Mobile Devices
Okay, as a mother of 4 ranging from grade 3 through to grade 12, I can tell you that smart phones and tablets do seem to own my children at times, in fact I regularly call a ban on anything electrical and send them outside to play! So saying, as ICT is one of my KLAs, I am not exactly against electronic devices and nor do I limit myself too much as far as using my own smart phone and tablet, however there has to be healthy and safety limits applied to how much anyone uses electronic devices. I firmly believe that mobile devices should be in every classroom. The sheer number of apps that could be used is astonishing. But there need to be safety measures in place as there are many things that can go wrong.
Now while a lot of this week's tutorial focused on the Apple IPhone and IPad there are a number of other brands and interfaces out there that are just as good. I am going to look at some android apps as I have an android phone and would need to test anything that I used in a class situation. I have had both an IPhone and and Android and both are easy to use and good quality, so there not really an issue as to which one is used. On a quick search of "android apps for high school mathematics" I found a website on Abbcrawlr (a, 2015) with 25+ Top Apps for High School Math. This site has a variety of apps for different uses from homework, helping kids, practicing and onto calculator apps.
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| 25+ Top Apps for High School Maths |
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| Wabitemu |
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| Fast Pass Maths |
In a maths class alone there are numerous apps available. Smart phone
apps for graphic calculators are prolific and assorted apps to create
graphs, help with homework and practice maths are as easy to find as
game apps. I had to pay over $100 for my Texas Instruments graphics calculator back in the day and now with apps like Wabitemu, whereas with the advent of smart phones and apps, anyone can download a graphic calculator free. The Appcrawlr (b, 2015) site notes "Wabbitemu creates a Texas Instruments graphing calculator right on your
Android device. Wabbitemu supports the TI-73, TI-81, TI-82, TI-83, TI-83
Plus, TI-83 Plus Silver Edition, TI-84 Plus, TI-84 Plus Silver Edition,
TI-85, and TI-86. Fast and convenient, Wabbitemu allows you to always
have your trusty calculator with you. Because Wabbitemu is an emulator,
the calculator it creates will act exactly like the real thing." This alone is worth allowing students to bring their phones to school. Additionally , programs like Fast Pass Maths, help students to study for the big exams like the HSC and other entry level exams while on the go. They can study anywhere without needing to lug along a lot of big textbooks.
There are fractal apps to generates fractal images, Fractoid by Dave Byrne (2011) describes its functions as:-Multitouch pinch-to-zoom
-Supports multiple equations
-Renders Mandelbrot and Julia Set fractals.
-Save fractals or set fractal image as wallpaper
-Multiple color schemes
-Escape-time, Triangle Inequality Average, Curvature estimation algorithms and
-Uses NDK for improved performance
Even CQUniversity has an app for mobile devices to make study easier on
the go. You can look up your timetables, staff contact details, courses, exam timetable, Access the Library Resources, Moodle and your
emails easily on any mobile device with CQUniMobile. As far as using mobile devices for my second KLA - ICT. There is an astonishing variety of uses. Just the inbuilt features that come with most phones are enough to get students creating. The camera app with both still image capture and video recording high quality voice recorders and image and movie editing apps are now commonplace on every smart phone. As ICT students could at different times be asked to create posters or flyers, film a short video, make a web page or create a 3D object, the basic programs that come with a smart phone or tablet will be enough to capture the photos, video and audio for most of these. For the more in depth ICT subjects like web development and 3D graphics, there are specialised apps.
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| WordPress for Android |
For web design there are apps like WorPress for Android App, an open source content management system app, WordPress for Andriod "is like WordPress itself, an open source app that allows you to create new
posts, edit content, view stats and manage comments--and it comes with
built-in notifications, so you're kept up to date as you work." (Clark 2015) For those who have started coding their web pages, Clark (2015) recommends the JavaScript Reference App. This app describes the properties and methods of each object, along with examples. For the Graphic design side of ICT there are a variety of sketch and drawing apps available.
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| Auto Flow - Simone (2014) |
Simone (2014) mentions Paperless Draw, Sketch'em, Sketchbook Pro and Art Flow among its top five design apps. And for 3D animations there is even the Autocad 360 app, that allows you to view and edit AutoCad drawings whenever you want to.I could go on and on about the apps for ICTs, but instead I will leave it with a few screen shots of what these apps are capable of.
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| AutoCad 360 - Simone (2014) |
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| AutoFlow - Simone (2014) |
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| AutoCad 360 - Simone (2014) |
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| Paperless Draw - Simone (2014) |
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| Paperless Draw - Simone (2014) |
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| SketchBook Pro - Simone (2014) |
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| SketchBook Pro - Simone (2014) |
QR CODES
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| QR code to this blog |
QR
codes are yet another technology to come around with the advent of
mobile devices. Using an App that makes use of the inbuilt camera to
take photo of a unique monochromatic images consisting of vector
rectangles. Each QR code contains the code to send the device to either a
phone number, website, address or even just a message. These can be
used in a class environment to engage students. With ICT they can
incorporate them into the websites, posters, flyers and other design
assessments. Whereas within a maths class they could be deconstructed to
see what mathematical formula's and equation actually go into making
them work. The QR code below was generated from one of many QR Code
Generator sites: The QR Code Generator
to link to this blog and could be used on assorted websites and social
pages to link students to a page or site that is helpful without them
knowing what they are going to. They could be used to create a treasure
hunt around the school with printed image posted around for students to
find and each image holding a message or link hint to the next. A good
example of a QR Code Treasure can be found here. Other educational applications for QR codes can be seen here. They are a simple and effective tools to add an element of fun and surprise to a classroom.
SAFETY
Safety issues with mobile devices are definitely a problem to be considered. There is Cyber bullying, social network issues and apps that are completely inappropriate for students. Then we get into what should and should not be uploaded, who should be taking photos of who and what they do with them, and of course all the problems tat come with the Internet and students and anyone underage is another thing to be considered. I think it is worth looking into the legal guidelines again as I did in Reflection 5 - Week 6. There are standards of practice that we need to follow to keep our students as safe as possible in this new technological world. As photography and video are a big part of mobile device use, the standards that refer to these, Internet and social networks are good ones to refer to to find the safest course to follow with these devices.
Following the Department of Education, Training and Employment Standard
of Ethical Practice under the Electronic Communication/Social Networking
Section, it can be seen that any photography or video that uses
students in it, must be approved by the principal. This being the case,
it would be safest to run any ICT projects that are going to use
personal images or footage past the department head first. Also It would
be important to be aware of family issues that can arise from split
families and assorted other reasons where any images or footage could
not be uploaded to ensure the safety of your students. Anytime cameras
or video is going to be used, a note should be written to advise the
parents and to get permission from them just to be on the safe side. It
is a huge issue in some schools and would have to be taken into account
in any work you did with students Another issue that could come up
would be bullying. With social networking and student's having so much
access to the Internet, images or footage could be uploaded without
permission and innocent footage could be used as a peer pressure or
bullying tool. Again all due care would have to be taken to prevent
this.
In CQUniversity's (2105) Digital Video and Audio Course, a case is quoted where a Canadian student, in 2003, videoed himself enthusiastically mucking around with a toy light sabre. The video was not flattering, and was not intended for public consumption. However, some classmates found the videotape in Raza's locker and uploaded it to a popular file sharing site. Soon, Rasa was famous as a figure of ridicule world wide, and was labelled as "the Star Wars kid". Soon, all types of remixing was done to the footage with real light sabre sounds and effect were added, along with techno music. Variations on the theme of humiliation using the stolen footage is now all over the Internet. This had a extremely negative effect on Raza. At 15, Raza was being treated for depression. Consequently His family sued the boys and their families and settled out of court with CAN$351000 damages. The ethical and legal problems inherent in digital video, audio and photography need to be given full consideration. (CQUniversity 2015)
In CQUniversity's (2105) Digital Video and Audio Course, a case is quoted where a Canadian student, in 2003, videoed himself enthusiastically mucking around with a toy light sabre. The video was not flattering, and was not intended for public consumption. However, some classmates found the videotape in Raza's locker and uploaded it to a popular file sharing site. Soon, Rasa was famous as a figure of ridicule world wide, and was labelled as "the Star Wars kid". Soon, all types of remixing was done to the footage with real light sabre sounds and effect were added, along with techno music. Variations on the theme of humiliation using the stolen footage is now all over the Internet. This had a extremely negative effect on Raza. At 15, Raza was being treated for depression. Consequently His family sued the boys and their families and settled out of court with CAN$351000 damages. The ethical and legal problems inherent in digital video, audio and photography need to be given full consideration. (CQUniversity 2015)
PMI - MOBILE DEVICE APPS
SWOT - MOBILE DEVICE APPS
SAMR - MOBILE DEVICE APPS
CONCLUSION
We should use the technology we have in these devices as much as we can. Ignoring something that is so prevalent in today's society is just plain silly. These devices have the apps to use freely available and can be a great tool if used properly. Yes there are safety issues, but these issues are the same that face any ICT in schools. If we are diligent and monitor how they are used they could be one of the best things to happen to ICTs and education ever!
USE THE TECHNOLOGY TO THE MAX! DON’T JUST SUBSTITUTE, MAKE A DIFFERENCE! MOBILE DEVICES ARE EVERYWHERE, LET’S USE THEM. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WHAT IS AROUND US. UBIQUITOUS TECHNOLOGY IS NOW HERE!
Regards Katrina Johnston
Reference List
Appcrawlr (a). (2015). 25+ TopApps for High School Math. Retrieved from http://appcrawlr.com/android-apps/best-apps-high-school-math
Appcrawlr (b). (2015). Wabbitemu. Retrieved from http://appcrawlr.com/android/wabbitemu?_src=discover_group
Byrne, Dave. (2011). Fractoid. Retrieved from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=byrne.fractal&hl=en
Clark, Scott (2015) Html Goodies -Top 10 Web Development Apps for Android Devices. Retrieved from http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/mobile/top-10-web-development-apps-for-android-devices.html
Sala, Simone. (2014). SitePoint - 5 Must Have Android Apps for Designers. Retrieved from http://www.sitepoint.com/5-must-have-android-apps-for-designers/
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| Source: Katrina Johnston |
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