Mobile learning can greatly enhance a classroom, but you have to be willing to use it first. Many teachers think of phone and tablets as something that should never be used in school, when really it can be used to enhance student learning. Mobile learning makes it possible for students to have more of a personal learning experience, working on the areas they need extra help on. Not only can this help the student and their skills, but the student will be having fun while doing it. New technology is exciting and fun for them to play with, so, giving them technology to do school work will (hopefully) increase the student's enjoyment of learning. Using mobile learning is not just helpful for the students but also for the teachers. Taking quick online quizzes that can be graded immediately, inputting grades online, personalize instruction for each student, and getting the students interested and excited about learning, these are all things that will make a teacher's life a whole lot easier.
Like most things, there are some issues that can arise when using mobile learning. Money, for one, can be a big issue. If your school does not have enough money to provide technology for your classroom, apply for a grant. Another big issue is students and heir safety. There are all sorts of privacy settings and "parental" locks of these devices so you can control where the children are able to go, how long they can use the item, downloads can be restricted and even how many items can be up at once. Batteries can drain very quickly on mobile learning devices, so remember to teach your students how to turn them off and show them how to plug them in to charge. Having these devices is really convenient in a classroom but the smaller they get, the more movement a student can have while using them, teach the student how to carry it properly to prevent damage. Use two hands, walk, do not run, make sure the screen is covered, the list goes on and on of ways that you can protect the devices. There are some issues with having these items in a classroom, but it isn't anything that should prevent you from using mobile learning in your classroom.
In the primary grades (K-3), mobile learning is a great way to encourage literacy. Students can practice writing their letters, letter sounds, writing words, reading, listening to stories, creating their own stories, the possibilities are amazing! Apps such as Rock 'n' Learn, Inc. "Sight Words", "Phonics Easy Reader", Grammar Jammer's Primary Edition, ICDL's "StoryKit", "iKnow Phonics" from iKnowThat, the list of great apps could go on and on. You can also do some interactive science through mobile learning by watching videos, taking quizzes, doing online or virtual experiments, this is a good way to do science if you don't have the resources for a project or the weather has failed you. Apps that are good for science are Khan Academy, Brain Pop Jr., "Animal Dash" from National Geographic, or Kids Discover. There are apps for just about everything, it's all about finding one that works for you and your classroom. Three that would be very helpful in the classroom are Brain Pop Jr. because you can watch educational videos on various subjects and take short quizzes. This is nice for filler time or if you just need a quick video clip to get your students engaged. Hungry Fish is an app that is a good drill and practice game, but it makes math really fun! You can do addition, subtraction, positives negatives, multiplication and division. This is a way to let students play games while they are learning math and improving their skills. Birds on a Wire is an app that helps students with language arts and applies common core standards. In this app, students will identify different parts of speech and write sentences using the given word bank. This teaches students how to use and where different parts of speech in a sentence.
There are many helpful apps out there, but there are also many bad ones. It takes a lot of time to sift through them all,so, your best bet is to go online and see what other teachers are using to see what works. If you find something that works, or even that doesn't, post about it online so other teachers know! Good luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment