Mobile Phones in School! Adam Johnson Cherokee High School

Purpose of Smart Phones General Function Make phone calls Messaging Data connections Internet Email Applications Calendar Entertainment Music Games Classroom Function Take notes Calendar Organize assignments Data connection Internet Email Educational Applications Mobile response system Ereader

Vision Cherokee now engaging in BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) Student owned mobile technology is a part of the school district’s Five Year Strategic Plan According to the schools Improvement plan Cherokee High School’s mission/vision is to “… create a character-building environment in order to prepare students to negotiate the challenges of the future as productive citizens in a diverse society (2010).” BYOT meets this vision, Smartphones will be a huge part of meeting this vision.

Access Issues Not all students will have their own mobile device (Smartphone, ipad, ipod, Kindles, etc) How do we overcome this issue? The BYOT will allow those who have mobile devices the legal ability to bring those devices into the classroom The remainder of students who do not have a mobile device will need equitable access School owned mobile devices will help bridge this gap Schools can purchase tablets, Kindles, and ipads

Needs Network connections Internet filtering School owned mobile devices Charging locations Teacher training

Technical Support School wide support Grade/Subject level support School IT Specialist Instructional Technology Specialist Grade/Subject level support Subject and grade level teachers will be trained in instructional techniques and common problems associated with mobile devices in the classroom

Legal Issues Currently it is illegal Theft and Damage of devices Internet use policy Cyber bullying Sharing Perceived advantage over those that don’t have one

Costs of technology Additional network expenses Teacher training In service days (trainer, and subs) Professional development sessions Student training Bringing in School Instructional Technology Specialist School owned devices Extra devices for those that do not have one

Funding Sources Special Education Budget Media Center Budget Grants AT technology funds (reduced) Media Center Budget Texts and novels available in e-text (reduced) Grants DonorChoose Fundraising Ice Cream Sales after school

Implementation Content Standards NETS-S Student Centered Learning Differentiation Collaboration

Content Standards Ideas Standards can be addressed in various different methods. Below is an example of using Student Owned Learning Devices to meet content standards more efficiently. Lit/Comp ELA9RL5 The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing Use learning device to look up unknown words and synonyms and post them to a blog. (meets the standard, by acquiring new vocabulary and then immediately integrates the new word into a writing assignment via the blog. The technology uses time more efficiently by elimination time that would have been spent looking up the word. It also helps to reduce costs of printing writing assignments.

NETS-S (National Educational Technology Standards- Students) Explore topics and expand details with search Keep notes and files in sync using cloud storage Provide comments, opinions and feedback via a blog Collaborate on class projects using wiki Brainstorm/collect student thoughts Create presentations to demonstrate student work Create videos or podcasts for peer review Display Student work in an online portfolio Conduct Online Quizzes or Polls Create quick response (QR) codes to direct students to resources Chats and tweets teaching tools Taken from Cherokee County BYLD pilot Project

Student Centered Learning Using digital media to communicate and work collaboratively Evaluate and analyze information gathered from the internet (RADCAB) Peer review-analyze peer work posted to a blog Create multimedia presentations to demonstrate learning

Differentiation More freedom for students of varying levels of reading fluency Scaffolding available for students who need additional support Collaboration amongst different levels of intelligence via blogs and wikis Larger variety of ethnically diverse media available Ability to reach different learning styles (auditory, kinesthetic, visual)

Collaboration Allowing students in different classes, periods, and grade levels to collaborate Allowing students to work with global communities via Twitter and Blogs Improve students written communications via comments and posts in an online forum Involves parents in the class assignments by posting information online where parents can see student progress and not just current grades

Teens and Devices The graph shows the data from a 2009 survey Clearly a vast majority of students own a capable learning device

Effectiveness Education Week – Digital Directions Data collection Pre and post test data is easier to collect and analyze Formative assessments Quick checks during a lesson- allows for instant feedback on student understanding Data collected can quickly be used to adjust unit and lesson planning. High Stakes Testing Most high stakes testing (CRCT, EOCT) are being taken on computers Using mobile devices for learning helps to better mimic the environment they will be tested in

Plan for Implementation Current environment has most teachers between management, consequence, and collaboration This is a good place to be at to begin this program Technology Committee (already in place) Pilot Program- 10 teachers will begin the pilot These teachers are at the Collaboration and Refocusing stages Summer workshops- offered at multiple times to instruct teachers on BYLD program In service days and preplanning Work shops offered to teach blogging, and wikis in the classroom Work shops offered to teach quizzes and polling via the internet Technology Committee as mentors Members of the committee represent each grade, and subject level. They will serve as mentors for their departments and grades 1st line of defense for teachers who have problems and issues They will promote the program and offer encouragement

Personal Reflection Researching this program and its implications in the classroom has left me excited and concerned I am excited about the open door of possibilities available to learning. Students will be exposed to larger amounts of information and they will be able to experience new and innovative lessons. I am also excited about increasing the efficiency of my grading and assessments. Mobile technology removes some of the time spent outside of the instructional time. This is a huge value as more and more demands are placed on teachers plates that are outside of the classroom

Personal Reflection Cont. I am concerned about the unknown variables. Students are crafty. This is a good thing and a bad thing at times. For example, at the time of this writing our schools pilot BYLD network is up and running. Students have not been instructed on how to access this network, yet on Friday there were over 200 students logged in and using the school network on a, at this time, illegal device. Utilizing mobile technology in the classroom will open wonderful doors but we will have to be diligent to shut doors that will compromise the integrity of our classrooms. Understanding that there is much to be learned by this new endeavor, I am sure that the benefits will far out weight the problems.