More Mobile Madness - To infinity and Back

Well maybe not infinity, but as close as I can get. When I finished thinking about Mobile Computing yesterday, I had this nagging feeling that I wasn't quite finished. I was sure there was more I needed to explore. So, does mobile computing mean we are free to roam away from our desks. The Jury is still out on that one, but there are apps out there which can make this a much easier proposition. Also, let us remember we are not all work, but do have lives away from education. I am sure you are all more than on top of what apps are available socially. Even my 8 year old niece can find and download social apps. However, here are some which I believe crosses over into both

10 Smartphone Apps to Help Get You Ahead

As you will see these are aimed at the American market so us Brits will need to be cautious as to what will be useful in a British context. Another App which I have recently downloaded to my Ipod Touch is Nibipedia.This is a mashup between wikipedia and YouTube. It is an educational tool which allows you to search through a number of carefully vetted YouTube Videos. I did a quick search using, Anatomy, Paediatrics and Teaching Methods and was impressed by the speed with which it took me to appropriate videos.

Nibipedia

This is also a testimony to the usefulness of social networking and the power of twitter. This came via a tweet from @NMHS_Principal on twitter. Through Twitter and Facebook we all have access to numerous resources which we may never have heard of previously.

It is funny how a blog can start in one direction and your thoughts take you in another. My main idea when starting this post was to talk about the online resources available through an institutions library. I used Ebrary and although I did get through to some excellent books, I found it to be a bit slow at present even via wifi. Ebrary is a brilliant resource when used on a desktop but to be truly mobile will need to be a bit speedier, for me anyway. Still, it does allow you access when away from your desk and not wanting to carry a laptop or netbook around, so still a useful resource. I will certainly be using it in the future.

Skype is another useful resource which is found on most mobile phones. This allows not only for free mobile calls, but also video calls. Skype can be used for tutorials or video conferencing when circumstances dictate that you need to be in another part of the country. Most students now have smartphones, and I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has used skype on their mobiles in this way.

So, having looked at mobile computing, am I willing to throw away my netbook. Not quite yet, but who knows what will happen in the future. Does anyone feel differently?

Mobile Madness

With the sun shining so brightly in the UK my thoughts have turned to mobile computing and how we can move away from the shackles of the desktop computer. Now it is obvious that laptops and net books free you from your desk. The beauty of these is that they have full functionality, would presumably have all the relevant software loaded, can have all your documents loaded and using mobile broadband have always on broadband. However, regardless of how small these are, they are still relatively bulky, so it is true mobile computing I am considering today. How can we use Smartphones to support us as lecturers, and how can we best advise students on how they can use them to support their learning whilst on the go?

Smartphones have many obvious features to support mobile working such as calendars, push email, and always on Internet access. In fact with most mobile providers allowing unlimited data packages the Internet is permanently at our fingertips. Oh, and let us not forget that our smartphone can also be used as a phone. I think many of us forget this when deciding on which smartphone to purchase. Not that I am going to advise on that, as personal preference and your own research should make this decision for you.

I feel the most important thing which gives mobiles their versatility and usefulness are the apps which can be downloaded for the 4 main OS types. Although these are more plentiful for the IPhone, many others such as blackberry and symbian are rapidly catching up. The app which I am going to talk about today and which I ahve found most useful is Quickoffice or Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite to give it it's correct name. This useful tool allows you to view, edit and create Microsoft Office Documents such as Word (Quickword)  and Excel (Quicksheet) on your smartphone, or in my case my IPod touch. It also allows you to view PowerPoint presentations. I have found Qucikoffice to be easy to use. Viewing, even large, files is a joy. To zoom in or out you use the 2 finger pich and Qucikoffice will keep your document in ratio therefore no scrolling to see whole lines. The real beauty of Quickoffice, however, is the abilty to link seamlessly with cloud storage such as MobileMe, MobileME Shared, Google and Drop Box. I was able to set up  alink to my MobileMe account in seconds and it immediately became a folder in Qucikoffice. I was working on my theses in Minutes from initial set up to finding, opening and working on the document. A more detailed overview of Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite can be found by clicking below:

Overview

One of the other obvious, but extremely useful features of Smartphones is the ability to take pictures and videos and share these with others through sites such as Flikr, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. These can provide photologs of student work, be inserted into word documents or PowerPoint presentations, record stages of a project amongst many others. Smartphones can also be used to share ideas and information through sites such as facebook, twitter, my space Bebo, LinkedIn, and YouTube amongst others. I am not going to go further into these today as I have covered these in previous blogs.

Finally, I started this blog before the email with this link appeared in my Inbox. Great minds think alike

Death of the Desk

As always I would welcome your comments on how this could be developed further. I am learning a lot from the your ideas. The power of our shared knowledge is, as always, greater than our individual response.

LinkedIn - Going Deeper with Groups

I have spent the last day thinking about LinkedIn and what other uses it could have in Education. In the course of exploring it further I have discovered Groups, which I feel has untold potential for Education for both students and faculty.

Although the most obvious benefit of Groups is searching for contacts and jobs, I feel that this is not in fact the most important. The most important benefit is from using the discussion boards which are a part of every group in LinkedIn. This allows students and faculty to discuss relevant topics with like minded peers and professionals from every corner of the globe. A wide range of industry related, professional topics are covered within these discussion boards and forums. Even if students do not post to the discussion, they will be able to read about what those in the industry are saying and what the important professional topics are in their chosen area. As they become more confident students should be encouraged to join in the discussions thus building up a presence on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn imposes a limit of 50 groups of which you can be a member, after which you will need to leave one group in order to join another. Therefore it is important to be discriminating in which groups to join. This encourages students to think carefully about the importance and usefulness of the groups they join. This is an important skill which can be transferred to their chosen career.

LinkedIn Answers is also something which could be extremely useful to students. This gives them the ability to both ask and answer questions in their chosen field. This allows them to develop a professional approach and to find expert answers in areas where they feel they need extra input. It also allows them to network with colleagues and get known in their chosen field. However, there is a caveat to this. Students should be advised to use it wisely and to think about what they are posting in this area. LinkedIn is a professional social networking site and should be used appropriately.

LinkedIn: Worth or Waste

Over the past few days I have been thinking about LinkedIn and whether it can be a useful tool in an education context. Now I am sure that it can be a useful tool for those wanting to link with other professionals, but how could it be used to support my students or support learning. I have to be honest with you and say that I have been a member of LinkedIn for many months but have not yet done much with it. Now that I am exploring it once more, I am hoping that it will be like my approach to twitter and I will have that Ahha moment and discover how useful it can be.

Firstly, the most obvious use by students is to build up a network of professionals to support their future career. The earlier they start this the better as it can lead to internships, part time jobs and future jobs. Whilst they are doing this they can also see the bigger picture about what is happening within their chosen profession. They will also be able to develop the ability to portray themselves in the best and most professional light.

However, as well as the more overt learning outlined above, I believe there is also some measure of covert learning. Students will, on the whole, be used to Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, amongst others. These are mainly informal networks, which can also be used in a formal setting. LinkedIn is designed to use a much more professional and formal approach to networking. Students will learn how to use appropriate language and style of writing, and to conduct themselves in a professional manner. Students can also use their network of contacts to ask for advice as well as for introductions to others. They will also learn how to conduct business correctly in that they should not just build up a network for the sake of it, but approach contacts for a specific reason. The fact that students will be using this site in a professional manner will allow them to develop skills in professional presentation and using a professional approach.

I have enjoyed thinking about how LinkedIn could be used in an educational context. These are my initial thoughts and I would welcome comments and further ideas from anyone reading this blog. If we share information we can all learn together.

Social Media - Twitter and Facebook

I am increasingly glad that I am using all forms of social media both personally and professionally but twitter has been growing in popularity and usefulness as far as I am concerned. Initially when I joined twitter about a year ago I couldn't really see the benefits or how useful it would be. I had a bit of a lacklustre approach and posted infrequently. I followed a few people and had a few people follow me, although I wasn't really sure why. I didn't really think about using it as a professional networking tool or as a way to support learning.

It wasn't until I had been using it for about 6 months that I started to use it more frequently and effectively. I started to explore ways I could use it professionally to support learning for my students. I started to link with other education professionals, particularly those interested in using technology and social media to support learning. Many of these are from a school, rather than Higher Education background, but the ideas they generate and the innovative ways in which they use these tools are both inspirational and innovative. Most of them could be transferred to a Higher Education context. It has made me think very clearly about ways in which I could develop my teaching, involving the students to a much greater extent.

What started me thinking about this subject this morning was an article which I received in a tweet from @NMHS_Principal on twitter.

Social media in Education: The Power of Facebook

This demonstrates 2 ways in which one school is using Facebook to very good effect. Now I have used facebook to support my students by the way of groups where students can support each other, which is moderated by myself. This article has inspired me to think about other ways in which I could use facebook to much greater effect. If anyone has any other ideas please comment. I would welcome all suggestions.

I hope that after reading this you will yourself be inspired to try something new. If my students are reading this, then I would welcome your comments in 2 ways:

1. How would you like to see social media used to support your learning?

2. Which particular social media tool would you prefer to use for the purposes of learning and why?

My final thoughts, I think that technology has great value and power when applied to learning. I am enjoying the journey of exploring this and hope you do too.

Harnessing the Power of Social Media

I read an intersting article this morning on how Teachers are Embracing Social Media in the Classroom. Before I go on to say what I feel about this it is interesting to note that I found out about this article through a tweet on twitter by @kamyousaf. I think this demonstrates one of the ways in which social media can empower new ideas and give them a platform on which they can be shared. Through Twitter I am part of a network of Teachers interested in using Technology, Web 2.0 and Social media to enhance education and teaching and learning. I have access to new ideas not just daily but numerous times in a day. Mmmh Information overload maybe? Well no. I don't have to sign in to Twitter, I can control the frequency.

Just think how this could be transferred into the student experience. Twitter and facebook can be used by students to link with others throughout the world to support each other and debate the topics from their courses. This shared knowledge would be more powerful and greater than the individual. My challenge is to enthuse my students to harness this and use it wisely.

So back to the article which can be found at:

Teachers embracing social media

I am excited that some schools are starting to embrace social media within teaching and learning. Although this article is talking about using these with children, I feel that this could be transferred to the adult learning experience. Many people are now familiar with and using social networking sites and social media and use it for informal learning. We as educators need to work out how we can harness this to support the more formal learning with which we engage. We have a responsibilty to engage with our students in every way we can, and whether we as educators like it or not, our students communicate in different ways to that which we used as undergraduates.

Or do they? I did my first degree by distance learning and communicated with my tutors and other students via email and telephone. I worked all over the world whilst I did my degree so could not attend the University for Tutorials. My work was sent out to me via the post in files. I would venture to suggest that online courses, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, You Tube and Blogger are just extensions of this. Yes, we are talking here about distance learning, rather than traditional attendance at university, but the students are no different. Embrace the new ways in which we can develop our teaching and bring the students on board. Make their educational experience more natural and more exciting. Engage them in learning in ways in which they are already familiar. Take the journey with them.

I personally am very excited about exploring ways in which we can engage our students more full in learning. I am passionate about teaching and learning, and will use every means possible to make sure my students love learning as well. I am also excited about linking with many like minded people throughout the world who want to use technology, web 2.0, and social media in their classrooms. I fully intend to embrace every possible avaenue which will support this. However, this does not mean I will go off and join every single social networking site just to engage with my students. I may be passionate, but life is too short to spend every waking minute in the digital world. Enjoy the journey, don't let it suck you in.

Technology, Education and Learning

As I have been on this journey of exploring all the different ways in which technology can support learning I have been reflecting on why this subject is so important to me. Is it just my passion for technology which is driving me or do I genuinely believe that Technology can enhance the learning experience. Well if I am truthful, it is a bit of both. Yes I am passionate about Technology, the Internet and Web 2.0, but I am also passionate about teaching and learning. Over the years I have seen how my learning and the learning experience have been improved by the use of these tools. Education and Learning is too important and exciting to minimize the experience. We should use all the tools available to help us on this journey.

Over the last few days I have been following Steve Wheeler's Blog and his tweets from the OER conference in Namibia. You can read his summary of the conference at

http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2010/05/open-all-oers.html

This has been both extremely interesting and has demonstrated to me another way in which Web 2.0 can be used in Education. Although I have to admit I have spent a lot of time on twitter during this time. This has led to me thinking of innovative ways of using twitter in my lessons. One way could be allowing students to ask questions via twitter, and posting answers as well as developing them in the classroom. Students love mobile phones so why not put them to good use letting them access Twitter. It is much quicker and easier than spending inordinate amounts of time arguing about phones being switched off. Using technology appropriately,and blending it in to the learning experience is my goal. I am going to leave the blog here and think of other innovative ways of using technology in education and learning.

Blogging, Tweeting, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr et al

Have spent a very pleasant day today working my way through a book called 500 Internet Hints, Tips and Techniques by Dan Oliver. This deceptively simple book has enhanced my experience of using several social networking sites such as Twitter, Blogger, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. Despite the fact that I would consider myself to be fairly competent at using many of the above sites this book has helped me in 2 ways. Firstly, it has given me a lot of new ideas and expanded my horizons in using the sites with which I am already familiar. Secondly it has made me look at sites such as Flickr and YouTube in more depth and has encouraged me to create acounts at both of these sites in order to upload my own photos and videos. I am becoming more daring in my approach.

So in what ways has it changed the way in which I use these sites. Some, as I say are deceptively simple, for example, despite updating my facebook via text message, I did not realise you could do this with Twitter, so have now set this up. This means I can now update without going on to the web. So what, I hear you saying, Well, this stops me using up endless amounts of data through my network provider, and also stops me getting distracted with all the twitter feeds if I just need to update quickly.

This is just one very simple example of the ways in which I have changed my use of these sites. The book gave me very clear steps to follow in all cases and I have managed to do most things so far. A couple of ideas could not be carried through as the links in the site no longer existed. In all fairness to the author this is not his fault, as things change fast in the world of technology. After today I would now consider myself a more advanced user of most of these sites. I will keep you posted as to how Flickr and YouTube go, as I am excited about using these more fully.