Mobile+Technologies+for+Instruction

Jacob Dankasa- The Virginia Department of Education is carrying out a pilot study on how to use ipads to teach social studies for 4th, 7th and 9th grade. This is a move toward an all-digital curriculum. Peter Cohen, the CEO of Pearson (one of the collaborating agencies in the study) observed that "what we need to remember... is that you can have great curriculum and great technology, but the teacher will also be the key instrument in student success". He sees the teacher's role as still very vital in the digital classroom. What should be the major role(s) of a teacher in a mobile technology-based learning environment?
 * Role of a Teacher**

Reference Meris Stansbury. Virginia using iPads to teach social studies []

Christine Derienzo- I believe that the role of the teacher should be to organize, moderate, provide feedback, and assess learning. At the fourth grade level, these functions would need to be done more often than at the higher levels. Even though students are "self-teaching", the role of the teacher is still vitaly important. Once students are used to this type of learning, the role of the teacher can be scaled back.

Justin Turner- I agree with the role of the teacher being critical to learning for the students. Also, the teacher's role will be much different in a fourth grade classroom compared to their role in a seventh grade classroom. These different roles are due primarily to the advanced cognitive abilities of the students in the higher grades.

This is where the 'self-teaching' portion comes into play. As students develop their metacognitive abilities; how to study, how to learn, how to find information, how to connect concepts, how to apply what is learned, and so on... they can become more independent self-learners. However, learning these metacognitive abilities take longer for some students than others. Thus, the teacher is the main facilitator for developing these metacognitive skills.

Additionally, motivation and self efficacy are key factors in any child's development. This is where the teacher becomes a crucial facilitator, especially when the child does not get support from their home environment. Providing the child with the motivation that they can learn and become anyone they wish to be will build their self efficacy, and in the long term, they will develop their metacognitive skills that will launch them to become self-learners.

The use of the iPad can help spur the students' interests and possibly motivate them to learn by their own curiosity. But this should not replace or over-ride the development of building a student's metacognitive abilities and self-efficacy

James West-Christine, I too agree with your assessment of the role of the teacher. Technology is a great tool for students and teachers and the role technology plays in education can grow in so many direction. However, that is the role of technology; a tool. In the absence of teachers and educators there to show students how to use these tools, the tools become useless. So while the role of the teacher will continue to change, I believe the importance of the teacher and their experience and direction will continue to be vital to the learning process.

Maria Gonzales- I think that some of the roles of the teacher should be to first teach students about the rules that go with technology including acceptable use policies, proper way to use and treat the technology and the appropriate use of the technology. I also think teachers must choose the apps that can be used by the students for learning in the classroom. The teacher needs to model the correct use and serve as a guide for the students, especially in the elementary grades. I teach 3rd grade and I just recieved a set of ipods for my students to use. I think that they will be very beneficial in learning but the challenge will be to get my students to focus on the technology as a learning tool and not a toy.

Nancy Gonzales/Morales- Wow Maria that sounds great! I visited a classroom a few weeks ago, the children used Ipods in the classroom, however, I noticed they were clicking everywhere, the programs installed were age appropriate, engaging, and fun, but the kids could t focus on just one game. Perhaps, there is a managing tool to allow students to access only certain apps.

Justin Turner-It does not sound like the program was implemented well. Do they have unrestricted access to any application of their choosing? I can see where this would be difficult to maintain the student's focus on the lesson at hand. This does not sound like an effective use of technology. I think you have a good point. They need to manage access to the applications on the device. One way would be to only install the relevant apps needed for a particular lesson or course. They could also set aside some time where students are allowed to explore the device on their own. As far as the role of the teacher, they should be the ultimate facilitator. Ensure the eLearning program is structured and students remain engaged. They should be there to offer support when needed and bring everybody together at times to facilitate a collaborative learning environment. They should also be there to ensure the technology is used as designed.

Kimberly Creek- The off-task surfing is a concern of mine. In my computer lab last year I had a program called InterCLASS that allowed me to see what each student was doing on their computers. I could lock out the internet, certain programs, or even push certain content/software onto their desktops to ensure they were staying on task. Of course, it's much easier said than done with a class of 25-30 high schoolers. It doesn't appear that they support IPods, though. Do you have software that serves a similar function? If not, how do you make sure the students are staying on task? Here's a link to InterCLASS: []

Justin Turner- Believe it or not, that is concern with adult learners as well. In all of our classrooms, we have a single connection at the front of the room by the instructor podium that enables us to sever the Internet connection from the classroom workstations. I am unaware of a decent software solution for Ipods. I live in the Windows worlds. We have a whole suite of applications and other technology built into the operating system that allows for the control that I spoke of. I do not have a good solution for keeping high schoolers in check

Jacob Dankasa- Hmmm, Justin, with these beautiful suggesstions to manage applications on the device and to install relevant apps needed for a particular lesson means the teacher's role will be more hectic and demanding.

Justin Turner- It certainly would be if it was a manual process. A lot of what I do at work involves looking for ways to automate tasks. A well-designed server-side application would make this effortless for the teacher. That of course is a lot easier said than done. I don't know the first thing about Ipod application development and what sort of control you would have over the device software-wise. It's likely that a good solution isn't possible with Ipods.

Nancy Gonzalez/Morales-Justin, That is a waist of resources. If I had a class set of Ipods, I would.... okay, just dreaming a little. You know, those children were SPED, but they knew more, than the teacher on how to operate the Ipod. She had many, many, many high-tech, hands on, huge classroom, fewer than five students and an assistant. She has a one in a life time opportunity to really help the children. There was no meaningful instruction, only, babysitting.

Justin Turner-That is really sad to hear but I believe it.


 * Mobile Access in 2010**

Nancy Gonzalez/Morales-** According to a **** Princeton Survey Research on mobile access conducted in 2010 by **** Aaron **** Smith, Research Specialist, only 4% **** of Americans own an e-reader, and less than 50% access the internet in the device. This article reports an increment of mobile users, Internet usage, Wi-Fi, texting, uploading photos, and applications. **


 * The research states that more and more people are switching from wired to wireless devices, changing desktops for laptops. It also emphasizes that laptop users access the Internet in other mobile devices such as, Smartphones, IPods, Netbooks, etc.**


 * 1.Have you switched from a desktop to a laptop in the last two years? **

My wife and I both have switched from a desktop to a laptop over the past couple of years. We still have a desktop setup at home on our local network; however it is rarely ever used. The mobility of the laptop and the advancements are two of the key features that inspired us to begin using our laptops as our primary computers. The mobility of the laptop is not only valuable to us on vacation, at work or at school, but also around the house. The majority of the time we spend at home one or both of us are working on some type of assignment. This mobility allows us to take care of these assignments and still have time to spend together. We also find the expansion of wifi to be another of the key reasons we changed. Virtually everywhere we go, there is a location with free wifi access. Having our laptops with us allows us to stay connected for school or family and friends through social media. I have to admit that we are a perfect match for the addition of those moving to wireless access using additional devices. We both have smart phones with grandfathered unlimited internet access and use them very often. We have become so accustomed to having internet access no matter where we go, it feels strange when we are in a situation we cannot check the status of something or see what has come in on email. We also keep a small netbook with us most of the time. It is so small, but powerful enough to do a quick assignment or two. We are definitely part of the group moving to wireless and we will probably expand that by adding more devices over the holidays.
 * 2. Who do you think utilizes the mobile devices more: Males or Females? And is there a reason why American minorities utilize the mobile services more than the Average American ****?** ** (Aaron **** Smith, Research Specialist) **
 * James West-**

Nancy Gonzalez/Moralez- How exciting, New gadgets! Have you had an opportunity to checkout what is going to be a hot item this Christmas? I heard the IPad3 is coming out soon. Check this video out........ I want one. Lol

@http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzsBwnv_dAg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Monique Franklin-1. I have not switched from a desktop to laptop yet. I have a netbook to use when I commute to classes or go to conferences during the semester. For several reasons, I think I have purchased the last desktop I will ever have. One, there are laptops powerful enough to do the same things as desktops with large memories. Also, laptops are very affordable now. I just saw a laptop for $500 with a 4GB Ram and a 500 GB Hard Drive. I have a 40 GB drive on my desktop now with all my files from the past six years and haven’t used fifty percent of the memory yet.

2a. According to Aaron Smith in Mobile Access 2010, the difference in mobile device use between males and females is not large. 62% of adult males are wireless Internet users and 56% of adult females. It would interesting to see the differences in use.

2b. There may be several reasons that minorities have a higher cell phone usage rater. If the minorities populations tend to be younger than the American average, they may use cell phones which are used more among younger adults. This may also be the result of income. Cell phones and cell phone plans are inexpensive in comparison with laptops and paying for access to the Internet.

Nancy Gonzalez/Moralez- Monique, I wish I could be able to keep-up with technology. It seems that what was good yesterday, is obsolete tomorrow. Not long ago, we were using DSL Interne at homet, then we created an access point, after a few months, Verizon introduced the Hot-spot devices and now, we don't even need it, our cellphones have the capacity to create a Hot-spot Internet connection..... And what about the new data -storage devices, I had an old PC and I never used the memory completely, I kept the computer because I did not wanted to loose my saved documents, then I discovered the passport, an external hard drive, I transfered all my docs. the convenience of the mobility was very helpfu. Well, now I do not even use it, I save my files using a Time- Capsule, over the air transfers. Amazingly, iCloud provides data backups online, I believe is better to be safe than sorry, that is why I am not using iCloud. Technology evolution is important, but am afraid is changing too fast.

Kimberly Creel-1. Oh, yes! We have a desktop but it's in the office, which is tucked away at the back of the house. With three little ones home all last summer I decided that I hated being away from them while doing homework. I purchased my laptop with the intention of being able to study/work from anywhere in the house; we already had a wireless router so that was not an issue. Since then I've moved our financial software to my laptop, as I handle our banking. I tried to move my iTunes library, too, but that was a major flop. My husband still uses the desktop for his personal use and has a laptop for work. Prior to my laptop, we would take his work laptop when traveling to maintain internet access and have a DVD player for the kids. I have internet on my phone, which is great for a quick look-up or checking Facebook, but I'm not a fan of it for general internet surfing. 2. I would guess that use is fairly split between the genders. Almost everyone I know has a smartphone, if not an iPhone. As far as minority use, I would say it probably has to do with cost. I'm grandfathered in on my provider's unlimited internet usage plan and if someone isn't enrolled in an on-line class, he or she could probably make do without home internet access.

Nancy Gonzalez/Moralez- Last year I upgraded my 1990 desktop for a brand new.. touch screen hp/all in one. Needless to say, we used the computer for a few month, at the beginning.We all have smartphones in my house, we really do not have time to use the desktop. The new cellphones offer a hotspot app, this allows the user to share his internet with others. I guess the minority cellphone users, take more advantages of the internet access. I even disconnected my home phone, now I use the internet to make international calls.... so I am saving $46.00 a month. lol

Maria Gonzalez- My family curently uses laptops. We stopped using our desktop about a year ago. The laptop provides the luxury of being able to take your computer anywhere and use it anywhere that provides internet service. My laptop has been so useful especially when our family travels and I still have to complete school work. Therefore the mobility the labtop provides is the major reason we stopped using the desktop. I think both males and females use their moblie devices equally,but according to Roger Entner, vice president for a Telecom company, there are slightly more men tahn women who are purchasing smartphones. He also states that Hispanic Americans and Asians are slightly more likely to have a smartphone than what their share of population would indicate, which is a trend we see in the adoption of other mobile data services.  Entner, Roger. 2011. Smartphones to Overtake Feature Phones in U.S. by **2011**http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/smartphones-to-overtake-feature-phones-in-u-s-by-2011/

Nancy Gonzalez/Morales- Thanks Maria for sharing, I am trying to think of how many people I know, that have regular cellphones.......mmmmm, not many

Jacob Dankasa- Lam, Lam, Lam and McNaught (2009) in their article on 'Usability and Usefulness of ebooks on PPCs', came to the conclusion that mobile technologies such as ebooks have the potential to enhance teaching and learning in the University setting. What in your experience stands out for you as a quality of the ebook that makes it a potential teaching and learning tool? Do you have any concern(s) about ebooks? Lam, P., Lam, S. L., Lam, J. & McNaught, C. (2009). Usability and usefulness of eBooks on PPCs: How students’ opinions vary over time. //Journal of Educational Technology, 25(1), 30-44.//
 * Ebook for teaching and Learning**

I would imagine that many are already using ebooks for learning. I use them all the time at work for reference material and I have many on my various mobile devices. The thing I like most about them is their portability. My ebooks are always with me since I have access to them on my phone. Whenever I have to wait for someone or something, my time is not wasted since I can pull out my phone and continue reading where I left off. The other thing that I like (more for reference) is their searchability from a PC. I can search the contents of the entire book from my PC and don't have to remember where something was discussed. (Search puts the book's index to shame) I'm sure there are many other uses. Let's hear a few more.
 * Justin Turner-**

Monique Franklin- I also like ebooks for their searchability.You can quickly searching them for useful information. Definitely a time saver when you need to find something in a 200-300 page book.

Jacob Dankasa- Justin & Monique, I see that portability and searchability are two important advantages of ebook for you. I think those two also stand out for me. But do you see the stress of reading over a long time on the screen as a problem? Epecially if the ebook is on a small device like a smartphone.

Monique Franklin- Jacob, I do find reading on the screen makes me feel tired. I tried printing some readings from past classes. I used a lot of paper and ink cartridges. To make things even worse, I basically spend most of my time staring at a computer screen at work. My Optometrist told me I should look away from the screen every 20 minutes. I guess I should set a timer or something. I read a brief article by Krader and Anshel about Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Some of the symptoms are headaches, eyestrain, double vision, blurred vision. I think dry eyes are another symptom. Some suggestions for preventing CVS are sitting a minimum of 24 inches from the monitor ( enlarge the text if it's difficult to read) and tilting the monitor backwards about 10 to 15 degrees (so you are looking at it like you would a book- on a slight angle). Haven't tried either of these but I will and I will keep my eye drops nearby. I didn't find any articles about e-Readers and vision problems. It may be too early for any problems to become noticeable. Krader, C., & Anshel, J. (2010). Computer use can lead to vision complaints. //Optometry Times//, //2//(9), 47.

Jacob Dankasa-Monique, This is a good advice. I think wee need some strategies to help keep our eyes healthy. Unfortunately, we can't do away with looking at the screen in this age and time. The issue of e-readers and vision problem may not be too different from that of the computer, if not even worse, considering the small screen nature of most e-book readers. We await more studies on this.

Nancy Gonzalez/Moralez- I enjoy reading ebooks, Ebooks are very convenient for me, I can look for my favorite book, download the book in minutes and on my way to read. The storage is perfect, one click and is gone, I can also change devices without losing pages. I got a PK-projector, a pocket size, I can attach my IPhone, IPad or laptop and continue reading the story with the students. I can share the book with other Iphone users for free. One great future about Ipad and ebook is the "look up" with google, any word or phrase right-out of the text. Kids love it!!

John Turner- Jacob, I agree with Lam et al. (2009) where they state that the eBook for education is still in its development phase. However, with the recent advances in eBooks since the publication of their article, 2009, I feel that this development phase has jumped exponentially - providing eBooks as a more viable option in education.

I personally like the convenience and portability of having a number of books to choose from whenever I want, regardless of my location (traveling, camping, in class, waiting in line, etc...). This advantage is duplicated in Lam et al's. (2009) article as well.

One main disadvantage, which was not discussed by Lam et al. (2009) is the difficulty with referencing eBooks. The variety of eBook formats makes referencing eBooks very difficult. I experienced this last semester when I used an eBook for one of my reports. Trying to reference the page number was almost impossible since the page number changes depending on the source you are using to view the eBook. For example, if I am reading on my computer I could be reading page 211 out of 400 pages, so I would reference page 211. But if I was reading from my iPad I would get page 360 out of 625 pages, so I reference page 360. If I was reading from my iPhone... you get the idea. There is no formal format between the different readers that makes referencing eBooks easy. I found this problematic, at least for higher education.

Aside from this one problem, eBooks and their formats are only getting better and easier to come by, and cheaper. They provide an excellent means of having your personal library with you wherever you go. This increasing format development also provides new publishing opportunities for those who are interested in self-publishing. I welcome the eBooks and will be excited to see their advances and benefits to education in the future.

Jacob Dankasa- John, I agree with you that pagination is a problem with the e-books. This is glaring when it comes to making references. Is it possible to have ebooks with same page numbers regardless of the viewing source? This will greatly help.