I started thinking the other day about the powerful convergent technology that is my smartphone. I’ve had a smartphone for a number of years and I think I use it well although there are undoubtedly other things I could be using it for and I’m sure I’ll come across them in the future. I’ve also long loved the idea that all this convergent technology will be a great and powerful tool that I will rely on. I first thought this a LOT of years ago. When I first read Bill Gates “The Road Ahead” and read his description of “the wallet PC” I saw straight away that this is the future of the mobile phone. We are not quite there yet with payment but most of what he described is sitting in front of me right now. For those of you who are not familiar with this concept….
“What do you carry on your person now? Probably at least keys, identification, money, and a watch. Quite possibly you also carry credit cards, a checkbook, traveller’s checks, an address book, an appointment book, a notepad, reading material, a camera, a pocket tape recorder, a cellular phone, a pager, concert tickets, a map, a compass, a calculator, an electronic entry card, photographs, and perhaps a loud whistle to summon help.
You’ll be able to keep all these and more in another information appliance we call the Wallet PC. It will be about the same size as a wallet, which means you’ll be able to carry it in your pocket or purse. It will display messages and schedules and also let you read or send electronics mail and faxes, monitor weather and stock reports, and play both simple and sophisticated games. At a meeting you might take notes, check your appointments, browse information if you’re bored, or choose from amongst thousands of easy-to-call-up photos of your kids.
Rather than holding paper currency, the new wallet will store unforgeable digital money… “
It’s amazingly intuitive that concept – it was written back in the 20th century, in the early 1990′s. Yes we had mobile phones then but that’s pretty much all they were – we used them to make calls and maybe send a few texts. Not even my primary use anymore.
What started me thinking again about this was the sound of my phone going “ping” in my pocket, to signal that I had a new email. I was enjoying a gloriously sunny day standing alone in a field picking rasberries to make jam. The only sound had been birds and some fellow pickers chatting a few rows over and then there was a “ping” to tell me that I had a new email. I’m always connected and never out of contact. My phone pings away all day (except when it’s on silent!) it rarely rings or makes the text noise but it does ping. I also keep it slid open (it’s a Nokia N97 with a nicely angled screen) so that I can read the live facebook feed on my home screen. Or maybe hit a button and view my twitter feed. I don’t find this annoying – it’s me. I consider myself a digital citizen.
So here I am thinking – what do I use my phone for? So being the geeky type I made a quick mindmap – and then ordered it into my most used things. Not surprisingly making calls and sending texts isn’t at the top – have I mentioned I am actually telephobic? This surprises most people I know – who say my phone is surgically attached, although ask them if they’ve ever seen me make a call and after a pause they usually say no. Anyway – here is my rather geeky list.
mobile log
So my typical day with my smartphone goes along these lines. I don’t touch it until I leave the house for work – I’ve checked my email and facebook on the PC before breakfast. If I walk the dog I listen to the breakfast show on my phone. Driving into work I’ll play music on it – handily it has an FM transmitter so no leads required! I have around a thousand of my favorite tracks on there, I’ve ripped all my CD’s to it. When I get to work I check Facebook and maybe add a tweet to twitter. Then I logon to a computer and work – flicking my window over to my email whenever I hear that “ping”. I usually connect via USB to the computer to use the phone as a portable hard drive – all of my work files are backed up on there and I tend to use it as primary storage when I move around. Throughout the day I keep an eye on that Facebook feed and logon to facebook to make the odd comment. I frequently take pictures in class which I then upload for the students to use in their work or refer back to at a later date. At lunchtime I usually have a good read through my facebook and twitter feeds and often use the phone to check auctions on Ebay that I am watching – all social networking sites and Ebay (and many other shopping sites) are banned for staff in my school. I might also send a text or make a call to my mother or my partner – rarely anyone else.
I don’t use maps or GPS on a daily basis – I have used google maps a few times when lost in foreign cities and also once when I got lost in the local woods! The free Nokia maps GPS system is good but the aerial is not good enough for use in my car – I have a heated front screen which makes it harder for such devices to work. Other apps are used infrequently but I do find it handy to always have internet access – yes I look up recipes whilst in the supermarket to make sure I buy the right ingredients!
How do I use phones in class. Well the short answer is with difficulty – our school talks a tough line on phones, the students are allowed them but must not have them out in class – it was even pointed out that they shouldn’t be using them as calculators. I think this line is not only short sighted but is impeding learning in many cases. Using their phones as calculators is quite valid to me – that’s just 21st Century learners making good use of the tools at their disposal.
I suggested recently that my year 7 students should use their phones to take some pictures in other lessons – I explained that they should ask permission and explain that it was for an ICT project and that if the teach said “no” leave it at that. Of course no teacher said no and the students produced some great pictures of work they had produced and things they had made. I was actually astonished that the students are not already doing this – it seems crazy that they will make something in cookery and then eat it without proudly taking a picture of their work (yes I’m ALWAYS taking pictures of food, but that’s a whole other blog!). I asked the students to use their phones to take pictures on Enterprise day too – and again they responded positively. All the pictures were bluetoothed to me afterwards and I uploaded them straight to the school network. I’ve also had students bluetooth me music they wanted to include in their multimedia coursework and one send some videos that they later edited for coursework.
Of course the sixth form commonly use their phones to store their work – and tend to leave them behind a lot less than their memory sticks. As an ICT teacher I see endless possibilities for the “computers” in their pockets, they are powerful tools – these students are connected and enabled to be independent learners whilst they can lookup information immediately. Their true potential as learning tools lies outside of my subject but we really must encourage the students to use them responsibly and in ways which give them a positive, enjoyable learning experience.
Whilst we say NO PHONES we restrict them – we need to say NO CALLS – even the odd text is less distracting than watching them peering under blazers and desks as they try to hide their banned item. In my current restricted environment their phone is their only access to email in school – I can’t invite them to collaborate on documents without sending them emails which they can only pick up on their phones.
Lets empower these students, lets embrace convergent technology and lets have the mobile phone as a useful tool to encourage independent learning. Educators need to open their minds and allow the students to learn in ways they feel comfortable with. Embrace technology don’t fear it.
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