Tony Vincent said, “For the rest of their lives, our students will always have a computer with them. We need to teach with that in mind” (Nalder 2012).
In the book The World is Open the author points out that taking a child into Best Buy or Radio Shack often equated to fun are actually places of learning. With this in mind I surveyed some of my students on their thoughts on BYOD. Of course I had to tell them that meant “bring your own device.” At the time some of them were already using their own devices as scientific calculators. Most of them said that was a great idea because they always have them and don’t tend to forget to bring them with them where ever they go. One student commented that he thought it would lead to cheating, but we pointed out to him it would not be cheating to research something on the internet with a smartphone or iPod if they were being requested to. The other students also pointed out that they all had their laptops with them already so the potential for internet research and/or cheating was already there. In my view I believe that we should embrace mobile technology in the classroom.
One of the main reasons that k-12 education needs to go mobile is that students do have them at all times. There are many other reasons k-12 education should go mobile along with the times. Mobile devices are cheaper and include many tools in one. One being the scientific calculator my students were using. Others include writing, dictionaries, eBooks, atlases, encyclopedias, and calendars. Mobile technology is faster; you just have to turn it on and navigation is easy. Even my four year old granddaughter can navigate the iPad easily. Mobile technology also allows students to take responsibility for their own learning (Nalder 2012). Education is becoming more and more mobile. Armitage (2012) states that the movement of students and educators is to meet online. She quotes Michael Jones, chief technology advocate for Google, “a mobile phone could become a university.” In Slide to Learn they share a statement by Apple, “Students and teachers already use mobile technology in almost every aspect of their daily lives. Now schools can tap into that enormous opportunity for learning by providing continuous access to educational materials, along with easy ways for learners to connect, collaborate, and share.”
The classroom needs to keep pace with 21st Century mobility. Employers of the future will be looking for a workforce that can problem solve, multitask, and handle complex tasks. If we as educators don’t provide the opportunity that students will need to use their mobile devices. This will allow a flow of learning that can be collected, organized, and presented through these technologies and educational apps (Nalder 2012). With any new technology or even curriculum pre-planning and training will be necessary for any program to work. Our school is just now getting about 30 to 50 iPad 3 for teachers and the elementary classrooms. Our school has been in the One to One Initiative for about six years. I know we rolled that out slowly and probably did not get the training needed but it has been successful. I am glad that I have been working on educating myself through the ONID program and hope that I can help with the successful implementation of the iPads throughout the school.
Armitage, C. (2012, October 13). Unis to face high degree of change in mobile era. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved October 2, 2012, from http://www.smh.com.au/national/tertiary-education/unis-to-face-high-degree-of-change-in-mobile-era-20121012-27iae.html
Bonk, C. J. (2009). The world is open how web technology is revolutionizing education [Electronic Google Play]. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Nalder, J., Vincent, T., Maccoll, K., Lemma, M., & Duncan, L. (2012). Slide to Learn: Beginners guide to the iPod touch, iPhone and iPlad in Education. Slide to Learn: Beginners Guide to the IPod Touch, IPhone and IPlad in Education. Retrieved October 2, 2012, from http://www.slidetolearn.info/