Mobile Tools for Teaching and Learning

Presented byJym BrittainDirector of the Center for Teaching and LearningNortheastern State University

Based upon a presentation (with permission) titled TWITTER and Other Mobile-izing Tools for Teaching and Learning by Biray Alsac of Mesa Community College

Cell Phone Use (Statistics)

• 255.4 million wireless subscribers in US1

• 84% of total U.S. population1

• 96% of NSU students use mobile phones

• 35% of cell phone owners send and receive text messages2

• 75% of NSU survey respondents use text messages• 48.1 billion text-messages sent per month1

1 http://www.ctia.org/advocacy/research/index.cfm/AID/103232 http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Cell_phone_study.pdf

Available Tools

• Text/Multimedia Messaging• Textmarks• Text based polls and surveys• Twitter• Winksite• Wirenode

Cell Phone Use (Applications*)

• Campus Security Alert system

• Communication among students (Instant messaging)

* Specifically regarding text-messaging on campus

Cell Phone Use (Applications+)

• Faculty bulletins or class reminders

• Text-Messaging based surveys & Polls

• Building community outside classroom

+ Examples of applications in the classrooms

Bulletins and Class Reminders

• Textmarks.com – it’s FREE!• Students subscribe to class

text feed by typing CLASS** to 41411

• Students get class updates via text on phone every time teacher creates new alerts

• No need to know student cell phone numbers

** ‘CLASS’ is just an example word, teachers can choose any word for their class when setting up account

TM-based Surveys & Polls• PollEverywhere.com*

• Create live polls• Survey students• Gain instant feedback

from class• Similar to using clickers in

classroom• No need to know student

cell phone numbers* Free and paid subscriptions available – see website for feature details

Twitter* – What is it?

• Mini-updates in 140 characters of text (or less)

• Microblog of whatever you want it to be…

Answers the question: What are you doing?”

* http://www.twitter.com

Twitter – Teaching & Learning

• Create bulletins or class reminders

• Build student connection beyond classroom

• Students become part of a global community

• No need to know student cell phone numbers*

* Students must update Twitter setting to link incoming messages to phone.

“HealthyBee”An example of a Twitter used by an instructor for a college

health class

“HealthyBee”An example of a Twitter used by an instructor for a college

health classCreate profile so students &

colleagues can follow

you.

Keep your updates public or private.

Create profile so students &

colleagues can follow

you.

Keep your updates public or private.

This is the visual list of who you are

following(aka your students)

This is the visual list of who you are

following(aka your students)

All “tweets” are included on this timeline (most recent on top)so you never

miss an update.

All “tweets” are included on this timeline (most recent on top)so you never

miss an update.

HES100: Remember to bring a nutrition label to class.

Send updates on class assignments, announcements, website URLs, or

general info.

Send updates on class assignments, announcements, website URLs, or

general info.

BULLETINS & CLASS REMINDERS

BULLETINS & CLASS REMINDERS

Thanks for bringing it up @dncr4u3, the quiz will stay available for one more day

Create public chatter among your students.

A Tweets with “@” plus username means it’s a

public reply to a specific user.

Create public chatter among your students.

A Tweets with “@” plus username means it’s a

public reply to a specific user.

STUDENT CONNECTION

BEYOND CLASSROOM

STUDENT CONNECTION

BEYOND CLASSROOM

Promote classroom community by

suggesting your students also follow

each other

Promote classroom community by

suggesting your students also follow

each other

You can send a private message directly to a student, too.

Student will receive your direct message via:

EmailTwitter

Cell Phone (if activated)

You can send a private message directly to a student, too.

Student will receive your direct message via:

EmailTwitter

Cell Phone (if activated)

STUDENT CONNECTION

BEYOND CLASSROOM

STUDENT CONNECTION

BEYOND CLASSROOM

GLOBAL COMMUNITY

GLOBAL COMMUNITY

Suggest that students find other Twitter users to follow related to

their interests or class topics.

i.e. – a search for “health” found many health-related feeds, such

as BBC Health and American Cancer Society who post news on

their Twitter feed)-and-

A search for “fitness” found professionals, such as, personal

trainers, body builders, and fitness enthusiasts

Suggest that students find other Twitter users to follow related to

their interests or class topics.

i.e. – a search for “health” found many health-related feeds, such

as BBC Health and American Cancer Society who post news on

their Twitter feed)-and-

A search for “fitness” found professionals, such as, personal

trainers, body builders, and fitness enthusiasts

Grab the Twitter code and embed your

updates or timeline on your blog or social

network.

Grab the Twitter code and embed your

updates or timeline on your blog or social

network.

Twitter - Mashups

Schedule updates and reminders to your students

in advance so you won’t miss a beat – er – a tweet

Schedule updates and reminders to your students

in advance so you won’t miss a beat – er – a tweet

Twitter - Mashups

Put all your students into one “crowd” and follow everyone at-

a-glance on the web.

(see also TwitterCamp)

Put all your students into one “crowd” and follow everyone at-

a-glance on the web.

(see also TwitterCamp)

Twitter – Example of Teacher Uses

AnnouncementAnnouncement

Communication with students

Communication with students

Class ReinforcementsClass Reinforcements

Discussion Prompts &Additional Follow-upsDiscussion Prompts &Additional Follow-ups

Task RemindersTask Reminders

Twitter – Example of Student Uses

Health-related feedsHealth-related feeds

Most health-related feeds post URLs that link to a blog post or

news article.Students were asked to follow the feed &

stay current on news.This tweet sums up what they learned.

Most health-related feeds post URLs that link to a blog post or

news article.Students were asked to follow the feed &

stay current on news.This tweet sums up what they learned.

Response to a discussion prompt

Response to a discussion prompt

Personal CommentPersonal Comment

Student feedsStudent feeds

Mobile classes

• winksite.com – it’s FREE!• Faculty set up course via

website• Students and faculty interact

with course through mobile device or the web

• Similar tools to Blackboard type systems.

Mobile website authoring

• wirenode.com – it’s FREE!• Author a mobile friendly

website from a desktop browser

• Can be seen with mobile device or the web

• Easily convert class website to mobile format

References

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/10/23/why-twitter-isnt-a-waste-of-time/

http://crowdstatus.comhttp://tweetlater.comhttp://Tweetstats.comhttp://Tweetscan.com or http://metweets.com

Check out the wiki for ‘all-things’ Twitter http://twitter.pbwiki.com

http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/