EDU 210 - Mobile Learning
Removing Barriers With Mobile Apps
Source: Chrismcintosh.me,. (2015). Retrieved 14 March 2015, from http://chrismcintosh.me/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/unsplash-kitsune-3.jpg
Why Mobile Apps?
Children come in all shapes, sizes, and abilities. Those same students can present a multitude of barriers of barriers to their own education. These barriers can include anything from cognitive or physical disabilities, to an inability to organize their assignments and materials, to something as simple as being too shy to ask or answer necessary questions. These apps are all chosen in mind to reduce or eliminate barriers whenever possible, and conform to the standards of the Universal Design for Learning.
Source: YouTube,. (2015). UDL: Principles and Practice. Retrieved 14 March 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGLTJw0GSxk
Remember the Milk
What is it: Remember the Milk is a powerful task-organization tool. From to-do lists, assignment and test dates, to reminding users what they need to bring to class or take home, this app allows students to organize their school lives in one easy-to-manage app. Remember the Milk even syncs with Google Calender!
How can it remove barriers: Directly from the website, Remember the Milk is of great use to teenagers "who have difficulty with executive functioning issues such as goal-setting, prioritizing, time management and/or organization." Users must be at least 13 years old, so it is not appropriate for Divisions I-III.
What is it: Evernote is similar to Remember the Milk in that it allows users to create and organize lists, but hosts a number of functions that differ from Remember the Milk. Evernote allows you to create notebooks for different subjects, colour code, highlight, and magnify text, and even boasts a microphone aspect that allows students to verbally record notes. Finally, Evernote has a text-to-speech function that even highlights the text that is being read.
How can it remove barriers: Students with certain cognitive disabilities will find Evernote's colour coding, sorting, text-to-speech, and audio note taking capabilities very useful.
What is it: Animoto is an online tool that allows you to create video animations in minutes. The user chooses pictures or videos, picks a style and then uploads music of their choosing.
How can it remove barriers: Some students may lag behind in text-based assessments, but are more than capable or even excel at showing what they know in video format. Why not give them the opportunity with Animoto? Students who are so inclined could even create their own videos and music, or poetry, or simple audio recordings with their own phone or laptop and put them all together quickly and easily with Animoto.
What is it: Voicethread is similar to Animoto, in that it allows you to create projects with pictures, animations, videos, and text. However, Voicethread allows posting of your material and then subsequent sharing, opening up the potential audience to those outside of your classroom. This allows for greater collaboration, feedback, and a building of constructive social networks for your students.
How can it remove barriers: Simliarily to Animoto, Voicethread is wonderful for students who want to explore their assignments in audio and visual based formats, but also allows for the inclusion of text. More importantly, however, is the ability to easily share and allow comments on Voicethread posts, encouraging greater collaboration among students and their peers.
What is it: Polleverywhere is a free and easy-to-use app that allows a teacher to gain an honest reaction from their students. Students, fellow teachers, parents, and anyone with the link can vote on matters the Teacher feels important, from in-class discussions, to assessment guidelines, to planning future curriculum and projects.
How can it remove barriers: The benefit of using Polleverywhere is that it quickly and easily gives everyone a voice. Many students are too shy to share their opinions, and Polleverywhere is a great way to get their input and make them feel as though they are contributing at the same level as everyone else. Results are downloadable into PowerPoint slideshows or Excel spreadsheets.
Mobile Learning Infograph
During my travels throughout the internet, I found the image that I pasted below. While reading it, I was struck by the prevalence of Mobile Learning throughout classrooms already. It inspired me to internalize how I plan on integrating this technology into my own classrooms.