Sharing Tips and Tricks on Mobile Learning

[Carrie Albin]

In your courses you have been asked to share any tips or tricks you may have regarding Mobile Learning.  This can include any ideas, resources, activities, lesson plans using mobile devices, etc.  

[Susan Wright]

This is a new resource for me. It sounds like it is more versatile than Jing. I love the fact that you can create longer screencasts. Thank you for share this.

[Jennifer Bramble]

We used polleverywhere during our orientation. We put up facts and not true fact about the teachers. The audience (parents and students) were able to vote on which one they thought was the lie. IT worked really well...

 

With cell phones in the class, I know their potential... but how do you get the students to stay on task when they have their phones in their hands? We tried it last year and found all they did was text and facebook... which lead to A LOT of fights... This year its back to no cell phones.. I have permission to allow them to use their phones as calculators ad all the calculators are in the math dept., but i still have to be eagle eyed to make sure they are not texting others and disrupting other students! HElP!

[Emily]

If you haven't yet discovered QR codes, they are excellent for mobile learning.  They are 3D barcodes that can be read by any smart device including a computer. They are incredibly easy and free to make (just google "QR code generator.) You can post them around school to disseminate information about school events, put them at the top of worksheets with links to extra help, or have the students themselves make them to publish their work. The main obstacle is that most smart devices are not allowed in schools.

[Jenny Catlin]

Yes! Love this idea.  I can think of a multitude of uses ... QR codes on top of HW assignments that provide answers or links to websites with tutorials for more help, information about school events, QR code on newsletters that links to a class website, blog, or a student project.

[Lisa Mele]

In my school students use iTouches everyday. One of the ways that I use them is for warm ups. I make a warm up using Google Forms to review concepts from the day before or review vocabulary terms. I post the form to my website, which my students have bookmarked on their iTouch. Right when they get to class, they pull it out and do the warm up. Their results are instantly sent back to my form so I keep my laptop opened and see who has responded and if they got the answers correct or not instantly. It provides great instant feedback about whether they understood the lesson or not.  The form stays saved in my Google Docs so I can look back at it later for reference. Some teachers in my school even use this method for quizzes and tests.

 

We also use iTouches for class blogs and for researching. It is great to be able to have kids look things up instantly at their seats when they are curious about something.

[Jessica Smith]

Mobile learning is opening doors for all class rooms to become Web 2.0 learning environments.  I watched the following slide show: Moving at the Speed of Learning: A case for the iPod touch in schools. I was amazed to learn about Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy (Slide 21), and Challenged Based Learning(Slide 27) .  I think slides 9 and 26 need to be shared with our colleges.  We need to have discussions on how classrooms were once set up: teachers introduced the content to the students and then we tested them on it.  Learning came from the teacher, the library, the world, and student’s peers.  Now, the teacher can introduce a task, but to complete the task students will find new content through multiple resources to complete the task and assessment usually resulting in new content.   Another powerful slide to check out is 12.  I was shocked to read the statistics. 

 

Slide2Learn has two great sites for teachers to check out if you have access to Ipod touch.  Although I am teaching in a tech poor school district, I have noticed many students have an Ipod Touch and I could pair students up to work in groups using them.  Sites to check out: http://slidetolearn.ning.com/ and http://slidetolearn.info/

 

[Tammie Mirolli]

One thing I implemented in my class this year is a Facebook Group.  I was sending emails at the start of the year when there was an announcement I needed to make to my students.  Some students complained that they didn’t receive the message.  So a student suggested that I look into creating a Facebook Page or Group for the class because most of them spend time helping each other with class work over Facebook anyway.  So I set up a Facebook Group, which all my students joined.  The students with Smartphones were able to view the Group information and announcements from their phones.  However, the students without a Smartphone, had to wait until they logged on to Facebook at home.  I asked how many of my students received text messages on their phones. Everyone raised their hand.  So I recommended that they log on to Facebook and set-up mobile notifications.  Through mobile notifications, all my students would receive a text message to inform them of any messages they receive through Facebook.  So when I send my Group members a message,  all students are notified of the message and are able to come to class prepared. It has been very helpful having a way of communicating with my students through a platform they all use and prefer to work through.  I am planning on using this feature from now on to ensure all my students are informed of important class news or announcements.

 

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[Susan Wright]

Great idea!

[Joe Matulis]

This is really cool.  Some teachers at my school were doing this but their classroom Facebook Groups had to be taken down.  All teachers in my district were told to report any student under 13 who were on facebook.  It was a bummer because students and parents were using it a lot.

[Gary J Brumbelow]

I used MySpace for my students when it was in style and now I use FaceBook. My students have always loved being connected with one another on these sites and they have often sent me messages over breaks, holidays, and weekends just to say hi or to ask a school question. I am now still in contact with alot of my students that have graduated via FaceBook...it is awesome to see them grow into such amazing adults and witness their successes. I'm glad to see you are doing the same thing!I like the idea of creating a group for the class...I will definately have to give that a try.

[Cynthia Stabnick]

While exploring this weeks lecture on mobile learning, I came across this great google docs page that shares tips and ideas for using an iPod Touch for learning!

https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_432d8b8n2wn 28 interesting ways to use an iPod Touch in the classroom

 

Being a first grade teacher, the one tip that I found the most useful was #9 - Create a Mini Listening Center by using a Belkin Rock Star to turn one iPod into a mini listening center for 5 pupils. You can download or make your own or student voice recordings of favorite stories/rhymes. Get other pupils, teachers, parents or principal to read as well. Create listening skills activities to develop auditory discrimination or meet student ESL/special needs.

 

~Cynthia Stabnick

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[Allyson bush]

Wow, that is a really great use for an iPod. I was just trying to figure out how to do a listening center in my spanish class for my younger students. I think this is a great idea and I can't wait to try it out!