I came across a video “Mobile phones, mobile minds” produced by Teachers TV on Google video. Though the video is quite long (about 27 minutes), it is interesting and educational. The video looks at the world of young people with mobile phones, and the impact on schools and education. It brings up a hot topic that is widely discussed by educators throughout the world.
Today, we have entered an era in which mobile technology is fundamentally changing our culture and impacting every aspect of our lives, including education and training. More than 1.5 billion mobile phones are used in the world today, with a half a billion new ones sold every year. This is more than three times the number of personal computers (PCs), and today’s most sophisticated cell phones have the computing power of a mid-1990’s PC. So, the mobile education revolution is finally here. Over 90% of college students now own a cell phone. Despite what some may consider cell phones’ limitations, students are already inventing ways to use their phones to learn what they want to know. Personally, I think cell phones have tremendous potentials in education and training. Instructional content and learning materials can be delivered in way that fits into learners’ cell phones – their digital lives. Learners are able to benefit from the vast amounts of cell phone-based learning – “Learning on the Go.” However, some K-12 schools are still banning the use of cell phones in schools. Should a cell phone be considered a mobile device for learning?
This video is really interesting and educational. As technology natives, the young people are better at new technology than their parents. I think the educators are more familiar with the situation that how young people learn, use, and play with new technologies because they spend a lot of time with kids. They have mobile minds because they are in a mobile world. Mobile devices such as mobile phone can offer them more choices than a normal phone. For example, Mobile game is a video game that played not only on a mobile phone, but also can be played on a Smartphone, PDA, handheld computer or any type of handheld or wireless device. This is more powerful and unbelievable to their parents who are so called technology immigration.
In fact, mobile phone is not very new any more. The mobile phone or mobile, also called a cellular phone, cell phone, or cell, is a long-range, portable electronic device used for mobile communication. It is from traditional phone that we are using now days. But the newest mobile phone has more function that we are not familiar any more. New functions as such: SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching for accessing to the internet, and MMS for sending and receiving audio, video and graphics. Furthermore, as Dr. Yuen already created for this class – website for these kinds of mobile devices – so called cell sites.
Ok, some people may think: “Well, I am not behind the Time yet, because I know all these stuff now.” I just want to say that every body will be behind the time and called some-immigration unless the keep learning. Lifelong learning is behind the time now, some people are talking about the lifelong learning habit. Year, learning should be a habit and should be lifelong now!
Mobile phone usage in educational field is no longer is new term or phrase to anyone. We are having the hot discussion these days about the usage of the mobile devices, especially the cell phone usage in education.
Actually the more I read, write and discuss about this issue, the more confident I am towards the usage of cell phone is education. The trend of using cell phone is something that you can not stop. As the figure stated in the video and in the passage, there are so many people using the cell phones that we should find out one way to guide the cell phone usage in a meaningful and useful way. Since the digital natives are so eager and familiar with the new technology, we need to make use of their eagerness and passion in the digital things and combine it in the education. The cell phone usage in education and learning will provide learners a brand new way; offer them a new horizon and opportunity to learn. The fears and worries towards the future cell phone usage are quite understandable, but the educators should also figure out one way to best minimize the harm of the cell phone usage like the distractions. Only in this way, the mobile phones can be best integrated with the mobile minds.
The kids are going to have the cell phone, and most mothers and fathers don’t want them to give it up. I know that there is a balancing act between wanting my child to have their phone with them, and having them not interrupt whatever is going on. We have to teach them the etiquette for cell phone use, but taking them away can also be a safety issue. What if a teacher takes up a cell phone, and the child is abducted later that same day?
I can see teachers being creative with the use of their cell phones. Texting homework assignments out to their class, or using it for a quick quiz in class. I have used it myself with my kids texting them a quick question from some assignment that they are supposed to be memorizing. What needs to happen at this point is that those in education need to go to the cell phone manufacturers and tell them what they want. If they know that the cell phone will start being used as an educational took, they will likely sit up and take notice and start working with teachers to improve the software to allow students to use their cell phone in new ways.
I can see it now, “Class, will you please open your mobile website and click on 1863, today we will be studying the Gettysburg Address.” Hey, it might not be that far away, who would have thought we would be as far along as we are now back when cell phones came in bags and you had to be Donald Trump to afford one.
[...] then of course there is the video Mobile Phones, Mobile Minds, which is written about here by Steven Yuen. Also take a look at the comments, although I think the last part of the third comment sort of [...]