Cell Phone Remote Control with Voicethread

I am a big fan of Voicethread for use in education. Not just because Voicethread gives educators free accounts, but because now they have added a "telephone" option for commenting and controlling the Voicethread presentation. It is so easy, see the tutorial here. Besides commenting via phone, you can also use your cell phone as a remote control with Voicethread and navigate through the slides. One classroom application I can see would be to project your Voicethread on the classroom screen/wall. Next, have Voicethread call your cell phone (yes they call you), and then you can walk around the classroom, navigate the slides, and have different students record a comment (using your cell phone) as you circulate throughout the room. It definitely gives more mobility to the teacher managing the classroom.

The positives of telephone commenting:
1) Voicethread calls you! So you can be on a landline or cell phone to call in your comments and it does not cost you anything! This is great for students who do not have a cell phone.

2) Easy, automated directions as soon as you pick up the phone.

3) If you are in a nocisy classroom, students can record on their cell phones outside of the classroom noise (even for homework).

4) No need to worry about having external microphones for PCs (since many do not come with a built-in mic).

The negatives of telephone commenting:
1) You do have a limited calling time for recording (non-education accounts are limited to 3 minutes).

2) Since you have to type in your number and it is an immediate call, students do have to have some sort of Internet access at home/outside of school to do this for homework.

Classroom Applications:
Well there are already lots of wonderful examples of Voicethread being used for educational purposes. So I thought I would go ahead a link to a few of my favorites.
1) Mathcasts and Social Studies reports, Wes Fryer highlights some excellent examples of Mathcasting and Social Studies reports with Voicethread.

2) Digital Storytelling, here is a storybook on "before" and "after" the hurricane in New Orleans.

2 articles...one conclusion...reasons to include cell phones in learning

I just want to send a big "Bravo" to Craik High School principal Gord Taylor, Grades 8-9 teacher Carla Dolman, and Dean Shareski who are true trailblazers by taking a risk and integrating cell phones into learning! The article Phoning It In, describes how one school in Canada decided to "embrace" their students excitement and interest in cell phone use outside of school and bring it into the classroom. I hope this is the first of many articles and other media coverage concerning the power that cell phones can have in learning. While there have been many articles about the necessity of having cell phones in schools for safety reasons, it is more rare to find articles demonstrating educative uses of the cell phone. If anyone knows of some others that I have not mentioned, I would love to post them on this blog!

Need more evidence as to why we should consider the cell phone as a student learning tool? A recent article in NEA, describes a study that found the digital divide is still a huge issue. The main concern is the "participation gap" where students do not have equal access outside of school to the Internet and school-related web-based activities and assignments. 30 Million Americans still do not have a computer at home (according to a recent PEW study). While the article highlights some creative ways that underprivileged communities are trying to get access to their youth, I think this "participation gap" is yet another reason why we need to take full advantage of the cell phones that some of these teenagers and/or their parents are likely to own. Since the students have a cell phone with them at all times, using them in learning may better connect the student's everyday life experiences (such as communicating via cell) to their everyday school learning experiences.

Radar: Share, Comment, and Blog videos and pics via Cell

While searching the Internet I stumbled onto a site called Radar. I've had it bookmarked for a couple of weeks and just now decided to take a look. Wow! I wish I had known about this site sooner. It is a free mobile video and photo sharing site, very similar to Flickr mobile, except with videos and excellent privacy options, and you can share and comment on media via cell phones (no need to every log on to the Internet--although there are web alternatives for commenting and uploading). Radar also has a blog feature, so you can photoblog right from your cell phone. Also, Radar does not seem to have any advertising (great for schools)!

In the past I have written about different ways to use photoblogging for learning. But one of my new favorite ways has to be mobile journalism. Radar is a great option for this because you can post both photos and videos of live events to the web (your Radar blog) and simultaneously you can send them to subscribers cell phones. Just like on CNN (my favorite news site) where readers can comment, subscribers to a radar feed (Radar calls them friends) can also comment on the images and videos. Additionally you can subscribe to channels (other people who have Radar accounts). This could be helpful if you are doing a group project outside of the classroom and would like to document the videos and images in one general location. Therefore you can keep track of how every group member is contributing to the group project.

Radar would also be a great resource for mobile scavenger hunts, since students could document their "artifacts" with either images or videos and they could designate that the media is sent to the public class Radar blog or private space in Radar.

Blog Talk Radio...EASY cell phone Podcasting

Thanks to a twitter forward from Adam Sutcliffe, I have been playing with a new cell phone podcasting tool called (CINCH) Blog Talk Radio. This is probably the easiest podcasting tool that I have ever used. You do not even have to create an account before doing a podcast from your cell phone! You simply call the international number of 1-646-200-0000 (so easy to remember), and you just say your podcast after the tone. When finished, you can hang up, and the podcast will immediately post the feed and downloadable MP3 to the Internet at:
http://cinch.blogtalkradio.com/yourcellphonenumber



Let's discuss the pros and cons....
The positive

1. It is so easy to use.
2. No accounts.
3. No login and passwords.
4. No embedding files.
5. International callers might have a better chance at using this than Gabcast or Gcast.
6. No Website maintenance.
7. Can focus on the content and not the technology.

The Negative

1. It is not a toll free call, so students could use a landline if they do not have a cell phone, but they would have to pay for it (students with cell phones should not have a problem).
2. The subscription code includes your (or your students) real cell phone numbers...this could be a privacy issue if students want to give out their subscription feed to others. Of course students could just use this as a data recording device for interviews, note-taking, and narrative recordings where they can download the MP3 and use it to edit with in iMovie or another application.
3. Only one cell phone or landline per channel (so it would be hard to have a "class podcast" because everyone would have to podcast from the same phone).

Learning Applications
There are some obvious learning connections with this resource. First since teenagers never leaver home without their cell phone, they can document interviews, field trip notes, brainstorming, or even original poetry or story ideas on the go! They do not have to have an account to post their feed. They can be mobile citizen journalists and report on local events as they happen.

10 engaging ideas for cell phones in learning

On Friday I presented at Eastern Michigan University on 10 ways to use a basic cell hones as a content-based learning tool. I couple the cell phone with 10 web2.0 resources. Below is the PowerPoint slide show that I shared during the presentation.

Here is a quick list of topics covered:
#1: Podcasting
#2: Brainstorming
#3: Note taking and Organization
#4: Photoblogging
#5: Photosharing
#6: Videoblogging
#7: Location Blogging
#8: Activist Alerts
#9: Conferencing
#10: Polls/Surveys

| View | Upload your own

On a side note, when I was upload ing the PowerPoint to slideshare I found out that slideshare now has a "private" option for slide shows so they are not automatically public when uploaded!

iReporters...21st Century Journalism!

Election season is upon us and many promanent news organizations are asking everyday citizens to become journalist with their cell phones. CNN is asking for iReporters from every state as voting occurs in the primaries. The ways it works is simple, just shoot a video or take a picture of some citizens in action at the polls, then send it along with a short message to ireport@cnn.com. Seniors in high school could create their own iReports as they vote for the first time, while younger students could create iReports of "exit" or "entrance" polls...or simply report on their observations at a voting location (such as a low voter turnout or a lot of excitement for a certain candidate). While I have previously written posts on the new mobile journalism phenomenon, news organizations such as CNN or ABC asking citizens to become journalist and publish their work globally is an exciting "entrance" into the authentic world of news journalism for many students. I have stated before (and am sure that I will again) there are many great resources on the web which allow students to create their own iReport or mobile journalist websites where they can post directly from their cell phones as news occurs.

One example would be creating a blog with blogger, and then using go@blogger.com to post pictures directly to the blog. They can use Eyespot to post videos directly to their blog (they can sign up for an account and in their settings designate that each video sent from their cell phones should instantly show up on their blog). Students can use Gabcast to post audio podcasts directly to their blog (again once they sign up for an account, they can create a new channel that will post podcasts instantly from their cell phone to their blogger blog). They never actually need to go on the Internet to create a multi-media iReport blog. Students can create iReport blogs around specific content themes such as "insects" for science, "2008 election" for social studies, or "local authors" for English.

Pinger! Group Messaging, Oral Quizzes, and Field Trips via Cell

I have discovered a new web2.0 site that couples with cell phones for note-taking, messaging and jotting purposes. It is called Pinger. While Jott creates voice-to-text messages, Pinger creates voice text messages with a link to hear the message. In other words you cannot "read" the voice message left, but you know there is a message because you receive an immediate text message on your cell phone. You simply hit your cell phone "send" button to hear the message. In a sense it is an uber-voice mail system.

Benefits:
1) Group messaging!...so you can say muliple names and have one message sent to all of them. Great for class alerts and instant pop quizzes for extra credit (first one to "ping" back the answer gets the EC points).
2) Online account with both sent messages and incoming messages that can be downloaded as quicktime files.
3) Local area code (so students who do not have cell phones could use a landline to ping).
4) Works around the world! So you can dial locally and call globally. Pretty cool for global messaging.
5) Protected cell phone number! Great for communicating with students and parents without them knowing the teacher's direct cell phone number.

Current Drawbacks:
1) Unlike Jott which couples with many other web2.o resources such as Google calender
and Twitter, Pinger does not currently couple with any other resource that I know of.

Learning Connections:
1) The first idea that came to mind was language connections. Students could call in oral quizzes to their teacher's cell phone without their teacher having to screen calls or answer the phone. If the teacher has a Pinger account, they can simply go into their Pinger account and listen or download all of the oral quizzes. Teachers could even give feedback through Pinger. Then they also have documentation of feedback.

2) Assistive Technologies for visually impaired students. VI students could use Pinger to better participate in group projects (instead of emailing or text messaging ideas, group members could "ping" each other with ideas).

3) Brainstorming. Students could "ping" their brainstorming ideas for class projects or group activities for homework.

4) Podcasting, sound effects, narrations for videos. Students can record messages such as sound effects or narrations that they want to use in videos they are editing with iMovie or MovieMaker for homework and then when they come to class, they can immediate download their audio files from Pinger.com and import them into their video editing tools. It may save a lot of class time that would have otherwise gone to recording these audio effects.

5) Mental notes and observations. Students on a field trip can "ping" observations and experiences. They could also participate in a teacher-led scavenger hunt, where the teacher "pings" questions of items to find or learn on the field trip, and the students can "ping" back their findings. All of which goes right to the teacher's account! It might be a nice way to document learning on a field trip, which is often difficult to do.

Location Blogging for Free without Software!

Finally! After much research I have found a great and free web2.0 application that couples with cell phones for location blogging. It is called Flagr. Flagr allows anyone to create an account. And Flagr works with just about any basic cell phone (no smartphones needed), and no need to download software! In Flagr you can participate in the large global community Flagr map (similar to the Twitter public timeline) OR you can create your own maps. You can make your maps public, semi-private (guests need an invitation to post to the map), or private (you are the only one that can post to the map). Once you create an account, you just click on Create a New Map. Name the map and give it a subject (such as "my spring break travels" or "local biological organisms"). Then hit Save and you will immediately see the map and a mobile Flagr email where you can send your text messages or cameraphone pictures!

For example if you wanted to ask students to document local historical landmarks in their everyday experiences to the map above, they can take a picture with their cell phones of the historical artifact and immediately send it (m02pe@flagr.com) to the class Flagr map, along with a text message of the location and any other information to describe the item. So it would look like this on your cell phone...

Send to: m02pe@flagr.com
Message: Ann Arbor, MI. house of original residents

Now it will post a new "flag" on Ann Arbor with the message and or picture. Over the course of the entire school year, the class could have a large collection of finds!

Here are the Steps:
1) Login to Flagr.com and create a new account, by clicking on Sign Up.
2) Click on Create A New Map in your account.





3)Select the type of map you want to create (Public, Semi-Private, or Private)







4) Give your map a topic, name, web location, and icon









5) Now your map is ready for posting. It will automatically generate a mobile address for your map! Flag away!










Another example could be student mobile journalism, where students report on current news events happening locally or globally. Another feature of Flagr is that you don't actually have to be at the physical location in order to post from your cell to the map. For example, if I wanted to text message about a current event happening in Tennessee such as the Tornadoes, I could text the message from my house in Ann Arbor, MI, but when I send it, I could identify Nashville, Tenn as the location so it will post a "flag" in Nashville on our class map. It really forces students to know and understand geography!

Vringo...Create Video Project Ringtones for Cells

Using a free web2.0 resource called Vringo, students can create short video ringtones. The way it works is when you call someone else, your video ringtone will be displayed as your friends phone is ringing. I was thinking this might be a fun way to engage in a content-based project. For example, students in a foreign language class could create video ringtones asking a question in the foreign language about a cultural item/event displayed in a video. When their classmate sees the video as their phone rings and hears the question, they could answer their phone and answer the question in the foreign language. It might be a fun way to review for an upcoming test and an engaging way to become more familiar with cultural events. Another example could be students in a science class could create short video clay animation clips (or find them online) of certain scientific phenomenon such as mitosis. Each students could be in charge of calling friends in the class to share their video ringtones. Now, every time a teenager's phone rings (which we know is about once a minute!), a video review occurs! Who knew ringtones could be so educational?

While Vringo does not work on all cells phones, I was surprised at how many basic (non-smartphones) it does work on. Vringo also allows users to share videos between cell phones very easily---this is also nice if students are creating quick mobile video reviews. Learning on the go...

Cell phone software created for visually impaired learning...

A new software has been developed for cell phones by K-NFB Reading Technology and the National Federation of the Blind, in order to help visually impaired people "see". Very cool! It allows you to take a picture of an item and then your cell phone will read the item and it's label information to you. For example, you could take a cell phone picture of the tea bags in a hotel room to find out which is caffeinated. The cell phone will then read the tea bag labels to you!

Here is the description from the National Federation of the Blind.

"This truly pocketsize Reader enables users to take pictures of and read most printed materials at the push of a button. Blind users hear the contents of the document read in clear synthetic speech, while users who can see the screen and those with learning disabilities can enlarge, read, track, and highlight printed materials using the phone’s large and easy-to-read display. The combination of text-to-speech and tracking features makes interpreting text much easier for individuals with learning disabilities."

Currently this technology is only being used on Nokia phones. Hopefully the software will be expanded for a variety of cell phones so any student with a basic camera cell phone can download the software and use it in their learning. This could be a great way for visually impaired or Dyslexic students to "read" class handouts, articles, notes on the whiteboard, and signs around the school building as well as on field trips (imagine Dyslexic students taking a picture of a description of an object in a museum so they can hear the description immediately?).

MTV Generation, Mobile Journalism, and Election 2008

I just read on PicturePhoning that MTV's Choose or Lose campaign to get younger voters involved in politics has started a mobile journalism campaign. MTV has selected 51 student reporters (one for each state) to report on election coverage in their state and send updates to young voters tailed specifically for mobile devices. While MTV's Choose or Lose campaign is not new (it was around when I was in high school and that is almost 20 years ago), but I think it is significant to note that MTV has always been on the "pulse" of how to get youth involved in democratic citizenship and important issues. I think that social studies teachers could take note of this mobile campaign and have their own mobile campaign reporters for local elections such as school board, city council, or mayor. Students could be assigned to follow different candidates and create mobile updates on campaign activities. It would allow them to use their favorite "toy" for an educative purpose and get an insider's view of politics! Students could use free text message alert sites such as Textmarks.