That's where my complaints end. Why? Well, because my class enjoyed every second of the mobile learning activity I planned for them. They were engaged, smiling, laughing, and happy. There was minimal fooling around and everyone stayed on task. My class consisted of students in grades 2 through 6 and, despite age differences, all enjoyed the mobile activities I had planned. I feel the reason for this is because mobile devices were involved, which is the exception, rather than the norm, in my district. It was new and exciting for them. Let's face it, students today are living in a world full of mobile devices. Technology is here to stay, whether you like it or not. My students have smartphones, smartwatches, mobile gaming devices, iPads, tablets, etc. As educators, we must accept and embrace this, and have some guiding principles and best practices for these devices.
First and foremost, all activities involving mobile learning should be safe for students. We must go through all of the motions to be sure that students aren't exposed anything that puts them at risk or exposes them to any inappropriate material. Students should be monitored during mobile activities to be sure that nothing has slipped through the cracks in terms of safety. Mobile learning activities should be age-appropriate. Parental permission should be received before anything is posted online, like on a class blog, Facebook page, website, etc. Mobile learning should be just one part of the equation. It should complement the teaching of a particular concept or standard.
Since my mobile learning activity, I've been pondering meaningful ways to incorporate mobile learning. I first recalled lessons that were extremely boring for students. One thing that immediately came to mind was our state testing review. We spent a week or more going through packets of math questions and reading passages with questions. For the most part, I stood in front of the classroom as we went through questions one by one. Since the concepts dated back to the beginning of the school year, review was necessary for most questions. One day, I had to remove three boys from my class who were acting up and interfering with others' learning. What I would love to do next year is provide review via a video that students could access at home or on mobile devices in the classroom. They could watch the review at their pace and either answer questions at home or in groups at school. For many of the concepts, videos could be used year after year. While it may take a lot of time for me up front to record, the long-term benefits outweigh the costs.
For good reason, there is a huge emphasis in 3rd grade on memorizing multiplication and division facts. On a daily basis, I see that so much depends on knowing these facts. It's now 4th quarter and some students aren't fluent. They don't practice at home despite it being part of their daily homework requirement. When students commit these facts to memory, they are able to move on to learning new skills rather than focusing on basic facts (Why do Kids Need, 2014). I recently asked a 4th grade teacher what she would like me to focus on this quarter to prepare students for next year. She responded that she is often surprised by how many students do not know their facts upon entering 4th grade (M. Determan, personal communication, March 30, 2017). I realize that many students don't have the support at home that is needed to ensure that facts are practiced and memorized. As a result, I would like to find a way for students to practice their facts at school, or in a more interesting way at home, to ensure that facts are learned. My thought is to use some type of online program that offers fact practice and also tracks student progress. With parental approval, each student would have an account, and I would be able to check in to see how students are doing and where they need additional assistance. Students would be challenged who need challenging. Those stuck on certain fact families would receive remedial practice before progressing. Students would progress as they become fluent.
Sadly, writing instruction is something that falls to the wayside with so much emphasis on math and reading standards. This is evident when students take writing benchmark exams. In our many meetings throughout the year, my 3rd grade team often comments on how our students' writing skills are lacking. We know it's something we need to improve. One thing I would LOVE to do is have a class blog. With parental permission, I think this is totally doable and the students would love it. For each writing standard, students would produce works that could be self or peer assessed. Then, samples would be posted on our class blog. We have a fantastic computer teacher who has been teaching students how to type and use word processing software. I would have students type and post their own works to give them additional practice. Families would have access to our blog to share in the great work the class is doing.
I just learned that our school will soon receive 60 Chromebooks, which will provide teachers with a new world of opportunities. My feeling is that training should be provided to teachers so that the Chromebooks are used in the most productive manner possible. I will suggest this to my principal 😀.
References
Determan, M. 30 March 2017. Personal interview.
"Why do Kids Need to Learn Math Facts?" K5 Learning. K5 Learning, 2014. Web. 5 April 2017. http://www.k5learning.com/blog/why-do-kids-need-learn-math-facts
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