Last week, as the brain was melting down, I spotted these interesting posts, and over the weekend, I got half the chance to read them and put together this interesting idea in my head – what power can the attention of the world have on some mode of action that is waiting for a champion? I don’t know, but as the title of this post suggests, perhaps quite a bit – those that Think Different (Apple’s posters).
Obama is being heralded as the savior for everything from good manners and diction to the economy of the world, but it seems that there might be something else that he’s going to do without even doing anything special… just doing what he does… use his Blackberry. I’m not really going to talk about the potential ills (News Week, Wired) but rather bringing light to the use of a “new” medium. So how is this being put together in my mind?
Well first, I caught this article on the use of cell phones in the classroom, quoting from the NYT:
Halfway through the semester in his market research course at Roanoke College last fall, only moments after announcing a policy of zero tolerance for cellphone use in the classroom, Prof. Ali Nazemi heard a telltale ring. Then he spotted a young man named Neil Noland fumbling with his phone, trying to turn it off before being caught.
“Neil, can I see that phone?” Professor Nazemi said, more in a command than a question. The student surrendered it. Professor Nazemi opened his briefcase, produced a hammer and proceeded to smash the offending device. Throughout the classroom, student faces went ashen.
“How am I going to call my Mom now?” Neil asked. As Professor Nazemi refused to answer, a classmate offered, “Dude, you can sue.”
Let’s be clear about one thing. Ali Nazemi is a hero. Ali Nazemi deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Then, I saw this article about the new administration using web technology. But the picture, rather than being one of Obama’s face, was that of what could be Obama using a Blackberry. It seems that his name, and the talk of technology within his administration is epitomized within that simple image. Now I wonder if Nazemi would smash that phone if it were in his class (power relations and Secret Service agents not withstanding).
The Open Ed article continues and points out the ways (from a BECTA report) that students can or are using phones within their classes:
- Timing experiments with stopwatch
- Photographing apparatus and results of experiments for reports
- Photographing development of design models for eportfolios
- Photographing texts/whiteboards for future review
- Bluetoothing project material between group members
- Receiving SMS & email reminders from teachers
- Synchronizing calendar/timetable and setting reminders
- Connecting remotely to school learning platform
- Recording a teacher reading a poem for revision
- Accessing revision sites on the Internet
- Creating short narrative movies
- Downloading and listening to foreign language podcasts
- Logging into the school email system
- Using GPS to identify locations
- Transferring files between school and home
So between the Times and BECTA, there is certainly something of a gap, and it’s one that I’ve mentioned a few times (recently) and it’s one that the Open Ed article seems to address quite well in talking about the slow attitudinal shifts. These shifts will likely be accelerated now that students or mLearning advocates can point to high profile users and provide examples how the devices are not only for socialization, they are for getting work done. So instead of banning these tools, maybe administrators should look into how students can be used responsibly.
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