Create a numeric mobile address for any webpage!

DigitURL is a new easy and free resource that will allow anyone to convert a URL address of a website into a mobile address for cell phones. The best part of DigitURL is that it makes the mobile address numeric, no letters. This makes it so much easier, not only to view websites on a mobile phone with internet access, but also to type in the addresses more efficiently by only having to quickly type in numbers (especially for those of us---um, yes myself--who cannot afford the fancy smartphones with the keyboards). This may allow easier access to classroom websites and web resources. For example if students need to use Wikipedia or NPR to help research topics, the teacher can type in the web addresses and get numeric URL's for the sites to give to the students to use for homework outside of the classroom. Parents, who may not have Internet access at home and would like to stay abreast of the latest school information on the class website or school homepage could have a simple numeric mobile web addresses of the class website and check the information on their mobile phones. To test out the resource, I created a mobile web for my ToyToTool blog (try it...at 64583238667). It took me less than a minute, and they will email you all of your account information when you finish completing the address form. So easy! Students could do this too!

Well, it is time to play with my newest addition to my favorite mobile web resources...

3Jam...Collaboartive Text Messaging!

Text messaging is one of the most popular ways for students to use their cell phones according to the recent Disney survey. Therefore, teachers can take advantage of this and find ways to include text messaging in their learning environment. But for a teacher to text message their entire class, and then have specific cooperative groups message each other back and forth is very difficult on a cell phone (because there is no "reply to all" option), so 3Jam has come up with a solution. 3Jam will help anyone create a group message where the recipients can "reply to all". This is a free resource and one that could come in very handy for group or collaborative projects, classroom management/communication, and school-wide communication.

One example would be brainstorming. If the teacher wanted students who were doing group projects to brainstorm ideas for their project for homework, they could use 3Jam to start a text messaging group (which can include or not include the teacher) for their brainstorming. They can simply choose "reply to all" when they have a new idea for the group. Now, I know that many educators are afraid to include cell phones in the classroom, but this application could be very useful when students finish a test. Students usually finish a test at different rates, so they are often given a busy work-homework assignment to do so they will not disrupt the other students. However, they could work on their collaborative class or group project (quietly of course) by texting their ideas or information back and forth to their group members who are finish (the teacher could also be included on the group text to make sure it is legitimate messaging). While I know this is not an option for many teachers, it could be a possible option in the future.

Another way to use this is for homework help, assignment reminders, or even parent information. The teacher can use 3Jam to quickly send out these group messages to all the students or parents. This could also be handy for school security, if the school needs to contact parents quickly, while some may not have email or may not check their email very often parents are more likely to have a cell phone with them so they could receive a text message about school releasing early or snow days.

Open call for international mobile film festival!

The 4th edition of the Pocket Films Festival will take place at the Pompidou Center, Paris, on June, 13-14-15th 2008. Currently they have an "open call" for international films created with mobile phones. This is an opportunity for students to develop films for class using their cell phones and receive some internalization recognition for their work. There are two competitions, one for films shot entirely with cell phones, the other for films created for the cell phone or iPod. Students in French foreign language classes can really take advantage of using their French language and cultural skills to create their films. Students could video tape with their cell phones and then send them to Eyespot to do their video editing. For students who do not have access to their own cell phone, films could also be created on a digital video camera, but they must be converted to be viewed on and iPod or Cell phone (3G format). A great free online converter is Zamzar (select the 3G or iPod option). Beyond a film competition they also have a mobile "project" competition for social activist or non-profits (such as schools...) to develop mobile projects around a particular social issue. What a fantastic opportunity for mobile citizen journalism or student activism (that I spoke of in a recent post). The project competition is really considering the cell phone to be a device of knowledge construction! Fantastic!

No need for "clickers" when you have a cell phone!

I have written before about trying to find a way for basic cell phones to replace the expensive classroom performance systems (CPS). Last week I posted about Wiffiti, an instant brainstorming tool that uses cell phones like CPS clickers. Now, I have found another web2.0 that works in the same fashion as a CPS tool. It is called Polleverywhere. Polleverywhere is a site where you can create instant mobile polls. The polls utilize text messaging, so you get a text message number to "vote" for your selected answer (similar to the American Idol text message polling). Anyone can create an account and get 100 free instant poll responses (after 100 you must pay for them, so keep your polls to the first 100 people). Fantastic! So teachers can project the poll results graph (which includes the text message numbers for the different poll options) in the front of the class. Then students can take out their cell phones and text their option. Students will be able to instantly see the poll results on Polleverywhere. You can also embed polls into a PowerPoint presentation (they will automatically be updated as long as you have Internet service) and the results can be exported (for students studying statistics and graphical illustrations this may be useful). Finally, if students do not have cell phones they could vote online.

Polleverywhere could be a great "ice breaker" activity to find out what students know about a topic. For example, the teacher could post a concept such as "photosynthesis" and include four different definition options. The students could text their definition choice to the instant poll. Then after seeing the results, the teacher could ask the students to turn to the person on their right and "defend" their definition choice in the poll. Ten minutes later the teacher could ask them to complete the poll again with their cell phones to see if their "discussion" with their classmates caused any changes in their definition selection.

I've posted a "Poll everywhere" poll here (Polleverywhere does not really have an embed option yet so I "forced" it into my blog), please feel free to text your answers. The question is "Would you use cell phones in your classroom for teaching and learning?
Text 1035 to 41411 Not in my classroom, but maybe for homework
Text 1033 to 41411 Yes!
Text 1032 to 41411 No, never

Mobile Citizen Activism...How about student activism?

There has been some discussion in the local papers about mobile citizen journalism, where everyday people capture breaking news stories with their cell phones. While I think that students can definitely participate in their own citizen journalism around their community, I also think mobile phones provide a wonderful opportunity for student activism. One example of an activist movement is Friends of the Earth. Friends of the Earth ask citizens to video tape (they can use their mobile camcorders) a message about saving the environment in their local community. Students could not only participate in projects like this but they could also help to create mobile activist projects. They could use some of the free web2.0 mobile resources such as Eyespot (which can immediately post to any blog) and ask people to post mobile videos on different activist or social justice topics such as reasons why we should donate to a local homeless shelter or supporting universal health care reform. Another resource that I think might be helpful for activism is text messaging. Joe Wood, he has brought my attention to a new idea of using Twitter (a social networking text messaging tool) as a mobile learning tool. One idea that I thought of was to use Twitter as a tool for social activism. Some of the 2008 presidential candidates have a Twitter account, so citizens can follow their campaigns. One example is Barack Obama.
Students could create their own activist campaign on Twitter. For example, they could send out text alerts and messages about environmental issues, where others who are interested in the same topic could become part of their activist community. They could focus efforts on educating the public about their topic of interest. Another activism project is the People's 311, where New Yorkers can post mobile pictures of dangerous situations in New York City on a local map (such as a stop sign that has fallen down).

Students or teachers could do something similar in their own local community with mobile Flickr and posting to a private Flickr Map (under the You Tab--My Map at the top of any Flicker account). Teachers could create a community account in Flickr and give out to students the mobile image posting address.

Where do we begin? How about with a "how to" book?

Darren Draper just left a comment and question on my blog about how and where do we begin demonstrating the knowledge construction capabilities of cell phones? I propose that we begin in many places (Classroom 2.0, K12 Online Conference, Edubloggers) but also with a book...actually my book (I know, a little self-promotion) that I am finishing with ISTE, our goal is to have it published before the NECC conference this coming June.

The book is tentatively called Toys To Tools: Connecting Student Cell Phones To Education In and Out of the Classroom. In the book I highlight many ways (from the very simple to the more complex) that educators can take advantage of basic cell phones (not fancy iPhones, but an average cell phone that many secondary students own) for a large variety of learning opportunities. Some of the integration ideas that I have included are podcasting, virtual conferencing, photoblogging, videoblogging, mobile surveys/quizzes, game such as cell phone scavenger hunt, making mobile webpages, and mobile concept mapping. I tried to include a large number of lesson plans and "how to" tutorials. The objective of the book is not to tell teachers they have to include cell phones everyday and let students use them all the time in school, rather to ask them to consider cell phones as a possible learning tool and to give them ideas of how they could take full advantage of them. Almost all of the ideas and lessons focus on using the cell phone outside of the classroom (for homework or on field trips), so students do not actually have to bring them into the classroom (especially since so many schools have policies banning cell phones). I also include discussions on why we should include cell phones in our spectrum of classroom learning tools and some examples of adventurous teachers who are having some success with cell phones in their classrooms.

I am very excited because the reviewers for the book (school teachers) highly recommended the book. One of the reviewers even stated that they did not think they would like the book (because of the topic) and now they are actually going to try some of lessons in their classroom. That was nice to hear, since I am well aware that this is a controversial topic! I hope the book with enlighten and be useful to the 21st Century teacher. I'll write more when I have some firm dates of publication.

Teen Cell Phones Usage Statistics....WOW! We Need to Pay Attention to This

According to the Washington Post (in an article written this summer) cell phone usage among teens age 1o-17 in the summer is astronomical! An average of 3 hours and 45 minutes they spend using their cell phones each day during summer break (during school months it is still an astounding 2 hours and 45 minutes). What I found so interesting were the statistics on text messaging....

"More than half - 52 percent - say they send text messages from the movie theater while 28 percent have sent messages from the dinner table. For many, 26 percent, texting is one of the first things they do in the morning, within 10 minutes of waking up." Washington Post

To me, these statistics not only mean that we should be finding ways to use this engaging tool in schools or at least for homework, but that teens and tweens are not being educated on appropriate ways to use the cell phone. Is it really appropriate to text message at the dinner table? Or in a movie theater? This could be a valuable professional tool in their future, but they need to learn how to use it appropriately in certain settings. Teachers could help model digital etiquette to their students.

Wiffiti--Brainstorming from Cell Phones

I have a new favorite brainstorming tool. Wiffiti! The best part of this tool is that students can brainstorm from their cell phones to a live screen on the web. Since students already text message almost continuously throughout any day, now they can use it for an educational purpose! There are a lot of fantastic teacher "controls" for Wiffiti such as "approving" messages before they are posted or not allowing content with inappropriate words. You can also keep the screen private or share it with the world! I love this tool. Although I imagine that there are a lot of applications for this tool in the classroom, one of the best is brainstorming. A teacher who would like their students to brainstorm some ideas can set up a Wiffiti screen (free of course), then tell students (for homework or in class) to text a special code to the general Wiffiti # (25622), along with their brainstorming idea. It will automatically (or the teacher can set it up to approve the messages before they are posted) post to the Wiffiti screen that the teacher set up. The screen is live so this could be done in class (if teachers are comfortable with cell phones in the classroom) at the spur-of-the-moment or for homework.

Another nice application of Wiffiti in schools is for "story telling." For example if students take a field trip to a local museum, they could text their observations, notes or what they learned during their field trip to the class Wiffiti screen and then back in class they could discuss their experiences. Wiffiti also works with Flickr (therefore the background images on Wiffiti could come from Flickr and since Flickr has a mobile option, students could also post their images from their field trip to Flickr and select one as the background for the class Wiffiti screen.

Feel free to try my screen by texting @kolb07 to 25622 and after you text "@kolb07" put a space and a message, it should automatically show up when the screen refreshes.

Well. What I'm using...

Well. What I'm using right now is the new application by Jott, they have a new application that Jott.com called Jott links. And Jott links allows you to immediately create speech to text Jotts or memos or notes to 3rd party application like Blogger, like I'm doing right now or your calendar at Google or Myspace, Yahoo groups,twiiter listen

Powered by Jott

Create Speech to Text blogs/Calendars from your cell with Jott!

Jott is fast becoming one of my favorite organizational tools for cell phones!
I think there are strong connections for student and teacher organization as well. Jott has created this new feature called "Jott Links" where you can send a speech to text message to a lot of popular 3rd party applications such as Twitter, or Livejournal. Thus if I want to add an event to my Google calendar I can simply use my cell phone, go to my Jott contact number
and call in the event. It will then put a text of the audio file on my google calendar.
It will do the same for a new blog post in Blogger or Livejournal! Where Gabcast creates
an MP3 podcast on my blog, Jott creates a new text post!

I created a sample message in the post above (it was very simple and only
took a few minutes to set up). The only negative that I have to say is that you can only do
"shorter" messages, but the transcription is really well done. This is how it works...
1) Create a free account in Jott
2) Click on Jott Links











3) Select the 3rd party application you want to Jott to (for this tutorial I will select Blogger)
4) It will ask for your Blog ID. You can get this by going to your blogger acount and clicking on settings.
















5) Copy the ID in the URL of your blog (highligheted above in blue), paste it into the Blog ID in Jott (below). Give a Jott name that you will remember when you call in to Jott (such as "blogger")









6) Grant access to your blog











7) Back in Jott you should now have a link on the right-hand side that states your "Jott links" as Blogger (below).





8) Now you are ready to create a Jott speech to text blog post. Call in to Jott 1-866-jott-123 (put it in your cell phone contact list so you have it when you need it). When they ask you "who do you want to Jott?" say "blogger" (or the Jott Name that you used). Speak your message and when you are done hit the pound sign. Within an hour, your Jott should be posted on your blog!

Uploading movies to Cell Phones...

While there are many sites that allow you to download images and video from your cell phone, such as YouTube, Eyespot, Flickr, Facebook, or MySpace, less commonly known are websites that allow you to upload images, sound, and video into your cell phone. One of the reasons is that cell phones are more particular about the file types that they accept (for example to view a movie on a cell phone it must be a 3G format, not the common .mov or .wmv file types). But there are some websites that will convert your video files to appropriate cell phone formats, here are two of my favorites:
ZamZar
Media-Convert

Then once you have converted your video files to the appropriate 3G format, you can upload it to your cell phone (or your friends cell) using one of the following sites:
Verizon Users (Free upload to any verizon phone, but only 30 seconds per video file)
3 Guppies (Free upload but it takes time)
uKabobs (.50cents per upload, but you can upload fairly long movies)

All of these sites also allow you to upload any sound or image to cell phones as well.

How can this be helpful for the classroom?
Since students are so excited and motivated to interact with their cell phones outside of school, they may be more engaged in a content-based assignment that is for cell phones. Therefore teachers can have students create ringtones (such as jingles or raps that are content -based), public service announcements, weekly news reports, quick science clay animations that represent a concept (such as Mitosis or Photosynthesis) that are "mobile ready." They can upload to their own cell phone and their classmates. Then students can use them to review, since students always have their cell phones with them (sadly we cannot say the same for textbooks or lecture notes), they can review anywhere (even when they are waiting for a movie to start at the theater).

Create Enhanced Podcast Movies for a Cell Phone with PowerPoint

Recently I posted about putting PowerPoint slides on Cell phones (see Doug Belshaw's blog, he created a wonderful tutorial). Since then I have been "playing" with the idea and have developed a way to create PowerPoint Enhanced Podcast movies for cell phones. So an enhanced podcast includes images along with narration. The history site on Colonial Williamsburg is a great example of an enhanced podcast. There are some great benefits to being able to easily create an Enhanced Podcast and putting it on a cell phone. First, students can access class lectures/notes made with PowerPoint anytime on their cell phone. Additionally, students may be more likely to develop a PowerPoint project if they know they can share it to their friends and classmate's cell phones. Even parents can view them.

You can make an Enahnced Podcast easily in the MAC version of PowerPoint. Here is how...
1) Create a regular PowerPoint Presentation (use large font!)

2) Record the narration for your slides by going to Slide Show--Record Narration.











3) When you are done, if you are on a MAC, go to FILE--MAKE MOVIE (this will convert your PowerPoint into a Quicktime movie).









4) Once you have made your PowerPoint QuickTime movie, open it up in QuickTime Pro (if you do not have QuickTime Pro, you can use a free online converter such as http://zamzar.com).

5) In QuickTime Pro, go to File-Export, export your movie as a 3G file (this is the only movie file type that will play on cell phones).





















6) Now you are ready to upload your Enhanced PowerPoint Podcast to your cell phone.

7) If you have Verizon, go to https://picture.vzw.com/login.do and select "Send Message" (it will lead you through a tutorial to upload your "3G" podcast to any Verizon cell phone.

8) If you have any other provider use http://3guppies.com, and follow their online tutorial of how to upload to your cell phone.