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Mr. Graham Bell & Mr. Spielberg: Integrating cell phones in learning environments
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Promoting learning by using mobile phones as personal multi-media production tools to capture and integrate audio and video in the classroom.
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Of all of the important issues in education today, technology continues to be one of the biggest challenges. There are many obstacles that educators need to overcome when attempting to introduce and integrate technologies into their curriculum and classrooms. Most people realize and accept that computers are amazing tools that offer infinite possibilities to enhance learning and build communities. But physical and psychological barriers still prevent them from being fully integrated into all learning environments. Educators are faced with the ongoing gap in the digital divide, lack of funding and equipment, little or no support for existing equipment and systems, and a lack of time for teacher training.
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One possible strategy to solve these problems is to identify and use an easier and more ubiquitous technology to introduce into a learning environment that will bridge the digital divide, is easy to use and requires little or not special training. The mobile phone is one such device. Students and teachers are very aware of how people use mobile phone to receive information such as text message announcements about classes or content. But mobile phone can also be used in a learning environment as a production tool and not just as a receiver of data. Looking at cell phones this way can help educators Studies show that the highest rate of penetration of any technology in global society is the mobile phone, and it continues to grow at a higher rate than the computer. In 2004, there were 1.5 billion mobile phones in use in the world with a ½ billion more being sold every year In the United States, penetration in the schools is estimated to be 40% in junior high schools, 75% in many high schools and over 90% in colleges. Additionally there are countries in the word such as the U.K., Italy and Sweden where market penetration is greater than 100%, meaning that many people have more than one mobile phone. As of 2006, 80% of world's population has mobile phone coverage. There are many several reasons for this level of accessibility, such as their small size and relative low cost. Mobile phones are easy to use and are located everywhere on the planet, urban, rural and remote, making them accessible at any time by just about every person on this planet. The fill a very important function in the human condition- the very basic human need for communication and can also be used for education, Many educators would benefit by observing their students and learning how to be more open to innovative uses of mobile phones. Besides normal phone calls, students use their phones for communicating via text messaging, sending and receiving images and video, and recording and listening to music. Unlike the integration of other types of accessible media tools, such as video cameras, educators have been unable or late to catch the wave. Using mobile phones to capture images, audio and video helps promote learning adventures in and out of the classroom. Students share learning experience by using such Web 2.0 Flickr, Gcast, Gabcast, Clicky and del.icio.us which allow users to publish, organize and share their images, audio reflections and comments on the web. Other users can then be invited to visit these sites to add their own comments and reflections, making this a very dynamic and interactive learning experience. An added bonus is that students do not have to be in close geographical proximity to each other. Partnerships can be created between students in different institutions across district, city, and state, national or even global boundaries. Mobile phones in learning environments engage students on multiple levels and make learning a truly active process by allowing them to address the world around them in a manner they are familiar with. It is also noteworthy to reflect on how in less than 30 years mobile phones have been transformed from shoebox size telecommunications devices to palm-sized units that also incorporate still and video cameras, music and audio players and recorders, and text transmission devices. Additionally, some phones can access the Internet and be used as a GPS locater. Although the technology has developed, the use of these tools can has not been integrated into learning environments. Using cell phones in learning environments relate directly to the work of three learning theorists and their work: Howard Gardner’s ideas about multiple intelligences; Seymour Papert’s community of learners, and Roger Schank’s discussion of narrative and intelligence truly resonates in me.

Every individual possesses strengths and weaknesses. Some people’s talents are extraordinary, such as Mozart, Picasso, Einstein, Emma Goldman, and the Curies. Each of these people exhibited greatness in their particular area of creativity and thought. None of these individuals excelled in all things. One of the greatest challenges to educators and learners is for an individual to discover at what they are good, at what they may excel and what they truly enjoy. It is exceptionally difficult for an individual to do this alone, from within a vacuum. An enlightened community of learners provides an individual with the opportunity to find their particular voice and intelligence. The community provides a safe environment and structure for individuals to explore, attempt, fail, and ultimately (and hopefully) succeed in their endeavors and journey. Finally, individuals learn by being exposed the narratives of the other members of their community of learners and by creating their own narratives. Knowledge of past experiments, failures and successes are passed on from those experienced to novices beginning their individual journeys. Masons and lawyers, painters and accountants, carpenters and teachers all benefit from past experiences and narratives, each different story told in a voice that resonates to each individual learner. Mobile phones promote communities of learners by encouraging individuals to create and share personal narratives about their own process of problem solving. The integration of mobile phones into schools and learning environments is an excellent example of how to facilitate the practical application of the theory into real life educational environments.

Are you concerned about how to bridge the digital divide? Are you looking for an easily accessible technology that requires little or no special hardware or training? Learn new ways of engaging students of all ages by using cell phones to create dynamic web-based multi-media educational content.
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