Friday, December 9, 2011

Module 7: Mobile Learning in the Real World to Promote Active, Authentic Learning

In this seventh module, we applied best practices of mobile learning for research, communication, collaboration and productivity. We designed and developed instructional activities for mobile learning that guided learners in exploring and utilizing interactive, collaborative tools to develop their higher-order thinking skills and creativity. We also demonstrated ethical use of digital information resources and our understanding of adaptations needed to keep acceptable use policies up to date with mobile learning environments.

Readings

Authentic Learning with Mobile Devices (Activity 2)
  1. Building a Participation Simulation Mobile Learning Environment through Scaffolding Technique

  2. Authentic Mobile Learning in Higher Education

  3. Mobile Learning Innovation: Lookup To Healthcare For Inspiration
Acceptable Use Policies in a Web 2.0 World (Activity 3)
  1. 6 Steps for Rethinking Mobile Learning Devices in Schools

  2. Developing an Acceptable Use Policy for Mobile Phones in Your SchoolTemplate from Australia

  3. Dalbeattie High School Acceptable Use Policy for Mobile Phones

  4. 10 Proven Strategies to Break the Ban and Build Opportunities for Student Learning with Cell Phones
    a collection of ideas each teacher implemented to successfully break and/or work within the ban where they teach in an effort to empower students with the freedom to use their cell phones as personal learning devices.

  5. The Role of Social Media Policies in Business

  6. List of open social media policies by the Social Media Governance.

  7. Framework Crafted for Student Use of Mobile Devices: Education policy center addresses issues around proper and improper use
  8. CoSN: http://www.cosn.org/Default.aspx?TabId=8139

  9. Exploring Mobile Device Security Policies in Higher Education

  10. Social Networking Policies for School employees: http://www.martindale.com/internet-law/article_Fisher-Phillips-LLP_1309406.htm

  11. EdWeek: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2010/08/back-to-school_social-networki.html
    http://communications.leeschools.net/press/2010/August/New%20Social%20Networking%20Guidelines.pdf

  12. Indiana: http://www.theindychannel.com/news/28249178/detail.html
     
  13. K12 Online Social Networking Acceptable Use: http://k12wiki.wikispaces.com/Social+Networking+Acceptable+Use 

  14. Hudson schools: Facebook and cell phones:  http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/event/article/id/41986/

  15. UW-M Social Media Policy: http://www4.uwm.edu/sce/socialmediapolicy.cfm

  16. Social Media Governance and Online Database : http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php

  17.  Pewaukee School District appropriate use of implementing mobile learning in curriculum.

  18. SUGGESTED STUDENT DISCIPLINE RULES:
    Student Misuse of Electronic Communication Devices in Junior High and High Schools
    Center for Education Policy and Law • University of San Diego
    Short Version
    Long Version

  19. SUGGESTED STUDENT DISCIPLINE RULES:
    Student Misuse of Electronic Communication Devices in Junior High and High Schools
    Center for Education Policy and Law • University of San Diego
    Short Version
    Long Version

Managing Multiple Mobile Devices
  1. Classroom iPod touches: Dos and Don'ts

  2. The iPod Touch: Managing a Classroom Set

  3. Charging, Syncing, and Securing Multiple iPads

  4. www.ipadcart.info, Sync & Charge Unit

  5. Charge Unit w/Case.

Activities

Activity 1:  Select from one of the three options and plan an authentic learning activity that could be used in your educational environment.

Option A - Mobile Learning Tools
  1. Explore Mobile Learning Tools Director. These mobile tools are for working and learning purposes. Note: they are NOT mobile optimized sites but tools to
    m-optimize sites and to run on mobile devices.

  2. Select an application from this list and describe how you would use it to promote active, authentic learning.

Option B – Use of GPS Navigation in an educational environment.
  1. Explore the different possibilities of GPS systems on handheld devices.

  2. If possible, download a GPS navigation system onto your cell phone. For example, Google maps navigation
    1. Windows Mobile GPS and Navigation

    2. PathAway 5 GPS Software for Windows Mobile Devices

    3. GPS Tracker By InstaMapper through Apple iTunes

Option C – Use of Geocaching in an educational environment
  1. Peruse the The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site.  Organize a geocaching activity that could be used in your educational environment.
I chose Option C and created this Geocaching activity:
 
Two problems that could be resolved in a fun way using geocaching:
1) Four new resources have been created by my department at the University of Minnesota campus. There are very few people who know about these new resources. A geocaching exercise would introduce the campus to these new resources:
  1. We recently installed Camtasia Studio on a computer that is located in a research carrel in our campus library. 
  2. We remodeled a storage room in my building so that it could be used as a recording studio for Camtasia Studio and so that Skype or Google Talk users would have a private area to use for job interviews, interviews with experts, and so on.
  3. We created a sound-proof audio recording booth inside one of our large broadcasting studios.
  4. We created a “Telepresence Room in a room that used to be our Interactive Television room (see attached photo).
2) As the technology integration specialist for my campus, this would be a fun way for me to introduce the concept of geocaching. I would offer a hands-on workshop to students, faculty, and staff.  Participants would be separated into groups of 3 or 4 people and sent out to hunt for these new campus resources. Each group would be given a portable GPS (or they could bring their own smartphones, if they had them). At each of the four locations, each group would pick up one token to bring back to me.

For Activity 2, we were assigned to create a participation simulation mobile learning environment and describe the simulation using SPMLE (Scaffolding Participation Simulation Mobile Learning).

Here is my submission:


As an instructional technology/media specialist, I have worked with a professor of History, and her students, for the past two years on group-assigned multimedia video projects. The following is an extension of this project toward a participation simulation mobile learning environment.

SPMLE Lesson Plan – Group Projects and Individual Essasys on Youth in History

1-Initial Process
              Before the Lesson:  Students have been examining youth primarily from the perspective of U.S. history, with occasional comparative examples to help them understand how our own experiences are both similar and different from those of youth in other cultures and at other points in time. The instructor will group the students into groups of four and explain that each group will choose a topic for research and develop a presentation on that topic to be presented to be shared with the class. Via the course Moodle site, the instructor has provided the students with a list of themes (for example, youth and work, or youth and sexuality, or youth and coming of age).  A video review of possible themes is also linked on the Moodle site. Sample projects from previous semesters are made available for viewing via the course site as well. The instructor will also provide information about primary versus secondary research sources.
            The instructor will also explain to the students that they will be working on an individual project (one aspect of the overall group topic that their group focuses on), and each prepare an essay on that topic that is explicitly comparative – they will make a comparison (identify similarities and differences, analyze their possible sources) between their non-US example and the U.S.  For example, if their group focused on the topic of youth and sexuality in a West African society, they might consider an individual project on how sexual coming-of-age is marked in that society and in the U.S.  The individual essays must use evidence from both primary and secondary sources to support a thesis about their individual projects.
            The instructor will provide instructions on downloading and using the Evernote app and the Explain Everything iPad app (and suggest alternatives for other types of mobile devices).

2-Scaffolding Mode
            This takes place after the groups have met and each group has selected their presentation topic and each of the students has selected his/her focused individual topic.  Students begin researching their individual topics and make their notes and resources using Evernote. As their individual topics develop, students share their progress with their group via weekly postings to the Moodle discussion forum. As the group project will result in a video containing narration, photos, images, and text, students will upload these resources to their group’s project folder on the Moodle site.

3-Fading Mode
            Each group will meet online via the Moodle “chat” tool at specified meeting times to begin assembling the multimedia project. This is where each student will be an expert in the topic he/she researched and the group will assemble, write, and narrate the video. The videos will be uploaded to YouTube and the links will be made available on the course Moodle site.  Each student will complete his/her individual essay and submit it via the Moodle Assignment tool.

4-Reflection
            Students will participate in an all-class discussion forum to share their thoughts about the project and discuss problems they encountered and how those problems were resolved.

5-Review
            The instructor and students will view all of the group videos and provide feedback to each group via the Moodle discussion forums.

For Activity 3,  I developed a lesson plan using the Flipped Classroom model. I was instructed to incorporate the podcast, vodcast, or screencast that I developed in Module 5. (My topic screencast was named, "Twitter in the Classroom").  Following is my lesson plan:

Faculty Development Workshop:  A Flipped Classroom Approach
Workshop Topic:  Using Twitter in the Classroom
This is a two-part hands-on workshop for faculty.
Part 1:
In advance of the meeting date for Part 1, faculty participants are instructed to view the following videos:
1)      “Twitter in Plain English” (commoncraft.com)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ddO9idmax0o
2)       “Twitter in the Classroom” Screencast:
http://mediamill.cla.umn.edu/mediamill/html5/135307
Note: This is the Screencast that I created in Module 5 for this course.
3)      “Twitter and TweetDeck 102” by John Stumpenhorst (@stumpteacher)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=P8nCl_Db-QI
Along with viewing these three videos, participants will complete a short Google Docs survey about each of the videos. This activity will help them focus on the key concepts in each of the videos.
The Hands-On Workshop – Part 1:
1)      Discussion:  We will discuss the participants’ experiences with viewing the videos, and share results and comments received from each of the Google Docs surveys.
2)      Activity 1:  The facilitator will demonstrate step-by-step, the setting up of an individual Twitter account.  Particpants will follow along at their own workstations to set up their own individual Twitter accounts.
3)      Activity 2:  Participants will practice using Twitter:  a) Tweet about the workshop they are attending; b) Follow one or more of their fellow workshop participants; c) Follow the facilitator; d) Re-Tweet a fellow participant's tweet; e) Search for tweets about a topic of his/her choice
4)      Activity 3:  The facilitator will demonstrate step-by-step, the setting up of a course Twitter account. Participants will follow along at their own workstations to set up their own course Twitter accounts.
Part 2:
In advance of the meeting date for Part 2 of the workshop, faculty participants are instructed to view the following videos:
1)      Paul Anderson’s “Educational Screencasts006:  Twitter in the Classroom”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTZMODNeKyc&feature=player_embedded
2)      “Twitter in the classroom” by Christine Morris. This is a very helpful discussion about one teacher’s experience in setting up and introducing Twitter to her students.
http://vimeo.com/3369021
3)       “Backchanneling with TodaysMeet” (in the classroom)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Na_rg6Ok7LM
Along with viewing these three videos, participants will complete a short Google Docs survey about each of the videos. This activity will help them focus on key concepts in each video and prompt them to think about how they might apply the concepts in their own courses.
The Hands-On Workshop – Part 2:
1)      Discussion:  We will discuss the participants’ experiences with viewing the videos, and share results and comments received from each of the Google Docs surveys.
2)      Activity 1:  The facilitator will demonstrate step-by-step, the set-up and use of TweetDeck as a backchannel for in-class discussion by opening a new Twitter discussion (#IMTtwitter) and configuring the TweetDeck screen for optimal use in the classroom. Participants will each use their own mobile device (iPod Touch, iPad, smartphone, or other tablet), or use the training room workstation computers, to participate in a discussion using Twitter.
3)      Activity 2:  The facilitator will demonstrate step-by-step, the use of TodaysMeet as a backchannel for in-class discussion (#IMTtoday). Participants will each use their own mobile device (iPod Touch, iPad, smartphone, or other tablet), or use the training room workstation computers, to participate in a discussion using TodaysMeet.
4)      Activity 3:  Participants will use TweetDeck to access the course they set up in Part 1 and practice configuring the view/layout for optimal display in the classroom.
Assessment:
1)      Observe and interact with participants for instructional and observational purposes throughout both parts of the workshop.
2)      At the end of Part 2, wrap up the workshop by opening a new Twitter discussion topic (#IMTwrapup). Using TweetDeck, solicit feedback on the overall workshop -- the tools used in the workshop, the flipped classroom method, and the participants’ key take-aways (displaying the participants’ tweets as they are responding to these wrap-up questions).

Activity 4 involved reviewing our own organization's acceptable use policy for mobile devices and search for a news article describing how an organization is modernizing its policy to support Web 2.0 and mobile learning technologies.  We posted our findings to the class discussion board.  Here is my posting:

I found this journal article online: “Exploring Mobile Device Security Policies in Higher Education.” (Issues in Information Systems, Volume XI, No. 1, 2010, http://www.iacis.org/iis/2010_iis/Table%20of%20Contents%20No1_files/204-210_LV2010_1470.pdf).

The authors did a study and discovered that, “There does not appear to be a “typical” policy at the present time. In their sample, half of the ten universities’ policies had what the authors considered to be comprehensive policies covering such elements as passwords, anti-virus, encrypting data at rest and in flight, lost device policies and other best practices. They also found that many universities have acceptable use policies for the campus network and Internet, but they do not have a published mobile device security policy in place at the present time.

The article includes a useful table (Table 3) that summarizes various universities’ security policies content.  For example, the table shows that Purdue University’s October 2008 policy includes a fairly thorough list of best practices for mobile devices. “Use of passwords, encryption (both at rest and in flight), what to do if device is lost, wireless access disabled if not in use, confirm before connecting to a network. No mention of remote wipe or virus protection.”
The Acceptable Use Policy for the University of Minnesota does not appear to include a clause regarding remote wiping of a lost mobile device. I think this should be added. When faculty are using their mobile devices to store student data, email messages from students, and student assignments and grades, the capability (and an enforcable policy) seem imperative.

Activity 5 focused on teaching cell phone safety, security, privacy and etiquette. We were to specifically look at policies and strategies that could be implemented in our own organizations to reduce cyber bullying, encourage cell phone etiquette, or enhance security and privacy.

I submitted "A Social Disclaimer for UMM":

I would like to see the following statement (modeled after the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s Social Media Disclaimer) added to the policy page for posting to the University of Minnesota, Morris’s social media pages (currently: YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr and Twitter):

“While UMM does not regularly review content posted to social media sites, it shall have the right to remove any content for any reason, including but not limited to, content that it deems threatening, profane, obscene, a violation of intellectual property or privacy rights, off-topic, commercial or promotion of organizations or programs not related to or affiliated with the university, or otherwise illegal. We expect participation to maintain a basic level of civility; disagreements are fine, but mutual respect is a must, and profanity or abusive language is out-of-bounds. Users are fully responsible for the content they load on any of UMM’s social media pages.”

In addition to adding a Social Media Disclaimer, the University of Minnesota Morris should begin educating our students about cyberbullying and its effects, perhaps through programs in the dorms.  An interview with Shayla Thiel-Stern, a University of Minnesota expert on the cyberbullying crisis:
http://mediamill.cla.umn.edu/mediamill/display/83724



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