Is it Over Already? A Summary of Learning

As a graphic designer by trade, and a teacher at heart, words are very important to me. When I started trying to summarize my learning over the last eight weeks in the Mobile Learning class, the first thing that came to mind was a stream of words. Therefore, I am going to organize my thoughts by simply going through the words that to me have come to represent EPSY 590: Mobile Learning. In no particular order...

Access.

This class made me really think back to my beginning in the GSE program. The way I access my classes, submit assignments, interact with other students, and complete work is all congruent with mobile learning. I was able to attend class on the porch of a houseboat floating in the Boston Harbor. I submitted assignments and made contact with my application creation group members through my mobile phone while driving down the eastern US shore. Through QR codes that we discussed in great detail we can instantly access in depth knowledge on a given subject. Augmented reality allows student access to situations and environments that will increase their understanding and knowledge. Cloud computing allows one to access the same information from a home computer and a mobile or school device.

Speed.

Mobile learning is instant. We live in a world of instant gratification and every new technology tries to make one more aspect of our lives 'instant.' The speed at which we can perform tasks through mobile learning is unbelievable. A new textbook or the summer reading options for students can be uploaded instantly through use of an eBook. Global interaction can be instant with the use of mobile photos and videos.

Ease.

Some may consider it laziness, but mobile learning has made many tasks easy. Communication is no longer confined to telephone booths or pen and paper, but through mobile phones, Apps such as Skype mobile, QR codes, formative feedback, Diigo pages, and so on, our students can communicate easily with students across the world, or have meaningful continuous conversation and discussion with students across the room. Mobile Learning creates an easy space for us to learn. Like I read in the Design Principles for Mobile Learning, it starts with a question. How can we make something easier and more meaningful for our students. It is quite possible some avenue of mobile learning is a viable option.

Function.

Mobile learning is function. It is all about function. OLPC offers functionality to students across the world who were previously unable to access mobile learning. With cloud computing students can continue work in multiple subject areas throughout their day in different classrooms, different buildings, and even at home. Augmented reality can create a safe way for students to be actively engaged in learning important but possibly dangerous situations (See my prior post on Augmented Reality in a technology high school).

How can one truly summarize Mobile Learning when it is not finished and will never stop? While Mobile Learning creates alternate avenues for our students to generate knowledge and knowhow, it is a learning process itself that is constantly growing and evolving. Maybe it is heading 'to infinity and beyond?'

Its Safe. Its Fun. Its Real. (well in an augmented sort of way)

Augmented Reality. What is it?

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or an indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. (Wikipedia)

A very simple way of thinking of it is a video game. Its a simulation of some sort of real life situation or experience.

I talk often about design, the arts, and Career and Technology Education (CATE) because that is what I know. This is the world that I live in and as I think about all of the amazing programs and opportunities available at my technology school for students, my mind starts running wild with ALL of the perfect ways Augmented Reality could be implemented in CATE. Every program at my school is run like a real-world business or career field. My classroom is run like a design firm. Our carpentry class builds and entire house every single year just like a construction company would do. Our cosmetology students become state board certified through their program. Our nursing students become CNA's after the completion of their program. We ARE completely project-based and try to create as realistic of a job environment as possible for our students. It is quite obvious that augmented reality creates a realistic simulation of some sort of environment which can be beneficial to any sort of educational setting. However there are other benefits.

SAFETY. Safety is a HUGE concern in many of the program areas offered at my school (and many other schools across the country). Having some sort of augmented reality simulation for our firefighting students to learn the steps for rescue from a dangerous situation, our criminal justice students to learn the proper ways to disarm an offender, our welding students to learn how to use a new type of metal, and our emergency responder students to learn how to address and instigate a proper plan, would increase their experience and understanding without compromising their safety and overstepping the boundaries of a secondary school systems rules and regulations. For these students to have a successful career in these areas and make a positive difference in their community, they must be able to react calmly and quickly in intense and dangerous situations.

PRECISION. All of our students are given an opportunity to perform and practice their selected field. My students spend over 80% of their two years of classroom time with me on individual projects. All of our program areas are equipped with the proper tools and equipment to give the students an idea of what the career entails. However, a good bit of the time the practice our students get is on a small scale. Due to limited funding, time, and resources, we can only give our students a taste of what the 'real world' is like. With augmented reality, our students would be able to experience very detailed and in-depth situations and environments on a larger scale to increase their knowledge and understanding of their chosen career. Sports marketing students could create and oversee a national event rather than just organizing a school wide movie day. Small engine repair students could use augmented reality to examine and recondition a larger variety of items, such as motorized water crafts and motorcycles, instead of just the lawn mowers, smaller bikes, and 4-wheelers they see in class. Our students' knowledge base could be come much more refined and precise for post-graduation studies and jobs.

In closing I ask...what can augmented reality not do? Why would we NOT implement it in education? It could be an integral PART of our curriculums and would complement written exercises, projects, lecture and class discussion very well. No part is enough in it self....not even augmented reality because there is always going to be some exception to every rule and way, but it could be helpful nonetheless.

Thumbs Up for E-Books! (advocacy paper)

We have all seen the commercials representing the 'battle' between the Apple iPad and e-books such as the Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook.

Instead of debating whether one technology works better in sunlight than another, I simply want to reveal the benefits and opportunities provided in education by e-books viewed on these personal tablets.

What is an E-Book?

Simply put, it is a full length printed publication (article, book, with or without images) in digital form.

Why use an E-book?

E-books have many capabilities. Obviously they offer a digital copy of a publication, relieving the size and weight of books and textbooks. Some available options are large storage space, text-to-speech, drawing, free available downloads. Compare different options here.

There are many opportunities for teachers to use e-books within the classroom. Download plays, mapping in geography, literature circle, and many more.

Here is a specific opportunity on how to create digital 'Big Books' using an e-book.

E-books create alternate avenues for reading, especially for ESOL and special needs children. There are many accommodations available with e-books such as text interactions (highlighting, bookmarking), adjustable text size, and interactive dictionaries.

There are many instances where e-books provide a unique opportunity to students of different ages, backgrounds, and hardships.

Deaf Students given e-books for use at school.

E-books help visually impaired students.

Love to Read with E-book club?

Bridging the Achievement gap one E-book at a time.

All Mobile All the Time

In Chapter 7 of the Mobile Learning document I found something to be very interesting and helpful. In the research done, Kukulska-Hulme and Pettit compiled a list of the most frequent activities performed on mobile devices. This list included the following: text messaging, browsing websites, listening to audio files, reading e-news, making notes, taking a photograph, and viewing a photograph/image. If we, as educators, can focus in on the activities that our students most use mobile devices for, we can show them how these same ventures can be used to learn. We can create a positive association with what we are trying to teach the students. Can they use their mobile device to take classroom notes? Can they take a photograph of items they see in their daily lives to be used as good or bad examples of a current design project? Can they access local and national news articles to understand current business and politics? Can they access different music from different genres to understand the psychology behind sounds, sights, and smells?

The fact of the matter is we have to meet our students in the middle. Go to them and what they are most interested in and make it a source of learning. Use their love for technology to your advantage!

Send in the Clouds

There is always something new in technology. The hardest part is not necessarily learning each new opportunity, but rather always knowing what is coming up next. Cloud Computing is a newer wave that is starting to take over and hopefully is seeping into education. As quoted from a blog on cloud computing,

Also, think how convenient homework assignments will become. The students can work on the cloud, cooperate with team members and share knowledge, and be sure that they won’t leave behind their homework assignments when they go to school. Since they are on the cloud, they can access them anywhere, be it home or school.

'My dog ate my homework' is just not going to cut it anymore! We are able to hold student accountable for the work assigned to them and giving them an avenue to complete their work in a somewhat easier fashion.

Cloud computing does not only benefit students but also faculty. Cloud computing can make the interworking of a school or even college work more efficiently and allow for sharing across state initiatives and across school districts.

M-Learning...for ALL

After reading mLearning: A Platform for Educational Opportunities at the Base of the Pyramid, I was reminded of an article I had read in a previous GSE class and my favorite quote from the article was the fact that mLearning can create 'accessible education to all learners." There are many benefits that I think we will continue to see increase and improve for education for those in remote and poorer areas of the world through mobile learning. The possibilities are truly endless!

OLPC. for better or for worse?

One-to-one computing is ALL the rage. My district specifically has decided to distribute an iPad to every high school student and teacher within the district to reach one-to-one computing goals set a few years ago. Many schools and districts are now also distributing laptops as an educational tool to students in lieu of textbooks, pencils, paper, and other 'traditional' resources. The Once Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is a great organization who's goal is to provide children in some of the poorest and most remote areas in the world with a laptop for educational use. Enabling these children, especially at such an early age, to have access to some type of mobile learning is very beneficial for the future of each of these individuals, but there are drawbacks. Is this US based company simply enabling those who previously were without mobile access? Or is there some hope to encourage the 'American Way of Life' and American philosophies of capitalism to other areas across the globe? Are we really focused on helping these children, or simply hoping to teach them to be like us?