Literature Review: "Twenty Ideas For Using Mobile Phones in the Language Classroom"

The article I chose to review is entitled: "Twenty Ideas For Using Mobile Phones in the Language Classroom" by Hayo Reinders. It appeared in the journal, English Teaching Forum,  v48 n3 p20-25, 33 2010. The link to the article is: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,url,cpid&custid=shapiro&db=eric&AN=EJ914893&site=ehost-live.
This article was a great example of how to incorporate an existing technology into the curriculum that students both enjoy and are familiar with. We have talked a lot in class about school budgetary concerns when it comes to technology integration. Using mobile phones as a learning tool that students already own is a novel way to avoid some of these concerns.
It can even enhance student's learning in a number of ways, as Mr. Reinders states in his article: "Learners have a tendency to tune out when a classroom lesson is over; this activity helps circumvent that problem by breaking the boundary between class time and daily activities." (p. 21). Instead of just sitting in a classroom, students can be engaged in authentic tasks while learning.
There are two ideas for using mobile phones in particular that Mr. Reinders presents that I find quite interesting.The first is to, "Use text messaging to reinforce vocabulary learning" (p. 22).  The idea behind this is to repeatedly text lists of vocabulary words to students throughout the day to reinforce the words. By doing this numerous times it almost forces the students to learn. Even if they just want to delete the text, they're going to have to at least skim over it to see what it is and this could increase a students chance for retention.
The other idea that I think could be of great use is to, "use the text messaging feature for circular writing" (p. 22). In this activity, students use their phones to collectively create a story or other writing assignment. This is an ingenious way to get students to participate in writing activities that they would normally find boring or tedious if it was done in the classroom setting.
Even though these examples I've mentioned are primarily language based, the possibilities for using mobile phones to teach in other areas, such as math and science, also seem limitless. However, opportunities for problems can arise, as well. Even when used with the best of intentions, mobile phones can still be a source of disruption and distraction  for students. To address this, Mr. Reinders suggests setting clear rules and boundaries about "when and how phones should be used" (p. 25) and making sure students abide by them. If they do not, one solution could be to take away a student's privileges for using the phone in class activities and force them to do an assignment in the traditional manner. Making the student to go back to the old way, while everyone else is still using their phone could be a good way to get that student back on track.
 Even though I've only mentioned two of the ideas Mr. Reinders wrote about in his article, he presented many other innovative and creative suggestions for the use of mobile phones as learning tools. As more advanced phones are introduced and new applications are created, more opportunities to use these devices for learning will become available. With each generation of phone, we can help the next generation of children to become more successful digital learners.

K-12 Online Video: "Plan Less, Do More" by David Wells

This video was about what to expect when trying to implement new technology into schools and the curriculum. It is Mr. Wells' belief that when attempting to do this, it is better to have one simplified, master plan. As he states in the video, "The more complicated the plan, the less connected it is to student learning" and I believe this is a great quote. As I stated in my Voicethread video, if teachers focus too much on how to use and implement the technology rather than on what they are teaching, a classroom and even a school can turn form student focused to teacher focused.
One way Mr. Wells' suggests to avoid this is "embedding" technology into the plan so it becomes a natural part of the curriculum. Even then, he warns to be aware of the "Implementation Dip". This is the idea that, when introducing new technology, "things always get worse before they get better". That is to say, until everyone becomes familiar with the new technology, there will be a bit of a rough period. It seems to me, a good way to ameliorate some of this "dip" would be to provide training on the new technology before it is implemented. That way, when it is time to introduce it to the school, it will make it feel as if the technology has been"embedded" into the curriculum.
Mr. Wells used Prezi to present his ideas in this video. It was good to see a real world application of one the technologies we have learned about in class. Prezi was definitely an effective tool in helping Mr. Wells get his point across. Overall, I thought this was an informative and well done presentation.

Digital Equality For All...

In order to provide digital access for all learners, I think as teachers, we must be familiar with and knowledgeable about the technology that students will be using and how they will be using it. In addition, we must be aware which students have easy access to the digital world and which do not. Even though technology is more ubiquitous than ever, there are still children to which it is not readily available. 
A student who is not familiar with computers and other technology may be intimidated and confused by it. As teachers, it should be our job to see that these students are able to navigate the digital world just as well as their peers. The best way to do this would be to provide simple and free access to computers during school hours.
However, even though digital equality is a mandate from the government, technology programs in schools are still woefully underfunded. As we have learned in class, it is sometimes difficult for teachers to have equal access to school computers, never mind the students. If this is to change, the government must listen to its own mandate and make technology funding a priority. If the technology is not there to begin with, equal access to it can never truly be achieved.

Integrating technology into the clasroom

I believe that integrating technology into the classroom in the 21st century is extremely important. From what we have learned so far, kids these days need to be engaged in new ways and using technology is a way to do this on their level. Using new technology, such as smart boards, is a great way to make learning fun and keep students interested. However, as one of my classmates mentioned, there also needs to be a balance between this new way of teaching and the traditional methods. I believe if we rely too heavily on this "new frontier" way of thinking that every subject or topic must be taught using some sort of technological angle, there's a danger that many concepts could get "lost in translation".
A prime example of this was evident in the article, "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" by Marc Prensky. In this article, Mr. Prensky suggested using a video game to teach kids about the Holocaust. To say this is a horrible idea and in incredibly poor taste is something of an understatement. This is a subject that can only be taught by a knowledgeable teacher who can do so with tact and empathy.There's no doubt that using technology in the classroom can be a powerful tool. However, we must be careful that it does not overtake us, lest we lose our basic humanity.

Introduction...

Hello! My name is Jeremy. I have a B.A. in English from UNH and am currently enrolled in the Master's of Elementary Education program at SNHU. This is my first term at SNHU and so far I am enjoying it immensely. I decided to pursue a career in education because my wife is a teacher and I have seen how much she enjoys working in such an important and rewarding field. She is a music teacher at the Wilson school in Manchester and really loves her job.
My wife and I are both musicians. She plays the bass and I play the drums in a classic rock cover band called, "Schrodinger's Cat". We play in and around the Concord area a couple of times a month. I am also in an all original band called, "We Do Not Exist". Anyone who wishes to check us out can do so at myspace.com/wedonotexist1. There are a few demo recordings and some videos of us playing live. We are also looking for a singer, so if anyone knows of good one, let me know!
I am very excited about beginning my graduate studies and am looking forward to a fun and interesting term.