Thinking About the Future of the Mobile

I guess before we can truly look at using mobile devices for learning, we have to accept the plausibility of mobile devices as a platform for learning.  One argument for the use of mobile devices for learning can be the shear ubiquity of cell phones in the world and what becomes possible in a world where the majority of humans, including kids, have voice, video and data connected devices in their pockets at all times.  Here is an article published on the Google blog on the future of mobile technology.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/future-of-mobile.html

I think that we all sort of realize the powerful impact a connected mini-computer can have on our lives, especially considering that more people in the world (approx. 3.3 billion people) have a cell phone than a car, landline or credit card (according to this blog post).  Connect this with ITU’s (International Communications Union) prediction that 4 billion users will have a cell phone by the end of the year and what we have is a ubiquitous foundational platform for collaboration and information sharing.  While the posts don’t specifically talk about learning, consider how different learning will need to be if it is to be relevant to the needs of this hyper-connected society.  Consider what is possible when students can collaborate instantaneously and in meaningful ways with students thousands of kilometres away in this new emerging global learning environment.

Twitter + Mobile Phone: Incorporating Web Tools and Mobile Devices

Quentin sent me a link to the Tech Tips for Teachers blog with a blog post on ideas for using Twitter in the classroom.  This post offers some useful ideas in incorporating Twitter and mobile devices in a safe but productive way.  Here are some ideas on using Twitter as a communication tool for schools that incorporate those found in the Tech Tips for Teachers blog post with some of my own:

• Creating a Twitter account that is used only to post reminders including homework or other due dates and getting students and parents to follow you through that account;
• Using Twitter to post school or classroom news;
• Sending information to parents concerning bus cancellations or buses being late;
• Send messages to inform parents of emergencies quickly;
• Use privacy settings to ensure only students and parents of your school/class community are following your updates.

Of course, Twitter can be accessed on any mobile that has access to the Internet so parents and students can follow you on their mobile device.  In addition, if mobile devices are used in Canada, The United States, or India, students and their parents can also receive updates via SMS so reminders are never missed and data plans are not required.

Of course, not all parents/students have a mobile phone or use SMS.  However, since penetration rates for cell phones is much higher than it is for computers or the Internet, and since receiving text messages is free on most mobile networks, this form of communication has a greater likelihood of connecting with members of the community and provides a modern and efficient option to connect to members of the school community at no extra cost to anyone involved.

A New Kind of Course, A New Kind of Learning

A new type of course began today and I feel excited to be a part of it. The course is on Connectivism and Connective Knowledge and is being facilitated by George Siemens and Stephan Downs. While the subject matter is interesting in and of itself, what’s even more interesting is the open format. I do not wish to bore you with the details of the course but if you are interested in discovering more, visit the course’s home page.

What I would like to do here is to apply the lens of Connectivism to mobile learning. Perhaps my focus may be too narrow but I think it is will be an interesting way to connect this epistemology with up and coming learning tools and methods. Just for fun, I will participate in this course using my mobile device as much as possible and write all of the blog posts that relate to this course from my mobile device (BlackBerry Pearl 8100).

We in the course are asked to tag any material related to this course with CCK08. You can use this tag to find my contributions to this course as well as those of other participants.

Wish me luck!

Beyond Banning: Rules for Classroom Use of Cell Phones

I’ve spent some time in this blog looking at practical applications of mobile technologies in today’s classrooms.  While looking at theoretical ideas helps to frame conversations and direct one’s focus, practical ideas help to bring theoretical ideas to life. In this spirit, I would like to share some ideas about establishing classroom rules for cell phone use.

While reading through my Twitter feed today, I came across a discussion between Liz Kolb and Darren Draper concerning classroom rules around the use of cell phones during class time. In that discussion, Liz stated 5 rules that she uses to govern cell phone use in her class.  With her permission, I reproduce those rules here for others who may be considering ways they could incorporate cell phones in teaching and learning.  The rules are:

Rule #1: Cell phone ringers must always be kept on vibrate mode (credit for this rule given to Dean Shareski and his school).

Rule #2: Cell phones must be kept at the front of the class, away from all students, when they are not being used as a class.

Rules #3: All media and messages must be course related.

Rule #4: All media published about others must first be approved by them.

Rule #5: No message/media is private – all messages can be accessed at any time.

In addition, Liz stated that both the students and their parents sign a contract promising to abide by these rules and that using services such as Flickr mobile, Utterz, Gcast and Jott helps teachers ensure that students are on task as these services keep histories of messages.

What are your thoughts?  Can you think of other rules that would work?