Mobile Technology in the Classroom

The concept of integrating mobile technologies in the classroom has picked up steam over the past several years, yet the divide between the old guard in education and this new concept still remains distant.  The idea of having students bring their phones into classes, when the opposite is probably the desired outcome, takes a drastic change in philosophy and practice. After reading several items recently, there can be relatively useful purposes for having cell phones in the class environment, however the implementation may take some getting used to (primarily by the teachers!).

One method picking up steam is the use of cell phones as an instant polling device, using websites such as PollEverywhere.com.  The practical nature of getting instant feedback by way of a formative assessment can be very appealing, especially when students can be actively engaged in the assessment, as opposed to static creatures in a desk.  Collaboration can happen at it’s fullest, and students can answer questions individually or in groups to important content questions.  Teachers will know instantly on the screen as students text in the right and/or wrong answers, allowing more review to occur on certain necessary subjects, while avoiding the subjects the class already understands.  This can be a more realistic alternative to Clickers when funds are tight, simply because this is a free service and the students can bring their own devices.

Another benefit to student phones comes in the form of apps.  Many useful classroom tools have mobile apps, and their availability to the students is increased with mobile devices.  Important apps include a variety of subjects, but all have classroom use.  Edmodo has a classroom app which allows students to access most of their information from the classroom website.  Many of the features are included, including the ability to post and ask questions, check grades on assignments, and view multiple groups and classes.  Evernote has a mobile app, and the ability to take pictures of student notes and post them to a student’s account makes taking notes more available to the user.  Finally, Dropbox has a mobile app, which will allow students the ability to access their prized documents wherever they are, allowing learning to continue even if the student is not in front of a computer.  There are many other ideas found on TeachHub.com on how the cell phone can be used by teachers in the class, so check it out.