Mobile Devices- Bryce Redinger

When I thought of a class room, I did not picture cell phones as part of them. That was till this past week. I knew that cell phones were the technology of the future, but to use them in the classroom it seemed so outlandish. I guess it is all the years of my schooling where cell phones were looked upon with disdain and kept in hiding from instant punishment. This would be one downfall of using them in the classroom of a school system that did not approve of them.

When you ask students to bring out their cell phones for your class to do an assignment, I can see the excitement in my mind, almost anything would seem new and exciting. Even a simple task such as using cellphones for calculators or timers are a new adventure. These are very basic features of phones being used today. Voice recording, video recording, mobile internet. All of these are very powerful tools that teachers in the past had to schedule weeks or months in advance for a spot in the schools only computer lab. But how could I use these chunks of unwanted sounds and distractions, to so many others?

For my teaching emphasis I am thinking the natural sciences, earth science or biology. There are a few ways that I could see cellphones being a very helpful tool. Class field trips are very chaotic time. And there is always something going wrong, most of the time in my school days it was me. Always forgetting something or being late.

By having all of my students in a mailing list, such as the demonstration in class, I could send SMS “Newsletters” right into the hand that the cell phone never leaves. In these texts I could include reminders times, fees, or weather notification so students can being a jacket.

When all the students are on the bus, and we are bouncing our way to higher learning. Activities for the ride could be very fun. If there are several buses then a competition of who can find a white van first could be started. Having the students E-mail the photo of the white van as it drives by, first come first serve. Or sending out a quick quiz about “What was the land form we just passed?” having your inbox fill.

While out in the field of the trip using a cell phone, if there is service, could be used as a form of location finding. Small groups of students going off and finding the assignment. When it is time to come back sending the group a text saying so. Or asking them a on the spot question to answer.

These are only a few of the ideas I have for using cellphones in the classroom. With Mobile devices becoming more and more powerful and more people owning them the more you can do. The sky is truly the limit. With all this texting and photo sharing there is a down fall that I can see. Cost. Most cell phone providers charge extra for out of company calls/texts, or for using e-mail or by minute of browsing the web. At the age of students these days it is would seem that the parents would be the main provider of funds for these phones. I do not know if a high phone bill will be well received. All though I'm sure a letter to the parents saying, the class will be using cell phones for the upcoming class trip and there might be some abnormal cell phone activity, might ease the blow.

YouTube

Online Social Communities in the Classroom

With all of the social communities that are online and in the daily lives of many people it seems very natural to integrate them in to the classroom seems like a logical step. I think to be truly successful in bringing in a outside source for education that the students need to like and know how to use it. With most of these communities most pre-teens and teens are using them on a daily basis. so they feel comfortable with them, and with them using them in their free time it is a perfect way to "trick" them into Learning.

Several of these networking sites bring a easy interface to the user allowing them to communicate; message, chat, interact with and share photos, blogs, stories, moods. This gives a new dimention to talk to your friends. In the past you might have to call your friends house to see if they want to go to the game this weekend, but now you can send them a message, and talk about it from your computer.

This gives a perfect place to upload assignments to each student is as easy as a touch of a button in most places. This would allow you to send out a homework assignment and all the students could refer to it for: due dates, subjects, topics. You, as a teacher, could also leave feedback on an assignment in their private message box.

How a power point can be used in the class room?

There are several ways I can think of to use power point in a creative way. One that I like a a lot is the schedule on an old computer or TV, just like the Dali. That would be a great way to keep students informed on when everything is happening.

Another one I could see using would be to make a slide show only presentation, then put several links on a slide containing a question, have the links like a multiple choice quiz. wrong answers taking the user to a slide that says stuff like " nice try, but nope, or try again." then with a link back to the question. This would be a lot of work, but this would be a perfect way to give out a practice test, just a little something for the students to work on.

The course curriculum assignment is something I could definitely see me using in a class. If a sub did have to come in I would be able to tell them the week, and they would be able to find out where the class is and what they are learning about, with hardly any hassle.

I have been thinking on how to use power point presentations for the students, for their assignments. and I'm torn between saying sure they could, perhaps should, use power point for projects, letting it give them a crutch to help the ones nervous about public speaking. But then there is the flip side, of students using it as a crutch instead of developing good public speaking skills.

anyway just my thoughts.
Cheers,

Assistive Technology Questions

Why is inclusion important both to the student with special needs and the culture of the class?

To me unity in a classroom is very important and I can see how it would be difficult to include someone with special needs, but with modern technology teachers can. If a class is divided it can be very hard to deliver the same message to everyone. If that group of popular kids all sit together will they really be listening or distracting others around them. A person with special needs is much the same. A student that has a hearing disability, their signer is a huge distraction for students in the class room. A student with a learning disability might loose interest in the lesson and begin to get restless, distracting others. If teachers can use technology to include these students, just like everyone else in the class, then the amount of distractions can be lessened. If a deaf student can sit through a lecture, and get the material, like everyone else then everyone is focused on the material being presented to them.

What technology tools do you find specifically valuable that assist students with visual, hearing, motor, learning, or language disabilities?

There are technologies I find I could use in the classroom for some of these disabilities.

For hearing disabilities computer programs that take voice and turn it into text would be very useful if I’m talking to the class and I have a microphone I could be talking to the computer and the computer talking to the student. That would work for text or the computer signers that are in development. This could eliminate the need for a signer if there is not one available or for the distraction of one.

Learning disabilities pod casts or interactive books, something that can be repeated or stopped at any point for further discussion would be very helpful. Associating things with games can be a helpful learning tool as well. The use of “Math Blaster” type software can associate math problems with a fun game that can be repeated over and over again.

Students with Motor Disabilities can have a very hard time with using computers today almost everything involves them. Several things could be used in a classroom to help this. Input devices such as special keyboards and mice with gyros. I think that the gyros mice are very useful with these a student can navigate a normal computer system. With a little practice the world of computers can open up to them.

Bryce Redinger

Hmm, it would seem that this is a blog...thingy. First post.

~Bryce