About
This blog owes its beginnings to the Global Mobile Research Project in partnership with Studywiz, Delphian eLearning and Apple Australia. After implementing the Studywiz learning platform at our school as part of our Personalising Learning program, I was selected to trial a 1:1 iPod Touch project with my year 8 class in July 0f 2008. Studywiz Mobile had arrived, was acclaimed and it was up to us to see what it could do and how we could collaborate globally to explore its potential. The iTunes App Store had just opened and there were wide, unknown frontiers of learning to charter. Documenting the practical learning experiences and collaborating with others globally is the aim. Due to widespread media attention and the gentle encouragement of our regional eLearning Coach, I was nominated for and won the 2009 Lindsay Thompson Fellowship to enable me to travel to meet others and share their experiences. I look forward to travelling to the US and UK later in the year. If you wish to read about the journey from its inception, as this blog commenced in June of 2009, please visit here.
A brief overview of the iPod touch / iPhone in Education
By: Owen Holleran on August 20, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Hi Louise,
Thanks for your time on Tuesday. I am sloshing some ideas around in my head. Hopefully they will harden into something more concrete in the near future. (I think that passes as a pun??)
Don’t work too hard.
Regards
Owen at Sunny Harston
By: Kim Fiore on October 7, 2009 at 12:37 pm
I am taking a class on Internet Tools for Teachers and this week we are discussing digital storytelling using cellphones. We are just learning about the school uses for cell phones and I would like to speak to someone who has actually used cellphones with students in the classroom. Before you began your project, was there a school policy in place regarding cell phones. Were parents involved and what did they have to say about the project? Were there any challenges you faced either technically or policy related ?
We think of cell phones as a problem in the schools but there are many uses for them.Thank you so much for taking the time .
Kim Fiore
By: louiseduncan on October 7, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Hi Kim,
The policy in our school regarding mobile phones currently states that if they are at school, they should be switched off, invisible or kept in student lockers. In reality, most students have one on them and they are switched on. Many are confiscated and returned at the end of the day. This policy is under review and will be changed soon. There are some teachers who experiment with SMS, photos, movies, bluetooth with the phones regardless of the policy and these activities are effective.
My class have iPod touches for a special pilot program and they are allowed them at any time. The iPod touch has no camera, so there are no issues surrounding inappropriate use of photos. In the first six months of the trial, I allowed listening to music where it was suitable. For this year, I have changed that policy as I found that for this age group, music listening was a distraction. I have written in more detail exactly what I discovered on an earlier post. You can read the policy I created and all parents and students signed on the ‘Lessons’ page. Another problem common with mobile phones is the use of SMS for bullying. Firstly, I believe all schools should have somewhere in their curriculum an ongoing program that educates students about the effects of this anti-social behaviour and ‘cyber etiquette’. It is our role to educate, not ban. There are some great online resources available, I will write a blog post about it for you when I get a chance.
So, as I have been able to create the policy myself and it has been approved and signed by all concerned, it has not been an issue.
The technical issues have also been minimal. A wireless certificate is placed on the devices to allow wi-fi access and thus filtering through our web management system. Any iPods not functioning correctly are simply connected to iTunes and restored. If you find my post from the Hume eLearning conference in August, you can listen to my presentation that was recorded, this includes answers in more detail to many of your questions. Hope this helps, good luck with your classes this week.
By: Anthony on November 11, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Hi Louise,
Looks like you’ve certainly been mighty busy with you trip to the US.
A question – when at the Handheld Learning conference you made reference to your school’s iPod Touch fair use policy (or similar). i then found it on your Blog but the link was broken, i then failed to email you to let you know this – for which I am sorry.
Might you be able to point me towards it please.
Also – you might be interested in what the Guys at Essa Academy in Bolton are up to – they are about to give iPods to all their pupils (some have them already). Essa Academy and their iPods.
Also – you’ll be pleased to hear that we have mapped all our content for relevance to IGCSE too.
Hope your travels go well…
regards
Anthony
By: louiseduncan on November 12, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Hi Anthony,
I have some strange curse on being able to embed that policy document into my blog. I have instead provided a link to my MobileMe iDisk public folder where it can be found, from my ‘Lessons’ page I think. I have been reading about the Essa Academy in Lancashire (where my grandfather was born) since their wonderful project was first reported in the media. I have not been in touch with them as yet but their details were passed on to me through the mLearn conference in Orlando a couple of weeks ago. Thanks for sharing this media report.
By: Mark Talbot on November 21, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Hi Louise
I saw your presentation at the HHL conference and again at the Apple RTC Meeting. Have just bought a iPod touch portable classroom of 20 and 13 for teachers across the college. Am now hopeful of securing some funding for 1 for every student (1550).
I have put a link to your blog from my website.
Many thanks for your presentations from both events as they have steered me to great paths of discovery and have given fantastic ideas for teachers across all subject areas of the college.
Kind regards
Mark T
Head of Photography/ADE
Bodmin College
Cornwall
By: louiseduncan on November 22, 2009 at 9:54 am
Hello Mark,
I am very pleased you have gained some inspiration from my presentations and have acted on them so (1550!) decisively. A great way to provide support for your 13 beginning teachers is to set up a series of simulation activities that they can work through and provide feedback on so they will have some idea in advance what their students will be experiencing. I use the Studywiz mobile interface, but you may also want to look at Wirenode, http://www.wirenode.com , which allows you to build simple mobile websites including feedback forms. It will also turn a blog into a mobile website using the RSS feeds. Please ask if you have more questions about this idea.
By: Bruce Derby on April 14, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Louise,
Sorry I couldn’t get in touch this afternoon. Your work here is brilliant and answers any questions I had for now anyway. I’ve already started working on my deputies to give me the money to come the the slidetolearn event.
I hope you don’t mind, but when my plans here start to mature a bit, I’ll give you a call to get some pointers.
Thanks,
Bruce Derby
Mazenod College WA
By: Bruce Derby on April 14, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Sorry to bother you again.
I am putting together an application to come to the event. While I’m in Victoria, I’d like to visit a couple of schools that are progressive on ICT. Can you recommend a couple for me?
By: louiseduncan on April 14, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Hi Bruce,
It is no bother at all. You will find it is school holidays here in Victoria that week, so it might be difficult to find schools to visit.
Don’t forget to join the Ning at http://slidetolearn.ning.com
Louise