Despite obvious educational benefits, the debate over mobile phone use in classrooms continues. Educators, community members and students all have valid questions, comments and concerns. How can we enable student access to mobile devices to support their learning whilst maintaining a safe and supportive school environment?
When discussing whether or not to incorporate mobile devices in classrooms, I find the two main issues raised are access and regulation. As mentioned in Smartphones still the kid in the hall, most students already have access to their own personal mobile media devices which they bring to school on a regular basis. Students happily engage with these learning tools to gather information and to communicate with people around the world. These days, teachers find it hard to keep students engaged in their learning so I figure, why not embrace learning tools that students are motivated to learn with?
I realise that this is where the issue of regulation arises. Students have all different types of mobile media devices that offer a broad range of services and capabilities. Ensuring equal access to resources is one obstacle educators face when incorporating mobile devices into classrooms. Cost becomes an issue when the idea of providing each student with their own mobile, is raised. But I ask, wouldn’t this be cheaper than continuing to invest in desktop computers?
Due to the cheaper purchase prices of mobiles over desk top computers, students from low socio-economic backgrounds are more familiar with using mobiles to access the internet. Therefore, I wonder, wouldn’t it be more relevant to teach students to use mobiles? Students accessing inappropriate materials becomes another regulation issue. There are filters on desktop computers at schools but I question, how does this prepare students to safely use computers outside of schools? Shouldn’t educators teach students to use mobile media productively and ethically and equip students with the skills they need to deal with inappropriate material? Not all students have access to this guidance at home, therefore I believe educators should assist where possible.
Some teachers worry about students texting or being on social networking sites when they are supposed to be paying attention in class. But isn’t this just the 21st century way to pass notes in class and muck around? It is my opinion that teachers need to deal with these students in the same manner they deal with students that waste time in class any other way.
I believe there is obvious educational potential in mobile devices as they allow for communication(text, voice and image), capturing and manipulation of images, internet access, GPS and more. I feel educators need to figure out how to successfully implement the use of mobile devices in classrooms as they offer too much potential to ignore. I hope the education system figures out a way to provide students with the opportunity to interact with the 21st century tools they will need to be successful in the work place.
Reference:
Berkow, J. (2010). Smartphones still the kid in the hall, Financial Post, Sept 3, 2010. http://www.financialpost.com/news/Smartphones+still+hall/3480118/story.html
Mary’s Response to Karin’s blog: Successfully implementing mobile media into classrooms.
ReplyDeleteYour article discussing the ways to implement mobile media in the classroom is supported in the Horizon Report 2009 which lists the top three technologies to watch with regard to education change as:
• Mobile media devices
• Private clouds
• Open content
Your comment that, “This is where the issue of regulation arises” provides a springboard for discussion about access and freedom of information. I agree that educators do need to teach students how “to use mobile media productively and ethically and equip students with the skills they need to deal with inappropriate material”.
The current high rate of mobile ownership (currently over 100%) is one reason why this technology could be incorporated into the classroom context. Another area worth investigating is the current copyright implication of content we purchase or license and the restrictions around access to digital content which differs from CD or taped content.
Open content is of particular interest to educational institutions mainly because of the cost of maintaining the current copyright regime and the often unethical ownership and copyright restrictions with regard to knowledge. The "Hey Jude" blog: http://heyjude.wordpress.com/ and the clip http://heyjude.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/millenials-and-the-smithsonian-commons/ offer an excellent insight into current new ways to publish and communicate in digital formats and this is deemed to revolutionise the 21 century learning environment.
You mention two challenges surrounding the issue of mobile phone use in the classroom - access and regulation. While I acknowledge that the article ‘Smartphones still the kid in the hall’ is initially directed at university students, coming from a primary school background, I question the statistic of mobile ownership mentioned in the above comment by Mary and also in Karin’s original blog.
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to assume that ‘most students already have access to their own personal mobile media device’ however, the Australian Bureau of Statistics survey on Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, April 2009, claimed that 31% of children owned their own mobile phone with 76% of these, older children. (12-14 year olds) I agree that this ‘digital divide’ in terms of access is an ethical dilemma. Shuler in her report “Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children’s Learning” mentions differentiated access in relation to the many varied devices that children may bring into the classroom – from top of the range to none at all. I agree with Karin that cost wise, Smartphone or iPhones are a less expensive option than desktops but alternatives have to be considered. Shuler in her study draws attention to the skill of collaboration being vital to emotional and cognitive development of a child. As an educator we need to be flexible in accommodating mobile phones in the classroom – this may be as simple as children working collaboratively together in pairs or small groups, sharing access to a mobile device to develop 21st century skills.
I agree that there are obvious potentials in using mobile phones in the classroom. As with all technology there are positives and negatives that we need to address. Our attitude and mindset as educators play a vital role in the success or failure of the implementation of this device.