Wednesday, 9 March 2011

Mobile Phones in Education

Before commencing this course I'd never considered a mobile phone as anything more than what the name suggests, just a phone! 


How the times are a-changin!  Having viewed an interesting slide show http://www.slideshare.net/satonner/mobile-phones-in-education-constructive-not-deconstructive-124979  regarding the use of mobile phones in the classroom, the applications seem endless.

Using de bonos Hats as a tool to scaffold the various perspectives of this issue was very helpful and provided some interesting ideas.  As a parent my main area of concern was the expense purchasing a mobile phone and secondly, the increasing instances of 'cyderbullying'.  How would this be policed and managed?  Is the governement willing to subsidise a mobile phone for students to be used in a classroom context?

The advantages of mobile phones in the classroom seem pretty clear.  The multi-functional capabilities of todays phones allow a mobile to adapt to any subject ie: Mathematics - calculator function, Conversion Tables, Stop Watch or Arts - Camera, Video, Mic (music) and bluetooth.

I think that mobile phones would be more beneficial in a Secondary school environment, where (one would hope) students have the maturity to use them effectively.

I think that this activity, is constructivist in nature.  As learners in this course we are constructing the knowledge by engaging in the various on-line activities.  We are also enhancing this learning further by sharing our individual responses through the wikis and blog postings.  We have created a 'community of practice'; categorised by (Lave and Wenger, 1991) as "groups of people who share a concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as the interact regularly". I can definitely say that my competence in ICT has drastically improved since commencing this course! I have also been able to view others postings on the forums and wikis and use this to enhance my own learnings.

 

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