Transcript Slide 1

Hardware and Software Tools to
Support Student Learning
Application of Current and Emerging
Technologies in the Classroom
Dr. Steve Broskoske
Misericordia University
Outline
• Wimba debriefing and backchannel
communication.
• e-Book readers.
• Smart pens.
• M-Learning and smart phone applications.
• Software tools to support student learning.
• Virtual tools for learning.
Wimba Debriefing and
Backchannel Communication
Wimba Debriefing
• What was your experience with the Wimba
tool?
• What was the educational experience like?
• Would you be interested in taking a course (or
part of a course) on Wimba?
• How could you use this tool with your
students?
Backchannel
• Backchannel communication: Secondary
electronic conversation that takes place at the
same time as a conference session, lecture, or
instructor-led learning activity.
• Might involve students using a chat tool or
Twitter to discuss a lecture as it is occurring.
• Can be private communication OR audiencewide communication displayed as text on a
screen for common participation.
Backchannel
• Backchannel conversations are beginning to
be incorporated into presentations.
• Lecturers may encourage audience members
to join in with questions or comments, sharing
their feedback with one another without
disrupting the speaker.
Backchannel and Education
• Some institutions have built their own
backchannel tools.
– Hotseat (Purdue University)
• Positive acceptance among students in early pilot
studies, where 73 percent used the tool, often to ask
questions about material that they didn’t feel
comfortable asking about publicly in class.
– Live Question Tool (Harvard)
• Allows audience members to ask, respond to, or vote
on questions while a real-time display shows the
running commentary to all participants.
Live Question Tool
E-Book Readers
E-Book Readers
• E-book readers: High resolution, lowpower devices that simulate printed text
from a book.
• Most readers offer black-and-white
resizable text presented on digital ink
rather than an LCD screen.
• Store a large library of titles.
• Allows annotations, highlighting text, and
“dog-ear” pages.
E-Book Readers
• Text is displayed using digital ink (or eink).
• Digital ink is a display technology
designed to simulate printed paper.
• Offers similar resolution as newsprint.
• Eliminates glare and reduces eyestrain
(compared to LCD).
• Low power: digital ink uses power only
when the text changes.
E-Book Readers
• E-book readers:
– Kindle (available through Amazon.com).
– Nook (Barnes & Noble).
– Sony Reader Digital Book
• Multiuse devices (designed with the e-reader
market in mind):
– eDGe e-book reader by enTourage.
– iPad from Apple.
E-Book Comparison
CNet Reviews
Kindle
Kindle
• 6” screen
• $189
• 1,500 books
Kindle DX
• 9.7” screen
• $379
• 3,500 books
Amazon.com
Kindle Features
• Long battery life.
• Easy to view and read:
– Display simulates paper with digital ink.
– Works in sunlight or with a reading lamp.
– Make font large or small.
– Automatic rotation of text.
– Sync reading location with other devices.
• Read-to-me (text to speech).
Kindle Features
• Books:
– Fast: Download books <1 minute on 3G cell
phone network (free Internet connection).
– Easy: Purchase books on device with 1-touch
ordering (no PC needed).
– Safe: 1-touch ordering means no typing in
credit card information.
– Cheap: Low book prices (most less than $10).
– Free books: Amazon’s Kindle store regularly
offers free books.
Special Kindle Features
• As you read:
– Highlight text. (Can also download to PC.)
– Type notes. (Can also download to PC.)
– Use instant dictionary.
– Search within a book.
• Extras:
– Browse the Web and Wikipedia for free.
– Read other files (PDF’s): Download from PC
OR e-mail to Kindle (small charge).
iPad
• iPad: Device that allows users to go
online, and runs computer applications
(apps).
• Looks like a large iPhone.
• Has an easy-to-use, intuitive interface.
iPad at Apple.com
Purchasing an iPad
Consider: How will you get online? (Wi-fi, 3G,
tethered to a PC.) How much is a data plan?
Popularity of e-Readers
• E-readers are increasingly used by
students to download textbooks.
• According to a report from e-textbook
provider CourseSmart, 2009 sales of
textbook downloads rose 400% over the
previous year.
E-readers and Education
• A number of institutions—including
Princeton University, Reed College, Pace
University, Case Western Reserve, and
the University of Arizona—have conducted
e-reader pilot programs to evaluate the
viability of e-readers as a substitute or a
complement to traditional printed course
materials.
E-readers and Education
• In 2009, the Florida legislature asked
Orange Grove, a state-supported digital
library, to look into providing free
downloads of digital texts to students of
state colleges and universities.
• California legislature enacted a law
requiring college textbooks to be available
in electronic format by 2020.
E-readers and Education
• Highly customizable course materials:
– Possibility of more flexible content
aggregation.
– Prompt information updates.
– Inclusion of articles not published through
traditional channels.
– Lower costs of producing and distributing.
E-readers and Education
• Expected developments:
– Pronunciation glossaries.
– Animated flashcards.
– Collaborative annotation.
– Embedded videos.
E-readers and Education
• Tablet-style readers could signal a change
in classroom interaction as an instructor,
communicating with a classroom full of
students equipped with e-readers, selects
interactive maps, charts, and graphs from
the web to illustrate lecture points.
EduCause
Smart Pens
Smart Pens
• Smart Pens (also known as pentop computers)
help students:
– Record, analyze, process material.
– Use additional computing resources.
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Smart Pens
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Learn to read.
Learn another language.
Prepare for tests.
Gain writing help.
Perform math calculations.
Gain assistance in various subjects.
Experiment with music creation.
Play music (MP3 player).
Pentop PC: Tag Reader
• LeapFrog Tag (Ages 4-8)
• LeapFrog Tag Junior (Ages 2-4)
Tag Reader
leapfrog.com/tag
Pentop PC: LiveScribe
• Onboard camera
stores what user
writes/draws.
• Interprets and
digitizes writing.
• Lecture (background
sounds) digitally
recorded.
LiveScribe.com
Let’s Explore Fly Fusion
Digital Writing Pads
DigiMemo
Boogie Board
M-Learning and Smart Phone
Applications
M-learning
• M-Learning:
– Learner is not at a fixed, predetermined location.
– Learner takes advantage of learning opportunities
offered by mobile (portable) technologies.
• Technologies:
– Handheld computers, PDA’s, iPad.
– MP3 players (iPods).
– Notebook computers.
– Mobile phones (esp. smart phones).
m-Learning.org
Emerging Categories of M-learning
a) Technology-driven mobile learning: Technology is
being tested in academia to demonstrate technical
feasibility and pedagogic possibility.
b) Miniature but portable e-learning: Mobile, wireless,
and handheld technologies are used to re-enact
approaches and solutions already used in
conventional e-learning.
c) Connected classroom learning: Same technologies
are used in classroom settings to support
collaborative learning, perhaps connected to other
classroom technologies such as interactive
whiteboards.
Ally, 2009
Emerging Categories of M-learning
d) Informal, personalized, situated mobile
learning: Same technologies are enhanced with
additional functionality, for example location
awareness or video-capture, and deployed to
deliver educational experiences that would
otherwise be difficult or impossible.
e) Mobile training/ performance support:
Technologies are used to improve the
productivity and efficiency of mobile workers by
delivering information and support just-in-time
and in context for their immediate priorities.
Ally, 2009
Emerging Categories of M-learning
f) Remote/rural/development mobile
learning: Technologies are used to address
environmental and infrastructural challenges
to delivering and supporting education
where conventional e-learning technologies
would fail.
Online Book
Ally, 2009
M-learning
• Possible uses of M-learning:
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Students in fieldwork.
Medical personnel.
Science students in the field.
Any place where JIT (just-in-time) learning is
needed.
– Any place where mobile learning should include
multimedia, interaction, and collaboration.
This is a technology to watch in the future.
Apple and m-Learning
• One expected tool for mobile learning is the
smart phone. Many vendors are creating
mobile apps to support education.
Apple
Apple’s Apps
M-learning and Education
• Phone apps, especially games, are a natural
for teaching topics.
Public Health games
Software Tools to
Support Student Learning
1) 4Teacher Tools
• Funded Web site that provides free tools to K12 teachers and students.
• Tools:
– Teaching tools and resources.
– Tools to help organize the classroom.
– Assessment tools.
– Tools to assist students.
http://4teachers.org/tools
4Teacher Tools
• Rubistar: Create a rubric.
• PBL Checklist: Create a project checklist.
• Teacher Tacklebox/TrackStar: Locate lesson plans,
ideas, resources, technology aids, WebQuests.
• CasaNotes: Templates for notes to take home.
• Assign-A-Day: Assignments/projects on a calendar.
• Classroom Architect: Design classroom.
4Teacher Tools
• KidVid: Helps teachers and students learn how to create
video production. Everything from how-to, scripting,
storyboarding, filming, to evaluation.
• Web Poster Wizard: Have students easily create Web
pages/posters as an assignment medium.
http://4teachers.org/tools
4Teacher Tools
Drill and Practice Tools:
• QuizStar: Online quizzes, including multimedia.
• Academic Skill Builders: Math/language games.
Writing Tools:
• PersuadeStar: Tools to write persuasive essays.
• Think Thank: Plan & organize a paper.
• NoteStar: Organize notes & citations.
2) Google Products and Tools
• In addition to being a search engine, Google
provides a wealth of tools:
– Google Docs.
– G-mail.
– Variety of search tools.
– Variety of reference materials.
Google.com
3) Open Source Programs
• Open source programs: Computer programs
offered for free to the public.
• “Open source” means the program code is
open for editing by other programmers.
List at Wikipedia
OpenSourceWindows.org
Virtual Tools for Learning
Virtual Tools
• Virtual tools provide:
– An opportunity for students to more concretely
experience material.
– A way to bring the material to life (make it
understandable and relevant) for students.
– A way to motivate and gain attention of
learners.
– Hands-on experience.
Virtual Online Tools
Virtual Chemistry Lab
Virtual Chemistry Experiments
Virtual Frog Dissection
Virtual Frog Builder
Virtual Math Manipulatives
Virtual Math Museum
Virtual Online Tools
Virtual History at
Discovery.com
Knowledge Matters
Ancient Egypt
Virtual Globe Theater
Virtual Poetry Reading
Virtual Experiences List
(Ace Online Schools)
Virtual Field Trips
• Virtual field trips are a powerful and efficient
alternative to real field trips.
• Virtual experience can be a wide range:
– Web page containing graphics.
– Video.
– Panoramic photo.
– Simulation.
Advantages of Virtual Field Trips
• Integrate diverse types of data in instantly
available ways.
• Present images from a variety of viewpoints and
at many different scales.
• Display non-visual data.
• Present trips to inaccessible areas.
• Provide an alternative when time, expenses,
and/or logistics are real issues.
• Enhance and expand students’ experience.
(Qiu & Hubble, 2002)
Disadvantages of Virtual Field Trips
• Do not convey the true three-dimensional
nature of objects.
• Do not convey the non-visual and aural
feelings of touch, smell, etc.
• Less beneficial than really being in the field.
• Lack the serendipitous nature of discovery.
(Qiu & Hubble, 2002)
Suggestions for a Successful VFT
• Provide background information or a preparatory lesson
before the trip.
• Preview the site ahead of time.
– Ensure everything works.
– Ensure links are accurate and not broken.
– Make sure there are no surprises!
• Plan some kind of activity for learners to complete as they
take the tour.
– Provide a treasure hunt.
– Have learners gather information and pictures for a scrapbook.
– Have learners create a postcard about their trip.
• Provide adequate supervision and guidance during the
experience.
(Keeler, 2009)
Exploring Virtual Experiences
• Let’s explore a virtual field trip/educational
experience.
– What is the educational value?
– How can you incorporate these experiences in
your classroom?
Virtual Education Tours
(Bob Bowman)
Virtual Field Trip List
(Teacher Tap)
Assignments
• Choose one technology (not limited to those
examined in class) to research. Post information
about this technology on our Wiki.
• Remote activity: Synchronous online discussion
[medium to be decided]. In the discussion, let's
reflect on the concept of collaboration and how it
relates to emerging technologies and the
read/write Web revolution.
Next Week
• Looking to the future.
• Wrap up.
• Presentations.