Tuesday, students from Craik were able to present their learning with cellphones to Liz Kolb and about 20 ustream guests. The stream was a bit wonky but I did manage to record the hour in 3 segments. The last recording is likely the most interesting as it features more of a conversation with students, Liz and Ustream questions.
I must say I was brimming with pride during the Tlt Summit. Our division presented 10 of the 60 non-commercial sessions. As one of 28 school divisions in our province and one of the smaller ones, I think this says something. I don’t apologize for bragging about the people I work with.
Because of a last minute cancellation I was asked to do an additional session. I immediately jumped at the opportunity to suggest the conveners invite Carla Dolman to do a session on her use of cellphones in the classroom. Maybe my smartest decision of the year. Carla agreed and decided to bring with her a half a dozen kids to help her. You should have seen these kids.
I wished I’d have capture it. Carla began briefly by outlining the thoughts behind the experiment to use cellphones. After about 15 minutes she paused and asked for questions. The audience of about 75 immediately began asking the students questions. “Did it change your learning? Were you tempted to use it to text or call in off task ways? Was it just a novelty? How did students who didn’t have a cellphone feel? Are you still using it for learning?” Hard, challenging, important questions. These 13 and 14 year olds handled them with a poise and sophistication that would make any teacher or parent proud. I sat back with awe and pride as they took turns, not by design, but simply as polished presenters would in responding to questions and concerns. Wow. Then Carla allowed them to share their formal presentation where they discussed the details of their learning as well as educated the audience about the language they communicate with everyday. Finally they had everyone take out their phones and begin showing them how to use bluetooth and soon they had everyone buzzing with learning as they facilitated a hands on learning experience.
While the story about cellphones is a great one itself, watching students present ideas to a real audience about something they were engaged with was another Tlt highlight. They blew me away.
Now I’m thinking about how I might get them to share their story with more people in yet another live, interactive setting. I feel a ustream presentation coming.
As promised, here’s a quick inside look at one school’s efforts to use cellphones as learning tools. This video doesn’t really do justice to the actually learning that is taken place. The cellphone is enabling students to easily incorporate a variety of communication skills and allows them to share content easily. This is still in its early stages but does capture the concept that learning tools are right in our students’ hands.
I had the great privilege of being invited to spend some time in a learning experiment in one of the local schools that I work with. The principal, let’s call him Gord (that’s actually his real name) emailed me about some interesting idea he and his grade 8/9 teacher had. The class was studying the novel The Wave. The book is about an experiment itself so it seemed perfect to their teacher, Carla to try out an experiment of their own.
So I popped in for a visit and here’s what I found:
Engagement. As Carla and Gord pointed out, the cellphone novelty will soon pass, the engagement was with the ideas and sharing. Students were not really dazzled by their phones, they simply used them to share ideas, pictures, sounds and videos. The real engagement was with each other and the story. The cellphones were almost seamless.
Responsibility. Clearly posted on the wall were a set of guidelines developed by the students and their teacher on how to use this tool wisely. Discussions of etiquette, manners, privacy and safety led them to their common understandings. While we know that kids will mess up, placing them in a position to determine the rules and understand their responsibility will go a long way. It’s called ownership.
Innovation and Problem Solving. Students discovered their phones were also organizers, voice recorders, and multimedia creators. They discovered bluetooth was a great way to share files, they created concise summaries of their group discussions using voice memos or videos.
Teacher as a Learner. Carla says she still can’t “T9” like her students, but she’s learning. She wants to understand for herself, how this can be used in learning. She texts her students in the morning to remind them of homework and they actually respond. That in itself is one positive outcome already.
Reflective Practice. My discussion with Carla and Gord clearly indicate they aren’t sure of the role of these devices in learning but certainly can’t dismiss them as many have. Interestingly enough, the school has signs posted everywhere stating cellphones, mp3’s have to be in lockers at all times. Gord laughs as he realizes he’s circumventing his own rules! He also realizes that this presents a challenge for his entire staff as they consider what this might mean. He doesn’t know yet but believes in the process of watching kids learn and determine what is best for them.
Not every student has a cellphone by the way. About two thirds have one so it’s not about every kid having it but about using the tools they come to school with. Those that don’t are using other tools like mp3’s and the web and Carla and Gord are looking at ways to support that as well. But these issues aren’t going to stop them from looking at this from a pedagogical perspective. They also get that today it’s a cell phone and tomorrow it’s something else. The question they seek is, “Can this powerful device help students learn?” So far so good. PS. Video to come soon.
Trying out Liz Kolb’s recommendation on using Gabcast with cell phones. Liz’ presentation was filled with a number of good ideas for implementation. Wes is the epitome of an early adopter as he already posted a number of conference reflections using gabcast.
Not sure if the prompting of Christian Long (sorry I can’t find the exact link) precipated this interview but regardless, it’s great to see a non-educator like Robert Scoble get close and personal with a personality like Eliot Soloway. The two sit down and talk about the future of education, the power of mobile computer, women in technology and access. Soloway does a nice job of expressing in a very positive way why things are changing and his vision for schools in the next five years. He’s a realist and provides some nice insights.
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