MyNotes - Will Smart Phones Eliminate the Digital Divide?
Great article from David Nagel…it is a fascinating contrasting opinion to the email I received today, trying to change the law to allow educators to “turn off” mobile phones in classrooms with a switch. Fear-mongering or reflective dialogue? Which will triumph?
Quotes:
Will Smart Phones Eliminate the Digital Divide? — THE Journal
Will Smart Phones Eliminate the Digital Divide? By David Nagel
“Smart phones are the one technology that can eliminate the digital divide,” he told THE Journal. “Given the cost of the device, it is very conceivable that every child, rich or poor, can have one 24/7.”
the tool of choice for that generation; they’re relatively affordable; they’re appropriate 21st century tools for developing 21st century skills; and, maybe most significant of all, they enable more than just anytime, anywhere learning. They enable, as Soloway put it, “Everywhere, all the time learning.”
mobile phones are
Portability trumps everything—bigger screen, more power, bigger keyboard. Being able to take it out and turn it [on] instantly is totally important to the mobile, instant gratification generation
Portability provides learning in context—while doing an experiment, [a student] can write it up; while on a field trip, [a student] can capture ideas. And portability enables relating abstract concepts in the classroom to concrete items in the world.
You can do everything on a smart phone that you can do on a laptop, except maybe for high school geometry and except for a few scientific visualizations. But for 90 percent of what a student has to do, the smart phone can do it.
This message was sent to you by mguhlin via Diigo
Getting too many email alerts? Change your email alert setting preference here.