Two Mobile Learning Technologies That Have The Potential to Enhance Adult Education

The U.S Dept. of Education's National Technology plan (NET) published November 2010 notes that "technology is at the core of our daily lives and work, and calls for "leveraging" it to provide engaging and powerful learning experiences and content" ( Allen, 2011). This means that educators need to explore the benefits of using mobile devices for educational purposes so that they can engage the learners of the 21^st century in meaningful learning. Two mobile technologies that can be used in adult education are the ipad and the smartphone.

According to Allen (2011), Smartphones (iPhone, Droid, Blackberry), motivate students and provide constant access to the wealth of knowledge, tools and experts on the internet. These devices can be used in adult education in a variety of ways. ESL students can use the phones to create videos of role playing activities which they can review later. They can also record conversations and use the recording to practice speaking the language. There also a variety of apps such as dictionary apps and translator-apps that students can use to help them make sense of the language. There also a variety of learning games that can be downloaded to assist students with their learning efforts.

The following websites offer useful information on the use of Smartphones in education:

http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/herrington-a.pdf

http://gettingsmart.com/2013/01/part-1-44-smart-ways-to-use-smartphones-in-class/

The iPad is another mobile device that can be useful in the classroom. There are a variety of apps that can be purchased for educational purposes. These apps cover many different topics in a variety of subject areas. Teachers and students can create professional looking documents, spreadsheets and presentations. 

The following websites provide more information on how the iPad can be used for educational purposes:

 http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=258242

 http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/07/07/10-incredible-ipad-apps-for-education/

Reference

Allen, R. (2011). Can mobile devices transform education? Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/feb11/vol53/num02/Can-Mobile-Devices-Transform-Education%C2%A2.aspx

Hardison, J. (2013). Part 1: 44 smart ways to use smartphones in class. Retrieved from http://gettingsmart.com/2013/01/part-1-44-smart-ways-to-use-smartphones-in-class/

Herrington, A. ( 2008). Adult educator's use of smartphones to create digital teaching resources. Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/herrington-a.pdf.

LiveBinder.(n.d) iPads in adult education. Retrieved from http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=258242

Shah,A. (2012). 10 incredible iPad apps for education. Retrieved from http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/07/07/10-incredible-ipad-apps-for-education/

Social Networking Technology

Social media has become a part of everyday life for many individuals. It provides a great way to stay connected with friends, family, colleagues and the list goes on and on. Many educators have realized that this technology can be a useful tool in their classrooms. Two social networking technologies that may have potential in adult education are Edmodo and Blogs.

Edmodo

Edmodo is a social networking technology that it quite useful to students and educators. This technology functions in a similar way to Facebook, so navigating the technology will not be challenging for individuals who are familiar with Facebook. Edmodo provides teachers and learners with a safe online environment to connect and collaborate. This tool allows educators to continue classroom discussions online, as well as, give online polls to check for student understanding. Additionally, badges can be awarded to students based on performance. I think that these features will help to keep the students engaged in their learning.

I would use this technology in my class to help keep my students engaged in their learning outside of the classroom. I would post follow-up discussion questions to get students to continue to think about the material that was covered in the class. I would also post links to resources for students to explore. Learners will be encouraged to post links to resources that they come across that are relevant to the topics covered in the class.

More information on Edmodo can be found here: https://www.edmodo.com/about

Blogs

Blogs are great for sharing individual knowledge and experience, as well as encouraging discussion. I would create a class blog where I would post topics for students to post their responses. Additionally I would encourage students to add their reflections of their daily learning experiences. Their peers will be asked to comment on these posts. My students would be expected to post links to resources that are relevant to the topics covered in the class.

The following link provides some useful information about blogs and blogging: http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/Category:Everything_Blogging

Applications (APPS) and Multimedia Resources

It is my intention to teach ESL to adults. I recognize the importance of being able to communicate effectively with individuals around you. I believe that it is very empowering to an individual to be able to communicate their ideas, thoughts and perspectives to others and be understood. It works the other way around as well, it is important that individuals are able to understand, ideas, thoughts and perspectives communicated to the m.

As an educator (future), one of my responsibilities is to consider every educational tool available to give students the richest education experience possible (Nilson, 2010). With this in mind, when I consider using technology in my practice, I have to consider sound pedagogical reasons for my selection, and not make my selection to win favour with my students (Nilson, 2010). After thinking about the statements made by Nilson (2010), I reviewed dictionary applications and Dave’s ESL Cafe.

I think that dictionary applications can be particularly useful to individuals learning a new language. Dictionary applications give students access to meaning of words that they encounter in everyday use. Some of the applications have additional features that allow students to hear how words are pronounced, word origin description, various meanings and related word forms. Some of the applications also have a built in thesaurus feature. Dictionary and Thesaurus is a free iOS and Android app. It provides all of the features mentioned above. On the iphone the app can translate a word into several languages.

Another dictionary app that I would encourage my students to use is the Merriam-Webster app. This app is available for both  iOS and Andriod users. It also provides the features mentioned above. I think these tools are handy for students.  They can use these tools to help them build their vocabulary and familiarity with the language. In my classes, I would allow  my students to use these applications to complete vocabulary building exercises.I would also encourage them to use the pronunciation features to help to develop their confidence speaking the language especially when they encounter words that they have difficulty pronouncing.

More information for these applications can be found at:

 Dictionary App Merriam Webster Online (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/promos/mobile-app-promo.htm

Dictionary.com - Android Apps on Google Play (n.d.) Retrieved from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dictionary

Eaton,K. (2013). Dictionary apps for smartphones and tablets. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/technology/personaltech/dictionary-apps-for-smartphones-and-tablets.html?_r=0

One multimedia resource that I would use in my class is Dave’s ESL Cafe. I think that this resource would be very useful to students. Learners have access to many different lessons on grammar covering a variety of topics. This site also offers explanations on common conversational phrases as well as lessons on pronunciation and vocabulary lists. These lessons are structured in a way that makes the topic easy to follow, and provides numerous examples to reinforce the learner’s understanding.

I think that this website is a great supplementary resource. I would encourage my students to visit the site and explore additional resources available to them. I would also ask them to find the topics covered in the class on the website and complete the practice activities offered there.

 More information about Dave’s ESL Cafe can be found at: http://www.eslcafe.com/

Reference

Nilson, L. B. (2010). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors (3rd Ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Text Scaffolding programs and Virtual environments

e-Lective is a program that is particularly useful for students with limited literacy skills. These students face challenges in improving their reading. The students need material that will keep them engaged and interested in their learning. Problems arise when they are expected to engage with texts that have too much vocabulary that surpasses their comprehension level. A text scaffolding software, e-Lective, was designed by Jim Cummins to overcome this issue. This software allows an instructor to import any reading text, which then allows students clickable access to digitized speech readings of any phrase English and first language dictionary support for individual words. It also offers a variety of practice exercises that help to build students vocabulary as well as develop their grammar and writing abilities.

I was drawn to this technology because I am interested in becoming an ESL teacher. I think that it would be very useful to my students because it seems to provide students with different tools to assist them in their meaning making process. I would use this program in my classroom  especially when I assign students readings that may prove to be challenging for them. I know that they can explore the different options offered by the software to help them make sense of their assignment.

There is another scaffolding program called Text Adaptor that is being developed to aid ESL teachers specifically. This program offers more features to aid students in their meaning making process. It is currently being piloted with K-12 students. I believe that text scaffolding programs can prove to be a very useful emerging technology for adult learners.

The second technology that I chose has been around for a while. The use of virtual environments is being explored more as a teaching tool for second language learners. Multiuser virtual environments allow interaction among individuals in digitally simulated contexts. I will focus on Second Life  which is one of the most popular virtual sites. It brings together tens of thousands of users daily who design avatars, build communities and interact with the environment. The environments created in Second life provide a variety of opportunities for second language learners to produce language. In Second Life, English learners can work with native English speakers, collaborate to create objects, role-play situations such as ordering at a restaurant, and participate in scavenger hunts and guided tours. These Second Life experiences can be shared in the classroom through presentations and essays or reports.

There is a movement to use Second Life and other virtual environments to promote langue teaching and learning (Cooke-Plagwitz, 2008; Stevens 2008). One study done by Sykes, Oskoz, & Thorne (2008) found that virtual environments offer benefits for second language learning. They allow students to practice the use of the language in a low risk environment and the situated realism of the environment helps students to make connections with the language that they are using.

I think that this technology is one that I would definitely consider using in my classroom. I think that it provides a creative way for students to engage with the language. I particularly like that it allows students to practice the use of the language in a low risk context. One way I would use this tool is to help me students to respond appropriately in particular situations. I would ask my students to create environments for a job interview and assign some students the role of the interviewer and others that role of interviewee. The students will be given the opportunity to use the language in an authentic experience.

e-Lective Language Learning  (n.d.) Retrieved  from ‎http://iteachilearn.org/cummins/elective.html

Jarmon, L., Traphagan, T., Mayrath, M., & Trivedi, A. (2009). Virtual world teaching, experiential learning, and assessment: An interdisciplinary communication course in Second Life. Computers & Education, 53(1), 169-182.

Sykes, J. M., Oskoz, A., & Thorne, S. L. (2008). Web 2.0, synthetic immersive environments, and mobile resources for language education. CALICO Journal, 25(3), 528–546.

Warschauer,W. & Ling Liaw, M. (2010).  Emerging technologies in adult literacy and language education. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED511970.pdf