006, pp. 210) looked at links between implicit learning and the brain, informal learning, and formal learning and their impact on effective learning, and saw that context was a key critical factor in learning. The authors indicated that there are two types of contexts: (1) setting-based, and (2) activities-based in the form of participation and type of interaction (p. 219). In terms of learning using mobile devices, Sharples, Arnedillo-Sanchez, Milrad and Vavoula (2009, pp. 236) also reiterated that “[c]ontext is a central construct of mobile learning. It is continually created by people in interaction with other people, with their surroundings and with everyday tools.”

In addition to the importance of context, setting, and collaborative activities, I have also learned that learning in the 21st century is not just about consuming information or knowledge. Mancabelli and Richardson (2011, pp. 55) and Jenkins (2006, pp. 4) described learning in the 21st century as involving new emerging media literacy and participatory culture that allow learners to move up the spectrum from learners who make connections as consumers to those who make connections as creators and producers in the online network. White & Martin (2014, pp. 64) similarly described the spectrum of digital consumers and producers by categorizing the use of mobile devices into four basic practices: (1) capturing and collecting information, (2) communicating and collaborating with others, (3) consuming and critiquing media, and (4) constructing and crating personal forms of representation and expression.

I will base much of the context, settings and activities for my technology integration plan on some of the ideas conveyed by Kamarainen et al (2013) and White & Martin (2014) where the authors described the findings of their empirical-based research (field trip and in-class activities) that showed learners gaining inspiration and significant understanding of science and math concepts when they used their mobile devices and the appropriate applications to participate and collaborate.

Note: I read 3 articles for this week. Out of the 3, only 1, the White & Martin article could be incorporated in this blog. The other 2 articles are:

  • Martin, Pastore & Snider (2012). This article is about designing mobile applications and how product testing is critically important to ensure the product’s functionality and usability meets the users’ needs and expectations.
  • Davidson and Carliner (2014). The authors provided research findings on e-Books in educational contexts relating to hardware, applications, attitudes, intellectual property implications.

References:

Bransford, J., Vye, N., Stevens, R., Kuhl, P., Schwartz, D., Bell, P., … Sabelli, N. (2006). Learning theories and education: Toward a decade of synergy. In P. A. Alexander & P. H. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 209–244). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Elerbaum Associates.

Davidson, A.-L. & Carliner, S. (2014). e-Books for educational uses, Handbook of research on educational communications and technology, pp. 713-722.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundation reports on digital media and learning, pp. 1-4.

Kamarainen, A. M., Metcalf, S., Grotzer, T., Browne, A., Mazzuca, D., Tutwiler, M. S., & Dede, C. (2013). Ecomobile: Integrating augmented reality and probeware with environmental education field trips, Computers & education, 68, pp. 545-556.

Kearney, M., Schuck, S., Burden, K., & Aubusson, P. (2012). Viewing mobile learning from a pedagogical perspective, Research in learning technology, 20:1, 1-17.

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), pp. 154-169.

Mancabelli, R., Richardson, W. (2011). Becoming a networked learner, personal learning networks: Using the power of connections to transform education, pp. 33-57.

Martin, F., Pastore, R., & Snider, J. (2012). Developing mobile based instruction, pp. 46-51.

Sharples, M. (2013). Mobile learning: research, practice and challenges. Distance education in China, 3(5), pp. 5-11.​

Sharples, M., Arnedillo-Sanchez, I., Milrad, M., & Vavoula, G. (2009). Mobile learning: Small devices, big issues. In N. Balacheff, S. Ludvigsen, T. Jong, A. Lazonder, & S. Barnes (Eds.), Technology-enhanced learning, pp. 233-249.

White, T., & Martin, L. (2014). Mathematics and mobile learning, pp. 64-70.

Lesson 8: Mobile learning environment: Bridging learning in and out of classrooms

Over the past decade, learning culture has been characterized more and more by learners seamlessly switching “between different contexts, such as between formal and informal contexts and between individual and social learning, and by extending the social spaces in which learners interact with each other” (Looi et al, 2010, pg. 154). The portability, mobility and versatility of mobile devices have, without a doubt, been the largest factor contributing to and promoting this type of learning culture.

First off, what are the indicators of learning?

Looi et al (2010) cited a few references that could be used to account for learning (pg. 163):

  • Acquiring relatively permanent change in understanding, attitude, knowledge, information, ability and skill through experience.
  • Change in student value and character which can gauge students as lifelong learners and persons-to-be.

So how does formal learning in- and informal learning out of classrooms facilitated?

As described by Looi et al (2010), when context specific, self-interest-driven learning on mobile devices is followed by online social discourse, the process “provides a platform where students can move from the individual space on the mobile devices to the public space to facilitate collaboration and sharing” (page 159). They strongly emphasized that when mobile technology is used for teaching and learning, there is the definite need to also facilitate for collaboration and sharing.

The pedagogical framework investigated and confirmed by Kearney et al (2012) describing the three central features of mobile learning: authenticity, collaboration and personalization, further reinforced that “learning is a situated, social endeavour, facilitated and developed through social interactions and conversations between people, and mediated through tool use… process of learning mediated by a mobile device.” Mobile learning experiences can greatly be amplified by enforcing collaborative activities with other learners, teachers and other peers in face-to-face and virtual conversations. Kearney at all (2012) used collaborative video blog after augmented learning museum activity, and face-to-face class discussions after math games activities, as opposed to the more contrived and structured passive listening to instructional podcasts or students’ use of hand-held devices to complete class-based polls, as examples that provided insights on the importance of social collaboration in capturing the value of connected aspects of mobile learning that enhances mobile learning environments.

On a slightly unexpected twist, Junco (2012) suggested that proper educational practices using Facebook could have a positive impact on learning outcomes. He looked at the relationship between student engagement and success where “…environments that emphasize close interactions between faculty and students are related to improved critical thinking, knowledge acquisition, analytic competencies, and intellectual development” (pg. 163). His research showed strong positive correlation in specific Facebook communicative activities such as commenting on content and creating or RSVP-ing events to academic outcomes (pg. 169). These activities engage students in interactions with others and support the previous frameworks supported by Looi et al (2010) and Kearney et al (2012) in mobile devices being great tools to bridge learning in and out of classrooms, as long as they are supplemented by active collaboration and sharing activities.

References:

  • Junco, R. (2012). The relationship between frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and student engagement. Computers & Education, 58(1), 162-171. Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.004
  • 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

 

Lesson 7: Mobile computers integration in learning environment: The good, the bad, the curious

In the interest of trying to catch up on class assignment but given limited time, I will write last week’s blog in brief bullet points. I hope I will still be able to capture the essence of my thoughts and reflections based on last week’s readings.

Learning with mobile technologies:

The good (opportunities):

  • Laptops assist learning through active approaches to teaching and fostering positive learning outcomes. When used for academic purposes such as taking notes, using software programs, accessing supplemental resources and web-based activities, and viewing PowerPoint slides, in class laptop use can increase satisfaction, motivation, and engagement among students. (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 25).
  • People learn or teach online or with technology in nontraditional or unusual ways. Learners might use technologies for online study groups, online work teams, or Web-based data collection to significantly alter how, when, and where they learn (Bonk, 2012).
  • Some learners access resources like Wikipedia pages or online videos to help them learn. Others revamp their classes by adding in guest experts from around the world or adding cross-class collaborations with wikis and other collaborative documents like Google Docs. Others push the edges of teaching and learning for example by tracking scientific discoveries as they occur in the Indian Ocean, blog posting during their polar expeditions, or learning a new language from someone in a faraway land (Bonk, 2012).
  • The Extreme Learning Project’s purpose was to catalogue and evaluate hundreds of extreme learning resources, tools, and projects found online related to online language learning, social change and global education, adventure learning and environmental education, inline portals for learning different subject areas, shared online video resources like the Khan Academy, and different forms of virtual education from that for primary and secondary education to adult online learning (Bonk, 2012). Note: I looked at their website http://extreme-learning.org/ and it seems that they ceased to be active very soon after the concept was launched. I see no updates since 2012.
  • Free and open educational resources expand learning and increasingly personalize and cater to a particular learning need or learner preference. The Web offers new hope for a degree, education, hobby, or personal lifelong learning option (Bonk, 2012).
  • Educators are increasingly calling for global education activities and curricula in order to properly prepare children for the twenty-first century (Bonk, 2012).

The bad (challenges):

  • Students who use laptops for non-academic purposes during class time, such as instant messaging, playing games, checking email, watching movies, and browsing the Internet are most likely multitasking and the distractions lead to impaired comprehension of course material and poorer overall course performance (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 25).
  • Multitaskers’ notes were of a poorer quality than non-multitaskers’ notes (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 26).
  • Participants who multitasked during the lecture scored significantly lower on tests than participants who did not multitask (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 27).
  • Laptop distractions due to multitasking activities may cause harm in the learning of students who were attempting to pay sole attention to the lecture and were in close proximity to multitasking laptop users (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 25).
  • Participants in view of multitasking peers had impaired comprehension and scored significantly lower on the test than participants not in view of multitasking peers (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 29).
  • The observed effect size from peer distraction was nearly twice as large as the observed self-distraction effect size (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 30).

The curious

  • The notes of participants not in view of multitasking peers were similar in quality to the notes of participants in view of multitasking peers. Being in view of multitasking peers did not reduce note equality. It suggests that despite actively trying to learn the material (as evidenced by comprehensive notes, similar in quality to those with a clear view of the lecture), these participants were placed at a disadvantage by the choices of their peers (as evidenced by the result of their test) (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 29).
  • Using the Internet for communicating, entertainment, information seeking, creating and participating may all, at certain times, facilitate learning (Eynon & Malmberg, 2011, pg. 593). How young people use the Internet should influence ways about how new technologies could be used to enhance education and learning (Eynon & Malmberg, 2011, pg. 585). Formal education has an important role to play in providing a place of access and support, facilitating the development of digital or new media literacies, and using the Internet in appropriate ways in the classroom to develop ways that young people learn both outside and within these formal contexts (Eynon & Malmberg, 2011, pg. 594).
  • Four types of Internet usage profiles are differentiated by individual characteristics and contextual features (Eynon & Malmberg, 2011, pg. 591-593).
  • The peripherals: The least frequent users of the Internet, tending to do less of all Internet activities than the other groups. They are likely to be younger, perceive themselves to be less skilled at using the Internet, and less likely to have home Internet access compared to the other groups. The more social aspects of technology may become more important around this time.
  • The normatives: Average users of Internet activities: communicating, entertaining and information seeking. They are engaging less in more proactive uses of the Internet such as creating and participating.
  • The all rounders: More frequent users of the Internet. They are more likely to have friends who are engaged in technology. The importance of friends in young people’s engagement with new media has been highlighted in other studies.
  • The active participants: Most frequent users of the Internet. They tend to engage in online participatory behaviors (like contributing to a blog or wiki). The distinguishing variable that makes a young Internet user more likely to belong to this group is that they exhibit a greater problem solving approach towards using new technologies. They are taking more responsibility for their learning or use of new technologies by solving technical problems for themselves.
  • At the age of 12, young people are just becoming aware of social situations and contexts, by 14 and in later adolescence the development of identity, a sense of agency towards educational institutions and the importance of peers becomes even more significant; and by 17 young people are no longer within compulsory schooling and have made certain choices (Eynon & Malmberg, 2011, pg. 587).

How to effectively integrate mobile computers into learning environment:

  • Teacher discusses the consequences of laptop use with students at the outset of a course (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 30).
  • Class collectively comes up with rules of technology etiquette that are enforced in the classroom throughout the semester (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 30).
  • Discourage laptop use if not necessary for learning (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 30).
  • Provide educators with resources to help them create enriching, informative and interactive classes that will use laptops constructively (Sana, Weston & Cepeda, 2013, pg. 30).

Case Studies: How the adoption of iPads in middle and high school helped students learn better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i6IXC9kRwA

Forestbrook Middle School showed how basic classroom standards were getting a boost from some of the latest technology… the IPAD! Kids were more engaged, innovative, motivated, and as a result, they worked hard and learned faster. In one English class, kids created a movie poster that expressed the main ideas of the story of the book they read. In this process, students used higher-level thinking and assessment skills along with the technology skills. They were learning how to apply and how to think quickly. The teacher could then address more content and more concept at a faster pace.

http://www.uhs.sa.edu.au/about-unley/learning-technologies/middle-school-ipad-program/

Unley High School in 2012 went through a change in school approach in order to engage students in the millennium process. The change involved developing a mobile program in middle school. It was a parent-funded program so students owned and managed their devices. The school provided the infrastructure and supportive, reinvigorated staff.

Related links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KobG2Hlhh8. Emily had a younger brother Josh who was learning Japanese as a second language but was hating the process and was about to give up. Emily who was using the iPad in high school found the game and app that she thought could help her brother. Once he got interested, she found that he learned very quickly and he could pace himself well without needing a teacher to depend on. Another related link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgcbbvMsAtI&feature=c4-overview&list=UU36ihEh2-5srJfdVSydtrYA showed students with diverse interests, such as music, science, art, poetry who learned better using their iPads.

References:

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

Eynon, R., & Malmberg, L.-E. (2011). A typology of young people’s Internet use: Implications for education. Computers & Education, 56(3), 585-595. Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.09.020

Sana, F., Weston, T., & Cepeda, N. J. (2013). Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. (pg. 24-31).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How could Augmented Reality (AR) on mobile devices influence education?

The video I watched and the three articles I read for this week’s assignment showed, without a doubt, how mobile devices can be used as powerful learning tools and can significantly influence how kids learn and understand the world around them.

Dr. Eric Klopfer’s video focused on how to move kids from being consumers of their mobile devices to producers. He first described the unique aspects of mobile devices, and how they are used to interact with each other and the world.

Mobile design affordances:

  • Portability
  • Social interactivity (same room, face-to-face, or around the world)
  • Context sensitivity
  • Connectivity (to internet, to other people)
  • Individuality
  • Anytime and anywhere, here and now

Dr. Klopfer then talked about the Community Science Investigators Project (MIT in collaboration with the Missouri botanical gardens), where Augmented Reality (AR) games created for mobile devices were used to engage students in science-based-issues in their communities to educate the community in affecting change. He described one way to create the game is through a Web-deployed block space programming environment called TaleBlazer. Another example is the afterschool club Youth APPLab where kids used Appinventor. “Democratization of computer programming” and “waves of mobile empowerment” were the terms used to describe people’s ability now to do something that’s personal and meaningful to them which in turn drive their interest-based learning.

Kamarainen et al (2013) described a field trip where as part of pilot studies, students used mobile devices with AR application to aid their learning of ecosystem science concepts. I summarize here some interesting and relevant findings as reported in the article:

  • Teacher was not a significant predictor of the student gains in content understanding (p. 7).
  • Student gains were significant on topics related to the variables that were measured with the environment probes (p. 7).
  • Teachers discussed that technology facilitated interaction among classmates and with the environment that closely resemble scientific practices. This created the opportunity for collaborative communication and problem solving among students that arose from the AR experience (p. 8).
  • Teachers noted that using the mobile devices and environmental probes helped students become familiar with interpreting the measurements, and noted that students were able to apply these ideas in other situations (p. 9).
  • Students had a window into the unseen parts of the environment which helped them identify with scientific practices and motivated students in a new way (p. 9).
  • Teachers commented that the mobile devices helped structure students’ movement through the environment and guided their interaction with the environment and with classmates. The students were able to work independently, at their own pace, with the teacher acting as a facilitator. Teachers reported that the activities were more student-driven and less teacher-directed. The teachers thought this was beneficial in that it provided students with a different sense of ownership over the experience (p. 9).

Martin et al (2014) provided examples of projects and partnerships that illustrated how mobile, place-based AR games and simulations (situated learning activities) could amplify students’ engagement with the course content, while also improving collaboration and community building (p. 39). Games immersed students in complex situations where knowledge is used to solve real world issues (p. 36). An example given for easy creation of AR learning activities is the ARIS platform, which is open-ended and relatively accessible.

Land, Smith_and Zimmerman (2013) described the use of mobile, wireless technologies as mindtools to support students’ deeper connections of their experiences with authentic practices and knowledge construction. They could extend their learning opportunities into everyday life, untethered from classroom desktops or wired indoor facilities (p. 215). The three cases discussed in the article represented informal learning out of the classrooms where images captured from digital cameras and AR app Street Museum on mobile devices could serve as tools for reflecting on real-world experiences or authentic problems with the potential of enhancing the likelihood for discovering the relevance of how and why knowledge is useful (p. 216).

Conclusion

The video and the articles point to how mobile devices are unique in how they could support student-centered learning and different kinds of interactions and learning environments. Tools such as Augmented Reality (AR), games and simulations provide informal learning opportunities that could increase motivation and turn students  from consumers into producers of knowledge.

References

Digital Photography: Land, S. M., Smith, B. K., & Zimmerman, H. T. (2013). Mobile technologies as tools for augmenting observations and reflections in everyday informal environments (pages 214-228.)

Gaming/AR: Martin, J., Dikkers, S., Squire, K., & Gagnon, D. (2014). Participatory scaling through augmented reality learning through local games. (pages 35-41)

Mobile as a Creative Medium, Klopfer, E., https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa15/ldt505/001/content/07_lesson/02_page.html

Probes with AR: Kamarainen, A. M., Metcalf, S., Grotzer, T., Browne, A., Mazzuca, D., Tutwiler, M. S., & Dede, C. (2013). EcoMOBILE: Integrating augmented reality and probeware with environmental education field trips. Computers & Education, 68, 545-556.

Education App Review (5 of 5): Werdsmith

WerdsmithName of app: Werdsmith

Reviewed by: Maura Soeparjadi Kwik

Details: Company: Nathan Tesler; Release date/version date: 3.6.2/15 July 2015; Operating system(s): iOS, online cloud platform

Cost: free (offers in-app purchases)

Review: App Store describes Werdsmith as a tool to capture writers’ ideas anytime anywhere, work on their projects and share and collaborate their writing. It can help you get motivated by setting writing rituals and word goals.

This app is simple to use and has clean minimalist, no frills screen and menu. It can be a great aid in writing and brainstorming ideas for writing. Once the ideas (brainstorming) are put into projects, they can be used to put your writing together, in and out of the classrooms. It can be used to supplement formal classroom and informal writing. You can take full charge of your own “interest-driven” writing too as it connects you to a community of people who can give you feedback on what you are working on.

Education App Review (4 of 5): Project Noah

projectnoahName of app: Project Noah

Reviewed by: Maura Soeparjadi Kwik

Details: Company: Networked Organisms LLC; Release date/version date: 2.6.1/25 February 2012; Operating system(s): iOS, Android

Cost: free

Review: Project Noah (Networked Organisms And Habitats) is an app tool to explore, document and share your wildlife encounters across the globe. It is a joint venture with National Geographic and connects people to an online active community dedicated to wildlife exploration, awareness, preservation and education. Users can view submissions, help identify species and discuss their encounters.

Project Noah accepts pictures of bugs and trees you take with your mobile phones and can send back an identification of the exact types in as little as 1 day.

There are some privacy and safety concerns, especially for the younger kids as they need to sign in with an existing email or social networking account (Facebook, Twitter) and allow location access. When they submit photos, they are associated with the login account that includes the user profile, GPS tracking and date stamp.

This app can be a great aid in learning science for all ages from young children to adults, in and out of the classrooms. It can be used to supplement formal classroom learning and informal learning. You can take full charge of your own “interest-driven” learning as it connects you to a community of experts and people who share the same interests.

Education App Review (3 of 5): iTooch Middle School App

iToochName of app: iTooch Middle School App

Reviewed by: Maura Soeparjadi Kwik

Details: Company: eduPad Inc.; Release date/version date: 6.3/13 August 2015; Operating system(s): iOS, Android, Windows

Cost: free (offers in-app purchases)

Review: App Store describes iTooch Middle School as a fun way to practice and learn mathematics and language arts for 6th, 7th and 8th graders. The activities are based on the US National Common Core Standards.

iTooch Middle School uses a gamified platform to engage kids in learning in a playful manner and increase motivation. It integrates with Apple’s online multiplayer Game Center thus allowing kids to connect with their friends and others to show their scores/achievements and compete in one of the largest social gaming network community of players.

Unfortunately there are ads that could come up in the middle of practice or tests which can get distracting. There is the option to pay $1.99 for no ads. The company also offers Volume Purchase Program and In-App Purchases.

This app can be a great aid in learning mathematics and language arts for middle schoolers in and out of the classrooms. It can be used to supplement formal classroom learning and informal learning for remedial work or to review weak subject areas.

Education App Review (2 of 5): Duolingo

Screen Shot 2015-10-10 at 2.55.30 PMName of app: Duolingo

Reviewed by: Maura Soeparjadi Kwik

Details: Company: Duolingo, Inc; Release date/version date: 4.5.2/6 October 2015; Operating system(s): iOS, Android, Windows

Cost: free

Review: App Store describes Duolingo as a fun and free language learning app. Languages: English, Arabic, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.

I have been using Duolingo for a few months to learn Spanish. It is a gamified platform to learn foreign languages. There are weekly goals that you can setup which will send you reminders to make sure you are on track. I find that the short lesson modules make it easy and manageable to pick up during spare time between activities. The progression from one module to the next is dictated by Duolingo depending on your successful completion of the previous one. Motivation gaming items such as bonus skills and ability to earn “lingots” work well to keep things interesting. I learned some Spanish pick-up lines. Some of them I had to chuckle.. sounds so cheeky!

This app can be a great aid in learning languages in and out of the classrooms. It can be used to supplement formal classroom learning and informal learning. It is interactive that provides a good feedback on progress and level of language fluency. You can take full charge of your own “interest-driven” learning.

In addition to the grammar and vocabulary exercises, I found out from research that Duolingo has another component interface to translate articles from the web which uses crowd-sourcing for much of its text translation. That’s a unique feature because if something doesn’t look right, you can question, discuss and request a fix.

Education App Review (1 of 5): Anatomy 4D

Anatomy4DName of app: Anatomy 4D

Reviewed by: Maura Soeparjadi Kwik

Details: Company: Daqri, LLC; Release date/version date: 2.1/6 January 2015; Operating system(s): iOS, Android

Cost: free

Review: App Store describes Anatomy 4D as an interactive 4D experience of human anatomy for students, teachers, medical professionals, and anyone who wants to learn about the body. Anatomy 4D uses augmented reality and other cutting edge technologies to create the perfect vehicle for 21st century education. App Store rating 17+ for frequent/intense sexual content or nudity.

I experimented with the app and found the 17+ rating is overrated. The image of the body parts and information are presented appropriately and responsibly. Unfortunately, you must be at least 17 years old to download this app. It is best used in a biology class when learning about human anatomy because the stunning visual representation is an excellent aid in individual formal and informal technology enhanced learning.