background preloader

Mobile Technology

Facebook Twitter

Thinking Of Using Mobile Tech In School? This week saw Saltash.net share their innovative use of mobile technologies with the South West Teacher Network and Microsoft Partners in Learning. It is apparent that students and teachers at Saltash.net have developed a trusting partnership, immersing themselves in a wondrous learning journey, together. Students are encouraged to bring their own devices to school, extending the amount of kit available in class, reducing the school spend on equipment and increasing the level of engagement. It isn’t all about the tech though. It's all about the learning, and as you’d expect reading and writing feature high on the list. Teacher, Ben Rowe, explained how a plethora of online resources are used throughout the curriculum to engage, excite and enthuse students to further develop skills including bulletin boards, web design, shared writing, quizzes, geocaching, video conferencing and blogging.

Key to success? Interested in finding out more? AMAZING FACTS ABOUT STUDENTS LEARNING VIA SMARTPHONES ( INFOGRAPHIC ) The World in Your Pocket. Quest for a switched on school | Teacher Network Blog | Guardian Professional. Not so long ago I had a magical conversation with Eylan Ezekiel, an ex-primary school teacher who now brands himself as an Instigator for ONSchool, a Free School proposal in the south of Oxford city, with the chosen specialism of "Innovation".

The term innovation derives from the Latin word innovatus, which is the noun form of innovare "to renew or change," stemming from in—"into" + novus—"new". (Oxford Online Dictionaries) I ploughed through the ONSchool website for evidence that moved me from interested, to a skin-tingling sensation that can only be described as inspired.

Scrolling quickly with my mouse-pad, past the vision, ethos and conceptual polices – all vital for setting up a Free School – I found a post on the website blog called "ICT - ONSchool will be switched ON! ". This is what it's all about, I thought and as I write this blog, a new post on the ONSchool blog was published - "Why not open a Virtual School? " So, how can ONSchool in Oxford change this? Smartphones and handheld computers: the new battleground in UK schools. Children's learning could "hugely improve" if all pupils were given smartphones to use in the classroom, technology experts say but, instead, the UK risks falling behind because "the government doesn't seem that interested in it". Research shows that in many areas, the majority of pupils own a smartphone, but many schools ban the devices and the National Association of Head Teachers says they hold "potential for mischief and distraction".

Earlier this year, a secondary school in Kent became the first in the country to equip each of its 1,400 pupils with an Apple iPad tablet computer. Longfield academy near Dartford said the iPads would help pupils' learning. Honywood community school in Coggeshall, near Colchester in Essex, has also invested in 1,200 iPads for its pupils. Some schools, such as the Oldershaw academy in Wallasey on Merseyside, have created their own app so parents can check, via their mobiles, what homework their children have been set. Teens and Their Mobile Phones. This post was written by Jenny Urbano, our Social Media Manager. Here at Demandforce, we love seeing and celebrating your ideas! And more than that, we love to hear from YOU. We want to bridge the gap between us and you, so that’s why we’re offering a once in a lifetime opportunity to win a trip to San Francisco, sightsee in this amazing city, visit Demandforce headquarters and share your ideas with us!

6 winners, and a guest of their choice will be flown out to San Francisco, California on March 12-14th, 2014, where they will stay in Union Square, spend a day at Demandforce, have dinner with the team, and explore the lovely City by the Bay! For contest rules, and how to enter, please visit our post in the Generation Demandforce Community here. Good luck! The contest ends on February 21st, 2014! MindShift | How we will learn. The ripple effect.