Question time

8. Student response via mobile device

I've spent some time today playing with the student response system Socrative. I'd already set up a teacher account, but then it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to set up a learner account too (using a different email address).
So, I've been asking myself questions to get a sense of both experiences. And it seems easy to use, offering the opportunity to set multiple choice or 'true or false' quizzes or to fire of simple one-off questions.
On the face of it, it's a useful tool for formative assessment.  It started life as the brainchild of a teaching assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who thought that if students were going to spend time on their phones in lectures then they may as well be engaging with lecture content in quiz form.
It's now used by more than a million teachers and students around the world. That you can ask the app for immediate feedback makes it possible for a teacher to assess the progress of all learners as a lesson goes on.
Charlynne Pullen and Olivia Varley-Winter, the authors of a report on digital technology in vocational education, saw Socrative being used at a Berkshire college and were impressed with its 'usability'.
They quote a teacher who told them that Socrative had replaced flip charts. The authors were particularly impressed that one tutor had been able to devise a quiz on his phone during a fire drill and that all his learners had been able to complete the quiz on their phones before returning to the building.

Sources:
Massachsetts Institute of Technology http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/socrative-app-real-time-data-student-comprehension-1211 (Accessed: 29.12.14)
Pullen, C. and Varley-Winter, O. (2014) Culture, Coaching and Collaboration. London: City & Guilds Centre for Skills and Development 

 

Their own devices

7. The value of mobile technology in teaching and learning

Mobile devices crop up as an gripe again and again when I talk to colleagues about their classroom experience. They seem to cause problems.

For me, they're not an issue. For the group I work with for teaching practice the rule is that phones and tablets are switched off during lessons - and are kept out of sight.

So, my initial reaction to the idea that mobiles and tablets should be welcomed as part of the learning process was sceptical. But after reading up on the subject I'm beginning to see that getting learners to use the technology that they already know - and love - makes sense.

The Ufi Charitable Trust sums the debate up as BYOD v BEND. That’s Bring Your Own Device v Buy Everyone a New Device.

Supporters of BYOD in education say it's an unstoppable trend. It already happens in many universities and The ICT association Naace (formerly the National Association for Computers in Education) is certain that BYOD is the way ahead for schools too. Earlier this year Naace insisted that schools banning pupils from using their phones were trying to resist the inevitable. It said: “The educational potential of such phones is immense and really is taking education to the next level.”

An article in the business magazine Forbes makes interesting reading. It's main focus is on schools, but many of the points made are relevant to the FE sector.
BYOD has it's problems (like misuse by students and e-safety), but they are out-weighed by the gains, according to one of the Forbes interviewees, Roger Broadie, a board member of Naace. Allowing students to use the computers in their pockets allows for more collaboration and conversation.
But for me the really compelling argument is the financial one. At a time when resources are stretched is BEND worth funding at the expense of other areas of college budgets?
Where's the sense in spending money on new tech when students have devices of their own? Ufi says: "Surely we could use our education budgets better to focus on other things, like teacher issues and learning."
Clearly there's a inclusion issue around BYOD; a minority of students won't have access to a phone or tablet. However, the cost of providing devices for that minority is far less costly than BEND.
Ufi suggests BYOD can deliver big savings and that that money could be spent instead on "learning, teachers and problem solving" Its primer on BYOD concludes: "Want to help students learn - leave them to their own devices."


Sources:
Ufi Charitable Trust www.ufi.co.uk/primer-bring-your-own-device
The Guardian www.theguardian.com/education/2014/apr/11/students-bring-tech-device-uni (accessed 10.12.14)
NAACE www.naace.co.uk/pressrelease/takingeducationtothenextlevel/mobilephones (accessed 8.12.14)
Forbes www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2014/01/19/the-next-revolution-in-school-tech-bring-your-own-device/