This section of the blog post is in response to the journal article Mobile Goes Mainstream written by Kurt Eisele-Dyrli. This online article details many example of how schools in America are implementing mobile media in the classroom, and the effects that it is having on students, teachers and the education system. The article also backs up its arguments by using not only evidence provided by schools, but also results from surveys, academic reports and interviews with experts in the area of ICT. While, this is an American article, it relates directly to Australian schools as mobile learning is becoming more and more common with the increase of technology in classrooms.
According to Eisele-Dyrli, there has been a change in perception regarding the use of mobile technologies for educational purposes. The article details the results of Speak Up 2010, a research project completed by the education organisation, Project Tomorrow. Interestingly, it found that the number of students who use smartphones has tripled since 2006. However, maybe this isn’t so extraordinary because smart technology has been on the increase for several years, this increased student use is a natural progression. Eisele-Dyrli (2011) argues that for many people, the shift toward embracing mobile technology in learning has had a feeling of inevitability.
Additionally, the report also found that 67 percent of parents said they would purchase a mobile device for their child to use for schoolwork if the school allowed it, and 61 percent said they liked the idea of students using mobile devices to access online textbooks (Project Tomorrow, 2011). The article uses these findings in its argument, and this demonstrates that the public are becoming more comfortable with the idea of using devices formerly thought of as entertainment, and seeing that with the correct application, they can have profound effect on the education of children.
With many schools banning mobile phones at school, it may come as a surprise that schools are now encouraging the use to mobile technology. According to research for the article, one American school’s board voted unanimously to allow students to use their smartphones in class for online research, assignment work, and for other educational purposes. It was up to the discretion of the classroom teacher to what extent smartphones were used. This may challenge some policies by many schools. For example, the Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students by Brisbane State High school regards the use of mobile phones and other hand held devices as unacceptable behaviour. One particular spokes person for a school detailed by Eisele-Dyrli (2011) suggested that:
“We realized that for us to continue helping students develop 21st-century skills, to help them learn how to access information in the way they will in the future, we were not going to be able to have the budget or capacity to add devices as rapidly as we wish we could.”
The school then decided to roll over their ban on mobile phones, and allow their use in the classroom. This would then offset the cost of buying new technology, when students already had it at their fingertips. The spokesperson said that they wanted to allow the students to use the technology that they had to enhance their education.
Mobile learning and technology is a reality in education. In the article, a spokesman for Blackboard, a learning platform developer, said that “Mobile technology in schools is not going to happen--it is happening.” Essentially, software developers have seen the increase of technology on schools from afar, so the sustained use of mobile learning by schools comes as no surprise.
Mobile technologies are not adaptable to the classroom, without the content being specific to education areas. For example, applications available on apple product such as iPods and iPhones are as valuable to students and teachers as the physical technological tools as well. For example, Google Earth, Google Maps, atlas applications, and other features of mobile technology are important classroom specific work. Dr. Patricia Wallace (2010) suggests that because of their special features, from cameras and camcorders to GPS capabilities, mobiles and iPods can be used in innovative ways, both in the classroom and outside of it. This idea backs up Eisele-Dyrli’s argument that mobile phones and other devices have and important place in classrooms and the education system, but their content must be usable and reflect the needs of students.
Eisele-Dyrli’s Mobile Goes Mainstream also discusses the positive benefits that mobile media in the classroom has on behaviour management. He discusses that teacher will be able to conduct immediate and ongoing assessment. Teachers are able to ask questions throughout class, with students answering on their devices while they worked or as they heard a lesson, enabling the teacher to adjust instruction based on this constant assessment. There are many applications like this available, for example Class Dojo (from an American company). This programme allows teachers to monitor behaviours throughout the school day and assign or remove points from students regarding their behaviour (see video below). Applications like this that are available to teachers further underline Eisele-Dyrli’s ideas that mobile learning has an extremely important place in the lives of educators.
Overall, this journal article was extremely insightful and highly relevant to Australian education, as much as American education. The ideas presented by the author are ones that many teachers in Australia are coming across as many classrooms are now using mobile media such as laptops and hand held devices. Eisele-Dyrli closes his argument by stating that instruction needs to be put first. As helpful as these tools are, they need to be used in conjunction is appropriate instruction methods. If teachers cannot incorporate technology such as this into their programme, students will not be able to demonstrate success in using it appropriately. This article has been successful in presenting a positive argument for the use of mobile media in education and provides much evidence to underpin its ideas. Mobile media is an ever evolving facet of education and one, if harnessed correctly, can be of major benefit to teachers, students and other stakeholders.
Class Dojo
References
Brisbane State High School. (no date). Responsible behaviour plan for students. Accesses 10/10/11 from
http://www.brisbaneshs.eq.edu.au/sites/default/files/bshs/PolicyDocuments/responsibleBehaviourPlan.pdf
Eisele-Dyrli, K. (2011) Mobile goes maintream. Accessed 10/10/11 from http://www.districtadministration.com/article/mobile-goes-mainstream/page/0/3
Project Tomorrow. (2010) Congressional briefing. Accessed 11/10/11 from http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/speakup_congress.html
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