This blog entry is a response to an article written by Hollandsworth, Dowdy and Donovan (2011): Digital Citizenship in K-12: It Takes a Village. Mobile phones are almost the must-have accessory for teenagers today and the processing power of one smart phone can match that of a laptop. "The computer in your cell phone today is a million times cheaper and a thousand times more powerful and about a hundred thousand times smaller (than the one computer at MIT in 1965) ..." (XPlane, 2009).
In light of the numerous school policies designed to either keep the mobile phones in lockers, at home or in the school office I hope that this post may challenge teachers, parents and administrators to reconsider such policies.
Perhaps now is the time to take mobile phones out of the too hard basket and into the classrooms. Here are my four insights into mobile phone usage by students in the classroom inspired by Hollandsworth et al.'s article. I have composed them in a way to both inform and challenge.
Why bother?
Given the speed at which mobile phones have been adopted by young people Engel and Green (2011, p. 39) believe that the mobile phone has now become part of popular culture and that it has "morphed from a way to hold a conversation with someone into a way to consume more media." Although mobile devices have been the focus of numerous school policies which exclude their use in the classroom and discourage their very presence in school, Schuler (2009, p. 3) challenges us as educators to be "excited about their potential". In her report, Pockets of Potential, Schuler (2009, p. 4) recognises the "enormous untapped educational potential for today's generation". Sharples (2000), Kim et al. (2010) and Passey (2010) argue that the use of this technology represents an opportunity to learn wherever and whenever; such a small device harnesses the ability to connect not only with others but with information and blurs the line between school, home and play. It is not surprising that Engel and Green (2011, p. 39) ask the question, "Should these devices be used in schools?"
The benefits of mobile phone usage in classrooms are numerous and research suggests that such technology:
The Flipped Classroom
Slide2Learn
Scanning the room
Embracing the modern day swiss army knife
Embrace the Challenge
Mobile phones are, undeniably, disruptive by nature. Such operational disruptions include connectivity, battery life, screen and key size, bandwidth adequacy, file formats, frequency of updates (Digital Learning, 2011) as well as social and ethical. Cyber bullying is a valid concern. Those recorded video images of students at school fighting and uploaded on YouTube would be central to many school policies banning those tools responsible for such uploads. I would argue as Hollandsworth et al., (2011 p. 39) does "if we filter everything out of a school we lose that teachable moment".
" ... if we filter everything out of a school we lose that teachable moment."
Schools Can't Go it Alone
Sharples (2010, p.5), Passey (2010 p. 68-70), Engel and Green (2011 p. 43), and Selwyn, Banaji, Hadjithoma-Garstka, and Clark (2011 p. 314) all recognise the need to draw together stakeholders: parents, teachers, administrators, academics, technology professionals, media specialists and students. Hollandsworth et al. (2010 p. 39) state that these representatives should be tasked to develop a program to deliver an effective ethical digital citizenship curriculum which is ultimately proactive rather than reactive. You can claim yourself to be an ethical digital citizen when you think about the good of the group, community, society or the larger world and that you can take the perspective of others. Add to this an awareness of your role and responsibilities in the online communities in which you practise, and reflect about the more global harm or benefit of your actions to communities at large (Davis, Katz, Santo & James, 2010 p. 126). I believe bringing together such a group of stakeholders would achieve a number of objectives:
I agree with Hollandsworth et al. (2010) - it does take a village to raise a child and perhaps for too long schools have operated in isolation. The GoodWork Project (2011, p. 18) would support this approach when they state that "the ethics of digital life must be co-created by adults and young people, and in communities as opposed to on the individual level." They note that through the adoption of a process which is explicit, reflective, and inclusive of diverse viewpoints we may be able to achieve an "age of ethical digital citizenship" which evolves "not from adults prescribing behaviour, nor through self-navigation and negotiation by teens, but rather only through an intentional meeting of minds."
Teacher librarian as facilitator advocate
As an aspiring teacher librarian, I can see myself arguing for the inclusion of popular culture tools; in this case, mobile phones. According to Dezuanni (2010), libraries and teacher librarians have long been held to be the media specialists in schools, they formulate the collection policies for resources held by the school and in turn these resources help to shape the curriculum offered. In the past, educational media were carefully selected to assure their educational value rather than the relevance it may have held for students and the informal learning they may have been pursuing outside of school. The use of mobile technology should be addressed by schools through an ethical and critical framework which will assist with the delivery of an ethical digital citizenship program. The challenge is for teacher librarians to assume the role as key collaborator and facilitator of the stakeholder dialogues proposed above.
Conclusion
What we do in the classroom with our students only marks the beginning of their learning. They continue to engage in lifelong learning in the workplace. Teacher librarians are well placed to recognise the value of such technology and mobilise stakeholders to better prepare students. Businesses such as Upside Learning (2011) are developing solutions for organisations who now value and recognise the potential of mobile phones to deliver efficient modes of collaboration for their employees.
How ready will our students be to act ethically and responsibly in the workplace and wider community if we keep telling them that their phones are to stay in their lockers or securely in the too hard basket in the school office?
References
Davis, K., Katz, S., Santo, R. & James, C. (2010). Fostering cross-generational dialogues about the ethics of online life. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 2.2, 124-150. Retrieved from www.jmle.org
Dezuanni, M. (2010). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture, and Text [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_75617_1%26url%3D
Digital Learning: Arsenal of education produces new age weapon, m-learning. (2011). Retrieved September 20, 2011 from www.digitallearning.in/articles/article-details.asp?articleid=2727&typ=TECHNOLOGY%20FOCUS
Engel, G. & Green, T. (2011). Cell phones in the classroom: Are we dialing up disaster? TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 55(2), 39-45. doi: 10.1007/s11528-011-0482-z
Hollandsworth, R., Dowdy, L. & Donovan, J. (2011). Digital citizenship in K-12: It takes a village. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 55(4), 37-47. doi: 10.1007/s11528-011-0510-z
Kim, P., Hagashi, T., Carillo, L., Gonzales, I., Makany, T., Lee, B. & Gàrate, A. (2010). Socioeconomic strata, mobile technology, and education: a comparative analysis. Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(4), 465-486. doi: 10.1007/s11423-010-9172-3
Passey, D. (2010). Mobile learning in school contexts: Can teachers alone make it happen? IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 3(1), 68-81. doi: 10.1109/TLT.2009.47
Selwyn, N., Banaji, S., Hadjithoma-Garstka, C. & Clark, W. (2011). Providing a platform for parents? Exploring the nature of parental engagement with school Learning Platforms. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(4), 314-323. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00428.x
Sharples, M. (2000). The design of personal mobile technologies for lifelong learning. Computers & Education, 34, 177-193. doi: 10.1016/S0360-1315(99)00044-5
Sharples, M. & Roschelle, J. (2010). Guest Editorial: Special section on mobile and ubiquitous technologies for learning. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 3(1), 4-6. doi: 10.1109/TLT.2010.7
Shuler, C. (2009). Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children's Learning. New York, NY: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center.
The GoodWork Project. (2009). Meeting of Minds: Cross-Generational Dialogues on the Ethics of Digital Life. New York, NY: Global Kids, Inc.
Upside Learning. (2011, Feb 3). Revolutionary Mobile Learning Solution - Discover Upside2Go [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duGdkp_jJTw
XPlane. (2009, Sept 14). Did You Know 4.0 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8
In light of the numerous school policies designed to either keep the mobile phones in lockers, at home or in the school office I hope that this post may challenge teachers, parents and administrators to reconsider such policies.
 |
| Mobile phone - safe and sound in the too hard basket at school. |
Given the speed at which mobile phones have been adopted by young people Engel and Green (2011, p. 39) believe that the mobile phone has now become part of popular culture and that it has "morphed from a way to hold a conversation with someone into a way to consume more media." Although mobile devices have been the focus of numerous school policies which exclude their use in the classroom and discourage their very presence in school, Schuler (2009, p. 3) challenges us as educators to be "excited about their potential". In her report, Pockets of Potential, Schuler (2009, p. 4) recognises the "enormous untapped educational potential for today's generation". Sharples (2000), Kim et al. (2010) and Passey (2010) argue that the use of this technology represents an opportunity to learn wherever and whenever; such a small device harnesses the ability to connect not only with others but with information and blurs the line between school, home and play. It is not surprising that Engel and Green (2011, p. 39) ask the question, "Should these devices be used in schools?"
The benefits of mobile phone usage in classrooms are numerous and research suggests that such technology:
- appeals to a range of students including those disenfranchised and disconnected (Schuler, 2009, p. 5; Kim et al., 2010, p. 468; Digital Learning, 2011) and therefore raises participation rates (Engel and Green, 2011 p. 43);
- connects students in ways we never thought possible (Schuler, 2009, p. 5) through the use of innovative pedagogy (Passey, 2010, p. 69), the use of which was corroborated through improvements in assessment results and parental observations of work and results at home (Engel and Green, 2011, p. 43);
- adapts to a variety of learning environments from school to home (Schuler, 2009, p. 5; Engel and Green, 2011 p. 40);
- personalises the learning experience by empowering students with independence (Schuler, 2009, p. 5; Roschelle and Pea in Kim et al., 2010, p. 467); and
- is economical for both students (and by default, parents) and schools (Soloway et al, and Zurita and Nussbaum in Kim et al., 2010, p. 468).
The Flipped Classroom
Slide2Learn
Scanning the room
Embracing the modern day swiss army knife
Mobile phones are, undeniably, disruptive by nature. Such operational disruptions include connectivity, battery life, screen and key size, bandwidth adequacy, file formats, frequency of updates (Digital Learning, 2011) as well as social and ethical. Cyber bullying is a valid concern. Those recorded video images of students at school fighting and uploaded on YouTube would be central to many school policies banning those tools responsible for such uploads. I would argue as Hollandsworth et al., (2011 p. 39) does "if we filter everything out of a school we lose that teachable moment".
" ... if we filter everything out of a school we lose that teachable moment."
Sharples (2010, p.5), Passey (2010 p. 68-70), Engel and Green (2011 p. 43), and Selwyn, Banaji, Hadjithoma-Garstka, and Clark (2011 p. 314) all recognise the need to draw together stakeholders: parents, teachers, administrators, academics, technology professionals, media specialists and students. Hollandsworth et al. (2010 p. 39) state that these representatives should be tasked to develop a program to deliver an effective ethical digital citizenship curriculum which is ultimately proactive rather than reactive. You can claim yourself to be an ethical digital citizen when you think about the good of the group, community, society or the larger world and that you can take the perspective of others. Add to this an awareness of your role and responsibilities in the online communities in which you practise, and reflect about the more global harm or benefit of your actions to communities at large (Davis, Katz, Santo & James, 2010 p. 126). I believe bringing together such a group of stakeholders would achieve a number of objectives:
- development of a digital citizenship program constructed by the community;
- confirmation that both home, school and the wider community share the responsibility of education;
- consultation with academics to assist in the education of parents that schooling for the 21st century information age should shake of the shackles of the industrial age;
- make explicit what it means to think morally and ethically;
- role modeling the positive effects collaboration can have on the delivery of a program to students; and
- open the lines of communication between these relevant stakeholders knowing full well that addressing this issue will not be the last of such collaboration. If we establish such a group now we will be better placed to handle future opportunities and better manage the challenges.
 |
| The GoodWork Project: Meeting of the Minds |
As an aspiring teacher librarian, I can see myself arguing for the inclusion of popular culture tools; in this case, mobile phones. According to Dezuanni (2010), libraries and teacher librarians have long been held to be the media specialists in schools, they formulate the collection policies for resources held by the school and in turn these resources help to shape the curriculum offered. In the past, educational media were carefully selected to assure their educational value rather than the relevance it may have held for students and the informal learning they may have been pursuing outside of school. The use of mobile technology should be addressed by schools through an ethical and critical framework which will assist with the delivery of an ethical digital citizenship program. The challenge is for teacher librarians to assume the role as key collaborator and facilitator of the stakeholder dialogues proposed above.
Conclusion
What we do in the classroom with our students only marks the beginning of their learning. They continue to engage in lifelong learning in the workplace. Teacher librarians are well placed to recognise the value of such technology and mobilise stakeholders to better prepare students. Businesses such as Upside Learning (2011) are developing solutions for organisations who now value and recognise the potential of mobile phones to deliver efficient modes of collaboration for their employees.
How ready will our students be to act ethically and responsibly in the workplace and wider community if we keep telling them that their phones are to stay in their lockers or securely in the too hard basket in the school office?
References
Davis, K., Katz, S., Santo, R. & James, C. (2010). Fostering cross-generational dialogues about the ethics of online life. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 2.2, 124-150. Retrieved from www.jmle.org
Dezuanni, M. (2010). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture, and Text [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_75617_1%26url%3D
Digital Learning: Arsenal of education produces new age weapon, m-learning. (2011). Retrieved September 20, 2011 from www.digitallearning.in/articles/article-details.asp?articleid=2727&typ=TECHNOLOGY%20FOCUS
Engel, G. & Green, T. (2011). Cell phones in the classroom: Are we dialing up disaster? TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 55(2), 39-45. doi: 10.1007/s11528-011-0482-z
Hollandsworth, R., Dowdy, L. & Donovan, J. (2011). Digital citizenship in K-12: It takes a village. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 55(4), 37-47. doi: 10.1007/s11528-011-0510-z
Kim, P., Hagashi, T., Carillo, L., Gonzales, I., Makany, T., Lee, B. & Gàrate, A. (2010). Socioeconomic strata, mobile technology, and education: a comparative analysis. Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(4), 465-486. doi: 10.1007/s11423-010-9172-3
Passey, D. (2010). Mobile learning in school contexts: Can teachers alone make it happen? IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 3(1), 68-81. doi: 10.1109/TLT.2009.47
Selwyn, N., Banaji, S., Hadjithoma-Garstka, C. & Clark, W. (2011). Providing a platform for parents? Exploring the nature of parental engagement with school Learning Platforms. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(4), 314-323. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00428.x
Sharples, M. (2000). The design of personal mobile technologies for lifelong learning. Computers & Education, 34, 177-193. doi: 10.1016/S0360-1315(99)00044-5
Sharples, M. & Roschelle, J. (2010). Guest Editorial: Special section on mobile and ubiquitous technologies for learning. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, 3(1), 4-6. doi: 10.1109/TLT.2010.7
Shuler, C. (2009). Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children's Learning. New York, NY: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center.
The GoodWork Project. (2009). Meeting of Minds: Cross-Generational Dialogues on the Ethics of Digital Life. New York, NY: Global Kids, Inc.
Upside Learning. (2011, Feb 3). Revolutionary Mobile Learning Solution - Discover Upside2Go [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duGdkp_jJTw
XPlane. (2009, Sept 14). Did You Know 4.0 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8
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