CEP 812: Mobile Learning Lab

I was excited to join the Cell Phones in Education group as this is something my school has been considering implementing. Although I teach first grade and might have difficulty requiring my students to use cell phones, there are many ways that our upper-elementary teachers could utilize the tool. I chose to focus on getting students to remain on task and not become distracted by cell phones during a lesson. Therefore, I joined a discussion which was centered on the importance of creating expectations which allow all cell phones to be visible to the teacher. This gives teachers the opportunity to do a quick scan of the room, and ensures that all students are focused and engaged in the lesson. Please view a screenshot of my comment below:

For my contribution I wrote:

Hi Sara, That is a great idea of how to keep track of cell phones and ensure that all students are on task. Even though the students may be using phones only designed for this purpose, it is still entirely possible for them to become distracted by the technology. Many of the older students in our school would certainly spend a great deal of energy trying to use the phones for personal use, even if it is not possible. I love the idea of keeping all phones in a visible location so that the teacher can quickly scan the room to make sure all students are following directions. If working in groups, a student could even be assigned responsibility of the phones, to ensure that all members in the group are using the tool effectively. Thank you for sharing your idea!

I also used Poll Everywhere to create a student interest survey for my first grade students. I have included screenshots of the questions that I created. Please click here to view the poll site. The session keyword is 332347.

While I would definitely use this tool for older students, my young learners may have trouble using a cell phone to respond. Our school has SMART board Response Clickers which achieve the same goal, and results can be anonymous or linked to a student. I have used these clickers and found that my students were able to use them relatively easily. I am not sure that I would want to introduce another survey tool because our entire school is using the clicker system and the students have experience with it.  If I did not have access to the clickers, I would absolutely find a way to incorporate this tool into my teaching since it provides instant feedback to better understand student learning.

After researching each of the technology tools presented in our mobile learning lab, I found three in particular to have the most benefit for my first grade students. The first is the use of mp3 players in the classroom. I have recently bought mp3 players for my classroom where I will be uploading audio books. In first grade, it is so important that students have the opportunity to listen to reading as they are building fluency skills. This will allow my students to listen and follow along with a fluent reader to experience tone, expression, etc. The only concern that I have for this technology is headphone use. I really don’t want my students to share headphones, and I know a lot of my students’ parents would be against it. I considered asking each student to bring in their own, but I know not all of them have headphones and possibly could not afford new ones. I have also thought about buying a pair for each student, but this will be expensive for me.  Once I am able to work through this issue, I look forward to using mp3 players in my classroom.

                

 The second tool that I would like to implement in my classroom is E-Book readers. I am constantly looking for ways to promote literacy fluency with my first grade students. As a teacher, I have noticed that my students are much better readers with bigger font. Using an E-book reader would allow my students to alter font sizes, and choose from a wide-variety of literature. My concern with this tool is the cost. E-Book readers are extremely expensive! I would love to buy a class set of E-Book readers; however, I know that this is not possible without a large grant. If there were a less expensive version of this tool available, I would absolute invest in a few.  It is hard for me to justify spending so much money on a tool that basically stores and increases text size, when the same could be done with my document camera for certain students if necessary.

                 

The third piece of technology that would be beneficial for my classroom is a flip camera. I have been considering buying a flip camera and after further researching, I have decided to purchase one. Flip cameras have so many benefits for the students and me. One way that I would love to use a flip camera is to increase positive student behaviors in school. The students can view their own behavior through a recorded video to help determine whether or not they are showing behaviors of an effective learner.  I would also love to record reader’s theatre, as well as students reading aloud in general. This way, the students can reflect to help build fluency. In addition to using the flip camera for digital stories and presentation recording, I could also use it to better my teaching practices. By recording my teaching and reviewing the video, I can better determine how to be a more effective teacher. There are so many advantages to using this flip cam. My one concern with integrating this tool is privacy issues. Many parents do not want their child to be videotaped, and therefore, I would need to create a permission form. Alternate assignments would be created for those students who are unable to be videotaped.

                 

As mentioned, although I researched each of the tools presented in our mobile learned lab, the previously mentioned technologies would be the most beneficial for my students. Assuming I am able to work through these difficulties and concerns, I would not hesitate to integrate all three of these technologies into my teaching. While I would consider using cell phones in my classroom, I predict that my young students would either become confused by the technology, or get very distracted.  I would use cell phones only if I spent a great deal of time modeling the tool and explaining expectations. As of now, these three listed technologies would be the most beneficial for me as an educator.