A short article listing 4 benefits of using smartphones in the classroom. While I'm still not totally convinced, some good points are made here. The issue I don't ever seem to see addressed in articles like this, though, is how to keep students from going to facebook or their texts after using the phone for a learning purpose.
I have used this in my classes and love it!
The free Poll Everywhere mobile app is perfect for responding to polls, presenting polls, and clicking through PowerPoint presentations. Use it to...
1.) Respond to polls: Audience members can use the app to respond to the presenter's questions live.
2.) Poll an audience: Presenters can ask the audience questions and display poll responses live.
3.) Navigate in Powerpoint: Presenters can control the flow of Powerpoint presentations using a smartphone as a wireless remote.
Participants
Audience members or students can easily respond to polls or vote using the app on a smartphone or tablet. Aside from the app, they can respond via web browser, text message, or Twitter.
Presenters
Professors, teachers and presenters can create and display questions on the fly, including Q&A and multiple choice polls. Questions can be presented directly from the web or embedded in a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation. Audience responses are displayed in real-time. Great for classroom participation, or gathering opinions from the audience.
PowerPoint Remote
Presenters using PowerPoint can use the Poll Everywhere mobile app as a presentation clicker, to navigate through your PowerPoint presentation with ease. It has a slick, streamlined design and a set of polling controls built-in.
Key Features:
* Create or answer multiple choice, true/false, open ended, ranking poll, and clickable image questions.
* Participants are automatically shown the presenter's current question, for quick and easy participation.
* Watch results update live.
* Click through a PowerPoint presentation with the included Presenter Remote feature.
What a great way to be able to asynchronously poll students and still allow them to remain anonymous. This also gives students to see how well their knowledge compares to other students. It also allows them to see if their way of thinking is similar to other students.
How timely! The NY Times is seeking input from educators on how smartphones have added or detracted from their classrooms in an occasional special report series called "Learning". While it's for high schools, I'm certain that community college faculty could share input.
by Aimee Hosler Like it or not, American youth are decidedly online. According to a 2013 report by Pew Research, 78 percent of teens have cell phones, and almost half of those are smartphones - which means they can log onto the Internet virtually anywhere, any time.