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.  

[Jeffrey Patton]

I agree Ian. I think Poll Everywhere is a really cool tool to use in class for reinforcing concepts and review. I really like that you can embed them into a PowerPoint. That should definitely help keep kids interested in what your discussing, and allow for those kids that are uncomfortable answering questions to join in as well. The fact that students are able to use their cell phones automatically intrigues them.

[Mariah Trentacosti]

In my course CEP 810 at MSU, we are currently learning about all the possibilities that Mobile Learning has to offer education.  In the presentation Moving at the Speed of Learning:A case for the iPod touch in schools, I was particularly interested in the changes to Bloom's Taxonomy. So I decided to do a little more searching and came to a website specifically developed for iPad Curriculum. Here you can find anything from

the Brittanica to Dissecting Animals.

One App in particular that I was drawn to was Stick Pick. This application is for teachers with iOS devices.  You initially set up your class or classes with names and individual learning levels. Then it randomly chooses any student in your class and provides over a dozen questions that are tied directly with different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.  These questions can be cognitive or linguistic.  Data can even be taken from the students' responses by choosing whether they answered correctly or not.  You can even rate their responses on a scale of 0-5.  The data is then saved and can be emailed.  I would use that function to not only email myself, but perhaps the parents, students, and administrators.

[Catrin Barber]

I just checked out Stick Pick.  Amazing.  I was drawn to it as one of the items that actually sits on my desk is an apple mug with Popsicle sticks in it.  I pull sticks at random when we need to form groups or answer review questions...

What an amazing app to include on my iphone which sits next to the mug in case I need some questions.  I could definitely see myself using this during reading group time!

Thanks!

[Lisa F]

Thank you for sharing the Stick Pick app.  This is a fun new twist on the old popsicle sticks in the mug.  I also use sticks for forming groups or calling on students to answer questions.  I love how this has a variety of questions to ask and a way to keep track of who has responded.  This would be helpful while entering report card scores as well because you know how often students are participating in discussions and if they are sharing insightful information.

[Julie Gill]

Thanks for sharing this Mariah.  Stick Pick is a great app!  I love how it links question stems to cognitive or linguistic needs of each student.  The tie to Bloom's Taxonomy is going to be so helpful to educators! I also like the option for teachers to assess student's learning along with a critical thinking rubric.  I really liked the idea of having small groups use this app to quiz each other.  I think that the students will grow in understanding more about critical thinking from seeing the leveling of questions according to Bloom's. Great app!! Thanks!

[Catrin Barber]

While learning about Mobile computing in my CEP 810 class I came upon many apps that I had to check out!

One thing I learned about is all the free museum and art gallery website.  i am often stuck trying to inspire my elementary students to write about something.  When I looked at the Louvre app there were so many beautiful images.  If they want something less classical there was theSmithsonian Channel with far more then could be imagined-episodes from history, art history.  Amazing!   One I recently purchased is the Gallery of Painters, serachable by artist and really beautiful.  One we played after I hooked my iPad up to the interactive white board is called Pixpop where the kids (or yourself) have to look for details in a painting.  Note: PixPop and Painters are both for a small charge.

Try them out and experience some art!

[Sharon Giffen]

Catrin,

I enjoyed your post immensely. I clicked on every link you inserted and was inspired to check out many free museums and art gallery websites. This is a terrific way to bring art to everyone, increase one's art appreciation and knowledge. The Pixpop interactive game brings out important details often overlooked. Thanks much!

Sharon

[Alexis C. Pollock]

Here is a link to some great free apps for education,; however, on the English page (iPhone iTouch tab/Free Apps for Ed. link), I would completely disagree with the author's first one, Dictionary.com (and I left him a suggestion to switch it out). I tell my students NEVER to use that "dictionary," website, as it is not a good one: it often does not provide the definition they need. I highly recommend the free, and much better Merriam-Webster Dictionary app that even includes voice searching. It lives on the first page of my iPhone:

[James Rolle]

This is not a tip or trick per se, but something to keep in mind when instituting or designing any m-learning units or activities. According to the presenter/discussion leader in one of the videos I watched via some link somewhere, when polled educators report that of the three types of interactions in m-learning -  Learner-Content; Learner-Expert; Learner-Learner - the overwheling amount of time is spent on Learner-Content. Since we know that the social aspect of learning is more effective, we need to turn that around and make sure that students are working with an expert (teacher, other) and other students much more, in order to get the most out of any m-learning.

[Robert Prudhomme]

I saw this article on the Michigan State University College of Education website and thought it was very cool! It's about using Ipods to help students with autism communicate. I recently became aware of my passion for special education and working with autistic individuals. I subbed in a special education room for autistic elementary students and all I could think about was how one could incorporate assistive technologies such as mobile learning devices to benefit the students' learning. 

 

 

 

 

[Amanda Krolikowski]

This is a great article (well... it IS from MSU :) that includes relevant information on incorporating iPods into the classroom. With more main-stream inclusion programs in our schools, I think all teachers would benefit from learning more about technologies that will assist students with disabilities, especially those with autism. The potential for assisting student learning is not limited to those with disabilities, rather it focuses on best practices which will assist all students in the classroom.

[James Rolle]

If you are interested in the iPad, this is a good blog entry.  Although the author is a foreign language teacher, the entry is of broader interest as it talks about what it means to be skilled versus literate versus fluent in using it. Also, Apple has a substantial iPad user manual for downloading.