Mobile Learning

1. Why should teachers embrace mobile learning?
Teachers should embrace mobile learning because it is a new method of learning that children will most likely relate to and find interesting, in turn creating motivation where there might not have been before. The simple fact is that technology is becoming  more and more prevalent in younger and younger lives, so we might as well embrace it. When children see learning as fun and unique, they are more likely to learn and remember what they are learning. I know I learn more when I can relate to the material and find it fun.

2. What are some issues/challenges with mobile learning, and what are some possible solutions?
One obvious issue with using mobile phones for learning is the risk that kids will pretend to be working and play games or text instead. Another issue is that not all children are going to have cell phones, so it would be difficult to teach a lesson using them because some kids would be left out. A possible solution would be to have the children pair up so that every child who doesn't have a cell phone can share with someone who does. This is also a great way to encourage teamwork. Also, children who are caught texting or playing games when they're supposed to be using their phones for education purposes could no longer be allowed to participate in mobile learning...I know if I was going to be left out from doing something fun, I wouldn't risk the consequence.

3. What are some examples of best practices and practical uses for your desired age group?
I wrote a paper on the use of iPads in the classroom, and think that it would be the best way to introduce social media in the classroom for children in my desired age group (first grade). There are many applications that could benefit children of this age. There are applications for spelling, math, art, you name it...and a lot of them are games that kids don't realize are educational. Any kind of social media use like iPads can teach young children to be familiar with technology for when they get older and have to use it in later years.

4. What are three specific applications that you think might be useful in your future classroom? Why? How might you use them?
I would definitely use "Socrative" to make short quizzes so I could monitor a student's understanding of a topic or assignment. I think it is a great and easy tool to use, for the teacher or student. Another app I would use would be "Read Me Stories," it's an app that has a lot of free books (with lots of categories of interest to choose from) for young children. The app lets you choose if you want to have the app read it (out loud using the speaker) or if you want to read it yourself. Another app I would use is "Math Puppy," it includes math bingo, math challenge, and math calculator. It's also nice because you can choose between addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and the difficulty level. These apps are a few ways to make learning fun.