Educational Technology Exemplified through NASA’s Curiosity Rover

While listening to the news and watching the NASA videos on YouTube, I realized how many parallels there are between Curiosity and many of the educational technologies that we’ve discussed in the CTER program at UIUC. NASA has been using cloud computing to transmit data, generating interest and learning through gamification, and using social media to reach the population. 

The scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at NASA had to not only get data to travel from Mars to Earth but also faced the challenge of sharing the data with the world. In order to process the huge quantity of data and instantaneously share it with the public, NASA had to move to cloud computing for the processing of data; services from Amazon "allows [NASA] to leverage multiple machines to do actual processing." (Endler, 2012) NASA intends to continue using cloud computing because the quantity of scientific data is growing every day and cloud computing is cost efficient. 

Next, NASA has generated interest in young people through gamification. NASA and Microsoft teamed up to create the free and interactive Xbox 360 Kinect video game “Mars Rover Landing.” (Workman, 2012) The purpose of the game is for kids to get the rover to land in the right spot without any damages. Below is a screenshot of the game. (Workman, 2012) Kids are not learning anything about Mars in the game but do gain detailed knowledge on how the scientists and engineers designed the rover to land.

Finally, NASA scientists did a great job in reaching people outside of the scientific community through their effective use of social media. The scientists in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory created a YouTube video, “Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiosity’s Seven Minutes of Terror.” (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2012) The video itself is aimed at the general public- it’s not written for scientists or engineers. There is wonderful graphics and describes the challenges Curiosity faces in order to generate public interest.

NASA also created an interactive website that allows users to play games, watch videos, view images from Mars, and ask questions to the scientists. Teachers can find materials on this site to bring Curiosity into their classrooms.  You can follow the Mars Rover on Twitter @MarsCuriosity (which is written in 1^st person, as if the rover itself is writing). The rover has 930,138 followers (including me). You can also “like” the rover on Facebook (which I did today) and follow it on there.

I find it really interesting that NASA has been leveraging these tools in order to reach the public- it’s the same thing that we should be doing as teachers in our classrooms. I am really impressed with NASA’s outreach to educate the general public, generate interest in those outside the scientific community, and create a generation of kids that want to be involved in science and engineering. 

Endler, M. (2012, August 10). NASA Mars Mission Fueled by Amazon Web Services. Retrieved August 10, 2012, from Information Week: http://www.informationweek.com/government/cloud-saas/nasa-mars-mission-fueled-by-amazon-web-s/240005286

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (2012, June 22). Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiosity's Seven Minutes of Terror. Retrieved August 10, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki_Af_o9Q9s&feature=plcp

Workman, R. (2012, August 1). Microsoft and NASA Team Up for Curiosity Mars Rover Xbox Game (+Video). Retrieved August 10, 2012, from CS Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0801/Microsoft-and-NASA-team-up-for-Curiosity-Mars-rover-Xbox-game-video

Techstanding 3 for EPSY 457

The Scenario “You have been identified as an innovative and creative educator.  Your supervisor would like to take advantage of your ability to look at traditional practices from a new perspective.  Your supervisor is unclear as to how online learning can fit into the learning landscape."

The Instructional Challenge
“Your instructional challenge is to develop one brief lesson or professional development training module that shows how online learning can fit into your workplace's model of practice.  Your solution must have a research foundation, must include models of practice, and must demonstrate how these models could be modified for use in your own learning environment.” 

The Solution

If I was given the opportunity to provide professional development to teachers on online learning at the high school level, I would focus on two different topics. First, I would discuss online learning environments. Then I would discuss how teachers can use a wiki in their classroom. Both online learning environments and creating a class wiki are simple ways that teachers can create new models of learning in their classroom without needing much administrative support or financial investment by the school district.Although a wiki technically fits into the category "online learning environment," I think that they are so useful in the classroom that they deserve more attention than other Web 2.0 tools. 

Research Model 1- Online Learning Environments

An online learning environment can be defined as “ensembles of agents, who share a common language, world, values in terms of pedagogical approach and knowledge to be acquired and pursue a common learning goal by communicating and cooperating through electronic media in the learning process.” (Seufert, Lechner, & Stanoevska, 2002) As shown in the figure below, online learning communities combine traditional online communities with traditional learning paradigms to form a new type of learning community. (Seufert, Lechner, & Stanoevska, 2002)

 

In theory, Online learning communities can be used in any learning environment and have been shown to improve student learning. Researchers have found that online learning environments improve student motivation and quality of work: “55% of surveyed students felt more motivated to be diligent in their assignments because other students would be reading them, and only 10% felt that reading the assignments of other students was not useful.”  (Hiltz & Wellman, 1997)  The figure below demonstrates that various websites and tools provide platforms for online teaching, online tutorials, online assignments, and online discussions. (Seufert, Lechner, & Stanoevska, 2002) Learners at any level and content area can benefit from online learning communities.

In practice, there are many different ways that teachers can set up an online learning environment. There are social learning websites such as Edmodo or Collaborize Classroom that provide a platform for online discussions. There are other websites such as Wikispaces or KidBlog that allow students to work collaboratively and provide an audience for learning. Finally there are also many websites such as Quia that provide a class webpage, online review games and online assignments. Teachers can create an online learning environment very quickly, within their content areas, for any grade level and without any cost to the school district. 

For students, online environments provide an atmosphere of learning  across time and space. Students can work together or submit assignments regardless of their location or the time. Students also get to use Web 2.0 tools that allow them to be creative and take ownership of their learning.

For teachers, online learning environments  are a simple way to engage Generation Z learners. Most all are free, are usually user-friendly, and are made to support education. I could make multiple professional development sessions for teachers on online learning environments!!

For administrators, the only task is to make sure that the Web 2.0 tools are not blocked by the internet security software at the school. Administrators need to communicate with the teachers and technology staff to ensure that teachers have access to what they need to create the online learning environments. 

Research Model 2- A Classroom Wiki

A wiki is a “website whose users can add, modify, or delete its content via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a rich-text editor” (Wiki, 2012)  Wikis are collaborative tools that allow multiple people to contribute on one project. Wikis make collaboration among multiple people really easy and can be very useful in a classroom. The video below describes wikis and how they make collaboration extremely easy and convenient. (LeFever, 2007)

In theory, using a wiki in the classroom improves student writing and can serve multiple purposes in a classroom. A study conducted through Georgia Institute of Technology found that using a wiki in the classroom improved student writing skills. The first reason skills were improved is through peer-review:  “we examined first and final drafts of students’ essays alongside evaluations that were written by their peers to identify the kind and quantity of revisions based on peer review. We found that about 80% of students used peer evaluations to refine their papers.” (Forte & Bruckman, 2006) They also found that wikis improve writing because students prefer having an audience: "having an audience who can comment on what is written directly supports efforts to write clearly and to write well.” (Forte & Bruckman, 2006) Wikis can serve multiple purposes in a classroom- not just for student writing. They can also be used for course webpages, a place for students to turn in work or upload projects, a source of resources for students, or as an “online filing cabinet” where teachers and students can post important information and files. (Wetzel, 2009)

In practice, teachers can use a wiki in every learning environment! They can be modified to suit any topic or grade level. Personally, I’ve used a wiki in my classroom to have students write their lab reports. Other subjects could use wikis for book reports, self-reflections, discussions, and collaborative projects. Below is a nice Venn diagram that shows how a wiki can fit into any classroom. (Davis, 2010)

For students, wikis provide an environment to be creative as well as an audience for their work. They make learning relevant because wikis are used in higher education and in many careers. They also make learning collaborative for students and much more interesting than typing a report on a word processor. 

For teachers, wikis engage students and provide a platform for collaborative learning. Teachers can also see which students have contributed and the specific edits that individual students did. This gives teachers an easy and fair way to assess student contribution in a collaborative setting. 

For administrators, wikis provide a way for parents and other stakeholders in education to see the wonderful things that students are doing. Teachers can monitor wikis for content and then make them public so that everyone can easily see what the students are learning and how they progress throughout the year. Although wikis are not on state-mandated exams, we saw earlier how wikis improve student motivation to write well and provide students with peer-reviews. If students are using wikis in most classes throughout the entire school year, administrators should see improvements on exams from the consistently better writing.

Conclusions

Given the opportunity to teach other teachers on ways to fit online learning into their learning environments, I would focus on two things- online learning environments and wikis. Although a wiki can fit into the category, “online learning environments,” I believe that wikis are so useful in education that they deserve the spotlight that I give them. I would love to actually provide professional development for teachers on online learning environments and wikis because they have proven to be such a wonderful addition in my classroom that I believe that every teacher should be using them. The times are changing for education and teachers need to keep up with the technology available to ensure student success. (Meade123, 2009)

Wiki. (2012). Retrieved February 26, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

Davis, V. (2010, July 12). The Web 2.0 Classroom. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from Cool Cat Teacher Blog: http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2010/07/web-20-classroom.html

Forte, A., & Bruckman, A. (2006, February 28). From Wikipedia to the Classroom: Exploring Online Publication and Learning. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.71.4210&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Hiltz, S. R., & Wellman, B. (1997). Asynchronous Learning Networks as a Virtual Classroom. Commnications of the ACM, 40(9), 44-49.

LeFever, L. (2007, May 29). Wikis in Plain English. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY

Meade123. (2009, September 30). Education "The Times Are a Changing". Retrieved February 26, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuyrP_HhWEg&feature=related

Seufert, S., Lechner, U., & Stanoevska, K. (2002). A Reference Model for Online Learning Communities. International Journal on E-Learning, 43-55.

Wetzel, D. (2009, June 10). 5 Strategies for Using Wikis in the Classroom. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from Suite101: http://david-r-wetzel.suite101.com/5-strategies-for-using-wikis-in-the-classroom-a124331

Techstanding 2 for EPSY 457

The Scenario

“Your school has just been notified that you have $150,000 to spend on creating a classroom of tomorrow in which teachers in your school will rotate through this space so that everyone has the opportunity to experience teaching in this environment. You are the lead educator responsible for creating the "blueprint" of what this classroom would look like and how you would spend the money. The money may be used for equipment, professional development, furniture -- anything that you believe will make this the best learning environment for your students. Your learning space has to reflect both high and low end technological resources, keeping in mind that the teachers who rotate through this space will need to be able to replicate some of what they do in this learning space into their own classroom.”

The Instructional Challenge
"Your instructional challenge is to draft a plan in which you describe what this environment will look like, how you would spend the money, and how you will create a space that includes both high and low end technological solutions, keeping in mind that this classroom will be a model for other learning spaces in which the school may not have the money or resources to go completely high end. Your solution must have a research foundation, must include models of practice, and must demonstrate how these models could be modified for use in your own learning environment.”

The Solutions

I think that there are a few ways to approach this instructional challenge. The first approach I’ll describe is where I create one awesome classroom with an amazing learning environment as described in “The Scenario.” In this method, there is one classroom that is a model for all other classrooms using high-end materials and technology.  The next way I’ll describe is one in which the grant money can be applied to benefit all students in the school rather than to be used in only one classroom that only some students will rotate in and out of. The second method uses lower-end technology and can be used in all classrooms of the school.

Design 1- One really awesome STEM laboratory

The first way that I could use the $150,000 is to create one awesome Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) laboratory in my school. STEM education has become an area of focus in American education because of President Obama’s Educate to Innovate campaign. (National Educational Technology Plan, p. 22) A state-of-the-art STEM laboratory provides students with an environment that promotes creativity and innovation. Students that have the opportunity to take part in original research and classroom experiments generally gain a deeper understanding of the scientific process; “Involvement in scientific inquiry can range from relatively brief classroom activities to lengthy projects in research laboratories. It is generally believed that the more authentic the research experience, such as an apprenticeship guided by a science professional, the more likely students will learn about aspects of scientific inquiry” (Bell, Blair, Crawford, & Lederman, 2003) Even more important to learning is that teachers from different departments could collaborate in this STEM laboratory to create cross-curricular projects that show students the relationships between biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and mathematics.

With the grant money, my STEM laboratory would have ample technology for students and teachers to work with. Examples include laptop computers at every lab station, an interactive whiteboard, document camera, high-speed digital camera, and computer-based laboratory software, probeware, and instruments. According to the National Educational Technology Plan, “technology can be used to support student interaction with STEM content in ways that promote deeper understanding of complex ideas, engage students in solving complex problems, and create new opportunities for STEM learning at all levels of our education system.” (National Educational Technology Plan, p. 22)

In theory, I could also design the laboratory room itself to be useful in student learning. Students can actually study energy, power, and many other science phenomena if the lab space is designed correctly:

“Exposed HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems allow students to observe the electrical and mechanical workings of a complex system. Skylights or multiple windows allow students to observe weather patterns and the movement of the sun. Read-only displays of key school data, such as temperature and energy use, can transform the physical classroom into a teaching tool. In general, the science classroom should be an intellectually stimulating environment.” (Butin, 2000)

In addition to the exposed design, the labs could also include windows to the outside to bring in the outdoors. Traditionally science laboratories do not have windows but that would be a bonus for a secondary education classroom and be helpful for biology and ecology classes. Along with the exposed systems and windows in the STEM lab, the space could include two separate spaces in one room: a learning section and a laboratory section. In the learning area, students can collaborate on projects or learn the background information before they begin their independent studies in the laboratory. The dual spaces provides an environment for the teacher to differentiate instruction and break students into collaborative groups to work on various assignments and projects. 

In  practice, a STEM lab that incorporates all of the ideas that I have described above can be found at the Niles School District in Illinois. At Niles North and Niles West, they renovated a classroom at each school to have an awesome STEM laboratory. Below is a floor plan of their space (LegatArchitects, 2010). They did not add on to the schools- they redesigned the space to create a better environment for the students. 

 At Niles, they created the two spaces as I described, one for instruction and another for activity. They call the instructional area  “The Think Tank” and it “encourages students to think out loud and supports global conferencing. It offers full AV input and output, a plasma TV, projectors/screens, and interactive white boards.” (LegatArchitects, 2010) They second space they created is for laboratory activities and original research.  Below is a description of their laboratory area.

“Movable tables and individual work carts that roll under counters give students the flexibility to conduct many experiments. Computer storage with internal charging stations allows students to use their laptops for research or interface with lab equipment (e.g., bomb calorimeter, shaking tables, spectrophotometer). An overhead gridding system and large tabletops allow for optimal connections to equipment, while speakers and microphones transmit throughout the lab.” (LegatArchitects, 2010)

Here are some photos of the STEM labs at Niles North and Niles West. 

 

For the students, these laboratories provide an area that they can be creative, inquisitive, and innovative. They can learn background information and review concepts with the computer, interactive whiteboard, student response system, and collaborative setup of “The Think Tank.” Then, they can apply ideas and actively discover new principles in the highly technological laboratory. 

For teachers, this STEM lab provides the space and tools to engage learners and differentiate instruction for every learner. Teachers can collaborate within departments and work together on cross-curricular projects to intertwine several disciplines. 

For administrators and the community, the true benefit for creating an awesome STEM laboratory comes from knowing that they are doing the best they can to make their students scientifically literate and preparing them for college. There are also major bragging rights for having something that very, very few high schools in the United States have. :)

 

Design 2- Technology for all students to learn

Given $150,000, I could institute a lot of change at my school! In my second design, I’m going to show how we could bring technology to EVERY student at my school in most class periods using the resources already available in my school and some tools that cost much less than an entire STEM laboratory. I realize that the assignment is to create one classroom, but I am too concerned with equity in education and I would rather see ALL students benefit from the money than some students gain a lot while others see no change. It’s not fair to rotate kids into and out of the classroom- all students should benefit. 

In theory, I could use the grant money to purchase interactive whiteboards, student response systems, and learning software that would benefit all students, every day. Interactive whiteboards help students learn more efficiently because they present information, “in sharp colors, and to annotate, conceal, manipulate, move and zoom in on or focus on images, including text, is also said to enhance the learning process” (Smith, Higgins, Wall, & Miller, 2005)

Furthermore, interactive whiteboards and student response systems motivate students to learn and that they generally enjoy working with them. Researchers have found that students become more motivated through the use of interactive whiteboards: “pupils’ zest for learning was enhanced by the element of surprise that IWBs and accompanying software can bring to lessons.” (Smith, Higgins, Wall, & Miller, 2005) Researches have also studied how students react to interactive whiteboards and what their general views are of them. They found that by far, most students have beneficial views of IWs (Wall, Higgins, & Smith, 2005). The number one reason that students like the IWs is that they are motivational: “Motivation was indicated as a key factor impacting upon the pupils’ metacognitive process (89% of comments were written in the thought rather than the speech bubble). Within this category, pupils mentioned motivation from a desire to actually use the board themselves.” (Wall, Higgins, & Smith, 2005)

The video below demonstrates the power of student response systems. (SmartClassrooms, 2010) The response systems keep students focused, provide instant feedback to learners, and give valuable data to teachers throughout each lesson that guide lesson pace and re-teaching. 

 

In practice, I could bring IWs to all students in my school. In my school, we already have computers, projectors, and document cameras in each classroom. We have laptop carts, 4 computer labs, and 1 computer for every 2 students in the science classrooms. We also have the latest Vernier/ Logger Pro & Pasco/Data Studio software and probeware for our science classrooms. Although we don’t have a fancy STEM laboratory, we can use the money to bring in IW technology that will help all students learn. 

Using the technology that we have in my learning environment, we could bring in 20 sets of portable interactive whiteboards (on mobile stands), 20 sets of student response systems, and 20 licenses for the SMART learning software. All of the prices of the SMART technologies are from United Visual, a distributor of AV equipment. (SMART Technologies Corporation MSRP Price List, 2012)

I chose to allocate 3 sets of portable IW systems for all core classes as well as Special ED/ELL. Next, give 2 sets for foreign language (not a requirement for graduation but a common requirement for post-secondary education). Finally, have 1 set for all of the electives. With 20 total sets, there is over $20,000 remaining for professional development for teachers and IT staff.

For students, this means that most periods of every school day they will be actively participating in the lessons with student response clickers and an interactive whiteboard. They will constantly be gaining informal feedback on their understanding of the curriculum and the ability to see progress throughout each lesson. All students will be more motivated and engaged at my school because of the grant. 

For teachers, this grant means that they will have more technology and professional development to intrigue and engage Generation Z learners. They will also have the interactive learning software that provides lesson plans and ideas. It will be more work in the beginning for them because it is new equipment and technology, but I imagine given good professional development for both the teachers and IT staff that the transition would be smooth. The student response system will give teachers the ability to formatively assess students in the middle of a lesson to determine if re-teaching is necessary or if students are ready to move on. This can be a wonderful tool and with the grant, it  can be available for all teachers. 

For administrators, the Smart Board set insures that teachers are making data-based decisions and are current in modern technology. They can collect data during their administrative walk-throughs and attend the professional development to help teachers determine the best ways to use the technology in their content area. 

The scenario is that I’ve been awarded $150,000 to use at my discretion. There are two ways to go about solving this problem; one way serves only some students in an elite classroom and the other way to serve all students most school days. While I think that it is a nice idea to have one awesome classroom, my personal preference is to help ALL students learn. 

National Educational Technology Plan 2010. (2010). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010.pdf

SMART Technologies Corporation MSRP Price List. (2012, February 1). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from United Visual: http://www.unitedvisual.com/pdf/smart_msrp.pdf

ArchiCentral. (2010, January 12). Niles North and West High School Science/Technology/ Engineering/ Mathematics (STEM) Labs by Legat Architects. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.archicentral.com/niles-north-and-west-high-school-sciencetechnologyengineeringmathematics-stem-labs-by-legat-architects-25881/

Bell, R. L., Blair, L. M., Crawford, B. A., & Lederman, N. G. (2003). Just Do It? Impact of a Science Apprenticeship Program on High School Students' Understandings of the Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(5), 487-509.

Butin, D. (2000). Science Facilities. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities: http://www.ncef.org/pubs/science.html

LegatArchitects. (2010, February 5). Niles North and West High Schools. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://isbe.net/construction/pdf/Niles_North_West_HS_STEM_Labs.pdf

SmartClassrooms. (2010, November 19). A Fast and Effective Way to Assess Learning. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3R6gewJ9xg

Smith, H. J., Higgins, S., Wall, K., & Miller, J. (2005). Interactive Whiteboards: Boon or Bandwagon? A Critical Review of the Literature. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 91-101.

 Wall, K., Higgins, S., & Smith, H. (2005). 'The Visual Helps Me Understand The Complicated Things': Pupil Views of Teaching and Learning With Interactive Whiteboards. British Journal of Educational Technology, 851-867

Techstanding 1 for EPSY 457

Problem: “Each morning as you walk the hallways prior to first bell, you see your students' plugged in to their iPods, you hear them discussing the latest "castle craft conquest", you see cell phones put away in lockers, you overhear discussions using terms like LOL, O.M.G. your school's hallways are buzzing with energy. First bell rings. Students file into their seats. It’s quiet. Books are pulled out. You realize the students have already tuned out.”

The Instructional Challenge: “Your instructional challenge is convincing your administration that you can recreate the hallway energy and students will still be learning. Your solution must have a research foundation, must include models of practice, and must demonstrate how these models could be modified for use in your own learning environment.”

Resolution:

To convince my administration that I can recreate the hallway energy while maintaining an atmosphere of learning, I would discuss the power of mobile learning and vodcasting in education. Both of these technologies are widely available outside of classrooms and it is our job as educators to teach students how to use them. Illinois State Learning Standard 13.B.5e states that students will be able to “assess how scientific and technological progress has affected other fields of study, careers and job markets and aspects of everyday life.” There is no way for students to be able to assess how technological progress has affected other aspects of life without being able to use them in schools. We will need “to think beyond ‘what is’ to ‘what could be’ in order to prepare for the future.” (International Society for Technology in Education, 2012) Below, I will describe two technological models that will increase the energy within the classroom while still maintaining an atmosphere of learning that are not currently accepted in most schools.

 

Research Model 1- Mobile Devices

Mobile devices are existing resources in secondary schools. Students use cell phones before class for social reasons but can be used as an educational tool. According to the 2010 Horizon Report, “The range of technologies converging in mobile devices is very broad, as is the variety of ways they can be applied: GPS and compasses allow sophisticated location and positioning, accelerometers and motion sensors enable the device to be used in completely new ways, digital capture and editing bring rich tools for video, audio, and imaging — more and more, mobiles encompass it all.” (2010 Horizon Report K-12 Edition, 2010)

In theory, cell phones can be used in multiple ways in a classroom. At Hinsdale Central High School, students are allowed to use their cell phones during the school day. According to the Assistant Principal Bill Walsh, “We're encouraging opportunities for students to engage in technology to further the learning process. There are ways for the students to create educational opportunities using electronics during the school day." (Doyle, 2011) Researchers have found that mobile phones can enhance any topic of study if teachers invest time and attention in designing the activity, and that “for mobile-savvy Digital Natives, education will look quite different from what it did until the early years of the 21st century.” (Lalvani, 2012)

In practice for my learning environment (11^th grade Physics), students could use mobile phones in multiple ways. Students could use them to access the internet, perform research, watch videos not accessible on school computers, or use the SMS features to find synonyms and definitions. (Nielsen, 2008) I could also have the students use their cell phones to play review games or study electronic flashcards. Chemistry professors from Georgia Gwinnett College have been using mobile devices in their organic chemistry classes for their students to learn functional groups. They surveyed the students and found that more students found using flashcards in their mobile devices helped them learn more than traditional paper flashcards because they were more convenient, more fun, and offered the opportunity to study anywhere. (Pennington, Pursell, & Sloop, 2010) Below is an image of one of the functional groups flashcards that the students could use to study. (Pennington, Pursell, & Sloop, 2010). I could create similar electronic flashcards for information that my chemistry and physics students need to memorize if cell phones were allowed in my school district.

 

For me as a teacher, mobile phones could be useful as a student response polling system and to save costs because the students have their own stopwatch, level, accelerometer, digital camera, video camera, and compass (Nielsen, 2008).  Student response systems are traditionally very expensive but if students were allowed to use their mobile devices, I could poll the students throughout each class period as a formative assessment without any cost to the school district. 

One argument administrators may present against mobile devices in the classroom is that students will not be on task and that they will use them to cheat on tests. While this is a valid point, researchers from Vancouver Island University have found that more high school students stay on task when they have their cell phones out in class and very few of them actually use their devices to cheat. A graph of their findings is shown below. (Turner, 2011)

 

Research Model 2- Vodcasting/ “Flipped” Classroom

According to Wikipedia, a vodcast (or video podcast) is “a term used for the online delivery of video on demand video clip content via Atom or RSS enclosures.” (Video Podcast, 2012) A vodcast is different from a podcast because podcasts are most commonly audio files while vodcasts contain the video component as well. Vodcasting would require both available resources and for the teacher to design resources. The available resource would be either the iPod or computer for the students. The teacher would need to create the vodcast using a computer, recording device, and audio equipment.

In theory, vodcasting allows teachers to “flip” their classroom. It is called “flipped” because what is traditionally done at school is now done at home and vice versa. Below is a graphic that describes “flipped” classrooms. (The Flipped Classroom (Infographic), 2011)

There are several benefits to vodcasting. First of all, students that are absent won’t miss the direct instruction that everyone else received. Next, it gives students the opportunity to absorb information without the distraction of their peers. Lastly, the lower levels of thinking are done at home in short bursts while the higher levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy such as analysis, application, and synthesis are done at school with the help of the teacher. Vodcasting also allows teachers to differentiate their instruction and provide a student-centered classroom. Below is a video of Aaron Sams describing how he uses vodcasting in his classroom and why it is beneficial to him.  (Learning4Mastery, 2010)

 

 

Researchers at the University of San Francisco studied how podcasting affected nursing students. They found that vodcasting significantly helped student learning without affecting student attendance. (Maag, 2006). Furthermore, students generally like “flipped” classrooms because it allows them to control the pace of their learning and be more active at school; “over the course of the semester, many come to appreciate the help that this structure gives them in terms of preparation for each lesson, and really enjoy getting up and being active participants, rather than passive observers, in the class.” (Pennington, Pursell, & Sloop, 2010) Specific benefits that students reported from a “flipped” classroom during the University of San Francisco study are shown in the graph below. (Maag, 2006)

In practice in my learning environment, “flipping” my classroom will provide my students with more time for fun activities during class as well as the opportunity to learn the concepts at their own pace since they can pause the vodcasts or watch them as many times as they need to. Students would also be able to watch the vodcasts on their iPods or cell phones so they could “do their homework” anywhere. They can be energetic, active learners at school, working on higher-level collaborative activities such as research activities or problem-solving while still learning the necessary background information that they need. Vodcasting is also beneficial for students with disabilities and different learning styles because there is audio and visual components (subtitles if necessary) and students that miss school often for medical reasons can still be active in the course.  

As a teacher, a “flipped” classroom gives me more time to cover the curriculum because students will learn all of the background information outside of class which frees up time for the higher-level thinking to be done at school while I am there to help. A “flipped” classroom also provides ample opportunities for differentiated instruction because I have the time to help individual students during class and put them in small groups for different level assignments. In a traditional classroom, all of the students would be hearing the same lecture one time- too slow for some students while too fast for others. 

Administrators probably would not have any arguments against “flipping” a classroom because there are so many benefits for the students. The only problem is equity- some students may not have a computer or iPod. However, those students could go to the school library during their lunch to watch the vodcasts. 

Resolution

Each morning students walk through the hallways buzzing with energy. First bell rings. Students come into my classroom and keep their mobile phones out as a scientific tool. They break up into their groups for that day’s activity and start their differentiated assignment. I walk around the room to see how each student understood the video from the night before and how they are doing on today’s work. I don’t need to wake anyone up- everyone is extremely busy. I assess the students at the end of class using their mobile devices. Students are happy. I am happy. Administrators are happy.

Works Cited

 

2010 Horizon Report K-12 Edition. (2010). Retrieved February 1, 2012, from http://learn.education.illinois.edu/file.php/1815/Resources_Week_1/2010-Horizon-Report-K12-2.pdf

The Flipped Classroom (Infographic). (2011, August 29). Retrieved February 1, 2012, from Knewton: http://www.knewton.com/blog/knewton/2011/08/29/flipped-classroom-infographic

Video Podcast. (2012, January 27). Retrieved February 1, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_podcast#Video_podcasts

Doyle, B. (2011, October 9). High School Opens Dorrs to Cellphone Use. Retrieved January 30, 2012, from Chicago Tribune: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-10-09/news/ct-met-hinsdale-cell-phones-1009-20111009_1_cellphones-school-day-students-use-phones

International Society for Technology in Education. (2012, January 3). Computational Thinking: A Digital Age Skill for Everyone. Retrieved January 30, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFcUgSYyRPg&feature=player_embedded

Lalvani, S. (2012, January 23). Education 2.0: Mobile Technology in Education. Retrieved January 30, 2012, from Information Week: The Business Value of Technology: http://informationweek.in/Mobile/12-01-23/Education_2_0_Mobile_technology_in_education.aspx

Learning4Mastery. (2010, December 16). The Flipped Classroom. Retrieved February 1, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H4RkudFzlc

Maag, M. (2006, November 17). iPod, uPod? An Emergine Mobile Learning Tool in Nursing Eduation and Students' Satisfaction. Retrieved February 1, 2012, from University of San Francisco: http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney06/proceeding/pdf_papers/p92.pdf

Nielsen, L. (2008, May 12). The Value of Using Cell Phones to Enhance Education and Some Concrete Ways to Do So. Retrieved January 30, 2012, from The Innovative Educator: A Way Out of the Box: http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/05/value-of-using-cell-phones-to-enhance.html

Pennington, R., Pursell, D., & Sloop, J. (2010, March 1). Engaging Science Students With Wireless Technology and Applications by Revisiting the Thayer Method of Teaching and Learning. Retrieved February 1, 2012, from Georgia Gwinnett College: http://www.iiis.org/CDs2010/CD2010IMC/CCCT_2010/PapersPdf/TA479MG.pdf

Turner, R. (2011, September 1). Student Use of Cell Phones in the Classroom. Retrieved January 31, 2012, from Vancouver Island University: http://journal.viuonline.ca/index.php/eddev/article/download/23/21