Mobile Phones in Education

Some years back while I was in a bus, my eyes went straight on a student who was using a mobile phone. The rapidity with which that girl was typing a message was incredible (and she was at the same time talking to her friend sitting near her!)... Waoh..

Mobile phones are banned in Mauritian schools. Various reasons are there:

1. Cyberbullying
2. Expensive equipment that can be lost
3. Cheating in exams
4. Disrupt classes
5. Fear

However, there is no running-away from the fact that today's generation of children are digital native and the majority has their mobile phones. Educational researcher Alan November called American schools, “reality free zones” in the June 2007 issue of Technology and Learning magazine. “If we could get past our fear of the unknown and embrace the very tools we are blocking (which are also essential tools for the global economy),” he said, “then we could build much more motivating and rigorous learning environments. We also have an opportunity to teach the ethics and the social responsibility that accompany the use of such powerful tools.” He went on to discuss how today’s students have “information and communication containers” different than those of past generations – mobile phones, iPods, blogs, computers, instant messaging, video games. These technologies are certainly different than the 16th through 19th Century technologies comfortable for those who run the schools (pens, paper, printed books, notebooks, chalkboards), but they are no less valid, just as those old technologies are no less fraught with potential problems.

How can mobile phones be used constructively in classrooms?

1. As calculator
2. Notepads for taking note
3. Stopwatch in P.E and in Science
4. Camera and video functions, e.g in Science where students can record experiments
5. Microphone function in language classes

What is happening world-wide?

Researchers and teachers in Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Israel, Portugal, Germany, Spain, Singapore, South Africa, Japan, Australia, Korea, New Zealand, Kenya and dozens of other nations are developing and supporting “mobile learning” initiatives. In the United Kingdom the government just supported the publication of a remarkable book from the Institute of Education at the University of London, Mobile Learning – towards a research agenda, which looks at the many cognitive interactive effects of this new educational context.

My Question

Are you as educator, personally prepared to use mobile phones in your classrooms?


Hemnath

Reference
Socol,I (2007), Don’t Hang Up on Your Students’ Futures, http://speedchange.blogspot.com/2007/12/dont-hang-up-on-your-students-futures.html

Health considerations and the use of computers

Computers have undoubtedly revolutionised the educational world in terms of efficiency and it would seem that teaching is being made easier. However, prolonged sitting before a computer has been known to cause several health problems, including:

1. RSIs - Repetitive strain Injuries
2. Eye problems
3. Neck and lower back problems
4. Headaches
5. Stress related disorders

To diminish the risks of having the above health problems, the following tips can be followed:

1. Blinds or curtains should be installed in sunny work areas in order to minimise
reflection.
2. Good ergonomic practices should be encouraged by encouraging rest breaks away from work stations (posters on good ergonomic practices can be placed in rooms where there are computers)
3. Ensure that all computers have a screen shade or an antiglare filter.
4. There should be provision of an eyewash or tear-substitution drops to minimise eye problems.
5. Air-conditioning system should be serviced and cleaned in order to minimise airborne pollutants inside the computer room.

If you think of more tips, feel free to post in your comments.

Hemnath

Reference
Ergonomics for children and education environment, http://cehd.umn.edu/kls/ecee/guidelines.html

Virtual reality in education

My Perception of Virtual Reality
In my school there is an audiovisual room (which can accomodate up to 50 students) where traditional classroom lessons are supplemented with audio/video lessons. In fact all classes (of all levels) have to attend to at least 5 video/audio lessons every school term.
Setting up a virtual lab will certainly be something innovative which will further enhance learning. Students will be immersed in the subject matter (instead of being pasive learners). It will be a true paradigm shift from other forms of learning because it allows all the human senses, particularly the communicative senses, vision to interact with information. Educators know that students respond positively when information is presented throughout the semesters in varied formats.
A very interesting website (free) for virtual reality is :http://secondlife.com/

What literature says about virtual reality?
Virtual reality has already proved its benefits in the field of medicine and in military training
Virtual reality has undeniably entered the field of education and it appears to be very promising with its numerous positive points:
1. There is involvment of experiential learning
3. Students make use of visual learning (which is the best method of learning)
4. Students participating in decision making
5. Students are self-directed and independent
6. Students start with high level of motivation

We must however be very realistic on virtual education. Despite enormous potential practical application, Virtual reality, in its current state, has drawbacks. It is still extremely expensive, the graphics are still cartoonish, and there is still a slight, but perceptible time lag between the user's body movements and their translation in Cyberspace. The equipment the user must wear, such as headgear, gloves, and other devices, needs refinement. At this stage in the development of virtual reality. People using virtual reality head gear sometimes complain about chronic fatigue, a lack of initiative, drowsiness, irritability, or nausea after interacting with a virtual environment for a long time. We do not know how much each of these symptoms depends on the characteristics of the virtual reality systems themselves, or on the characteristics of the individuals using the systems.
My most important queston about virtual reality: Can it cater for all these lessons that are delivered inside a classroom during whole year? I guess NO. For me virtual reality will remain in its cocoon for a long period of time before becoming 100% operational.

Hemnath

References
1. Sunrise, (2003), The educators’ guide to learning in virtual reality.
2. Appel, J. (2006). "Second Life" develops education following

Multimedia in education

Hope that everyone around the globe has had a really memorable easter.
Here in Mauritius people normally celebrates Easter on sea-sides (of course after the prayers are done in church).

Lets be back to business!

Well i have never given a thought what a wiki was up till the moment i joined in the course. I had to go through the readings of module 1c. Here there are Selected reading 1.5: 2004, Wiki's described in plain english and Selected reading 1.6: Lamb, B 2004, Wide Open Spaces to help us understand what a wiki is all about. I cannot say that i have not understood the concepts but i believe if there were video links such as http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english then it would have been much more comprehensive. Similarly for a newcomer to blogging the best way to explain is to take him/her to the link: http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

This reminds me of a topic which i was teaching : DNA . The students were really having difficulties in grasping the topic. I tried to simplified the language... But Halas!, I knew that more than half of the class was not understanding. What to do?? I remember to have spent about 2 hours on the internet searching for something that could help my students and i finally landed on a video link. I just downloaded that video and showed it to all my students (it was only a 5 minutes video!) and the job was done. Everyone (the students and me above all) was very happy to understand that supposedly difficult topic.

Learning is made easier by means of multimedia. As V.K.Singh (2003, P.8) pointed out in his paper: "I found empirical evidence to prove that multimedia instruction enhances learning."

However i must agree that it is not easy to find videos, audios etc.. on all topics.

Hemnath

My First Blog

Hi everyone

My stepping into EDU 5471 is to learn about the new technologies that are available for teachers to incorporate and use in their classroom. Technology in education is a means to an end. Technology extends learning, it doesn’t strangle it. This is an argument I usually make - technology strengthens, deepens and broadens our learning. Of course at the end of the day, good education is about good teaching. Schooling also plays such an important role in social conditioning, it would seem urgent for educators to realize the liberating potential of new ICT technologies and to start putting it to use.

While doing EDU 8211, a curriculum module last semester, I encountered a very fascinating “ selected reading* ” [which I will recommend all of you to read] where a small girl named Angelica (she is actually about 8-10 years old) propels educators in her future world. Let me share with you what she said on computers (in her future world): “I will do lot of my learning in non-school locations with my lap-top computer. I am connected to the internet. I have my own e-mail address and some of my teachers will be located overseas. At school we communicate every week with schoolchildren in other countries. We will find out things through the computers that even our teachers know little about.”

With EDU 5471, I am discovering a whole new concept: ICT technologies can effectively be used outside the classroom environment as well. I thus see, without any doubt that prediction (on computers) of Angelica is turning to reality.

Me & Blogging

To be sincere this is my first ever blogging endeavour thanks to EDU 5471.
To me the notion of blogging in the educational arena seems very interesting, but its feasibility depends on many factors (access to a computer and internet being the prime factor!). Blogging in education brings about a common interactive platform not only between the teachers and students, but with anyone else (parents, administrators, authors etc...).
I earnestly want to use the idea of blogging (I don’t know whether I will succeed or not!) as part my chemistry teaching for form 6 students, but really speaking I am confronted to one major obstacle: inaccessibility of students to the computer lab. I have already talked to the rector of the school about blogging and the problem (inaccessibility). He himself did not know about blogging, but promised to help me in my enterprise.
Blogging will help my form 6 students in the following ways:
1. Usually school third term will end around the 31 October (holidays will then start), but the form 6 students will be having their final exams (Cambridge Examinations) in the months of November and December. Blogging will definitely be a means of keeping contacts with these students during their revision works.
2. Shy students will be able to express themselves.
3. Parents (why not!) can be involved in a constant contact with me.

Cheers Everyone
Hemnath

* Beare H 2001, From old world-view to a new’, ch. 2 in Creating the future school, Routledge Falmer, London, pp. 11-22.