Week 6 Reflection - Mobile Phones or Smart Phones

Week 6 Reflection ‘Mobile Phones’

This week, we have discussed about IPods touches, mobile phones and Ipads and how they could be integrated into the modern classroom. These three devices are very similar, but unique in their own respect. Their similar attributes consist of being able to call or text, they are mobile devices, they all have internet coverage and all can download apps.

In this blog entry, I am going to discuss mobile phones and their implications for the classroom. The name ‘Mobile Phone’ I believe is a device they used 20 years ago. This device would call another person and if you were lucky enough even text another person. The mobile phones these days are more like ‘Smart Phones’, where calling and texting is just a secondary function. The capabilities of the smart phone are endless; it is like having a social network in the palm of your hands. From the palm of your hand you are able to detect your friends and families movements through social media, eg. Facebook and Twitter. A smart phone also gives the operator the opportunity to use internet coverage, download apps for educational or pleasurable purposes. You can read articles or newspapers, play games or connect with others in the palm of your hand.

Mobile Phones or Smart Phones are a picky subject when it comes to involving them in schools. Most schools in this modern age are against their involvement and opt towards Ipads and laptops. I think mobile phones could be an asset to the classroom. I have a PMI Chart below to discuss the implications of mobile phones in the classroom. 

Plus	Minus	Interesting
Provides educational applications for the classroom.   They can be used anywhere.   Nearly every student would own one.   Provides Visual and Aural Learning.   Students work with a modern tool.   Applications can help students collect content for class anytime they like.	Need to make sure devices are charged.   Students could use facebook on mobile phones in class time.   Teachers will need to understand mobile phones, as there are so many.	Anyone can create an app for a mobile phone.   83% of teens in Australia have a mobile phone (Rowan Wilde, 2011)

I believe Mobile Phones could change the face of education. We know in 2011 that 83% of teens had owned a mobile phone. We are now in 2013, so the stat has most likely risen. I just don’t understand why teachers are not using mobile phones to their advantage. Teachers could use the educational applications on the mobile phones for teaching purposes in the classroom. For eg, students could download a free app that could help them spell or learn to write, or even help them understand a maths equation. Teachers can also even create their own application for class. Teachers say these gadgets are on an Ipad. I say this is true, but Ipads cost money and nearly every student would own a smart phone with the same technological advances as an Ipad, just wasting away in their bags waiting to be used.

In a manual arts class you don’t always get the benefit of having computers or Ipads, because they could get damaged. This is where mobile phones would come handy. I could whip it out of my pocket and show the class a YouTube clip on how to weld or show off my blog or glogster page I had previously created. I could have also created my own app so students could follow along with me in the classroom. I have provided two YouTube clips below that shows teachers the positives of mobile phones and how they could create an app.

References:

Rowan Wilde, (March, 31, 2011) Retrieved From:

http://rowanw.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/statistics-about-mobile-phones-usage-in-australia.jpg