Mobile Learning Devices in the Classroom What’s the best choice? Judith M. Tucker, NWOET Assoc. Dir. of Prof. Dev

What do you see when you think of mobile technology?

Mobile Devices for the Classroom What are the advantages of MLDs for education? Mobility Engagement Cost effective Interactive On-demand technology

Mobile Devices for the Classroom What are the advantages of mobile devices for education? Mobility? — theft Engagement? — limited few in some cases Cost effective? — New concerns for managment, increased bandwidth Interactive? — used as a toy & for games On-demand technology? — demands for bandwidth exceed capacity dis

Step 1 How do you choose? What devices should you consider? Apple iPad Google Chromebook and Chromebox Yet to be released - Microsoft Surface Tablet Netbooks Amazon Kindle Fire Android tablets Nexus 7 by Google Traditional laptops Ultrabooks

eReaders - Nooks

The Kindle Family eReaders

eReaders Strengths & Issues Limited number of educational apps besides ebooks Use with whole class instruction is difficult or not possible Lightweight; long battery life Ones with E ink good in sunlight Wide price range

Android tablets Variety of models & manufacturers Lots of apps, but education app #s still lag behind iOS apps Lots of choices - dozens of designs & several operating system Big, small, and inbetween Better connection to outside - card readers, USB, HDMI connectors for video/audio output to projectors Can be cheaper than iPads

TechLAB Shootout 6 Android Tablets And the winner was...Asus Eee Transformer TF /5 stars Only $350 Magazine, March

iOS devices: iPod touches & iPads Size and screen resolution is the big difference Many new iOS apps optimized for just for iPads Communities of users in education They just work!

Step 2 How do you choose? Take Pop Quiz Go to

Step 3 How do you choose? Think about your answers.

Step 4 How do you choose? Picking what features matter most to you 1. Easy to integrate 2. Lots of storage space 3. Has a physical keyboard 4. Relatively cheap 5. Vibrant support 6. Popular in other classrooms 7. Has a camera 8. Lots of accessories 9. Simple to use 10. Durable/good for outdoor use

Step 5 How do you choose? Make a grid with the features in Step 4 Evaluate & analyze devices Figure out which devices has most of the your desired features

Step 6 Going beyond... Start researching how you can integrate your choice of device(s) into your classroom instruction Bottom line - there isn’t one device that is ‘right’ for everyone! Source: “How to Choose the Very Best Device for Your Classroom,” Edudemic, July 2012

What’s new? Google Nexus 7 Tablet 7” 1280x800 HD display Quad-core Tegra 3 processor 8GB or 16GB internal storage Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) Up to 8 hrs. of active use Starting at $345 on Amazon

What’s New? Google Nexus 10 Tablet ? iPad Mini or Mini iPad? To date, both just speculation Aggressive pricing? Will iPad Mini run regular iPad apps?

What’s New? Microsoft Surface Tablet More speculation!