We have read articles about the use of handheld devices in the classroom to improve learning. In this week’s article we read about a project that has had a measurable impact on student achievement in math. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.
What kind of a blog would be useful at our school to help students with their subjects? If you were surveyed about the mobile technology that you would prefer to use, which one of those listed in the article would you choose? Would Smartphones be useful in helping students at our school? At what grade level should students begin using them in classes? In which subject areas could they be beneficial? In the project, was it reasonable for the school to turn off the text and voice capabilities of the Smartphones? In your opinion, what was the best part of this project? What do you think about the reward system as a way to motivate students?
7 comments:
For me, A blog where Algebra teachers kept their class notes would be useful because we could ask questions outside of school hours and if we are absent, we could just go onto the blog and copy down the notes. I personally would not choose any mobile technology as I still am unsure how to use it. A Smartphone would not be helpful for me until I learnt how to use it. I'm not sure students should use them in class in any grade. In boring classes, which have very little use, Smartphones could be used to finish helpful, useful classes which require students to go onto the internet for study or something. turning off the text and talk capabilities defeats the "phone" part of "Smartphone". The best part of this project is finding out the good and bad effects of Smartphones in class. I think reward systems are good ways to motivate students.
I think a series of Facebook groups would actually be the most effective, because nearly everyone here, including many teachers, have a Facebook account and check it many times a day, thus virtually ensuring that a student should get their questions answered. Honestly, I think the mobile technology survey is misleading, because I use different devices for different purposes. I use my cell phone for making calls and sending texts, but if I wanted to listen to music or play a game, I’d use my iPod or my Nintendo DS. As for the usefulness of Smartphones, I’d say it would probably be a mixed blessing, like the laptops here – it would facilitate many aspects of school life, but at the same time, students would quickly find ways to do what THEY want to do on the phones. I feel that smartphones could be useful in subjects that require group work for difficult problems, like Physics or Math. I would say that students should start using them in 10th grade, because they would be expected to have enough responsibility to use them. The school was entirely justified in turning off the text and voice capabilities of the phones. They are school property, and they should be used for academic purposes only. I thought that the best part of this project was the amount of creative participation on the part of the students, and I feel that the reward system would help encourage this behavior.
A blog that algebra teachers kept their clas notes in would be very useful as we could take notes we missed or ask questions on the blog.I think a smartphone would be good for me.I do not think it is a good idea to use the smartphones in class, as I would get distracted. On the other hand it would defonetly be a great help in class. If you turned off the text and phone part of the smartphone, it may destroy the purpose of the phone, I think rewards are the best way to make studants continue, not threats or punishments, But to be hounest, I dont really care.
I think facebook group will be the most effective because that makes students to check everyday. For me, I would prefer to use the other portable device, such as psp or ebook. Students should use mobile, when they are asked by teacher, usually after school. Math or science that can be explained by students will be the beneficial subject. Turning off the text and voice capability was reasonable, so that puts students away from distraction. Best part of this project was student's high participation rate and an interest about the subject. As a reward, students should get extra grade for their posting.
Like Calum mentioned, I also think that it would be better if the Algebra teacher types all the notes that is given in class and what is done in class in the blog, they should also upload the homework so if a student is absent, he/she won’t be lagging behind on their homework and class work. First of all, I would not use mobile phones for doing any algebra. I think that a calculator would be all that I need. If the school provided some program for algebra, I would just use a normal smart phone like the nokia n97 or even a nokia 5800 touch would work with the touch qwerty keyboard. If I had to choose from ones mentioned in the article, I would choose a PSP. I think that Laptops or notebooks will be more helpful than using smart phones. I believe that it is better to work on a larger screen with larger keys. If students had to use smart phones, I would prefer to use them from probably 8th or 9th grade. Smart phones could be helpful for writing down homework- using it as an agenda, looking up words- using it as a dictionary and a calculator. I think it is reasonable for the school to turn off the text and voice capabilities of the phone during class but I don't think that it is reasonable during any free class or break time. The best part I thought about the project was that students used cell phones to study which could be rather fun and different.
I think that the reward system would encourage students on getting used to smart phones and it would also motivate them.
A think that an Algebra blog would be very useful for me. I would prefer a smartphone. I think that smartphones would be an advantage at school but not for everyone. I think that our school should start using them starting in Middle School. I think that they would be beneficial in every subject. I think that it is reasonable for the school to turn off text and voice capabilities on the smartphones. I think that the best part of the project was the good and bad effects of a smartphone. I think hat the reward system is a good way to motivate students.
Just a normal blog for the class that the students can ask questions on would be a really good tool. The smartphone would be good for me. i don't think that smartphones would be useful for the students at school, and that they shouldn't be used in classes. I think that if you turned off the text and phone part of the smartphone then it would just ruin the whole thing. I think that the rewards are the best way to make a student achieve more, other then using detention and threats.
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