This is a part of a series on mobile devices available for learning.

Category:

It seems like nearly everyone has a cell phone these days. There are “smart phones,” like the iPhone and Android phones, that are full featured handheld multimedia devices, but even regular cell phones with cameras and text messaging can be very useful educational tools.

Credit: Ian Kennedy

Manufacturers and models:

• Apple
• Samsung
• Nokia
• LG
• …too many others to list!

Pricing:

The range of prices for cell phones ranges from free to $500+, depending not only on the features of the phone, but also on what service plan you sign up for with the carrier.

Strengths:

• A large percentage of students already have cell phones. Running a BYOD program and filling in for those students who don’t have or opt not to bring their own device can be an inexpensive way to reach 1:1.
• Cell phones provide a way to engage students in learning 24/7.
• Cell phone use is growing and is likely to be the dominant computing platform.

Weaknesses:

• There can be a distraction factor with cell phones, and as a result, many schools have policies against cell phones in school. We hope these policies will change, but see below for a work-around in the meantime.
• The issue of carriers and monthly plans with different rates can be complicated for schools to manage.
• BYOD programs mean managing a variety of different devices in your classroom. Possible solutions to that are focusing on common functionality (e.g. text messaging) or giving students options and letting them sort out what tools work best for them on particular assignments.

Killer applications:

• For smartphones:
  • Blended and online learning
  • Ebooks
  • Multimedia
  • Writing
  • Research
  • Skills practice
• For all cell phones:
  • Email
  • Photo posting
  • Text messaging
    There are so many things you can do with text messaging, including:
    • Instant response with tools like PollEverywhere
    • Mobile blogging with tools like Edmodo or Twitter
    • Research through tools like Google SMS
    • Vocabulary practice
    • Homework support

Things to consider and some opinions:

• Think about your curriculum goals before deciding on any devices.
• Cell phones are nearly ubiquitous and so essential to many students out-of-school lives that it doesn’t make sense to ignore them as a learning tool.
• There is a lot you can do via text messaging that doesn’t require a smartphone.
• Many schools have policies against cell phones in school, but there is no reason you can’t have students do homework with cell phones.
• Cell phones can be used in school in “airplane” mode or with the wireless feature turned off. In fact, some schools use cell phones without a wireless feature even enabled.

This is a part of a series on mobile devices available for learning.

Category:

These are very small touch screen devices — smaller than a tablet but not a cell phone!
(These devices have the capability to install a variety of apps. There are many other devices that support audio and video playback, but not other interactive uses.)

Manufacturers and models:
These devices used to be more plentiful with Palm and Windows mobile handhelds, but now there are just a few.

• Apple (iPod touch)
• Samsung (Galaxy Player)

Pricing:

$200+

Strengths:

• Ultra mobile
• Low cost

Weaknesses:

• Limited uses
• No built-in keyboard
• Consumption-oriented

Killer applications:

• Multimedia viewing
• Ebooks

Things to consider and some opinions:

• Think about your curriculum goals before deciding on any devices.
• While these devices are no substitute for a laptop, there is still a lot you can do with them. (Remember all the great things teachers and students did with Palm handhelds?) Having a few of these low cost, highly mobile devices can be a boon for differentiation.
• These devices come with different operating systems (Android, iOS) and have different applications available. If you start by thinking about what you want to accomplish with the devices and then look for a device that has applications that support that purpose, you’ll be ahead of the game.

The array of mobile devices that are available for learning has exploded in the past year.

This is the beginning of a series of devices for mobile learning that will cover the types of devices available, different manufacturers and models, prices, strengths and weaknesses, and more, including our own opinions of things to consider. We’ll be looking at the following:

• Mini-laptops (netbooks)
• Tablets
• Handheld multimedia players
• Ebook readers
• Cell phones

We hope you enjoy this series and the updates we post as things move ahead.

The Kids Open Dictionary now has an option to create mobile flashcards using gWhiz. This free app supports the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, BlackBerry, Android, and more.

To make your flashcards:

(Before doing this, you need a Google Docs account and you need gWhiz on your mobile device.)

• Use the glossary builder in the Open Dictionary to create your set of words and definitions.
• Select the option to save your glossary as CSV. Right-click the “Click here to download your glossary” link and save the file. (If you missed it, we recently added an option for logged in users to save your glossary so that you can return to edit it later.)
• Go to the gWhiz Flashcard Template form. NOTE: You need a Google Docs account to proceed.
• Fill out the form, and then proceed to Google Docs as instructed.
• Save the document as a copy with the name you’d like to appear on your mobile device. Open the CSV file you created above. Copy the cells from the CSV file and paste them into the Google Doc template. Save and close the Google Doc.
• Go to gWhiz on your mobile device.
• From the menu, select Get My Google Data…  Select the file for your flashcards and download.

Here are more instructions on this and some advanced features like adding pictures.

We hope you enjoy this new feature.

Special thanks to Matt Renfroe for requesting this feature. If there’s something else you’d like to see in the Open Dictionary, let us know, and we’ll see what we can do!

Since the very popular handheld computers from Palm and others were phased out, I have often been asked what to replace them with in classrooms.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a great answer. I really like mini-laptops (aka netbooks), but they are not the same as handhelds. A more comparable device in terms of form factor and functionality is the smartphone, but those have their own challenges for schools. Many people asked me about iPods, to which I replied that they didn’t have the features or functionality of a handheld computer. They were basically pretty static multimedia players without much ability to interact.

Now with the iPod Touch 4th Generation (iOS 4), the iPod now qualifies as a handheld computer in my book. (Yes, I realize that I may be the last person to concede this point.:) This device does everything that the high end Palms did and more. And at under $300, the price is right.

One of the key components of a “handheld computer” for me is the ability to produce word processed documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. With Google Docs recent release of a mobile version for both iOS and Android, the package is complete.

I am anxious to see some Android handheld devices come out that have similar functionality. (The early entries in Android have been smartphones.) Stay tuned as more true handhelds come on the market.

The University of San Diego just released a series of documents and policy recommendations on “Helping School Personnel Control Student Misuse of Electronic Communications Devices On and Off-Campus.”

After reading this collection, I have so many thoughts that I hardly know where to begin. Any personal interpretation aside, though, I think that anyone involved in K-12 educational administration should read this. It includes a very thorough compilation of legal cases related to student use of both school-owned and student-owned electronic devices (primarily cell phones, but the information is broadly applicable to other devices, as well as to social media and the web in general) both on and off campus.

So now for the personal interpretations, in no particular order:

• There are a lot of complex legal issues to consider, and many cases with contradictory findings.
• I worry that upon reading this leadership will run shrieking from the room and not even want to use electronic devices for instructionally valid purposes. (My experience, as well as that of others, is that when students are given instructionally relevant activities to do, improper use drops dramatically.)
• It’s a shame that this amount of exhaustive work on mobile devices and social media went into examining improper uses of electronic media.
• Little mention was made of constructive uses of technology, beyond to point out that now that schools have used electronic devices for productive uses, they will find it harder to restrict their use. Unfortunate comment.
• This is very indicative of the focus of most administrations on legal issues. If folks spent as much time on addressing real learning needs as they do on legal compliance and covering their collective asses, students would benefit.
• This report applies as much to broader student uses of the web and social media. There are some fascinating cases related to cyber-bullying and personal student web sites devoted to often juvenile (they are kids after all) student critiques of schools and school personnel. Personally, I worry a lot about restricting student speech (which is addressed in this report). For each of these cases, we should look a non-digital parallel example and think about how we would react to that. There is then the issue of publicness to consider — drawing an inflammatory picture is not the same as then photocopying that picture and publicly distributing it (or putting it on the Internet).
• Simply saying in a policy document that free speech and the Constitution will be respected is not enough if the actual polices are not consistent.
• There is a huge need for educating students about the publicness of the Internet (and mobile communications that can be forwarded, publicly posted, etc. in a single click), related legalities, and responsible and civil behavior. This is a 21st century skill!!
• I would love to use this document with a class of middle school students to have them engage in a discussion of the issues and then draft their own rules and acceptable use policies. Anyone game for that?

Please weigh in with your own comments on these issues and this report.

This is a short presentation on integrating handhelds into the classroom intended for teachers who have some familiarity with handhelds and want to use them more effectively with their students. It also features a list of some of the best freeware available.

If you have a problem with a Quizzler quiz that won’t beam or read properly, check the length of the file (quiz) name. Like many programs, Quizzler doesn’t like very long file names.

There have been several new mobile devices coming out, and now HP has one as well. The HP 2133 Mini-Notebook is $499 with Linux. (As with all of these new category devices, the price is quite a bit higher with xp.)

As the prices come down a bit (I think $300 is the sweet spot for education), these devices might be a good solution for a one-to-one computing device, falling somewhere between a handheld and a laptop. I am particularly interested in how Web 2.0 applications runs on these and what other educational programs are available.

Stay tuned for more on these new devices and their use in the classroom.

In my on-going quest to differentiate instruction for teachers as a part of workshops I do, I’ve been experimenting with using blogs and wikis as PD tools.

The latest installment in this is a hands on workshop on using mobile technology to differentiate instruction (coincidentally) that I am outlining in a wiki. I’m hoping that this wiki will also be able to be used as a self-study tool for those who aren’t at the workshop (or for those who attend and want a refresher or more in-depth learning later on).

Here’s a preview of a section on using ebooks.

We’ll be using this at my “HANDS ON: Using Mobile Technology to Differentiate Instruction” at NCETC on Mon., Nov. 26. If you’ll be there, I’m really looking forward to this. (This is a bring-your-own-laptop-and-mobile-device workshop. Contact me for more info.)

If not, stay tuned for the final version of this. I’ll post a note when it’s done (or as near to done as wikis get .