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By Raj, February 6, 2008 3:48 pm

Dean posted a great little bit on the use of cellphones the other day and I have say that I agree with everything that he is saying there. I especially agree with the points regarding innovation and engagement and how the novelty of the phone will come to pass. Arguably for many, that stage has already passed by in terms of many technologies that we are trying to bring into schools. But what novelty are we referring to? The novelty of the device or the novelty as to how to use the device?

I’m thinking that for many schools/teachers/instructors/admins, the novelty of the device is still a major “shine” in their eyes. For some it is still blinding and they can’t see any way to make use of it in the classroom. “It’s so new” (being many years old already) or “I never had something like this when I was in school” (many things were not around then, this hasn’t changed in many generations) are common refrains that I hear in my meanderings around the faculty as older instructors can’t get over the physical device. Unfortunately, for the students of some of these instructors, it will take many more years for the shine of the device to wear off enough to allow them to try to focus on how a tool, like a cellphone, might be used in a classroom.

The novelty of using the device however is a different thing entirely. This is something that the students will likely enjoy as they may (with luck) be able to use a tool common to their daily lives in their classes with full permission. Of course this brings into question, what if not every student has a capable device? Isn’t that an access issue? To that, I suggest groups, because there is likely to be enough capable devices to be able to form groups so that each has a device. But back to the novelty for the students… using a ubiquitous piece of technology to explore their world and relating that world to their classwork is what many instructors dream of – making the connections and transferring knowledge, showing that the classroom does not in fact have walls and end with an audible (or in audible) bell at some given time.  Using a phone in this manner will generate novelty through world is always changing and novelty is engaging. This is a shine that I don’t see wearing off any time soon.

Some things to think about… but before we get students to this stage of engagement… how do we ensure buy in, how do we explain that their world does have a relevant connection to the classroom? Bigger questions…

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By Raj, September 21, 2007 8:15 am

Well it looks like the DS finally has caught on with at least one school – and in Japan to boot – Thanks to Wade for the heads up.

At just one-fifteenth of the cost of a personal computer — around 17,000 yen (150 dollars) each — the DS is an economical teaching tool, he said, adding that results in an initial trial showed the English vocabulary of junior high school students using the DS had soared by 40 percent.

The private Otemon Gakuin Elementary School in the western metropolis of Osaka used Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP) from last September to March this year in a class of 38 fourth-graders, aged nine or 10.

Teacher Toyokazu Takeuchi did not need to print out or check tests. Instead, his own console received real-time data showing which students were making mistakes and what mistakes they were making.

“This is e-learning made in Japan — traditional efforts in reading, writing and calculating coupled with the power of information technology and game machines,” he said.

With the pilot programme wrapped up, Takeuchi plans to expand the use of PSPs to second graders from April next year. If the project is extended, it would cover some 800 students in Osaka.

While the education ministry says it has no policy on using game consoles in the classroom, this new application has come as a pleasant surprise for the machine makers.

Kenichi Fukunaga, vice president for external relations at Sony Computer Entertainment, said he believed the educational uses would spread further, as game consoles were easy-to-use, high-performance machines.

There was still some tough opposition to game machines, he said, but added: “In every era parents have worried over a new medium they cannot understand but their children are absorbed in.”

Hirai, the teacher, said game consoles could be put to use in developing countries.

“You don’t have to print sheet after sheet with a copier. If you can just secure a source of electricity, you can build your basic academic ability on your own.

“This is a revolution in education in that you can learn basic things without teachers who blindly believe their only mission is to direct children to study.”

While I think there may be a certain element of “learning because of novelty” here, I do agree that”it matches the kids” and I also think that things like this open up the entire debate between Clark (1983) and Kozma (1991&1994).