Tag Archives: Android

Teaching With SmartPhones

This has been reblogged from my post at PLP Voices of the Learning Revolution.

Teaching with SmartPhones

Posted by  on Nov 21, 2012 in The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices, Web Tools That Deepen Learning | 0 comments

If you ask educators about cellphones in their classrooms, they will all have a passionate response and a story (good or bad) about their presence.

Most will express frustration at their problematic nature: they’re a distraction; they make noise; they can be used for cyber-bullying or cheating. That said, I think that more and more educators are recognizing that cellphones, and especially smartphones,can be a useful learning tool. But how do teachers make that happen?

As an early adopter of smartphone technology, I immediately recognized the incredible computing power they possess. Many students now have pocket technology that’s much more powerful and innovative than the equipment used in early manned space flights.

Still, like my colleagues, I imagined cellphones as a huge classroom management struggle.

So I set out to test a theory, with this basic premise: If teachers actually direct how students will use their cellphones in class as learning tools, we can minimize their role as a distractive presence.

I am the first to acknowledge that my teaching situation is not the same as many other educators. I teach in a small, independent school. My students generally come from a financially stable background and I teach fairly small classes (15-22). All of my students have some type of smartphone device. I understand this is not the case for all teachers. But most classrooms will include some students who have internet-capable devices, and many of the activities I will discuss here can be done in groups with just one device per group.

Supporting lessons & activities

A good rule of thumb for any classroom use of cellphones: the lesson/activity must be engaging as well as productive. You don’t want technology for the sake of technology (and students aren’t going to be intrinsically fascinated with a device they use routinely when they’re outside of school). If the students don’t enjoy what they’re doing, they will be more tempted to use their phones inappropriately.

In Class Polling/Quizzing – One of my favorite tools to use in class is a program called Poll Everywhere. I wrote about this service in an article at my personal blog: “Poll Everywhere – A Free/Cheap Alternative to Polling Hardware.”

This is a great piece of software to use in the classroom (and it’s free for audiences up to 40). You can create quiz questions for which students text in their answers.  No expensive clicker systems to buy, set up, and maintain! If students register their cellphone numbers (a requirement in my class) you can even track their answers for impromptu quizzes or review!

In-class Backchanneling: Backchanneling refers to the use of networks & social media to maintain an online, real-time conversation alongside spoken remarks.

For example, if you attend a keynote presentation at a conference these days, you’ll often find that some listeners in the audience are using their mobile devices to comment to other audience members about things the speaker is saying, while the speaker is saying them.

Backchanneling  can be a great way to give quiet students a voice, to introduce additional facts and insights during a lesson, or simply to encourage “conversation” during lecture or group readings when you don’t want to actually interrupt the presentation.

While Twitter is probably the most popular medium for backchanneling news and entertainment events (using #hashtags to create an instant network), teachers will probably want a more controllable platform than Twitter provides.
Educators can readily set up a private backchannel using free webtools. One popular program is Today’s Meet, which allows individuals to create temporary rooms to host backchannel discussions.

Poll Everywhere can also be used for this purpose. Plus, it allows you to moderate comments and prohibits any anonymous contributions.

In-class Readings & Handouts: Smartphones can also be used productively in the classroom as eReaders for books and handouts. I place all student handouts into DropBox folders (see my previous Voices article: “DropBox – a Superb Classroom Tool”). If we are reading or doing work in class, they can access our Dropbox space via the internet and open reference material without printing it up or asking for a new copy. It’s literally right in the palm of their hand.

Of course, for traditional reading materials (textbooks and paperbacks), you can use mobile apps like Kindle eReader, Nook App, iBooks, or Google’s Play Books (just to name a few). Many of them host free content and some allow you to load content of your own. This is a great way to save money on book purchases and photocopies. Using these apps, students can even highlight and annotate.

Doing research

One of the greatest active uses I have found for smartphones is in the area of research. I remember the days when I made photocopies, took meticulous notes, and tried to employ a series of notecards in a vain attempt at some semblance of a coherent organized system. Smartphones do a much better job. In this case, the power is in the apps!

My favorite research tools on the smartphone are “camera scanners” (which capture information using the phone’s built-in camera). One of the best apps I have found is a program called Genius Scan+  – available for iOS, Android, and Windows based phones. This app allows you to take pictures of documents (even books with those bendy pages), crop them, and then enhance them for ready viewing. You can create notebooks of documents (if you are copying sections of a book or article) and then store them on the device or export them (as a photo image or PDF) toGoogle Docs, DropBox, Evernote, and more. It’s a great tool for you or your students to organize research materials.

Evernote is another great application that students can use to organize their notes and images, take voice notes, write notes by hand, gather web clippings, sort emails, and more. You can put them into pre-categorized folders (class, project, theme, etc) as well as give them “tags” which makes them easy to search and sort later.

Google Search on the Go!

Most people can grasp the power of having Google in their pocket, but few recognize that the mobile version of Google is much more than a web browser. The Google Search App can be used not only for traditional searches, but has a voice search feature as well. You talk — it searches.

My favorite feature of the Google Search is its ability to perform searches using images! This feature, called Google Goggles, is a creative way to search the internet for image based content (watch the video). I employed it last year in a creative field trip experiment at the local museum.

These mobile Google capabilities offer a great way for students to explore material on the fly, using a variety of media. Any content, images, etc. that they find can be sent to a Google Drive account.

Stepping out with smartphones

I hope these ideas will be enough to stir the interest of fellow educators and encourage you to begin experiments of your own. And if you’re already using smartphones in your classroom and you’re doing something you don’t see here, please share in the comments!

When we combine the modern smartphone with wireless internet access and the remarkable number of cheap and free mobile apps now available, we find that they are truly amazing pocket-sized learning devices. Whether educators like them or hate them, the reality is that cellphones are going to become pervasive in our classrooms, if they aren’t already.

We can choose to be proactive — to employ and direct the use of these powerful tools — or we can continue to exert our energy in combating them.

If we are truly preparing our students for the future, then I believe it is our obligation to incorporate these ever-present devices into our daily teaching practice.

Image of smartphone: BigStock

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About the author

I teach at Trinity Valley School in Ft. Worth, Texas. I’m a student of the human condition: history, philosophy, art, and culture. I am a passionate educator. I am a lover of new technologies and their ability to share knowledge. I blog at Indiana Jenand you can find me on Twitter @teacherjencarey Meet the rest of our Voices.

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Update – Conference Talk: From Enemy to Asset, Cell Phones in the Classroom

Today, I gave my talk “Cell Phones in the Classroom: From Enemy to Asset,” (see my previous post on preparing for it) for the Independent Curriculum Group at the beautiful campus of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, TX. Here was the published summary of my talk:

From Enemy to Asset: Cell Phones in the Classroom
Cell phones have replaced note-passing as the biggest distraction in the classroom. Schools have tried to attack the problem with blanket bans or restrictive policies. But what if instead of viewing cell phones as the enemy, we use them as teaching tools? Most students have more computing power in their pocket than was used by NASA to send men to the moon. This session will explore innovative classroom uses for cell phones.

I was quite nervous about this talk – my colleagues were entirely strangers, I was in a new environment, talking about a ‘controversial’ topic and at the last minute I found out two horrifying facts: that the session would be 75 minutes (I had anticipated 50-60) and that I would be presenting first! The night before, I spent a lot of time tossing and turning as well as frantically changing my content.

The day began and my room ended up being packed – we were dragging in extra chairs and for a time, it was standing room only. Seems like this was a topic that hit home for a lot of faculty – after all, cell phones are pervasive.

Turns out, I had a great audience. They were incredibly talkative and engaging. They asked pertinent questions, brought up legitimate concerns, and shared constructively. In fact, my problem wasn’t that I couldn’t fill up the time, I just didn’t have enough!

We spent most of our time playing with Poll Everywhere. I’ve posted previously about my very positive experiences with the software in previous blog posts. They liked its ease of use, the broad application, and moderator features. In fact, we spent probably 70% of the time talking about this particular piece. Here’s an example of one of our ‘back-channel’ chats

We next moved on to DropBox (if any conference attendees are reading this, remember this is the link that will get you 250mb of bonus space!) – I was surprised by the number of teachers that were unfamiliar with this program, but they all became excited quite quickly at its cross-platform capabilities, file storage and transfer, as well as means of distributing materials to students who now seem loathe to check their own emails (my students often ask me to text them when I email something important). I highlight DropBox in my post about using your Smart Phone to go paperless (or less paper-y).

By the time I finished both of these products, we had only a few minutes left. I showed them a few examples of other products, namely Scanner Applications (like Genius Scan Pro) that students can use in their process of research (and help organize with DropBox or Evernote).

A few of the conference goers stayed after ‘the bell’ to ask me about some of the creative suites (that I used for digital storytelling projects, which you can read about here). I also put out a stack of business cards that were collected up – hopefully to contact me in the future, but possibly to ensure they got the spelling right on their complaints.

I didn’t get a chance to distribute my handout (not sure what happened to my copies). But you can download a copy of it here: Austin Presentation (it includes all of the software I went over, or planned to go over, in the talk).

TVS Tech Kids Day 1 & Prep for Day 2

So Day one of the Tech Course had its ups and downs. We had some problems connecting to the internet but were ultimately able to get them all online. I then focused on introducing them to MindMeister, where we created our “Class Rules” and then shared ideas on how to use technology in education. Some of the kids took to the material faster than others – those with their own laptops were the fastest adopters (probably because they were comfortable with the platform). Most of the time the kids used to set up their accounts (most hadn’t done so the night before).

Tomorrow, I think I’m going to introduce them to Diigo and Evernote. I think that Diigo will be easier for an immediate introduction. They have a short instructional video on their website.

I’ve also created a Mind Map that I want them to play with:

I’m hoping that they will add to it as they explore the material.

I found a great Prezi, “Save, Share, & Teach with Diigo” by @locotech. It’s a great introduction to educators about what Diigo can do, but leaves out the new “Read it Later” feature that allows you to download and read your links off line.

For Diigo tomorrow, I am going to give them a step-by-step process along with a small project. After I introduce them to the software and we watch the Diigo video, I’ll give them the following instruction set:

  1. Log on to your Diigo Account
  2. Click on “My Groups” to confirm you’re a member of the Group “TVS Tech Kids” (if not, ask Mrs. Lockett to send you an invite).
  3. Click on the “Tools” link at the top of the page and then click on the “Diigolet” link – follow the instructions for installation.
  4. If you have a portable iOS or Android device, download and install the Diigo app (free).
  5. Launch your Diigolet and sign in to activate it.

We are, as a class, going to do a brief research project on the life of Davy Crockett - I was inspired today upon seeing his quote: “You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas.”

  1. On the topic of Davy Crockett, using web resources, research the history of this man.
  2. Make sure that the diigolet is active – bookmark at least three pages (make sure to include a description, appropriate tags, and share to our TVS Tech Kids Group).
  3. On your (minimum three) bookmarked pages make sure that you use the highlighting tool and attach at least one sticky-note (you can add more if you like).
  4. If you you have a mobile device, play with the ‘read it later’ feature (read about how to use this feature on Diigo’s web page).

I will then have them, using this particular content, practice highlighting, annotating, tagging, and then sharing the information that they find. This activity will be limited to fifteen minutes (as it is only an exercise and not a hand-in project). I then want them to have five minutes of reflection (using Mind Meister).

Our next topic will be Evernote. Evernote and Diigo are similar, so they lend well to combining. However, Evernote is a bit more expansive. If you’re interested in what Evernote is all about, here’s a great short YouTube video:

A great step-by-step guide is also provided by Evernote here.

I’ve also created a Mind Map here to help guide discussion and thought:

Similar to my plan for Diigo, this will be a project-based learning element. The initial steps will be:

  1. Go to Evernote.com
  2. Click on the link “downloads” and install the appropriate program for your platform. If you have not yet, install Evernote on your iOS and/or Android Device.
  3. Launch Evernote on your computer (if you are unable to download the program onto your computer, then simply sign-in from the web page).
  4. Create a “New Notebook” and entitle it “Davy Crockett”
  5. As before, do a little research on Davy Crockett – make at least one web bookmark, one voice note, one video note (if your computer has video capability). Be sure to add the appropriate tags to your information and include a note to yourself!
  6. Try to get a little more advanced (if you have time) – do a selective screen shot instead of a full screen shot, explore the new ‘stacks’ feature, etc.
  7. If you have another device (e.g. iPhone) Open the evernote app and check out the synced data – make an on-the-go note (voice note, video, picture, etc).
  8. If you have time, go to the Evernote “trunk” and see what other features are available.

Again here, I will limit the actual activity time to 15 minutes with a 5 minute reflection (or at least, this is the plan – we’ll see what actually happens in class).

So, this is the plan and my thoughts on tomorrow. Thoughts? Ideas? Pleas share. I’m happy to take them and make them my own – and by ‘make them my own’ I mean put my name on them and claim that they’re my ideas.

Google Goggles – “Facial Recognition” for Your Smart Phone

First, I’d like to credit Mind Shift for their informative “Educational Apps of the Month” posting this month. There are some real gems there and one that I want to highlight: Google Goggles. Google and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu California (one of my favorite museums of all time and listed in my article “Best Online & Interactive Museums“) have paired up to create this very cool identification app.

It plays off of the Face Recognition software that has become so famous with Facebook scandals. It is available for both iOS and Android devices. Click here to get the application (if you don’t already have it). You just take a photo of the artwork with your device (any art work) and it will then scan its library and pull up an information window.

It’s also not entirely reserved for Art Work. You can use Google Goggles to scan text, landmarks, wine labels, and more! I can’t wait to try this out! Remember, before you take photos in a museum confirm that it is permissible (and always turn off the flash!).

Okay, this is cool – Make & Scan Your Own Bar-Codes

I’m sitting on my couch waiting for WWDC ’11 to start and just browsing on the web. I came across this very cool program. You can make your own barcodes with your contact info, website, etc. It’s an application for both iPhone and Android. Check it out at RedLaser.com

And once you’ve downloaded and installed it, you can scan these barcodes I made (yes it will scan on screen):

 

 

The Best Android Apps for Education

Even though I’m an avid Apple consumer and a big proponent of iOS, I’m not foolish enough to think that it’s the only smartphone option out there. So, I thought I would highlight the Android platform. I spoke to friends and family, as well as did some research, and thought I would put out some of the best Android Apps (both free and paid). With the addition of the Amazon App store, many apps are more readily available and easier to peruse. Most of these apps will have an iOS counterpart, but some are unique to the Android operating system.

Twitter - (Free) the Twitter App for Android is a great tool for accessing and posting tweets.

Tango - (Free) video chat with other smart phone users over WiFi, 3G, or 4G

Kindle - (Free) access and read your Kindle books via your Android device.

Google Reader - (Free) access and read your RSS feeds via google reader. Syncs wirelessly with your google reader account.

Google Voice - (Free) send free text messages, make free domestic phone calls, check your voice mail, and make cheap international calls via Google Voice.

Google Docs - (Free) access, edit, and share your google documents, you can even upload and convert documents via the app.

SwiftKey - ($2.02) improved keyboard for Android phones to make typing faster and more accurate

Evernote - (Free) make quit notes or view existing evernote bits. Requires an evernote account (free as well).

DropBox  - (Free) sync with your DropBox account.

Read It Later - ($2.99) Store and access online articles via Read It Later for offline reading.

Shop Savvy Barcode Scanner - (Free) this application is awesome (I have it on my iPhone). Scan any barcode (using your phone’s camera) and it will pull it up at online merchants and, using GPS, local ones – comparative shop without leaving your home or directly in the store.

Voice Recorder - (Free) save your own voice notes and then send them to your gmail account.

Google Earth - (Free) access google earth on your phone!

Fluent News - (Free) this portable new reader will help to keep you up to date on current events across the world.

Sketchbook Mobile - ($0.99) Quick & easy creativity on the go. If you like to sketch and doodle, then you’ll love Sketchbook.

Catch Notes - (Free) Create text or voice notes and attach photos, barcodes and geotags. Sync and save your notes on the Web through Catch.com. Set reminders on notes; pin them to your home screen. Protect your notes with passcode lock. Share notes via e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter

Quickoffice Pro - ($9.99) Create, view, and edit Microsoft Office files on the go.

Documents to Go Full Version - ($14.99) Create, view, and edit Microsoft Office files on the go.

ezPDF Reader - ($0.99)  Access your PDF documents wherever you are. Use Voice Reading to have documents read to you. Select Text Reflow, Fit to Text Column, or Change Reading Direction to ease reading. Play embedded video and audio, and access live hyperlinks. Copy and paste text in PDF view and bookmark as you go

Titanium Backup - ($5.99) Backup your data and your apps

3G Watchdog - (Free) Keep track of your 3G data to avoid overage fees.

Lookout Mobile Security - (Free) protect your phone from hackers and viruses.

Skype - (Free) Access your skype account from your Android operated phone.

I’m sure that there are many more that I’m missing, so feel free to add your own.

You can also see my articles: “Great Mac Gems for the Classroom” and “My Current Favorite iPad Educational Apps“