Cell Phones in College CoursesImplementation Proposal

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Elaine R. GagneEDUC 8841Walden University

“... If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow…”-- John Dewey (Founder of American Public Schools)

Needs

• Meets unique pedagogical needs of college students and professors for feedback and collaboration

• Distance education is a viable, research-based option for learning

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Cell Phone Integration

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Rate of Adoption

1985

1992

2002

2007

2010

050,000,000

100,000,000150,000,000200,000,000250,000,000300,000,000350,000,000

United States Cell Phone Penetration

Cell Phone Users

Year of Adoption

Nu

mb

er

of

Cell P

hon

e

Users

Ziff Davis (2010). U.S. cell phone penetration. Retrieved January 8, 2011, from http://www.gearlog.com/2007/11/us_cellphone_penetration_tops.php

http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

Development

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: Perceived Problems in Integration

Desired Features

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: Internet Browsers, Cameras, GPS, Memory Slots,

Apps, Graphic Displays, SMS, Email, MP3, Games, e-Book, Calculator

http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/cellphone_infographic.jpg

Commercialization

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Mass marketed General public Students and faculty Parents Software/hardware developers

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Research

• 1.5 billion cell phones in use globally

• http://k12online.wm.edu/K12_Kolb_Cell.mp3

• 3G to 4G networking expanding access to service

• It responds to the on-demand learning interests of connected citizens in an informationcentric world (Wagner, p. 4).

• “Investigations suggest mobile devices can be effective tools for a broad range of educational activities” (Thornton & Houser, p. 217).

• It also connects formal educational experience (e.g., taking a class, attending a workshop, or participating in a training session) with informal, situated learning experience (e.g., receiving performance support while on the job (Wagner, p. 3).

Cost Comparison

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Item Initial Item Cost Initial Total Cost Ongoing Cost

Cell phone(student incurs) $50-250 $50-250

$25-100(per month

varies by plan)

Blackboard App Free Free Free

Netbook(Student or College

incurs) $500-1,000 $500-1,000

$50 (per monthInternet access,

maintenance, repairs

Training(College incurs)

$125 per Instructor $0

$125.00 per instructor

Innovators & Early Adopters

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• Early Adopters• Administration• Students

Affordability Training Redirecting Challenging

Laggards

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• Teachers• Parents

Curriculum Support Trialability

Training Needs

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• Teacher Development Maintenance Curriculum

integration• Students

Navigation Sharing files Integrity/Cheating Internet searches Blogging Podcasts

Alternatives

• Less flexible • More expensive• Space intensive• More maintenance• Requires strong

security measures

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Media Labs

Stakeholder Benefits

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Professors receive

instructional support &

interact with students

Students participate in collaborative activities

Generate Future Leaders

English

Fine Art

History

Decentralized Approach

Pilot Courses

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Critical Mass

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1. U.S. has critical mass in cell phone usage.2. Japan uses cell phones in education.3. Critical Mass not yet achieved in education in

U.S. college classrooms.4. Fuse cell phone usage into Advanced

Placement courses.5. Coordinate with college cell phone carrier to

offer student discounted rate plans as an incentive.

Change Agents

Agent #1 Technology Coordinator Agent #2 Pilot Course Faculty

Roger’s Change Agent Roles

• Show need for cell phone integration

• Create Pilot Course Cohort• Create Student Voice

Exchange• Offer incentive to try course• Student Satisfaction Survey• Amalgamate with Blackboard• Offer other courses using

same model

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Identifying the Champion

Technical & Information

Literacy

Collaboration & Increased

Use of Blackboard

Low Cost

Excellence in Teaching

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Inspire

Excellence in Innovation

• Promote Technical Literacy• Promote Information Literacy• Decrease the Digital Divide• Multiple Intelligence Theory• Uses Existing Platform Resources

Creative Integration

Blackboard

eBooks

Google & Podcasts

Twitter’s Hoot

iTunes University

1,000’s more Apps…

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Inspire

Communication & Collaboration

Email

Discussion Threads

Photos, Videos, & Music

AOL, MSN Messenger, Skype Mobile

Blogging, Wikis, & Social Networking

Social Change

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Inspire

Hey, Professor! Do you think U.S. educators will ever embrace cell phones in the collegiate classroom?

Yes!

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References

Caronia, L. (2009). Mobile phones in peer culture: Teenagers' messaging as a metalinguistic performance. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-25. Retrieved December 22, 2010, from EBSCOhost.

Kolb, L. (2007). Cell phones as classroom learning tools. [audio]. Retrieved January 12, 2011, from http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=109

Prensky, M. (2004). What can you learn from a cell phone? Almost anything. Innovation. Retrieved January 6, 2010, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-

Rogers, Everett, M. (2008). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.

Thornton, P., & Houser, C. (2005). Using mobile phones in English education in Japan. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 21(3), 217-228. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2005.00129.x

Wagner, E. D. (2005). Mobile learning. Educause. Retrieved January 7, 2011,from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0532.pdf

Ziff-Davis. (2007). U.S. cell phone penetration tops 82 percent. Retrieved January 20, 2011, fromhttp://www.gearlog.com/2007/11/us_cellphone_penetration_tops.php

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Credits

PowerPoint creation: Elaine Gagne, MSETNarrator: Elaine Gagne, MSET

A word of thanks goes out to Instructor Dr. Almusude and the members of the Community 2-Diffusion members: Milton Francis, Shannon Gray, Deborah Forest, and Nicholas Jarrell, for their continued support and suggestions regarding the production, content, and flow of my EDUC 8841: Diffusion and Integration of Technology, Week 11 Course Project.