Academic Use of Cell Phone Technology at

Montclair State UniversityPatricia Kahn, Ph.D., Director, Technology Training, & IntegrationOffice of Information Technology

Leslie Wilson, Ph.D.Faculty, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Jessica Brandt, M.S Faculty, College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Fairleigh Dickinson University

2

The Challenge for Educators

Newly designed courses promoting student learning through active engagement

Higher education needs to employ strategies of using emerging educational technologies to facilitate the learning process by providing a

learning environment that matches the student’s new style of learning (Dede, 2005)

3

Mobile Technology Can HelpAn instructional technology that support the 21st century

learner but does not require a high level of technical proficiency

• Enhance the learning process by making learning more interactive and enjoyable

• Affords curriculum customization to match learners' developmental needs as well as personal interests

• Promotes a constructivist approach to teaching and learning

• Bridge the gap on how students live and learn realizing that they will spend their adult lives in a technology-driven multitasked fast-paced world

4

Campus Connect

5

6

Bb

7

Rave

Supplement Learning

• Integrate with Bb

– Announcements and Grades

– Group Activities

– Learning Units

– RSS feeds

8

Supplement Learning

• Interactive Activities and Group projects

– Polling (cell phones as clickers)

• Assess student understanding of material

• Receive anonymous feedback on provocative content

– Blogging Fieldwork Exercises

• Text messaging to blogs

• Pictures from phones to blogs

9

Advantages of Using Cell Phones To Teach

• Use as clickers• Conducting polls• Immediate and portable access to

the web• Making learning fun

11

Polling

• The instructor can ask a question in class that the students can answer anonymously and within minutes

• The answer can be displayed to the class via a computer projector or smart board

12

Three Examples

• Students were polled for a New Student Seminar course

• Polls were related to text readings

• Students were polled during the class

• Students were polled outside of the class

• Results were viewed by all

• The results sparked conversation inside and outside of class via text messages, e-mail and blackboard (accessible through the students phones)

13

Question # 1Why did you come to college?

Offered choices:

1. To get an education

2. To lead to a job or career

3. Family obligations

4. Other

14

What motivated you to apply to college?

15

Question # 2What are you going to do with your

free time?

Offered choices:1. Hang out with friends2. Study3. Get involved in campus affairs4. Work5. Party

16

What will you do with your free time?

17

Question # 3How many hours a week do you

expect to study?

Offered choices:

1. Five hours

2. Ten hours

3. Twenty hours

18

How many hours do you plan to study each week?

19

Conclusions

• Students like using the technology

• Class becomes more fluid and student oriented

• Students use the technology outside of class

• Learning is initiated through the students not through the

instructor

20

Free-time Activities Scavenger Hunt

Polls and Fieldwork: German

“As a vocabulary building exercise in the chapter on how we

spend our free time, I gave the students a list of about 25

verbs.  In teams of 4-5 students, they had 15 minutes to walk

around campus and find people engaging in activities from the

list.  Using their cell phones……

21

Free-time Activities Scavenger Hunt

“I put together a list of trivia questions (in German) about

famous Germans, such as "What did Goethe write?" or "Who

is Joseph Ratzinger?" Each question was set up as a poll with

multiple choice answers accessed from the cell phone....

Polls and Fieldwork (Germ. cont.)

22

Introduction to German: Autobiography

Blogs Fieldwork Activities

Constructed, through blog postings, students had to provide a description of him/herself and daily life (or that of someone you know, or a fictional person, if you wish).

The posts were grounded by a photograph (or photographs) taken from your cell phone. You will then describe the picture in a few short sentences in German

23

Blogs Fieldwork Activities (cont.)

Linguistic Assignment: Gender Differences in Speech

“Linguistic research has shown that males and females use

formal and informal speech under different circumstances and

at different rates. Using your cell phone post your observations

on your blog”

• Count how many turns the females take.

• Count how many turns the males take….

24

Urban History

Students learning about urban history are studying fires as a

historical event. Students are required to visit a local fire house

and interview a fireman/firewoman and post the highlights of

the discussion on their blog page by using their phones.

Blogs Fieldwork Activities (cont.)

25

Conclusions/Recommendations

• Important to meet with an instructional designer well advance

of implementation to develop appropriate teaching strategies

• Provide activities that are interactive and engaging and serve

a purpose

• Not make cell phone use mandatory; Give several options

based on learning style

• Support, support, support – don’t assume comfort level of

21st Century Learner

26

Questions?