The key to change is to let go of fear - Rosanne Cash

Jean Piaget once famously said “the principal goal of education is to create men and women who are capable of doing new things and not just repeating what people before them have done” (cited in Papert, 1999). I have always liked this quotation; however, until recently, I have only ever applied it in the context of the students I teach, rather than in the context of my personal pedagogy. The ever-growing, wide variety of educational stakeholders often call on teachers to be life-long learners, to engage as co-learners with students on an educational journey; however, traditionally, it’s still been the teacher who dictates where and how this journey will take place. Reflectively, I feel that this is not an indication of teacher’s blatant disregard of educational theory; but rather a result of a fear of the unknown. Traditionally, teachers are used to having the answers, to being one step ahead of their students; however, student familiarity with modern technologies changes this. Teachers lose a little bit of control and join students, as what Papert interprets Piaget’s theory to mean, as builders of knowledge (1999).

Obviously professionally, one of my key goals lies in student success. Pedagogically, I understand that one of the key paths towards student success is motivation; the motivation of students has a significant impact on their learning performance (Pei-Luen & Qin Gao, 2005). The teaching in the online environment website identifies that it is variety and differentiation that stimulates interest and gains the attention of students, thus building academic motivation. The 21st century student is clearly motivated by mobile technologies; however, it is in the interest of providing students with a variety learning experiences and differentiation of teaching instruction that I seek to motivate my pupils. I do not seek to replace traditional teaching practices, but rather enrich them with a variety of differentiated learning strategies that include mobile technologies.

As a teacher, I accept that my teaching practices need to reflect the era in which my students live. Although I feel comfortable reviewing the wide variety of online resources, blogs and support available to educators in relation to mobile media, implementing such pedagogical strategies into my current teaching practices will be a challenge. However, I believe that in making small steps in changing the overlying pedagogy of my teaching practices and by embracing the fear I have of engaging as a co-learner of digital technologies with my students, that eventually my pedagogy will transform. In the essence of starting small, below is a list of possible learning experience/ organisational strategies I have found that I can envision using within my classroom

Strategies to allow mobile devices into classrooms



1. The Internet houses a wide variety of potential lesson ideas for embedding mobile technologies into lesson plans. In particular, I liked the Innovative Educator’s example of using a mobile phone and the avatar building program Voki within a poetry unit. Students would not only choose an avatar who reflects the tone and theme of the poem they want read; but also make decisions about the pause, pace and tone of the Voki avatar themselves.


2. Contour Education have some incredible professional development opportunities and online resources that centre around GPS enabled mobile devices being used in conjunction with google maps/google earth for orienteering and virtual field trips in the KLAs of geography and history.



3. Personally, I would be lost without the organisational apps on my iPhone. I regularly keep track of events, appointments, due dates, etc with my iCal app and strategically set alarms to remind me of such things prior to the events. Why then can’t we allow our students to organise themselves in the same manner? Why can’t they use mobile phones to add assessment dates, college events and general reminders?



4. Joseph Rene Corbeil and Maria Elena Valdes- Corbeil explain that students can use their ipods not only as a device to download podcasts of relevant instructional material, but can also download e books and audio books on them. There’s a multitude to free ebook apps available, most with a selection of free books to download.

As a teacher-librarian-in-training, I acknowledge that my role as teacher librarian will be one of digital leadership. It is here that my biggest fear of mobile technology exists. Confidently advocating the viable pedagogical opportunities available for teachers to use mobile medias in their classroom; gaining the support and confidence of school administrative leadership teams to change school policy to enable the use of mobile technologies; and gaining the trust and support of the student parent body along with the wider community to allow modern technologies to be used as tools to shape the educational future of their children is a big ask. Again, I turn to the Innovative Educator who believe the answer to be in building relationships with all stakeholders, including myself. To trust in myself and to let go of the fear.

Any growth requires a temporary loss of security (Madeleine Hunter)

References

Corbeil, J.R. & Valdes-Corbeil, M.E. (2007). Are you ready for mobile learning: Frequent use of mobile devices does not mean that students or instructors are ready for mobile learning and teaching. Educause Quarterly. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/AreYouReadyforMobileLearning/157455

Engel, G, Griffith, R, Newcomb, S, Nielsen, L, Suter,J & Webb, W. (2010). 10 Proven strategies to break the ban and build opportunities for student learning with cell phones. The Innovative Educator. Online: http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2010/11/ten-building-blocks-to-break-ban-and.html

Pei-Luen, P.R. & Qin Gao, L.W. (2005). Using mobile communication technology in high school education: Motivation, pressure and learning performance. Science Direct. Online: http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0360131506000601

Papert, S. (1999). Child psychologist Jean Piaget. Time Magaizine Retrieved From http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990617,00.html

Where Are All the Books?

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ipods-laptops-replacing-school-textbooks/story?id=8563292

This news article provides and interesting account of how there is a very real potential for mobile media to completely take over the educational system and make text redundant.

“For generations, school meant books -- lots of books. But not anymore. Around the country, from high school to grad school, textbooks are getting harder to find. Technology has made the library something that can fit into the palm of your hand.”

This is quite an eye-opening and almost horrifying concept for a paper lover like me. While as a teacher and avid user of technology and its many facets, I understand that it is important to implement mobile technology in the classroom. However, I did not realise that in some educational contexts and institutions, it was completely redundant.

Martin and Brouwer provide several reasons for this move away from paper material toward digital technology. While this is an American article, it can be assumed that eventually, ideas and practices will filter down and affect Australian teachers. Once particular school in America (Cushing Academy) dismantled their library entirely because it decided that its resources could be better used if they were electronic. Essentially, this means that students are more likely to use e-books and digital resources for directly from their laptops, rather than print materials. While there is underlying logic in this response to technology, I ask teachers reading this blog whether they think it is beneficial for students to be in a library environment that does not value print media.

The article also suggests that print materials are extremely expensive as they need to be constantly updated. However, mobile technology such as a laptop is less expensive in the long run as update to programmes and files happen automatically.

“There is another strike against traditional textbooks: They go out of date, sometimes within a year or so, and replacing them can cost a school district hundreds of thousands of dollars. But with new technology like e-books or handheld devices, updates can happen instantaneously.”

The ideas and actions by schools accounted for in this article suggest that mobile technology is having a ver profound impact on education, its teacher and its students. The evidence that the article provides suggests that students and teacher are reacting to the changes positively, with teacher adapting their teaching strategies to use new mobile technologies like iPods. Students are also adapting (at differing rates). However, again, I ask Australian teachers whether it is viable to completely rule out paper based learning, or can the two work together in a classroom?

References

Martin, R and Brouwer, C. (2009). Schools dump texxtbooks for ipods, laptops. Retrieved October 9, 2011 from http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ipods-laptops-replacing-school-textbooks/story?id=8563292

Practice in Formation

Can I Transform my Practice?

“If we teach today, as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.” (John Dewey- American philosopher and psychologist)

As a newly graduated teacher (2010), I am thoroughly aware of the responsibilities that teachers have towards all the educational needs of our children. For me as a teacher (and teacher librarian), this means that not only do we need to teach our children, but we also need to provide students with the skills and abilities to engage with an increasingly technological world.

The acquisition and production of information has changed significantly due to the emergence of technologies such as laptops, iPods, reading devices such as Kindles and other mobile technologies. Increasingly, these are being used in a classroom context and have major implications on teachers and students. Instead of transforming my practice- I believe that it is only just forming- I think I will need to form my practice in terms of utilising mobile technology in my classroom.

As the quote above suggests, teachers need to teach their students in ways that are appropriate for modern society, rather using strategies and practices from decades ago. I believe that in my practice, I need to encourage my students to become critical users of technology so that they can develop valuable information literacy skills.

In order for me to be able to guide my students successfully through the quagmire of modern technology, it is highly important that I am able to understand and use it successfully. If I do not have this ability, I cannot expect to implement it in my classroom or library to its full potential. This is where professional development comes in. Within a staff community, it is important that teachers share their ideas regarding the implications of mobile technology in the classroom, and also their strategies for implementing it. In my future practice as a teacher and teacher librarian, I hope to be part of these sorts of professional partnerships. Often, people are willing to give up time to collaborate with peers and colleagues in order to learn and contribute (Kukulska-Hulme & Pettit, 2008). It would be my hope that with these teaching and learning opportunities, I would be able to be part of a hands-on learning experience to assist me in successfully implementing and using mobile technology (Kukulska-Hulme & Pettit, 2008).

Also, for mobile technology to be successfully implemented in the classroom, I think teachers and/or schools need to implement or develop a framework that is always under re-evaluation due to changing technologies and uses. Approaches to pedagogy need to be continually re-evaluated and respond directly to students’ and teachers’ changing capabilities (Cobcroft, Towers, Smith, Bruns, 2006). If I were formulating a framework of mobile learning I will ensure that is assessed using the following criteria:

- Is it significantly different form current theories of classroom, workplace or lifelong learning?

- Does it account for the mobility of learners?

- Does it cover both formal and informal learning?

- Does it theorise learning as a constructive and social process?

- Does it analyse learning as a personal and situated activity mediated by technology?

(Cobcroft, Towers, Smith, Bruns, 2006)

During this unit, and also others, I have learnt the importance of information literacy and student-directed learning. In my forming professional practice I hope to implement mobile technologies in such a way that teaches students about information literacy and optimises opportunities for exploration and growth. As a result of the application of mobile technologies within learning designs, students can be further empowered to undertake ‘user-led education,’ (and inquiry based learning). The introduction of mobile technologies in my pedagogy means that students will be creating their own content and collaborating with peers and communities within and beyond the classroom (Cobcroft, Towers, Smith, Bruns, 2006). Furthermore, my engaging with these new mobile technologies in my professional practice, I will be allowing my students the opportunities to be creative, collaborative, critical, communicative and engaged learners (Cobcroft, Towers, Smith, Bruns, 2006).

It is also important for me that parents and caregivers are engaged with what it happening in the classroom. Through my teaching and practice, I will be encouraging the use of mobile devices for educational purposes at school and at home. This way, parents will be able to see how their children are using technology and why it is valuable to their specific learning at school. Additionally, Pearson (2010) suggests that learning can become richer as mobile devices allow learner to access a variety of sources easily. The use of mobile technology such as laptops allows students to continue the work they do at school directly at home, which can then increase learning opportunities and outcomes of the students (Pearson, 2010). In my classroom, if I had access to mobile devices such as iPads or Nintendo DS’s, I would use these as early finisher or reward activities and provide ‘brain gym’ activities, literacy and numeracy puzzles and games, and other programmes that are engaging for students, yet have educational value.

I wish to leave you with another quote that has inspired my forming pedagogy in terms if the application of technology. If I am not able to use it correctly and successfully in the classroom, then there is no great benefit to using it at all.

“There can be infinite uses of the computer and new age technology, but if the teachers themselves are not able to bring it into the classroom and make it work, then it fails.” (Nancy Kassebaum- US Senator).

References

Cobcroft, S., Towers, S., Smith, J. & Bruns, A. (2006). Mobile learning in review: Opportunities and challenges for learners, teachers, and institutions. In Proceedings Online Learning and Teaching (OLT) Conference 2006. (pp. 21-30). Brisbane, Australia: Queensland University of Technology,

Kukulska-Hulme, A. & Pettit, J. (2008). Semi-formal learning communities for professional development in mobile learning. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 20 (2), pp. 35-47. Retrieved October 10, 2011, from ProQuest Database.

Pearson, C. (2010). Mobile learning in education – what to consider. Retrieved October 10, 2011, from http://learningdigitally.org/blog/archives/377

Taking the mobile phone out of the "too hard basket"

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.

Mobile phone - safe and sound in the too hard basket at school.

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:

• 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).

So what are some of the ways mobiles are being used in the classroom?  Check out some of our posts for ideas:
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:

• 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

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