Discussion Group 5th August - Uses for mobile devices in teaching, main types of uses and apps

There was a very informative and productive meeting via video conference.  We had five Broome lecturers, two in Derby and one in Kununurra attend our latest group discussion.  Unfortunately Brad Durack, who was going to share his digital photography expertise, was unable to attend but is hopeful of attending the next session on the 19th August.

The discussion was around the use of mobile devices for administrative, reference, data collection and storage. 

Administration

Examples of mobile use are calendars, reminders, grading software, sign and send for forms, note taking, study guides, delivery of learning materials.

Gary Lienert uses Bento, which is an iPad data base app provided by Filemaker. Gary uses it for keeping track of student details. However please note Bento is to be decommissioned in September 2013. Filemaker will concentrate on their products related to Filemaker Pro after this. Filemaker Pro is an excellent data base desktop program that syncs with ipads via an app, however it is expensive and requires multiple licenses. Some lecturers in the trades and conservation areas have requested a trial and Gary Urquhart is involved with this. Jill will follow up and find out more about how they intend to use it, and the progress of having it implemented.



Gary Lienert and Dave Broun use Sign and Send for student documentation and forms - this is very useful for traineeships in remote communities - the document can be accessed on the device, or by email, signed by all parties, and sent, all using the one app on the phone or tablet.


Drop Box - Several of us use Drop Box to place large files, for example video clips, large size image files, large pdf's or data bases. Drop Box is a cloud-based site with privacy settings and security to match your needs. It is a good way to share materials with other lecturers and students and to store large files that take up space on your drives. It is possible to collaborate on documents with others, using a tool called "Shared Folders."


Dave Broun uses CamScanner to scan documents for signing, sending and saving when on the road. You can get CamScanner for Android and CamScanner for iPad


 Jill recommends DocstoGo - this is an app for smartphones or tablets that provide you with the ability to create Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on your device, and there is also a version for iPhone and iPad

Reference

This can include dictionaries, e-books and office applications. Some that are being used by members of this group are:

Anatomy for iPhone

Australian Birds

iBooks for pdf e-books

Google for definition searches in LLN

Reading Eggs

Targeting Maths

Fourpics

For the apps, such as Anatomy for iPhone or Four Pics and Targeting Maths, do a search in the App Store or Google Store.

Data Collection

We did not finish the discussion on using our devices for data collection but this is a major function for teachers - we can collect data or information for assessment evidence, for teaching purposes and for admin purposes.  Video and audio recording are possible from phones and tablets, and still photographs are another useful means of gathering evidence or other information.

Maureen Crowther's remote aged care  students  create stories using video or photographs and this serves the purpose of both assessment evidence, and shared learning with their peers as they pass the video clips and photographs around.

Gary Lienert and his conservation and land management students undergoing Indigenous Ranger training make extensive use of the camera for still shots and video footage in documenting their activities for both assessment and learning.

Collection of information like this requires editing skills, an understanding of file types, skills to upload to various locations and share, and an understanding of different platforms from which to share or on which to store the files.  Some relevant apps are:

Art Studio - Jill has used this app (Art Studio Lite is free, and the full version is around $5) to successfully edit and resize photos on iPhone or iPad.
Pinnacle - David has tried this for editing video footage on the iPad ready for saving to a website or sharing with others.
TeacherTube is like YouTube but for education purposes only and allows you to create classes, groups and libraries of videos for your students, where you can store and share any class material tha you create - it will allow you to upload a video that is 300 mb or less, or up to 320 minutes.  The type of file is important.  Most editing apps such as iMovie or Pinnacle will convert the edited video clip to mp4 or some format that compresses the file size and is compatible with most websites.  We intend to explore these in our next session.

Areas for further discussion

Future discussion groups will be looking in more detail at file types for images and video clips, the "how to's" of converting file types, editing, and uploading files to a range of locations, including Blackboard.  We hope to have Brad Durack's digital photography expertise for this in future sessions.

Other areas of  mobile use that could be looked at in future sessions include:

 

Interactive 

Quizzes, chat, polling, sms and texting

Gaming

Simulations and games

Location

Augmented environments, QR codes, Google Earth, maps.

Collaborative

Pod/vodcastng, blogging, instant messaging, Wikis, online conferencing using mobile devices

Come along and join in on the 19th at 3.30 pm - all are welcome regardless of your use or non-use of mobile devices and phones in your teaching.  The idea is to share experience and ideas, at all levels.