I have found this video really interesting. It is literally amazing how so many school applications can be centralised on such a small gadget and made available to all, that is students, teachers and parents. I feel confident that with the enormous technological advancements that are being made, we will one day have such a scenario in our schools. Imagine us teachers being in class and not having one single student who forgot his notes, his assignment or even his pen at home! That would be a blessing unless of course he forgets to bring his iSchool with him!!
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Wow!!! I`m on. To think that at present at MCAST all mobibles must be switched off in class and kept away! The ischool concept is doable and should be endorsed.
ReplyDeleteI has just posted in the WIKI information about how in Bangaladesh there exists the Janala service - created by the BBC's development charity the World Service Trust - which gives anyone with a mobile the chance to learn English - simply by calling a number and listening in.
Mobile telecommunication is the fastest growing industry in Bangladesh, and the Janala service has already logged over 400,000 calls.
"We can't carry a dictionary everywhere," said one Bangladeshi student. "But now we can carry a mobile phone which helps us learn."
So what`s keeping MCAST from putting mobile technolgy to good educational use?
This video has left me speechless! Amazing! Is it really that simple? The amount of information available is endless, and all in the palm of the users’ hands. I especially like the effect it has on the environment. Finally we are becoming more conscious on the effects our actions have on the world around us. As an added bonus, I am also sure that the leaders in our country will also be interested in such a project. Imagine providing quality education at such a reduced cost!
ReplyDeleteDoreen pictures a scenario where all students will have no excuse of forgetting assignments at home – that would indeed be a welcome first.
Does technology belong in the class room? Star walk, recorder, notes, calendar, calculators …. - presented in such a way… you bet!
Yes, it is very impressive what nowadays technology is capable of. To think how to implement it for the educational purpose is righteous, but one has to be very careful. I do not believe that it will be possible to rely solely on such a technology. Just imagine what would happen in case of let’s say any major electrical power crisis. I mean, the technology can simply fail. From the other side a book and pencil can be used anywhere and do not depend on signal strength. May be I am too traditional but I have a feeling that basic education should be done in established way, with help of new technology as much as possible. However, a various subjects can be dealt in various ways. In the later stage, once a student has a clear understanding of the concept of the given subject, mobile learning can be fully implemented, since than is more matter of finding fact, data, information etc in a fast and convenient way.
ReplyDeleteThanks Doreen for posting this video! I found it very interesting and was also surprised that the idea originated from a freshman at a US University.
ReplyDeleteI'm quite sure that Mobile learning will have a positive impact on the students. Unfortunately, in Malta, most of the teaching is done in the traditional way. During lessons students spend a lot of time copying notes rather than understanding what is being said and contributibng to the lesson themselves. The iPod will surely help to eliminate this.
At the end of the video the positive impact on the environment that the iSchool Initiative would have was mentioned. We definitely need to do something at MCAST and reduce the large amount of paper used. We could easily eliminate paper used for attendence sheets, front pages for assignments, reports of misconduct and excuse notes for lateness.
Maybe an iPad would be more suitable than the iPod. Imagine a situation where students have to use the iPod for several hours per day. I'm sure this will have a negative effect on their eyesight.
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ReplyDeleteBaran, it is true that the traditional method of education is safer because there is less chance of system failure, and the students are, at this point, already accustomed to this traditional method of teaching. However, if this technology is to be implemented then it will be an ingenious way of infusing technology with learning! I myself would be more interested in enrolling in a course with ipad learning than with the method we are currently using. Moreover, I am sure that the students will be interested in this education, luring more students to continue school after the compulsory age of 16. At the same time I agree with you, the traditional method cannot be gotten rid of completely as we still need to teach the students how to read and write at an early stage, and continue to enforce this during their continuous academic progress (form year 1 to year 2 etc…)
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I am concerned with a number of factors which this new mobile system might bring with it. I am no economist, yet one of the questions that comes to mind is: who will provide/ pay for the ipad phones? Will the state be responsible for providing each and every student with an ipad phone? Will each individual school have to take the costs out of their budget? Or will the responsibility turn to the students and/or their parents? We are not speaking of a system like that of the computers were each school has a number of computers and every child shares these resources. In this situation all children need to have an ipad.
Also, the ipad school system this student was talking about is based around the American school system. Perhaps an I.T lecturer can answer my question, but will it be possible to change the American syllabus currently available on the phone into a Maltese curriculum?
Moreover, what will happen if the students break their phone, or if it will experience some technical difficulties (as all mobiles are bound to have in their short ‘life’ span)?
Perhaps I am just being pessimistic here. After all who knows what the future has in store for us!? Maybe in a couple of years time I myself may be teaching via ipad! As the famous Pre-Socratic philosopher once said: you never step into the same river twice, and education sure seems to be going that way!
I think that Mobile Learning is, and will be, another big challenge to adopt in the educational system. In fact, if we reflect a little, most theories of pedagogy that we have covered in this course, fail to capture the characteristics of mobile learning.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that most theories of teaching are based, or designed, on the assumption that learning and teaching just occurs in a classroom environment, between those popular four walls, with the direct involvement of the teacher.
In order for mobile learning to be successful, the new teaching philosophies must consider as highly important the things that occur on the outside of the classroom. Mobile Learning takes into account the true dynamics of learning, not just traditional teaching. As literature commonly states,Learning is a Constructive Process, that involves the active construction of knowledge.
In other words, mobile learning is attractive, but for this to be successful, the educational system must account for both formal and informal learning.
I am latching onto a small phrase which Leanne stated in her comment to this video - "the traditional method cannot be gotten rid of completely". This simple comment made me pause and think. Basically I asked myself whether we should be looking at the use of such technology in education as a complement or a substitute to the "traditional form", by which I presume we all intend traditional classes/lectures. In this very course which we're attending we're seeing that the required knowledge/skills can be delivered electronically without the need for any need for face-to-face ontact. A brief look at the dates and times wherein a numebr of us have posted their posts, shows the advanatge of flexibility which this approach gives. On the other hand, a college-wide policy at MCAST (including this very PGC-VET which we're following) is that participants must have attended a minimum of 80% of all lectures. In this regard, I am tying in the issues of technology, policies, teaching delivery and assessment together. Should education enforce a particular means towards an end? Would it be better for a multitude of means to be made available through which students can flexibly achieve the required knowledge/skill/abilities following which they are assessed to ensure that the required standard has been achieved? My studies in business have led me to adopt a goal-oriented perspective towards things and in this regard, I think that the most important thing is that the required standard has been achieved, irrespective of how individual students went about this. What I'm talking about here goes beyong college policies. It's broader than that. As an example I can mention some cases which I've read about of families spending a number of years travelling around the world on a boat with their kids and teaching their own children through distance learning / provided materials / e-learning technology. At the end of the day (or rather years) they would sit for the same exams (eg. GCSEs) as their colleagues who attended traditional classes. I believe that this would be illegal in Malta. However I have no doubt that such an education could trul prepares students with just as effective (perhaps even better & more holistic) education as their pers attending "
ReplyDeletetraditional" classes. In conclusion, I truly believe that there is good reason for technology to cause us to completely rethink our educational processes.
We normally assume that a classroom is a controlled environment, and in fact, the wireless technology emergence brought about some distress amongst us teachers, at first. A particular article I read showed a contrasting consideration of mobiles: while mobile phones have been blamed for an increase in exam cheating, SMS has been praised for helping students learn to spell. It is the perspective we take that should find the solution.
ReplyDeleteParticularly, at St. Mary’s City School in Ohio, mobile phones, unlike in our Institute, are not banished from being used, but embraced. It is obvious that this is one of the many educational systems that are beginning to think differently about in-class mobile behaviour. Instead of building resistance, they are opting to design curricula that supports mobile communication and utility.
For example, this school takes a different approach to lesson planning. A variety of use cases for mobile devices in the classroom whereby Mobile Pair Share encourages wireless collaboration throughout story telling. What happens is that they give students a ‘story starter’, for example ‘it was a dark and stormy night…’. Then the students are let alone to start typing their story for about ten minutes. When the time is up, the students tell their story to a partner, and have their partner finish the story. Other examples include students using the built-in compass, navigating maps, and using the device as an everyday storage device.
Embracing mobile technology is a smart move for today’s educators, and this is why we are observing this becoming realized, not just in St. Mary’s City School. It is 2010; let’s see when this will at least be mentioned at our college!! ………..
I have attended a talk about children's books lately and it was said that there are computer programs that could be used on the iphone, ipad and the ipod where children could access books, in a number of different languages and with special effects. This has a number of advantages because one doesn't have to carry the books, but s/he could easily access them on his phone. I think that the fact that one doesn't have to carry heavy books and there is no need to copy notes, one could send them very quickly and eveything is recorded. Parents also have the advantage that they could access what their children are doing at school and they could contact the teacher easily. I think that one of the greatest advantages is that it reduces costs and the fact that it is really green. I think that at MCAST something has to be done in order to reduce the amount of paper that is being used, so maybe this technology would reduce the amount of paper that is being used. The fact that less space is needed to store assignments is also an advantage.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that it is a very interesting video clip. I was very well aware that in North America students who attend a post-secondary college (as MCAST) are also given a laptop at the beginning of the year. All notes and work is already found on every laptop for the student's use. Any work is sent to the teacher via email.
ReplyDeleteIn this way they are also avoiding printing and use of paper. Myself I would prefer such system rather than iSchool. I think this is more practical and easier for the students to work with. I believe that not all students can get to the idea of having everything on an iPod. We also have to remember those students who might not comprehend such technology.
Moreover, I envisage more technological problems using an iPod as well..what happens if somehow you lose it, has a fault and lose all the data?
A member of my family had the opportunity to write a basic skills mathematics quiz for mobiles as part of his dissertation. He tested it at a secondary school and it was very well received by the students. He also incorporated summary of notes so that whenever a student made a mistake in answering the question than there were also brief notes available on the mobile that the student can access.
ReplyDeleteThis could be an idea for the future as think about the length of time students use their mobiles.
I like this idea a lot. Our world is shifting towards highly technological systems and I feel that Education has the responsibility not only to adapt to this but also to prepare students for such world. Education can no longer be a just a follower of technology but needs also take an active role in such trend. What furthermore appealed to me in such video is the benefit to the environment such system will create. We all know how many paper is everyday consumed at MCAST to issue ARFs, verification sheets, etc. Such system, while serving its purpose on information storage and processing, will also save a lot of natural resources thus helping our planet and pursuing a social conscience.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Delicia. Education mediums are advancing and students need to be prepared for such progress. I also believe that our society is making pressure for people to keep up to date with the latest technology.
ReplyDeleteWith the introduction of these new technologies similar to the ischool such as smart phones and ipads, the access to internet and the use of web pages through Wi-fi is improving the quality of education for students. This is due to the immediate access that students have to information.
Wi-fi access is spreading even in Malta. Watching the news some weeks ago I heard about the government plan to install Wi-fi in different localities around Malta. With more access to wi-fi students have the opportunity to access to "webinars" (explained in another post - Emerging technologies in learning) wherever they are.
If we only think of how heavy were those school bags full of books were this iSchool idea would be awesome. It changes from a problem of comfort and practicality to a health problem. In my times there was a great deal of discomfort from parents with respect to their children's school bags not excluding problems like all books getting wet if it rains, children with health issues like scoriosis and other ergonomical issues. The carrying of heavy loads along with an irregular spinal growth pattern can adversely affect an adolescents' posture and make adolescents more susceptible to injury (Mohan et al. 2007).
ReplyDeleteIndeed I tell you that there is at least one school in Malta that has this vision because as a software developer around 3.5 years ago I had developed software for this school. I had created a portal for teachers, a portal for students, a portal for administrative staff and a portal for parents. The teachers were to take the attendance over a handheld device marking only absent students for quick input. The guardians of absent students would instantly receive and SMS warning to state the absence of their child. School children had a sort of scholar social network and teachers had a moodle type of system. Obviously school fees were high.
I totally agree with the use of mobile devices in learning provided that such technologies give students the opportunity to interact with each other and with the teacher. Many individuals now use mobile technology for personal and workplace communication. More research is needed on how to use mobile devices as a communication tool to provide support in education.
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ReplyDeleteDal-filmat qed jorbot il-mobile learning mal-mobilephones – x’aktarx qed iħalli barra ħafna apparat ieħor – għax ħafna mill-funzjonijiet li semma jistgħu jsiru lil hinn miċ-ċellulari. Madanakollu mingħajr dubju qed juri dinja virtwali xi ftit ideali. Interessanti dik il-parti fejn tinvolvi l-profil tal-istudent u l-profil tal-ġenitur. Dal-kuntatt bir-restrizzjonijiet tiegħu jista’ jgħin biex il-komunikazzjoni timxi iżjed ħarir bejn it-triloġija.
ReplyDeleteFaċilitjiet oħrajn li jista’ joffri għalina l-lekċerers huma l-attendenza, sistema ta’ skedar għall-ħidmiet, sottomissjoni tal-ħidmiet online, bekap tar-riżultati tal-istudenti, u l-bqija relatati mal-amministazzjoni tal-kors.
Naqbel ħafna ma’ Baran. Ma’ nafx kemm sistema edukattiva tkun b’saħħitha jekk tissejjes fuq mezz ta’ komunikazzjoni simili, għax nassumi li teħtieġ infrastruttura ikbar. Din il-kritika ma xxekkel xejn mill-idea ġenjali li preżentatilna Doreen.