Use of Mobile devicea in a classroom

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹/𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 (𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀) 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺?

¹Active learning

²Planning for learning

³Teachers are using mobile devices for online polling, online engagement systems to regularly check in with students for feedback, data analytics to analyze where students are having difficulties, pre/post lecture quizzes (not to be graded) to determine student retention or understanding of content

⁴Participating in classroom “gamification”- competitive scenarios, points and rewards to support course learning objectives

⁵Online syllabus

⁶Sending reminders

⁷Complete school related tasks (i.e. access course schedule, class announcements, academic calendar) (Tossell et al., 2015)

⁸Use of cameras to take pictures of information on board/screen allows students to pay more attention rather than trying to take notes (Synnott, 2018)

⁹Look up terminology, vocabulary acquisition

¹⁰Create discussions, crowd source questions using social media 

¹¹Take collaborative notes in an open document

¹²Listen to recorded lectures

¹³Move around the classroom for collaboration with use of mobile devices for learning rather than remaining sedentary the entire class time

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹/𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺

¹Allows students to explore content and obtain instant feedback (Himmelsbach, 2019)

²Flipped classroom or adding technology into class builds credibility between teachers and students

³Active learning/ increased engagement (i.e. online polling, quiz questions during lectures with instant results), students appreciate the convenience and speed

⁴Subject matter is dynamic (digital textbooks with embedded links to resource materials and wikis)

⁵Promotes participation including shy students who may not be willing to raise hand to participate (Himmelsbach, 2019)

⁶Countless apps, e-textbooks, organizational platforms to enhance education and make learning more engaging and interesting

⁷Automation of tedious teacher tasks (i.e. keeping track of attendance, student performance, grading assignments) (Himmelsbach, 2019)

⁸Instant access to up to date information, instant access to university online databases

⁹Digital literacy is a life skill (i.e. creating presentations, differentiating reliable vs unreliable content, online etiquette) (Himmelsbach, 2019)

¹⁰Allows for distance learning via portability and flexibility

¹¹Increases student engagement respecting various learning styles and supporting students’ use of new technology such as virtual and augmented reality

¹²Saves trees, cuts down on paper, reduces textbook costs (Paskevicius & Knaack, 2018)

¹³Correlated with increased student motivation to learn both in and outside the classroom (Fernandez, 2018)

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺

¹Interferes with learning, leads to worse grades, distracts classmates from learning (especially texting and laptop use) - Create expectations and guidelines (i.e. specific projects, times during class) for use of 

technology (Himmelsbach, 2019; Morgan, n.d.; Tindell & Bohlander, 2012; Tossell et al., 2015; Whitford, 2018)

▪ Push notifications and alerts from apps create a distraction for students who are using mobile devices for learning purposes. This requires selective attention to keep focus on the learning content rather than the other notifications- requires self-regulations to avoid temptation of using mobile device for entertainment

▪ Activation of the phone (chime, ring, or vibration) will cause student to lose focus no matter how invested he/she may be in class lecture

▪ Inability to multi-task (Whitford, 2018)

▪ Habitual behaviors associated with need to continuously check phone- overestimated how 

much mobile devices help achieve higher grades (initially thought it helps complete homework, achieve high test grades, and promote learning outside the classroom (Tossell et al., 2015)

▪ Weak evidence to support direct relationship between mobile learning management systems and grades

▪ Technology issues and difficulties associated with mobile devices (small screen size make is difficult to view pages of text, complex graphics, detailed pictures for long duration; battery life; security issues, piracy risks, theft of student information; long page loading delays)

▪ Use of technology reduces cognitive thinking ability, has resulted in shorter attention spans, 

decreased ability to “think on feet” and problem solve without being dependent on internet, 

decreased long-term retention of information (Morgan; Whitford, 2018)

▪ Relying too much on technology can impact social interaction and verbal communication, 

missed opportunities to socialize face-to-face, avoid participating in class. Better to create 

assignments that use both technology and oral presentation for dynamic group collaboration

(Himmelsbach, 2019; Morgan)

²Academic dishonesty- Technology makes it easier to cheat. Students report sending text messages during exams and using phones to cheat (Tindell & Bohlander, 2012)

³Students may have unequal access to technology (Himmelsbach, 2019)

⁴Use of technology is correlated with poor handwriting (Fernandez, 2018)