LightintheWoods

Today, I met with the Centre for Academic Technologies at the University of Regina. The topic of discussion was possibilities for, and the potential of, mobile tools and learning. In preparation for this discussion I prepared this wiki on Mobile Tools. You will find links to stories, possible tools, ideas around teaching & learning, strengths/opportunities & weaknesses/barriers to consider and a selection of related links. In the end we agreed on the importance of remaining current on these technologies and attempting to ensure that courses are designed with possibilities for mobile tools in mind.

Hopefully in the near the future we will see these tools integrated into courses as they are needed and not because mobile seems to be the latest & greatest trend or flashy gizmo. My feeling is that some students are already self equipped with devices that have the potential to expand upon their access to content and overall learning experience. It was evident that his area is ripe for experimentation and innovation, as we generated far more questions than answers. We are continually looking for models of success and ideas of sound pedagogical application, please share if you have any stories of mobile technologies and learning.

There is much more on this topic that I want to unpack and think about. As tools advance, barriers to efficient use of the tools will decrease and learners will continue to find ways to utilize the mini computers that we carry.

I have a related post on MP3 players from January that has more thoughts on possibilities for tools.

An interesting thing happened tonight. Steve Dembo hosted Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind. Daniel spoke live at this Webinar through WebEx. Upwards of 190 people listened, some of whom participated in live chat. Great Learning happened. It became interesting when CoolCatTeacher, Vicki Davis created a google Doc for Show Notes. 29 people participated collaborating to create the document.

As I contemplate how learning happens, I see possibilities for Google Docs in the classroom and auditorium. In January, I begin a position with the Center for Acedemic Technology and The Center for Teaching and Learning. One of my tasks will be to present to faculty from around the University of Regina on relevant ways to adopt web 2.0 tools into their teaching practice. I think Google Docs is a good place to start. Whether it is compiling notes or participating in a larger scale project. A good example of this comes from Digital Ethnography @ Kansas State University and Professor Wecsh’s Video A Vision of Students Today. Students used Google Docs to compile stats and info.