“Changing the Mix of Learning with Mobile Media Tools”

I went to a CTL workshop called “Changing the Mix of Learning with Mobile Media Tools” and thought I would share the ideas here since our next discussion is about digital literacy.

The facilitator, Eric Orton, showed us a number of apps and explained ways to use them to “flip the classroom” (or move lecture outside of class and move more experimental and interactive activities to the classroom). The apps were demonstrated on an iPad but could be used on iPhones, iPod Touch, or in some cases on a regular computer.

First, we were advised to use “Dropbox” rather than Blackboard to store and publish materials for students, as it is easier to use from a mobile device. We should create private folders for our raw materials as well as some folders to share with each class.

With all of our raw materials in dropbox, we can use an app like “Expain Everything” (free screen capture) to build and annotate slides using our photos or diagrams. We can add audio commentary to the slides to build brief lectures/explanations for students to view outside of class. Kimberly Pierce was at the workshop and mentioned that this might be a good app to use to mark up small sections of student writing, though Orton mentioned that it does not allow for a whole paper to be marked up, at least not easily.

Pocket WavePad HD (or non-HD for iPhone or iPod touch) we can use for more considered audio projects because it allows for easy editing of mistakes. You can view the sound waves and easily edit and rearrange your lecture. Orton also mentioned Audacity.sourceforge.net for audio editing.

Splice Video Editor (free version) we can use to edit video on an iPad or even a phone, and Orton mentioned it as an easier alternative to iMovie for building video presentations. He also showed us “Coach's Eye” (a neat way to annotate video should you ever have the need to do that).

Socrative www.socrative.com was the best-received app of the day, as it allowed teachers to build quizzes that can be given very easily. Socrative turns any of the students’ mobile devices or laptops into clickers so that they can answer quiz questions or vote during class. The teacher can project the results on the overhead in the form of a chart showing how students voted, how many voted, etc.

These were all new to me, but I am not very technologically advanced, so maybe they are not new to you! If you have some digital assignments, apps, questions, gripes, etc. to discuss, please take this as an invitation to post them!