So, first, let me just say that Liz was an absolutely wonderful speaker, and I think her insights on teaching with technology in classroom are particularly useful, especially given the role which she played as the ad-hoc IT department for her local school back in the early aughts, when such a thing really didn't exist. I am a self-identifying mobile device nerd, and so I was very interested to hear her thoughts about the use of such devices in an academic setting, and I have to say I was not disappointed.
One of the concerns that instantly comes to mind when I think of using mobile devices (or really any student-owned device) in the classroom for educational purposes is less about students messing around on their phones (twitter and Facebook are usually blocked, and, lets be honest, if it wasn't their phone, it was going to be something else.), but rather I was more concerned about the technical back-end of ensuring that whatever activity I was doing, everybody would be able to participate, and do so at roughly the same speed. These days we are fortunately reaching a point in smartphone (or information phone, as I have heard them called) performance is "good enough" to accomplish most basic tasks in roughly the same amount of time (browsing the web, sending an SMS, pulling in email, etc.) However, even among these basic tasks, there are little idiosyncrasies which are nothing about nothing on their own, but which represent a vast minefield of potential problems if they are being relied upon. What browser do they use? Does it work in one and not the other? Does it work in one version of said browser and not the other? Is the device too old to upgrade to a version that does work? Does one phone have a tweak which wreaks havoc on school WiFi connectivity, while another student's phone runs like a dream?
I guess the long and short of this is that I don't want to be an IT department for my class each and every time we have to whip these things out. On top of that, because most schools have building wide policies restricting use of mobile devices unless specifically invited in by the teacher, there is the problem to consider wherein students could be bringing their device into the building only for my class. For me, (after I get done with the fun, shiny 'oooh look at that 60 fps opening animation' phase,) technology is fundamentally about "scratching an itch" or solving a problem. As of right now, I have not seen a burning problem which persistent or consistent, routinized use of a mobile device in the classroom solves for me.
Now, granted, this comes with the caveat that I am currently in a district where the technology is up to date and readily available. If the ONLY access to a reliable internet connection was through a mobile device, or if school machines were simply too antiquated to perform the tasks I needed, that would be "problem" enough. But as it is, in my situation, I think that mobile devices in the classroom are still a solution in search of a problem.
-Mark
ReplyDeleteI also liked Liz Kolb's presentation on cell phone use in the classroom. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about the problems of someone's cell phone working more efficiently than another students, and the problems this would cause. I was only thinking about the student's staying on task and using appropriate websites, but now that I think about that more, the efficiency of one's phone could directly relate to being on task. I think this shows that before integrating technology into the classroom, all aspects of the tool needs to be analyzed and the effects of something going wrong. I think you bring up practical concerns about using cell phones in the classroom!
Mark,
ReplyDeleteYou brought a whole new perspective that I hadn't even thought of. I'm glad I stumbled on your post, because this was a really interesting read. I agree that as of now, I'm not sure what problem cell phones or computers can really solve. I think they can definitely add to a learning environment, but I agree that I don't think learning is hinging on these tools. Even though at my placement we have computers, there's only 8 of them, and they are way at the back of the room preventing students from being able to see the board and be on the computer at the same time. So any activities the teacher develops needing the use of a computer have to be self-directed and cannot include too much instruction (other than some basic verbal instruction).
I like your metaphor of technology as being there to "scratch an itch." One thing I've noticed in my placement is that devices are only used when they are, well, useful. Our access to technology is like a dream, but we've never used socrative to check understanding because we do it the old fashioned, verbal way. When technology *is* used at my placement, I can always easily see what advantage it has over doing something without technology.
ReplyDeleteIn my old school, the smartboard was largely used like a very expensive projector that goes "Ding!" when you click the right answer, like in the Monty Python sketch about the hospital room inundated by too many people and machines. Meanwhile, the wifi was out often enough that you'd be a fool to rely upon it. I don't think it's the teachers' fault for not using the smartboards differently - after all, nobody asked them if they wanted them or not.
I guess it just boils down to this: using technology in the classroom, especially in a BYOD sense, should answer the question of "why?" and not the question of "why not?"
Mark, I appreciate what you've written here, and I firmly believe that the standard that you suggest (or, to quote Naomi, meeting the standard "why?" and not "why not?") is just right. I think that this will be something for you to suss out as you go along. Some of the formative assessment tools that we've looked at can be easily leveraged via smart phones, and may be worth using to add some flexibility, excitement and portability. If mobile tech is truly "a solution in search of a problem," though, keep them in the desk.
ReplyDelete