Top M-Learning Tips for Educators
Creating a Mobile Learner Friendly Environment with NFC
Simon's Top 10 Tips for using NFC tags
Email: simon.wardman@centralnottingham.ac.uk
Website: www.teachability.co.uk
Location: Central College Nottingham
Phone: 0115 884 2476
Facebook: facebook.com/CentralCollegeNottinghamInternational
Twitter: @nottinghamcolle
What is Near Field Communication (NFC) technology?
NFC technology makes life easier and more convenient for students around the world by making it simpler to exchange digital content and connect electronic devices with a touch.
Tip 1: Make Life Easy!
Make life easy by bringing the web closer within your learning spaces. NFC tags make it simpler to exchange digital content and connect electronic devices with a touch. The student homepage provides official, up-to-date, college information. Students should know how to access the college’s homepage and be able to access it on a regular basis outside the college. An NFC tag facilitates rapid mobile access to student information, news and events from a variety of areas of the College including Student Finance, Learner Involvement, EDI, Sport Volunteering. The student homepage will also provide help and support and provide links to key learning application.
Tip 2: Narrow the distance between experts and learners
Narrow the distance between experts and new learners by linking short video profiles to the photos creating a useful bridge between the physical and digital learning environments.
Tip 3: Out of hours Support
Near Field communication tags can be used at reception or when college facilities are closed. Tags could refer students to online help or a welcome video.
Tip 4: College Rules and Regulations
College posters can be linked to college online policy statements and strategy documents to supply students with additional information.
Tip 5: Understand Students’ Needs
NFC posters may link to an online questionnaire or survey about what their courses, resources or student support. Hardcopies of questionnaires should always be available if students have difficulty with connectivity or lack of Wi-Fi.
Tip 6: Use NFC tags in collaborative learning tasks
The fundamental role of the teacher is not to transmit information but to guide the social process of learning. Out of classroom activities using NFC posters are a great way to support this.
Tip 7: Use contactless technology for access control
Central College has chosen contactless technology for their solution to access control. Credentials may also be sent to smartphones as soon as an ID card is issued. This could save money by cutting down on printing cards.
Tip 8: Use NFC tags to promote professional development events and networking
Teachers need areas online to discuss and debate educational issues. NFC tags can promotes access to online subject specific forums or educational networking groups.
Tip 9: Make the most of existing online learning resources and the institution’s VLE.
Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are used by many colleges but unfortunately many students aren’t getting the most from their platform. Make sure the administrators have optimized the VLE for mobile devices and insist that the IT department allow students to use their own email, so that they can receive peer notifications via the VLE. This will help keep students engaged with the resources and collaborative activates. Make certain an NFC poster directs students to the learning resources and facilitates the logging in process.
Tip 10: Link physical noticeboards to digital ones.
A physical Student noticeboard provides a focus for students when they leave their classrooms and can lists opportunities and information of direct interest to students.
When physical noticeboards are linked by NFC to online forums and noticeboards, students can become part of a discussion and can share their own news, views and announcements.
NFC technology works at close distances and can be used behind lockable noticeboards and the other side of clear plastic or glass without any problems. It is difficult to read NFC tags unintentionally as they only have a range of a few centimetres. NFC tags can be put on any poster placed around the college and on almost anything to provided added guidance or information.