Mobile Learning

It is interesting to learn ways that other educators are using mobile technology in their classrooms and educational settings. Through this lab I explored mobile technology use of iPods, mp3players, PDAs, USB drives, E-Book Reader, Flip Cameras, Smart Phones, and TabletPCs. I also joined the Cell Phones in Education group and created a survey for my classroom using Poll Everywhere.

The idea of using PDAs is especially intriguing to me. I can see how it can be a useful tool for students to take notes, collaborate on projects, research on the Internet, watch movies, and complete homework assignments. The small size makes it for easy for students to carry around and it does not take up a lot of physical space. However, it appears that the Smart Phone would be the best way to go, since it combines a PDA, Internet access, MP3 player, camera, and video with telephone capability. I would like to integrate the Smart Phone as a mobile technology into my classroom. The biggest challenge would be the cost of the Smart Phones and finding the funding to purchase them. A second challenge would be convincing administrators to allow the Smart Phones. At this point in time at my middle school, if we even see a student's cell phone visible during school hours, we are instructed to confiscate it. There were some problems with students having '30 second fights' in the bathroom, recording the fights, and uploading the videos to YouTube. However, I think that using a Smart Phone in the classroom would be an engaging experience for students. It supports interactive learning.