BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATING MOBILE

DEVICES 

Presented By Binyam WoldemichaelCourtney KingAnd Joshua Adams

WHAT COUNTS AS A MOBILE DEVICE?• A mobile device is any handheld computer

(including tablet computers, e-readers and Smartphones)

• Tablet Computers: Similar to smartphones but with more powerful processors and larger screens (iOS, Android, Windows)

E-readers: mostly designed for reading with limited app capability (Kindle, Nook, Kobo)

• Smartphones : handheld phone with various operating systems and capabilities (iOs, Android, Windows)

BENEFITS•Easy to use for most students •Even more mobile (can use in the car, at the park, in a coffee shop)•Popular with many students who are already looking at their phones•Lots of free or low-fee mobile apps to choose from•Easy to visualize the material and come back to it again and again

CHALLENGES•Mobile devices can't do everything traditional computers can do. •Not all students have smartphones/tablets.•Relevant and appropriate apps are not always available. (Some teachers create apps for their classes to solve this problem, but that takes time and technical know-how).•Extensive testing and preparation outside of class is required for the teacher to adapt an app to their classroom needs.

TIPS FOR CHOOSING APPS• Try to avoid apps that cost money or are only available on one platform (iOS only apps, for example, exclude Android and Windows phone users)• Make sure that the app you select actually adds something to your class that you could not get from an alternative source. • Always spend time with the app developing customized materials and testing out the student end of the experience. Don’t have time? Don’t use apps!

SUCCESS STORIES• At the University of Wisconsin, professors have developed apps to identify plants and birds (Smith).•These apps were designed to engage students in the real world and get them learning outside. •They have also developed an app called AtomTouch that allows students to experiment at the atomic level through a simulator on their iPads (Smith).

See our references for links to these apps.

SUCCESS STORIES•Nearpod, Socrative, and PollEverywhere have all been successfully used by ELI teachers here at CMU to engage students in face-to-face settings. Some of their purposes could easily translate to the online courses we’re developing.•Does anyone have any others?

MOBILE APPS FOR ONLINE TEACHINGKhan AcademyNearpodSocrative (Student) and Socrative (Teacher)VoiceThreadScreenChompExplain EverythingBlackboard Versal (not an app, but very online/mobile-friendly)

MOBILE APPS FOR ONLINE TEACHINGNearpodSocrative (Student) and Socrative (Teacher)Khan Academy

KHAN ACADEMY (FREE)Overview Video lessons (more than 4,000)

Allows students to track progress in a course

Provides practice exercises Gives ideas, materials, and best practices for teachers who want to use the app in their class

Web-based as well for those students who prefer the computer platform

Application to Online Teaching Ask students to watch certain videos and then complete

Blackboard quizzes and assignments about the content

Good for discussion board topics

Mostly math/science

Drawbacks Limited subjects Most videos feature one speaker (Salman Khan)

Only available for iOS

NEARPOD (FREE)Overview Nearpod is a tool for presenting, collaborating, and offering real-time assessment. It can be used in real-time or asynchronously.

Allows teachers to present PowerPoint style slides.

Has formative assessment features (quizzes).

Application to Online Teaching Open ended questions features allow students to ask questions in real time.

“Draw it” allows student creativity and teachers’ pedagogical creativity.

Easy to use previously created teaching materials.

Creates detailed reports of student responses.

Drawbacks Most functionality is synchronistic.

Only offers limited features not already found in BlackBoard Collaborate.

Some functions are pay to use.

SOCRATIVE (FREE)Overview Socrative is an online quiz tool. With a bit of creativity, it can be much more.

Application to Online Teaching Socrative is the best application for real time formative assessment.

Teachers can use it for polls on anything. This can lead to a much more student centered and led classroom.

Student agency and collaboration in class can be greatly increased.

Drawbacks

No chance for peer editing. It is teacher centric by design. Answering is very rigid. If a student doesn’t answer in the exact way expected, it may be marked wrong when the student knew the answer.

MORE INFORMATION Mobile Apps in the Classroom Nearpod Homework Code (if you have the app): ECSBP

My Dual Writing Versal Page

All materials on this page created by Courtney King

QR Code for this presentationon SlideShare

REFERENCESHsu, Y., and Ching, Y. (2013) Mobile app development for teaching

and learning: Educators’ experiences in an online graduate course. The International Review of Research and Distributed Learning, 14(4).

Mobile UW. (n.d.) Field Research Project: WeBird. Retrieved from https://

mobile.wisc.edu/mli-projects/field-research-project-webird/Mobile UW. (n.d.) Project: AtomTouch. Retrieved from https://

mobile.wisc.edu/mli-projects/project-atomtouch/Smith, D. F. (December 4, 2014). University of Wisconsin developers

blend classwork with apps. EdTech. Retrieved from http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2014/12/ university-wisconsin-developers-meld-classwork-and-apps