Applying to Learn
Mobile applications: Accessible from many devices
- No cell phones.
- Respect yourself and your fellow classmates.
Did your classroom rules look like this when you were in school? I thinks it's odd that disallowing devices is considered more pertinent than ensuring students understand--and practice--axiological notions such as respect. Students' devices should not be "raised above" their behaviours and actions. Perhaps we could re-order this list . . .
We could ensure that cell phones and other mobile devices are used so they enhance learning.
Here are a few mobile applications targeted at students from junior to senior high who would be learning English language arts or science--inside or outside the classroom. Most apps listed are accessible from both Android and Mac devices; in the event an app is exclusive to one (Android or Mac), I have offered an alternative for the other.
Vocabulary Spelling City Mobile App
I could suggest Vocabulary Spelling City to junior high learners of English as an additional (second, third, etc.) language. Because this application narrates words while students complete activities, ESL students are exposed to how sentences are used in context and how they sound when articulated.
For learners who wish to grasp more complex writing concepts, I could suggest that they complete certain activities which address figurative language and style.
SwipeSpeare
This application may be used in high school English; students may read Shakespeare as a group aloud in class or individually at their convenience.
iCell App
At present, students learn about the parts of the cell in junior high (eighth grade science) and in high school (tenth grade and in Biology 20). For me, learning parts of the cell meant memorizing a bunch of definitions--not understanding how any of these definitions interacted with each other. I could match endoplasmic reticulum to its blank label . . . I could not make sense of the cell and its system. This interactive app can help students, at various grade levels, understand cell structure and the mechanics within it, in both a detailed and holistic manner. Using this app, students may surpass the "remembering" level on Anderson and Krathwhol's (2001) revised model of Bloom's taxonomy; this app will help students "understand" cell structure, and "apply" their understanding to other models (Anderson & Krathwhol, 2001).
Chemistry Modile Free and iElements
- Balancing chemical equations
- Practicing stoichiometry
- Understanding electronegativity
- Knowing and applying solubility rules
Chemistry Mobile Free is accessible via android devices; iElements is accessible via Mac devices.
This application may be offered to high school learners of chemistry as a study tool, or as a practice assignment/reading to complete--in or out of class. I might ask students to use this application on their own time to practice balancing chemical equations; as a result this practice, we may use class time to explore higher level problems which require students to have this skill (balancing chemical equations) as a prerequisite--such as a reactions lab session. This would be an example of how mobile apps can help create a "flipped classroom" appropriately (Fricker 2014, Nov. 4).
mobl21
In a junior high English Language Arts class, I may use mobl21 to create a study guide with definitions and examples of literary terms; I may also create, or share, reading comprehension practice for students to complete.
In a junior high science class (ninth grade in this case), I may create a practice quiz in which students are asked to name ionic and molecular compounds.
References
AAAS. (2014). Science net links. iCell app. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from: http://sciencenetlinks.com/tools/icell-app/
Anderson, L. W. and David R. Krathwohl, D. R., et al. (Eds.) (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Boston: Pearson Education Group.
CAST. (2013). CAST: About UDL. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from: http://www.cast.org/udl/index.html
Educational App Store (2014). Chemistry mobile free. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from: http://www.educationalappstore.com/app/chemistry-mobile-free
Educational App Store (2014). iElements- The periodic table of chemical elements. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from: http://www.educationalappstore.com/app/ielements-periodic-table-of-the-chemical-elements
Education App Store. (2014). SwipeSpeare- Modern Shakespeare. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from: http://www.educationalappstore.com/app/swipespeare-modern-shakespeare-1
Fricker, S. (2014, November 4). mLearning. Class lecture. Lecture conducted from University of Alberta, Edmonton.
VocabularySpellingCity. (2014). The vocabulary spelling city story. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from: http://www.spellingcity.com/
Image References
Bryson, R. (2010, July 1). The chemistry of inversion. [Electronic Image]. (Modified using Paint). Retrieved November 10, 2014, from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/f-oxymoron
Hannah. (2007, May 23). My bulb. [Electronic Image]. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/photohannah