Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Why does it take the invention of the iPhone to consider Cell Phones in Learning?

While I am as excited as the next tech-geek about the new iPhone. I think it is interesting that before the iPhone most educators and non-educators were not considering the cell phone as a potential learning tool. Now, suddenly if you have an iPhone, you have a possible learning tool for the classroom. While I agree that the iPhone has a lot of great features for classroom learning, basic cell phones (you know the cheap ones that come with your calling plan like the one I have) also have a lot of potential for classroom learning. There is so much a student and or teacher can do with just a basic cell phone plan. A few examples include data collection by recording audio, taking pictures, filming movies, surfing the internet, note taking, calculating, and text messaging. As mentioned in many of my earlier blog posts, most web2.0 sites have "go mobile" options (such as Wikipedia, Flikr, MySpace, Blogger...etc) so that a basic cell phone (not a fancy expensive iPhone) can become a learning tool. So I say WELCOME to the new iPhone, I can't wait until I can afford one, but in the meantime students and teachers who have the basic tool----there is so much that you can do!
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Liz,

I cannot agree more! Mobile phones (sorry, I'm in England!!) have so much potential for furthering learning in and out of the classroom. I'm a Spanish teacher over here, and ma convinced that mobiles in their current state, as they are in the pockets of our students, offer so much, from video to voice recording. And yet authorities across the world blind themselves by fearing negatives, rather than training young minds in the positives that are out there with technology.

i-phones won't change all of that. They'll just make it all a fair bit more expensive. But hopefully, as all of the hype passes in front of the eyes of school managers, one or two might actually take the leap and give it a go!!

Keep up the good work,

Chris

July 19, 2007 at 4:48 PM

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