Beyond the Classroom Webinar
Making Mobile and Social Learning Work in Schools
By: Rachel Hildreth Kucera
What I Learned
- Educators should talk to kids about their digital legacies in order to teach them to make good decisions online.
- Students need to be provided "REAL CONNECTIONS" with experts and primary sources for them to connect to the material. This can be done with virtual field trips and skyping experts.
- Encourage students to write about the content and their opinions on a blog rather than an essay because this is what they are used to doing outside of class. This will allow students to use technology in a useful way rather than having to write an essay they know only the teacher will read.
Reflection
This presentation was very long and slow. I do not feel as if I learned anything that I did not already know from watching this webinar. The 2 speakers spoke more of their accreditations than about the content itself. I would not recommend this webinar to anyone who already has a good idea of mobile learning and social networking in the classroom. This would only be beneficial to someone who has no idea why or what to do in regards to learning outside of the classroom. I also feel that more resources could have been provided for teachers to play around with and experiment these learning tools.
Additional Resources
Mobile Learning
This website explains what mobile learning is and how powerful it can be. The site also has resources for mobile learning ideas as well as seminar dates that you can register for to attend. This website does a great job in discussing the reasons we as educators should embrace our students mobile devices rather than banning them in the classroom.
4 Smart Ways to Use Cell Phones in Class
This website gives 4 great examples of how teachers can use cell phones in class. The 4 examples go on to give resources to assist in these uses. This site also supports the theory that using cell phones in class for assignments will increase student engagement and motivation in the classroom.
Social Learning
This resource is a YouTube video from TED that explains the value of social learning. It also goes in depth as to the rich resources available to all learners and why we should be embracing social learning. The speaker is very passionate about this topic and gives very valid points on the concept of social learning.
What is Social Learning?