Activity Log:
July 7: Got hair cut since it was a full moon. Checked the blogs of fellow classmates.
July 9: Began moving, that is hard. Checked out some of the links on the schedule, interesting stuff out there.
July 11: Son’s second birthday. Didn’t do anything school related.
Response
Twitter: Who came up with this? Check out my um… tweet account (?), I posted a tweet earlier today my username is villanua. With only 160 characters or less of tweet space how can you really communicate to effectively promote a learning experience. It feels so much like texting, which is like so ‘yesterday’ lol. I really dislike anything that does not let you have a complete thought or depends on the profuse use of idiosyncratic words or sayings, OMG did I just say that, 2funny, lmao (I had to get my teenage daughter in here to help me with this last line).
Poll Everywhere: I wish I came up with this idea, this is great, it allows students to ask questions, pass on ideas and become involved in the subject at hand. This can be used for instant feedback and makes it easy for the student learner to be honest (or in the case of teenagers, brutally so). I created a poll, the question is: What questions do you have for me? Text 1488 and your message to 99503.
Formulas Free, Brain Tuner, Spanish Tutor: Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. What else can I say, from my research into the iPhone and other compatible devices I am becoming convinced that once I get my hands on one I will be able to rule the world. Okay I came back down to earth (note to self: stop watching Star Wars). All these applications have such useful uses (I’m running out of words here, it’s 7:30 in the morning on a Sunday give me a break), I tried the Formulas Free application on my sisters iPhone, totally cool, where was this when I was stuck in class and needed the formula for least squares with two variables. I can really see how these applications can be useful, although many are free, the iPhone is not, nor is the contract with the provider. The cost is prohibitive to many, and although I have seen students that have much cooler phones than mine, there are many who don’t.
I really like Poll Everywhere too! It can also be useful in constructing online quizzes…maybe even pop quizzes.
I agree what these new phones can do is really amazing but the cost when you include the provider fees could be prohibitive to many. I’m sure as competition mounts and better things are created. These will seem old school and then maybe teachers can use them in school.
Twitter is sometimes hard to understand. But look at how it has been used in the Iranian election to get a glimpse of the power of ubiquitous micro-blogging!
I agree with Barbara there. I am constantly amazed at the services my students have on their mobile devices. I am pretty certain most of them do not pay for it themselves…do I just teach a bunch of rich kids or am I cheap? Hmmmm… maybe a bit of both!