Transcript Communicating and Learning with Smartphones

Communicating and Learning
with Smartphones
Susana M. Sotillo, Montclair State University
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
ESL in Higher Education 11:15 am – 12:15 pm
Double Tree, Bedminster Room
[email protected]
What can you do with a cell
phone/Smartphone?
How many of you own
cell phones? Smartphones?
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What do you do with them?
What can students and faculty do
with their cell phones?
What can students, especially ELLs,
learn with a cell phone?
What can we really do or learn with
cell phones/Smartphones?
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According to Marc Prensky (2005:1), “Anything, if we
educators design it right.”
“Using cell phones as learning devices, whether in or out of
school, requires a good deal of rethinking and flexibility on the
part of educators.” (Prensky, 2005:2.)
Modern cell phones have many capabilities:
 Voice
 Short messaging service (SMS)
 Graphics
 User-controlled operating systems
 Downloadables
 Browsers
 Camera functions
 Geopositioning
 Beaming (this allows us to beam memos or
short articles to colleagues and students close
by)
In terms of language learning
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What can one do with voice?
Short English lessons from ALC Press’s
Pocket Eijiro (McNicol 2004)
Japanese lessons from Enfour’s Tango
Town
BBC’s English-language training via
cell phones in China
Dictionary and phrase book software for
foreign language pronunciation.
English-language testing software.
Guided tours of Minute Man National
Historical Park (Concord, MA)
Cell Phones and Graphic Displays
Many institutions are using handhelds and
computers for animations in subjects such
as anatomy and forensics (Prensky 2005).
Specific software and products include:
 Flash Lite applications can be used to
learn sign language
 Bryan Edwards Publishing provides
PDA-compatible animations
 Chemical Abstracts Service has a
database of molecule images that can be
accessed via a cell phone
 Japanese software designers offer
innovations such as “Manga” graphic
novels
Useful Downloadable Programs
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T-observe allows
one to visit school
districts and
observe teachersin-training.
One can also use TObserve software
installed in one
handheld or Smart
Phone to observe
several full-time
and adjunct faculty.
Synchronization
with laptop or
desktop allows one
to download data,
display charts, and
notes.
Internet Browsers, Cameras and
Video Clips
Third-generation protocol
Internet Browsers allow Smart
phones instant access to
Google, other text search
engines, encyclopedias,
dictionaries, and so on.
What can you do with cameras:
 Snap pictures and document
news on the fly (download it for
one of the local news outlets)
 Encourage creative writing
among students
 Record important events such as
Governor Corzine’s visit to MSU
to discuss his proposed budget
cuts
 Record lectures by invited
speakers
 Create electronic diaries.
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Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
Sophisticated GPS satellite receivers can
now pinpoint a phone’s location within a
few feet. Some possible applications:
 Orienteering
 Archeology
 Science (biology, zoology)
 Geography
 Environmental conservation
 Math
Your Cell Phone/Smart Phone while
Traveling
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If you travel extensively or need to be in touch
with colleagues and superiors, you might benefit
from disposable cell phones that are currently
being manufactured.
When you travel you can:
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Read or listen to E-books at your leisure
anywhere, anytime.
Schedule meetings in advance, and send
documents and charts via E-mail from your Smart
Phone.
Minimize stress, maximize personal time and
learning productivity.
Short Messaging Service (SMS) or
Text Messages
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Some popular uses of SMS, an important
mode of communication in Europe, Asia
(the Philippines, China, Thailand), and
Latin America, include:
Pop quizzes or math tests in schools
Rapid connectivity among students and
between students and instructors
Reminders of upcoming exams
Daily mini-lessons in foreign languages
Test preparation questions (e.g., The
Princeton Review)
Words, Signs, Symbols in SMS
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Researchers such as Fairon, Klein & Paumier
(2006), Manfredini (n.d.), Prensky (2005), Thurlow
& Brown (2003), Ukriktiwiriya (2003), Wright (2006,
April 18), Zarantonello (2001), have shown that
SMS or text messaging is:
a global phenomenon
primarily popular among teenagers and young
adults, but
also increasingly employed by older adults
often incorporated into social interaction
done within the spatial constraints of 160 characters
Used for pragmatic purposes where words, signs,
and symbols must codify both meaning and
intention
How Do I Use SMS?
Sample of text messages downloaded using the
TreoDesktop:
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07/09/2005 09:34:54 JC. I'll be in my office at 2:00 & will call u.
21/11/2005 18:09:53 Hi Gary. Please don't forget the case. I'll pay
for it if it's necessary.
21/11/2005 19:41:08 Hi Susanna! I just checked and your case is in.
I am picking it up tomorrow. Call or text me when you get home
tomorrow. Bye for now.
21/11/2005 19:55:37 thanks so much Gary. You are the best:-D).
I'll be in tomorrow after 7:00pm I'll call U when I get in;-)
21/11/2005 19:58:32 I forgot to tell U, I'm at our Council  meeting.
21/11/2005 20:39:13 Is anything interesting going on at the council
mtg? Did RT bring up the Twp. Engineer position? If so, what exactly
did he say?
21/11/2005 23:01:06 The sound was off so I didn't hear your
message coming through. T was nowhere to be seen. I was..
25/02/2006 07:46:46 (Re: Michael, the Limousine is again) I called
again on that truck with no plate. He is parked almost in our
driveway. Maybe you can call as well?
27/02/2006 05:54:23 (The bathroom remodel) Starts this week so
you'll see the contractor ---Sent from my BlackBerry Handheld.
SMS and Language Use
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In order to investigate SMS, I downloaded
971 text messages with the Treodesktop
developed by Bruno Naglieri, and analyzed
909 of them using MonoConc.
The study was motivated by findings
reported in Europe and Asia.
It addressed three major questions.
The SMS corpus I compiled consisted of
12,295 tokens and 2,366 types.
The following represent preliminary
findings:
SMSs by type of Network:
Family (609), Former Students (172) ,
Neighbors (54), Political Contacts (43),
Colleagues (31)
Participants under 35 (46%)
Family
Participants over 35 (54%)
SMS used as a means of:
1. Enhancing close relationships with family
members, friends, and neighbors
2. Strengthening bonds with colleagues and
former students
User SMS Networks
Former Students
Neighbors
Political Contacts
Colleagues
Preliminary Findings (Cont.)
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Emoticon Usage in All Networks
11
7 322
9 8
kiss
smile
grin
wink
20
despair
24
164
worry
shouting
34
v. happy
tongue
upset
59
devil s.
75
lips shut
angel
Non-Standard Orthographic Forms
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Series1
Series2
ho
m
op
ho
ne
Co
s
nt
ra
ct
io
ns
In
itia
lis
m
s
Cl
ip
pi
ng
s
Sh
or
te
ni
ng
s
Ac
ce
nt
St
yl.
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Emoticons used primarily by
researcher and family members
Most commonly used emoticons:
Kiss, smile, and grin laugh
Homophones, contractions, and
initialisms used by 99% of
participants
Older participants (35-63 years old)
used homophones more frequently
than younger participants (under 35
years of age)
Vocatives and other reduced forms
used by younger participants
(former students ranging in age
from 19 to 28):
[[Hey]] Dr. im not sure if you
said that you al ...
[[Hey]] i was just wondering if
you were gonna
[[Hey]] its cy i just took the
fallacy test n g ...
[[Hey]] professor, i think that
the numbers tha .
Frequency of NS
Orthographic Forms
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Types of NS Orthographic Forms
Preliminary Findings (Cont.)
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As in face-to-face (F2F) and informal written communication, function words
and common orthographic signs occurred more frequently:
i
433
3.5200%
u
375
3.0485%
the
305
2.4795%
to
200
1.6259%
-
193
1.5690%
a
186
1.5121%
2
174
1.4145%
-x
164
1.3332%
1.1219%
ok
135
1.0975%
besos 138
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Number of words in text messages ranged from 1 to 85. Examples:
OK
I’ll help U
As for Gorp, he is a great find! If we can bring him on as a credited
intern or volunteer (his advisor indicated to him that he probably
wouldn’t be able to earn any credits), he will do a yeomans job. Please
do what you can to convince Gorp to join us as a non-credited
volunteer until such time as he meets the criteria to earn credit. I hope
he can get credits 4 the work. But even as a volunteer, he would be
great
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Wh-, Yes-No, and two-three word questions were used frequently: “where?” “Ok?”
Punctuation was chaotic or non-existent
Misspellings and typos occurred frequently
Text messages consisted of clauses and syntactic non-clausal units:
Summary of Findings:
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Text messages in the corpus analyzed are used to request
information, express feelings, send holiday wishes, ask for favors,
and briefly discuss important matters.
Text messaging among participants in this corpus can be
characterized as brief conversations between individuals who
know each other and share a common knowledge base.
The content of the message is determined by personal
relationships and shared knowledge (e.g., former students often
request favors—letters of recommendation, whereas current
students request clarification of assignments, extensions on
projects, and explain absences).
Politeness inserts are frequently used in spite of the limited space
and time constraints: thank/thanks (54), apologies (18) best
wishes (9), commissives (8), stereotypic greetings (66) and
farewells (16).
Linguistic forms, signs, symbols that characterize SMS
communication among young members of global mobile SMS
communities are also present in the SMS data examined.
Non-standard orthographic forms, especially homophones (835),
are used frequently by all participants in this social network array.
As in Asia and parts of Europe, SMS is used extensively in the US
as a communication and language development tool and cannot
be ignored in second language education.
Young ESL learners will likely be “fluent” users of SMS in their L1
Interested in Volunteering for an SMS
Project?
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Please send an e-mail to
[email protected] if you
are interested in chatting via SMS
(i.e., sending text messages) for the
purpose of sharing activities and
mini-lessons for language learning
via cell phones or PDAs.
References
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Boada, A., Cervera, A., & Prieto, J. (2003). SMS Technology as an academicCommunication Tool. A
Case Study: The Open University of Catalunya (UOC). In A. Médez-Vilas, J.A. Mesa Gonzalez, & I.
Sólo de Zaldivar Maldonado (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Information and
Communication Technologies in Education (ICTE2002) (pp. 72-76). Badajoz,Spain: Formatex.
Calcutt, A., 2001, Generation Txt: Mixed messages. Retrieved January 8, 2007,fiom
http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000054DF.htm
Casolari, D. (2001). Como cambia il linguaggio. Retrieved December 28, 2006, fiom
http://www.daniela-casolari.it/sms.htm
Coughlin, K. 2006. Celling Books. The Star-Ledger, p.47, June 8,2006.
Chandler, D. (2001). Semiotics: The Basics. Routledge.
Manfiedini, M. (n.d.) SMS: Tratto Sugli SMS (Parte 1 & 2).
Retrieved December 3, 2006, fiom http://www.telesms.it/StudiSmS/
Fairon, Cédrick, Jean René Klein et Sébastien Paumier, Le langage SMS. Étude d’un corpus
informatisé à partir de l’enquête “Faites don de vos SMS à la science”. UCL, Presses Universitaires
de Louvain, 2006.
Prensky, M. 2005. What Can You Learn from a Cell Phone? Almost Anything! Innovate 1 (5).
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Thurlow, C. & Brown, A. (2003). Generation Txt? The sociolinguistics of young
People’s text-messaging, Discourse Analysis Online. Retrieved November 3,
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Uknktiwiriya, C. (2003). Understanding Mobile Phone Culture - An Ethnographic
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Wright, A. (2006, April 18). Mobile Phones Could Soon Rival the PC As World’s
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Notes
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Coughlin, K. 2006. Celling Books. The Star-Ledger,
p.47, June 8,2006. (Trade group wants to boost
sales of e-books for cell phones - Cell phones are
great for saying hello, dashing off short messages
and snapping paparazzi pictures. Soon you could be
reading "War and Peace" on them, too. At least,
that's the hope of an electronic-book industry, which
is struggling to justify years of hype. "They're
squinting in Japan and squinting in Europe. They'll
squint here," said Nicholas Bogaty, executive
director of the International Digital Publishing
Forum. His trade group met in New... )