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Tech Talk

Utilizing smart phones in the classroom: tips, tricks and warnings

Lucius Von Joo Kanda University of International Studies, Japan

Lucius Von Joo currently teaches at Kanda University of International Studies, Japan. He holds an EdM in Comparative and International Education and has teaching experience in deaf education, elementary education and EFL/ESL in California, Japan and New York. His research interests include computer assisted learning, film and documentary content based learning, student educational backgrounds and learning approaches, video-cued multivocal ethnography, and family and communities as educators. E-mail: lucius-v@kanda.kuis.ac.jp

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ost teachers have witnessed phones as a distraction in the classroom. This may have first occurred long ago when phones were briefcase-sized, or it could have been a more recent occurrence, with the ‘illuminated’ face of a student staring into their lap.

Regardless of when it all started, there is no doubt that they have now become a regular part of the school environment. Now that smartphones are capable of doing so many different tasks, the phone has the potential to be more of a resource than a distraction, or, on the grim side, it can become a more ‘sophisticated’ distraction.

Since this is a tutorial column I will not talk too much about the debate; instead, this particular column will be a ‘how-to’ guide on ways to make educational use of smartphones in and out of class.

This Tech Talk is separated into three sections: 1) how to get started; 2) how to manage, and 3) how to get students using smartphones on their

own to continue learning outside the classroom.

I will be using certain smartphone applications that may be unfamiliar and explain them briefly; however, these are only examples to help explain the capabilities smart-phones can offer.

1) Getting started

Taking inventory I am sure that for most classes ‘getting started’ can be placed on a sliding scale; one of the best places to start is by taking stock of what devices you actually have at your disposal in the classroom. The plus side to this is that students are bringing in technology that you may otherwise not have the budget to obtain; however, using students’ existing resources also means that you have to be flexible and open to the possibility of changing your lesson plans. Simply put, don’t depend on every student having the exact same model and make of phone that can do the same thing. The advantage of having this random range of resources is that students and teachers can work together to make the technology succeed. Working together can alleviate some pressure for the teacher to have all the technological answers. In addition, since technology often offers multiple ways to do the same task, more than one way can be tried and the best ‘fit’ for your group will be found. To be honest, I am a teacher that really wants to have full understanding of technology used in the classroom, but I have found giving up control in

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the manner mentioned above to be much easier than I anticipated, because smart-phone technology is constantly changing which makes the class more tolerant of ignorance and errors.

You can create an inventory with a Google form (please see the previous Tech Talk in Issue 59 for information about using Google forms) or just use an old-fashioned piece of paper or a show of hands. However, keep in mind that some students may feel self-conscious in terms of what they have or do not have. Another advantage to using a Google form for creating an inventory is that you can ask follow-up questions such as what generation of device students have, and also make an assessment of what the student currently uses the device for.

This will help in understanding how you should pace your lessons. When I first started creating an inventory in my classes I optimistically anticipated that 60 – 70% of the class would have smartphones. I had seen them come out in strong numbers before class, but I was shocked to find out that all but one of my students had a smart phone, and I later found out that this student had an iPod touch. This is an ideal situation, but even if you had only one smartphone per 6 students you would still be able to enhance group tasks in many ways, but this seems to be the maximum ratio because of the small size of phone screens.

Finding uses The smartphone should be seen as a tiny computer and can do almost anything a fullsized computer can do. Just keep in mind that the workspace, as mentioned previously, is tiny.

That said, programs are often simplified to fit the small workspace which also makes them more user-friendly for beginners. For example, I have found that video-making applications such as Splice are great for beginners, even compared with notably user-friendly desktop programs like iMovie. Also, it should not be forgotten that with the smartphone the camera and editing platform are housed in the same device.

Many movie-editing applications on PCs can stop teachers from trying to use video production with their students. Many of the smartphone video applications are so streamlined and userfriendly that the teacher only needs to describe

what they would like the students to accomplish for a final report, and students can accomplish it through these simple programs. Video-making as an alternative to a final live presentation can be a time saver. Students can watch their peers’ work outside of class and start a thread of comments and feedback for the author. A process that often can take up multiple class periods if done live. In the example below, you can see the simplicity in Splice’s compact 5button interface, in comparison to iMovie’s scattered options and settings.

Splice:

iMovie:

One of the great things about applications on smartphones is that there are so many more developers than there were previously with traditional PCs. Because developing a smartphone application is much more accessible, developers now include home users, teachers, and many more specialists from a wide range of fields opposed to having a programmer interpreting their needs. This means that many more needs have been anticipated and met.

Finding applications The next logical step in getting started is to find an application that will enhance your lesson plan. As I mentioned above, there are many more developers, which means many more applications. This can be quite daunting when you are trying to find one to support your lesson.

Let’s say, for example, that you want to find an application that will help your students keep better citations for writing and research assign-

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ments. In a pinch you can type the function that you imagine an application may provide into the online application store of the smartphone; however this might not yield the best results. If you typed the word “citation” into the store you would get thousands of applications that are not in any particular order with both pay and free applications mixed together. I found that doing an old fashioned search in a search engine gets the most reliable results. For example, for citation assistance I would type in something like “best smartphone citation apps.” You may also want to add the word “free” in your search.

As I mentioned before, smartphone technology is constantly changing and the applications might be obsolete in this search so you will want to click on search tools.

Next, change the time you would like your range of results to come from, for example, change from ‘Any time’ to the ‘Past year.’ You will then often see reviews of applications that you can read through quickly. For example, this led me to an application that sounds like a good fit: EasyBib

These are also great search skills to teach your students. As a class, you can seek out a smartphone application, thinking, as a team, of all the terms that will find the perfect tool for your task.

2) Managing

Different brands and older models Keep in mind that Apple devices use iTunes and other branded smartphones platforms, such as android, use Google play applications. This EasyBib example above was found in the iTunes application store – this means that it might not work for non-Apple users. The next step is to type in the title of this application and see if it exists for other smartphones. If you have a nonApple device, do a search in your application store. Alternatively, you can type “EasyBib Google play” in a search engine and see if the application exists.

If both Apple and Google play have the application, all your smartphone users should be able to use this application if they are up-to-date. If the application does not exist, you can search the term “Alternatives to EasyBib.” Again, these are really practical skills to teach your students.

Also, all this searching if done as a group takes a very short time and provides the students with ownership of the lesson.

Account management Many new applications will ask you to set up an account and password. Setting up so many accounts with so many passwords can be overwhelming at first; however, this is definitely a strong new demand and life skill for students and it will get better with practice. When I first start using smartphones with a new group, many students often forget their password by the next class, but I have noticed that by around week three this stops being a problem. One way to assist in this is to use the same applications throughout the entire semester. It is tempting to try to find the perfect fit for every lesson, but continuity goes a long way with students and technology. This will also help avoid the sophisticated distraction realm I warned against in the introduction.

Classroom interactions By default, students are with peers in the classroom. This is a valuable component of live education, which should not be lost. Find ways that students will interact with classmates through these devices so that you do not get isolated faces looking down and away. You can

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encourage students to use applications as a group to produce work and project-based assignments.

3) Outside class

Students are very familiar with, and attached to their smartphones. I once read an article that compared phones to artificial limbs of amputees.

As morbid as that may sound, it is a fact that the devices are usually on students. What better platform is there on which to place educational tools? No matter where the student is, they can be learning. Training your students in how to find applications goes a long way. One way to do this is have students do a daily warm up where they introduce an application to the class. I have students do this in pairs, where one student teaches how to use the application and the other student reviews it. I often give a general focus for what the application should do, however this can be very broad. For example, “Search for an application that gives you a daily media feed,” or else, something like, “Find an application that helps you produce and share an idea.”

If you were to ask your students to buy a useful textbook at the beginning of term, chances are it would end up returned or on a shelf in their house. With an application it is a constant source that follows them around wherever they go. Also if the application allows for notifications or another method of daily interaction, the student will get a daily reminder. You can encourage this interest through practical applications, thus getting students involved in an application that can be a constant tool for them to use outside of class. There are many forms of applications that can do this but to name a few; social networking photo/video-creating and time-management applications have all been really successful with my students. Applications such as these are something that the students themselves might be using or seeking for outside of class. This promotes lifetime learning as well as strengthening new skills that are now sought after in the professional arena.

Summing up

The overall benefits of smartphones in the class:

1. The hardware is brought in by your students and it will leave with your students. This means you will most often have up-to-date technology in the classroom.

2. Because the students leave with the phones they will continue to have access to anything they have learned as a class.

3. Applications on smartphones are often learned much faster than their PC counter-parts.

Your students will also be more familiar with the operating system because it is theirs.

4. More often than not there is a free application to do most things you would like to accomplish as a class.

5. The nature of smartphone compact design for personal use allows students to use the technology easily in class without having to carry much with them, in terms of weight or space.

Possible limitations of smartphones in the class:

1. The logistics of managing with what you have in the classroom can be a major limitation.

However, as mentioned multiple times in this Tech Talk, if you remain flexible about how something is to be achieved and do research for applications that are universal, you should be able to avoid most problems.

2. Smartphone applications are often simplified, which means they are easier to use, but could also mean that there is less ability to manipulate an application to fit your needs perfectly.

Final Remarks

I use a mix of PC’s, tablets, and smartphones in my classes and have recently found that I now get my students to use their smartphones the majority of the time when technology is needed.

The smartphone is a tool that has great potential to assist and give empowerment to student learner autonomy. The fact that the students bring the device of their own accord and did not buy it specifically for my class aids in making the classroom environment feel like a professional community of peers working together. It is very refreshing to be able to use the very tool that was once one of the classroom’s greatest distractions.

Dear Readers,

If you have any requests for future Tech Talks please feel free to contact me. Any request is greatly appreciated and can range from a specific program you want explained to a general lesson you have that you want to incorporate technology into.

Thank you,

lucius-v@kanda.kuis.ac.jp

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