Mobile Learning is a growing trend in education.
In elementary, secondary, and higher Ed classrooms, teachers are finding more and more ways to incorporate mobile learning into their curriculum. And for good reason - students love it. In fact, 82% of undergraduate students say they prefer a blended learning environment (Brooks, 2016). And that's just the tip of the iceberg!
For those of you who haven't been clued in to mobile learning - you may be asking: "What in the world does mobile learning even mean?" Well, I'm glad you asked! According to Educause (2016), Mobile Learning is a term used when incorporating laptops, tablets, and smartphones to provide educational experiences within and outside of the classroom.
4 Reasons You NEED to use Mobile Learning in Your Classroom:
- Student flexibility - Students can engage with activities and lessons in class as well as outside of class. Students who miss class can catch up with online presentations, practice, and even quizzes. Using an online Learning Management System (or LMS), such as CourseSites, assignments and assessments can be completed online whether a student is in the same room or across the country. Makeup quizzes no longer need to be scheduled during class time, further setting a student behind in content.
- Meet students where they are - Mobile activities can be catered to accelerate learning or remediate content to individualize learning for each student. Using an online application like Desmos, instructors can assign work that may start out at or below level for the whole class but increases in difficulty quickly. Some students may finish 3 or 4 challenges as they learn the concept accurately. Other students may complete 12 or more challenges that increase in difficulty and are challenged above what is expected of the majority.
- Students and Teachers can have instant communication - Using technology, teachers can gauge how students are understanding content or what topics need remediating. For a low-tech version, Plickers allows students to use a paper card to submit answers and only the instuctor needs to use a smartphone or tablet. For classrooms with 1:1 ratios (or every student has their own tablet in class), a great resource is GoFormative. Instructors assign a quiz and as students answer, the instructor can give immediate feedback for individual students. Using this option as a test review has allowed me to point students to their common errors before the actual test.
- Students can work Collaboratively - Online projects can be scheduled and conducted fully outside of class time. This ensures that instructional time can be used to focus on content and growth. Students don't need to be together to work together when working through projects created and managed through Google Drive. Students can even create presentations and present them online using a presentation website like Prezi.
These are just a few of the reasons to get you to try Mobile Learning in your classroom! Tell me - why do you use mobile technology in your classroom?
Need more inspiration? Check out the infographic below, created with Piktochart:
Recommended Websites to try:
Desmos: https://teacher.desmos.comCourseSites: https://www.coursesites.com
Plickers: https://plickers.com/
GoFormative: http://goformative.com/
Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/
Prezi: https://prezi.com/
Piktochart: https://piktochart.com/
References:
Brooks, C. D. (2016). ECAR study of undergraduate students and information technology. Louisville, CO: ECAR. Retrieved fromhttps://library.educause.edu/resources/2016/6/~/media/files/library/2016/10/ers1605.pdf
Educause Library (2016) Mobile Learning. https://library.educause.edu/topics/teaching-and-learning/mobile-learning
Your blog post about mobile learning is engaging. I know that I would not be able to obtain my degree if it were not for mobile learning. I agree with the statistic about student enjoying blended learning. I know that as a student, I do not learn from a teacher lecturing me. I need visuals and interactive things to do. Thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you are the minority, Michele. So many feel the same way and it's not just kids! I think the number of students desiring blended learning will continue to grow and we need to continue to find ways to engage them - mobile learning is not just a great thing to try, but I believe it will become increasingly necessary to guide students to success! Thanks for the comment :)
DeleteI definitely think that mobile technology is the way of the future as far as the blended classroom is concerned. It definitely gives the student more flexibility but I believe that it creates more responsibility on behalf of the student to budget time and resources for learning. Not only that but all too often students may not understand a concept in the confines of a classroom but need more time to digest an idea. Mobile learning certainly creates a space for them to review and research further at a pace that suites them.
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of Desmos which you mentioned. I sort of follows the idea of an adaptive learning technology which give the learner some comfort in starting out at a level they understand. Math is so important but very intimidating to a lot of students. My concern as an instructor would be 'do all the students make it to the finish line at the level they need to be at?'.
Great blog and I love that you incorporated the infographic. That really ties everything together.
Thank you for your feedback, Kyle! I agree with the benefit of using technology for further processing and researching a subject. These kids don't know how good they've got it :)
DeleteAs far as Desmos goes, I monitor their progress the entire time - I see all of their screens on mine. I can make sure students make it through to the point I am expecting them to. Somewhere in the middle of the challenge is usually sufficient to grasp the content. Some students make it further to the more challenging problems but I don't expect them all to.
Mobile learning has definitely made getting my Master's degree much easier! The flexibility it offers makes it perfect for fitting the work into my schedule.
ReplyDeleteBlended learning has always interested me, but I am skeptical about its use with the primary grades. I teach 3rd grade, and I feel like the responsibility and independence required would be too much for the majority of my students. Technology like Plickers work because they are used in class with teacher support, but the assigned work outside of class seems like too big of a step.
I think you can incorporate Blended Learning into all age learners in modified ways. My son was in 3rd grade last year and his teacher was incredible at incorporating technology. She assigned optional Schoology discussions on what students were reading for homework. He came home and asked to get on the iPad for homework every day. He engaged in lengthy conversations with friends about what was happening in the Lemony Snicket book he was reading. It was fantastic to see the typing skills grow and his desire to read more so he could type more! She also incorporated the use of iPads to voice record thoughts before putting them on paper for students (like my son) who had a hard time starting their writing. I love how she saw needs of her students and found ways to use technology to engage and enrich their learning!
DeleteMobile learning is definitely becoming more and more the norm in our classrooms. Your statement that students love mobile learning is so true. I hear all the time my students telling me they love using their devices in math. One student told me it is fun. Blended learning is more a reality for math because there are many programs we can use but we still need the traditional classroom style of teaching as well.
ReplyDeleteI use google classroom where I can put up assignments and notes so that students who are absent can make up before they come to class. I also love using screencasts to help students understand step by step how to solve problems. Mobile learning really supplements learning while making it fun for our students. I still need to research plickers and you also mentioned goformative to use in my own classrooms. In math practice is so important for mastery and mobile learning gives us so many new resources.
Excellent blog!
Thanks for the comment, Kerri! I love hearing ways that other teachers use tech in the classroom. One of my favorites lately is Educreations. it makes explaining difficult homework problems simple! I had such a hard time trying to type explanations without the use of all the math symbols that I use when writing by hand. I would type "sqrt" and my students didn't know that meant square root. But they all know what it looks like if I draw it - so having the technology to make that simple has made a world of difference!
DeleteMath practice and mastery can definitely be assisted with the right use of technology!
Hi Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteLoved your post and your piktochart! Your second point about meeting students where they are is so important. I don't do it as often as I'd like to, but occasionally I will create 2 versions of video tutorials to differentiate learning for my students. This past summer I read a book called "Total Participation Techniques" by Pérsida Himmele & William Himmele where they addressed your third point. They didn't really use much technology to get every student involved, but I tried to take their ideas and utilize tech to do the same thing. I found using the question feature of Google Classroom was the best way for me to accomplish this. I have used Plickers as you mentioned in your post many times too and my students always love it - funny how not even using technology on their end still makes it engaging for them!
Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteI love using mobile devices in my classroom! Our district is starting to veer away from our strict no cell phone policy to allowing students to use them at designated times. The mobile learning really helps when using Kahoot and even having students respond to an exit pass via Twitter and/or Voxer! Awesome start to your blog!