What a great time of year! I am enjoying my summer break after my second year of teaching. Looking ahead, I am excited about making small changes to my classes next year that I hope will yield positive results. After two years of math textbooks and lectures to students sitting in perfect rows, I’m ready to start applying what I've learned from the TEACH-NOW teacher certification course. Allow me to tell you about these small changes and the part that mobile devices play in them. Perhaps these changes will work for your classroom too.
References
First, I want to flip my classroom a few days each week. (For a brief explanation of the flipped classroom watch The Flipped Classroom Explained.) At least two days a week, my eighth-grade pre-algebra students will get their math lesson (video) at home on their computer or mobile devices. They will come to school the next day and collaboratively work to solve word problems related to the math concept they learned the night before. I hope to gain more time in class to assist students who need it. I also hope my students will begin to see that their phones and tablets can educate them and not just keep them socially-connected and entertained.
Second, I want students to use their mobile devices in the classroom occasionally as they work problems. Students can access quizzes online at Quizlet and other sites and work together to solve them. They can also review videos (while using earphones) as they do their classroom work. Students zone out at times during my lectures and then ask me to repeat what I just said. Mobile devices allow you to play a video lecture over and over again without making others listen to the same lecture again.
Third, I want to utilize mobile devices in project-based activities or short assignments. I look forward to sending students on a geometry scavenger hunt through the school using their camera phones. Students also may be given a choice to submit a reflection as a document or a video. These changes will be experimental and incremental, but I hope to build on them the following year.
What are some things I need to keep in mind to make these changes work? For in-class mobile activities, I should plan a prep day when students will bring a mobile device to the classroom (with headphones) to see who does and doesn’t have one. I should test the wi-fi that day also to see if everyone can connect. I need a plan to allow students to share devices (if practical) or have spare devices for those who don’t bring one. For the flipped learning, I need to have a workaround for students who do not have internet access. At this point, I will simply instruct them to read the lesson in the book the night before. By planning ahead, achieving learning objectives by using mobile learning can work smoothly.
Bergmann, John. (2016, July 10). The Flipped Classroom Explained. Retrieved June 26,
2017, from http://www.jonbergmann.com/the-flipped-classroom-explained/
Daccord, Tom. (2012, September 27). 5 Critical Mistakes Schools Make With iPads
(And How To Correct Them). Retrieved June 26, 2017, from
http://www.edudemic.com/5-critical-mistakes-schools-ipads-and-correct-them/
Dunn, Jeff. (2013, February 4). The Teacher’s Quick Guide To Digital Scavenger
Hunts. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from http://www.edudemic.com/
the-teachers-quick-guide-to-digital-scavenger-hunts/
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