I think one of the best ways to incorporate mobile technology in the classroom right now is through Polleverywhere. This service offers online polling where the students can participate in several different ways, including:
sms text messaging - via the web using their web widget mobile device by visiting poll4.com twitter a smartphone interface Polleverywhere is clearly growing, as the 3rd option that I mentioned above is a new development. I just tried it for the first time using an iPhone and it worked very well.
Reading through the different frameworks we’ve looked at so far, I find that the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education speaks to me the strongest. There’s no doubt that the SECTIONS framework from Bates and Poole also resonates, but some of the elements are more focused on institutional and managerial aspects. These are exactly the kinds of issues I dealt with as a mechanical engineer and operations manager, and less so in my present circumstances as a secondary school classroom teacher.
I just came across this article on Teresa Dove, who was recently awarded America’s first-ever K-12 Online Teacher of the Year. I won’t go into what I actually think of such an award… Dove listed what she felt were the 5 most important things for online education and Ithought I would list them here given as a compare/contrast with Chikering and Gamson’s Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.
For my digital story I decided to use the web2.0 tool xtranormal. The context for this story is a type of introduction/overview on nuclear energy. It could be used in a Physics 11 class as part of a unit on nuclear energy. Have a look:
This story could be used to feed into a research/critical analysis project on the pros/cons of nuclear power. Alternatively, it could be used as the beginnings for a debate on nuclear power.
I think the order of the standards is no coincidence. My initial impression is that “facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity” and “design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessment” are the most important and unique aspects of the standards. The last two standards are almost generic in nature and can be applied to many different disciplines with a few changes in words.
I suppose that I’ve been dabbling aspects that deal with the 2nd standard for a year or so.
My Digital Story is the story of nuclear energy in the 21st Century. It would be used as an introduction to a unit on Nuclear Energy in Physics 11, as part of the required curriculum in British Columbia. An even better use of the digital story would be mid-unit, used as hook prior to assigning a critical research paper on the pros and cons of nuclear energy.
The pedagogical rationale behind is encompassed by the nature of the dialogue.
This week in ETEC 565 our class did an activity where we were to collaborate on a wiki entry. The topic was geared in using social media for learning and collaborating, with an eye towards identifying key challenges and strategies when dealing with social media.
This was the first time that I have ever participated in using a Wiki, so the whole setting and editing environment was a bit strange. Furthermore, it became clear that the unwritten rules of how a person navigates and collaborates within a Wiki were also very foreign to me.
