Welcome to week 6 everybody!
This is the last blog post that we have to submit for assessment so I will try my best to make it interesting! :)
Mobile phones, and/or iPads are going to be the topic of this blog post. The question is; would these technologies help, or hinder learning within the classroom?
I personally think that using iPhones or iPads in the classroom is an excellent idea to assist learning. I think that classrooms need to become up-to-date with the technological changes in society. Schooling is aimed at scaffolding our learning and preparing us for the big scary world of the 'workforce'. In this day and age technology is used in almost every workplace in the country, and the world. We need to use phones to call people, to let your parents know where you are, to use them in emergencies. We need computers to write assignments or we use them to email people about work related issues. Technology is used every day, at work, at home, on holidays. I believe that the use of mobile phones and iPads should be implemented into the classroom to teach learners how to use them appropriately, to use them efficiently, and to use them from things other that what you would do with a typical phone.
I have made a SWOT chart about my ideas on these technologies, if they were to be used in the classroom:
In this class, 'Managing E-Learning', we have been exposed to a number of sites and applications which could be implemented into your classroom to add an ICT aspect to the learning experience. For example, we were showed a digital tool called 'Audioboo'. This tool can be used on either a computer or can be found in the iTunes Application store. This application is free to download and provides the learner with an application which allows you to make voice recordings and save them to your personal account. If mobile phones were to be used alongside this application learners would be able to make sound recordings with their own devices for class activities, experiments and even assessment tasks. If mobile phones were to be used in a situation like this it would allow the students to have some control over their work, and would help their learning. It would allow this activity to run efficiently and the mobile phones would be being used for educational purposes.
You could use these devices in a number of ways. Some schools provide their students with an iPad to use for the entire year. I think this is a great way to eliminate inequality and expose the students to the changing technologies in society. At my little brothers school he uses his iPad everyday, for things like; note taking, writing up assignments, and participating in classroom activities.
These devices could also be used in art of photography classes for editing or taking photo's. They could be used in HPE for videoing performance, counting how many steps you take, or measuring how far you run. It could also be used in a subject like mathematics by using the calculator or downloading applications which help with equations etc.
There is a limited number of applications which you can download onto these devices which assist learning in almost any subject. You can download handwriting applications, which in an early primary school environment, could help the learners practice their letter writing on an interactive screen. You can download applications which could help you make engaging and interactive presentations for assessment pieces. The options are almost limitless.
Of course if these devices were to be implemented into the classroom rules and regulations would have to be enforced to minimize the threats. I would only encourage these devices be used in the classroom if it was in an educational way. I think if these devices were used in a controlled environment, under teacher supervision that they could indeed help learners learn.
The video below explains some uses of mobile phones in the classroom:
Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mec1d1gMuTw
I think mobile phones and/or iPads would engage the students in classroom tasks and I believe they would cater for all learning styles. It would be very easily to adapt these tools to a number of classroom activities. It provides the students with a hands-on and interactive learning environment.
Well that is me finished for another week (: I hope you all enjoyed reading.
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