Mobile Learning

 Mobile Learning

During every single module of the Teach Now program, there has been an emphasis placed on using technology inside of the classroom and rightfully so. With more and more schools aligning their curriculum with 21^st century skills, using technology is a vital part of being a participant in today’s world.  One particular subset of technology is mobile learning. Mobile learning (mlearning) is defined as any learning that takes place through social interactions using any type of personal electronic device such as a smart phone or tablet (Pandey, 2016).

As a teacher, we must prepare our students for a rapidly changing environment. To be successful, students must be able to keep up with current trends and technology. Another reason teachers should use technology and mlearning in the classroom is because it’s engaging to younger generations. Students no longer learn and connect the way past generations did and that’s okay. However, we can’t continue to learn the way we used to. Teachers must adapt and allow students to learn in ways that are meaningful to them. Teaching kids to learn through mobile devices means they will always have a wealth of knowledge in the palm of their hand. Education shouldn’t be about how much knowledge one can store in their head. It should be about how can one can access information and apply it to a practical setting using critical thinking skills (Sergio, 2016).

Guiding Principles

However, it is no secret that using technology in the classroom can sometimes serve as a distraction for students. TO ensure that meaningful learning is taking place, here is a list of guiding principles to help teachers use mlearning effectively.

·      Incorporate mlearning into your lessons organically to help supplement the SMART objective. Do not introduce mlearning into a lesson just because you want to have a tech component. It should serve a purpose.

·      Make sure students know how to use the technology correctly and have access to it (Teachers should test and practice using the technology themselves before explaining it to the students).

·      Mleanring should not completely replace other types of learning. They should be used simultaneously (or side by side) together.

·      Allow students the freedom to explore mlearning but keep a close eye on them and make sure they keep on track with the objective.

Mobile Activities

Camera: In activity 2, I talked about using the social media app Instagram for an ESL lesson about describing features of a person. This activity could also be used in the classroom without the app. Students could use the camera function to take pictures of their friends and use those pictures to describe them. Using mobile cameras is great for ESL classes because pictures are universal, unlike words.

GPS: In the 5^th grade ESL curriculum in Korea, we have a chapter using directions. Students could use the GPS or map function on their mobile phones to use words such as: turn left, turn right, go straight, it’s next to, it’s behind…

Voice Commands: In ESL, speaking is a practical component that often gets overlooked as textbooks often focus on reading and writing. Using the voice-recording feature, students could record themselves using key expressions and then play it back so that they can listen for mistakes in pronunciation.

Sources

Pandey, Asha. How To Use Social Learning; Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/can-social-learning-spice-existing-learning-strategy 29 July 2016

Sergio, Fabio. 10 Ways Mobile Learning Will Revolutionize Education; Retrieved from http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669896/10-ways-that-mobile-learning-will-revolutionize-education 29 July 2016

Getting Into The Zone

Cognitive flow, or just flow in the field of psychology) is the mental state in which one can perform a process with a certain focus and enjoyment. The concept was named by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (say that 5 times fast) and is widely referred to as “being in the zone.” This phrase is often used by sports commentators when an athlete is doing particularly well and seems to be extremely focused. Being “in the zone” often evokes an image of someone wearing horse blinders. They can only see what’s ahead of them with no distractions.  In flow, someone usually reaches their full potential and peak productivity. They are enjoying themselves and often lose track of time. They can often perform the tasks without actually thinking about them, kind of like being on autopilot.

In my own life, I experience flow through a variety of different activities. The three best examples I can come up with are typography, running, and reading. I like sitting down with a sketchbook and hand drawing letters ad different fonts. I can sit in a café and doodle half the day away. I am also an avid runner and run several miles almost every day. Running is great way to relax and relieve stress.  I also really enjoy reading and will often have my nose in a few different books at one time. I find all of these activities enjoyable and time flies when I am doing them. I often become much less aware of the world around me just focus on the process in front of me. People probably find flow in all sorts of different hobbies, which is probably why they enjoy doing them.  These activities (especially reading) relate to my personal PLN because I will be teaching Language Arts with different novels and reading skills.  I will also be doing a lot of reading for professional development and to keep up with current educational trends. 

Flow is important in education and in the classroom because it can help students learn more effectively. If students can reach a state of flow while doing something educational, imagine how easily the learning process could become for them. Flow helps them learn without really being aware that they are learning! R.F. McKay talks about how using games in the classroom can help students get into the zone.  Playing games gives students freedom and choice and allows them to have fun. Games shouldn’t be looked at a way of dumbing down learning objectives, but as way of letting students engage and explore content on their own terms. Achieving flow in the classroom requires that learning finds a balance between easy/boring and difficult/strenuous. 

Another famous theoretical linguistics researcher, James Paul Gee, argues that games can help students become literate. He claims that there are multiple literacies that students should become familiar with beyond reading. Some of these new literacies include new technology and digital resources. Gee is most known for his work with video games and how they can help students enter cognitive flow and learn.  

 Sources

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Secret to Happiness; Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow 20 July 2016

McKay, R.F. Learning To Play; Retrieved from http://news.stanford.edu/2013/03/01/games-education-tool-030113/ 20 July 2016

Shapiro, Jordan. Games Can Advance Education; Retrieved from http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/07/03/games-can-advance-education-a-conversation-with-james-paul-gee/ 20 July 2016