Mobiles in class...a wee success story

Result today at parent's evening...drift back in time 2 weeks...

A couple of weeks ago I set my S1 class the task of preparing a speaking test which would take the shape of me asking basic questions about themselves. To help them along I recorded these questions and added slides with the questions written out to form an enhanced podcast, which I promptly posted on my resources blog. However I also  bluetoothed the mp3 version to a couple of kids phones who then also passed it on to their mates in class...ALL UNDER THE PROVISO THAT IF I CAUGHT ANY OF THEM DOING ANYTHING ELSE THEIR PHONES WOULD BE CONFISCATED. As you can imagine they loved it. Those who didn't have that kind of phone I put it on either a usb drive, mp3 player or a blank cd. For those who so wished I also recorded myself saying their answers onto their phones / mp3 player. Were the results any better...I don't know as I don't have any comparative material BUT all those who availed themselves of the tech for learning said they enjoyed their learning more.

...back to today...

Parents evening, 2nd appointment, "wow, my such and such, really enjoyed using his phone to help with their speaking test...never stopped listening to it...". At least 6 parents brought this up, with no prompting from me, and the consensus was 100% positive and in favour.

Extrapolate that to a whole school, imagine if and enlightened Head / Authority were to actively encourage staff and pupils to use their tech in classrooms for learning purposes I am sure this would have the approval of many many parents. In my case they obviously saw (and heard) for themselves their kids gadgets being used in an educational manner. Whooppee!

Also this week my employers advice for use of mobile phones in schools came out:

It is accepted that in secondary schools the carrying of mobile phones to school is reasonable, provided the following code of practice, in conjunction with any individual schools behaviour policies, in regard to the use of mobile phones, is fully adhered to.

Where school policy allows the carrying of mobile phones into classrooms they must always be switched off during class times unless specific permission has been granted by the class teacher to allow the phone to be turned on.

Now I have to say that I find these 2 extracts (and the policy as a whole) quite well thought out and cognisant of the fact that kids have this stuff and would use it for learning if given half the chance. So "chapeau" to Aberdeenshire Coulcil for that one.

Comments

[Kirsten23iD]

A lot of various people know some techniques of argumentative term paper composing, nevertheless this does not mean they can create high quality papers, but a paper writing service can aid to compose the argument essay of great quality and show writing ability of some students.

[Chris]

Congratulations indeed! The extra buzz that pupils get from doing things like this just leads to so much extra desire to not only do the task but also to innovate and to take risks- precisely the skills that so many young learners are reluctant to develop. And, crucially, it really does extend that learning beyond the classroom walls- where MFL is really behind all other subjects!

[Ewan McIntosh]

Fantastic stuff, and tangible results at the end (did the kids actually make any more significant improvement that those who had nothing? Would love to know). Chapeau indeed to the Authority - please pass this on from me.

[Iain Stanger]

Hi Adam we have also used mobile phones in our PE lessons for assessing performance and giving feedback via video and stills pictures. Great for simplistic analysis and the pupils loved it.
Iain

[Lynne]

Have a feeling our policy suggests they should be turned off at all times, although I still use them where appropriate, and was pleased to see S1 recording their music inventions on phones today.