I also believe that you need a HOME BASE, that is, one central place for all that content to live. This “home base” should be the place where kids know to go everyday to find what they need. (I’ve also found that having this kind of “home base” will prompt students to go and explore areas that may not even be covered in class.) For most schools, this will be a cloud- or network-based place.

There are many options for where this “home base” might be hosted, ranging from something as simple as a foldering system (like Google Drive or even a network drive) to something more complex like a full content management system.

Two important variables in considering the options are:

• Cost  (and by cost, I mean not only whether it is free or how much you pay for it, but also by how easy it is for an individual teacher to use without necessarily having district IT help)
• Student data tracking capabilities (This means the degree to which you can see what students access, how long they spend on it, what assessment results they have, etc. This information is obviously very useful to teachers.)

Using those those two variables, I’ve made this graphic to list out some different options.

What do you think? Is this useful? Are there other big content hosting/organization tools or platforms that are missing?

I’ll be continuing to refine this so I appreciate any input.

The post Differentiating and personalizing learning appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

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.

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.

The post Mobile devices: Cell phones appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

Category:

These basic devices are intended for reading ebooks and not much more. (We’ve included the more sophisticated devices from the same manufacturers in our post on tablets.)

Manufacturers and models:

• Amazon (Kindle, Kindle Touch)
• Barnes & Noble (NOOK Simple Touch, NOOK Color)
• Sony (Reader)

Pricing:

$79-199

Strengths:

• Enhanced features for reading, including variable display, dictionary support, search, notetaking, etc.
• Low cost
• Long battery life
• Single use (minimizes distraction)
• Wireless not required

Weaknesses:

• Single use

Killer applications:

• Ebooks

Things to consider and some opinions:

• These devices are designed for reading ebooks. If you want a device that does more, consider a tablet.
• While the use of these devices is limited, they are good at what they do. Not having access to a ton of other apps can also help students focus on reading. Having a few of these devices in a classroom or making them available for checkout from the library is a great way to encourage reading and provide some extra features like vocabulary support, searching, and variable display options.

The post Mobile devices: Ebook readers appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

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 post Mobile devices: Handheld multimedia players appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

Category: Tablets

These computing devices have touch screens and are typically operated through touch rather than a keyboard. They come in a variety of sizes but are generally smaller than a laptop but larger than a mobile phone.

Manufacturers and models:

• Apple (iPad)
• Amazon (Kindle Fire)
• Barnes & Noble (Nook Tablet)
• Samsung (Galaxy)
• Sony
• ASUS

Pricing: $199 – $800+

Strengths:

• Intuitive ease of use
• Well-suited to reading and multimedia viewing
• Very mobile
  

Weaknesses:

• No built-in keyboard
• Consumption-oriented
• Generally not robust enough for advanced multimedia creation, such as video editing
• Frequent changes in models and technology

Killer applications:

• Ebooks
• Multimedia viewing
• Google Apps (word processing, spreadsheets, presentation)
• Anything Web 2.0
• Robust curriculum content

Things to consider and some opinions:

• Reliable wireless is essential.
• Consider the form factor.
  The form factor of a touch-based tablet with no keyboard may work for some applications (e.g. reading, multimedia viewing) better than others (e.g. extended writing). In some schools, younger students have been found to like tablets better than older students. The most important things are to think about your curriculum goals (see below) and get a few devices to test with students and teachers. See what they like and what meets their needs.
• Think about your curriculum goals before deciding on any devices.
  These devices come with different operating systems (Android, iOS, etc.) 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 post Mobile devices: Tablets appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

Category: Mini-laptops, aka netbooks

These are smaller, lightweight laptops that are typically configured with minimal memory and priced very economically.

Manufacturers and models:
Most of the major laptop manufacturers also make mini-laptops.

• Acer
• ASUS
• Dell
• HP
• Lenovo
• Chromebooks

Pricing:

The prices for these devices depends on how you configure them. They can be as cheap as $200 or as expensive as $1,000 or more. Devices suitable for mobile learning can easily be found in the $300 price range.

Strengths:

• Low cost
• Built-in keyboard
• High degree of flexibility in terms of use
• Full computing capabilities
• Relative stability of devices (especially compared with other mobile platforms)

Weaknesses:

• Generally not robust enough for advanced multimedia creation, such as video editing
• Less mobile than some alternatives
• Smaller screens can be a problem with some applications

Killer applications:

• Google Apps (word processing, spreadsheets, presentation)
• Anything Web 2.0
• Robust curriculum content
• Learning management systems (a place to serve as a “home base” for all your instructional resources and to track student use and achievement)
  • Wikis (basic)
  • Moodle (advanced)

Things to consider and some opinions:

• Configure to keep the cost low.
  We believe in less expensive hardware to allow the broadest access possible. While purchasers are often tempted to load up these devices with lots of memory, large hard drives, full operating systems, and costly software, none of this is really necessary. The whole point of “netbooks” is to use free or inexpensive web-based software and storage solutions.
• Good wireless is essential.
• Think about battery life and power requirements.
  Get a device that can make it through the school day without charging.
• Get good cases and let students take the devices home to maximize their effectiveness.
• Think about your curriculum goals before deciding on any devices.
  Mini-laptops are one of the most flexible types of mobile devices. They are particularly appropriate for writing and for older middle school and high school students.
• Preload the devices with as much content as possible.
  When students have access to content and a reason to use them for school, they are more likely to use them productively. (This means professional development for teachers as well.)

The post Mobile devices: Mini-laptops (netbooks) appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

I got it as a personal device, but was immediately struck by its potential as a tool for mobile learning.

With the popularity of Apple iPads in schools these days, the comparisons are inevitable. The Kindle Fire runs Android, while the iPad runs iOS, but functionally, they’re pretty similar. The iPad has a camera, which the Fire doesn’t (which isn’t necessarily a disadvantage for schools, but stay tune for the next version). The iPad is somewhat larger (7.3″ x 9.5″; 1024 x 768) than the Fire (7.5″ x 4.7″; 1024 x 600). The iPad can be configured with 16 GB to 64 GB of memory;  the Fire has 8GB. (Again, stay tuned.) They both have beautiful, brilliant screens.

Currently, there is more software available for iOS than for Android (and particularly the Fire), but there hasn’t been much that I really wanted that I couldn’t get on the Fire. One minor annoyance with the Fire is that the Android Marketplace apps aren’t readily available (without rooting the device). Amazon has seemed to have begun to seen the error of its ways on this, and hopefully it will be resolved soon.

To me, a very big issue is PRICE. At $199 list, the Fire is well under half the cost of the cheapest iPad. Relative to education:

• Somewhere around $200 is the “sweet spot” for school pricing where one-to-one starts to make sense.
• I would generally rather see more devices in more kids’ hands; lower cost facilitates this.

For any of these tablet devices though, the question remains: Are they well suited to mobile learning?

Some have said that tablets are primarily media consumption devices and don’t inspire the kind of deeper creation that we want kids doing.

My responses to this are several. First, it’s hard for me not to think about all the great work, including writing and other work, that I’ve seen kids do in the past on Palm and Windows Mobile handhelds. And these handhelds of yesteryear are vastly inferior in every way to the new tablets. It’s one of the things that excites me most about these devices.

Secondly, there are a lot of great creation tools available for tablets. You can write using them with Office-type tools. (Google Docs is a favorite of mine.) You can collaborate and communicate with others. You can create graphic organizers, outlines, and notes. You can make presentations and even record audio and video. True that these devices aren’t well suited to editing and creating full multimedia presentations; that’s really a job for a more powerful laptop or desktop computer.

Finally, there are aspects of learning that do involve consumption — what we need is more differentiated, interactive consumption. Think about a textbook that is customized for each student’s needs and interests and includes opportunities for interactive practice and collaboration with others. That is the potential of tablets.

Now, if you are evaluating tablets against laptops for a one-to-one project, I personally would go with laptops in many, if not most, cases (especially for secondary students). There is little question that even a low end laptop has more capabilities than a Kindle Fire.

However, in a typical classroom, which is not one-to-one and which includes a variety of computing devices, including some laptop and desktop computers, I think the Kindle Fire is a cost effective tool that can greatly improve learning for many students.

The post Kindle Fire: Mobile learning device? appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

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 post Mobile devices for learning appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

These books include subjects in ELA, math, social studies, and science and are formatted in web, Kindle, and EPUB versions.

We’ll be adding more titles to this collection over time.

Enjoy!

The post New free ebooks appeared first on K12 Handhelds.

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!

The post Mobile flashcards from the Open Dictionary appeared first on K12 Handhelds.