Reflection 5, Week 6

Interactive mobile devices used in the classroom can range from small devices such as smart phones to tablets and even mini laptops even though they have become less commonplace in the last five years since the tablet market has grown. Almost everyone in the western world has access to one or more of these devices. If these devices have not yet been incorporated into the classroom, they soon will be. 

It is an easy, convenient way for educators to share resources with their students.  iPads can be linked to interactive whiteboards, access the internet for research, blogging with other students not just their classroom or school peers but also students from around the world with whom they can interact without a time barrier. These mobile interactive devices are inexpensive and readily available.

                                         The iPhone 6 Image Source

There is not just the access to the Internet at the student’s fingertips, there is also many apps which have been made specifically designed for educational learning and content. These apps are not just fun games disguised to help with learning but in-depth apps about the periodic table, anatomy, business apps and music generating apps through the likes of Garageband and other compositional software.

To incorporate these technologies into the music classroom, for example to find the areas in which jazz was famous, the students would first research on the device relevant establishments in the jazz era where jazz had flourished. The students would then search for these establishments on a mapping site such as Google maps where they could see where the great jazz artists played, such as the French Quarter and Storyville in New Orleans, Birdland Jazz Club and Carnegie Hall in New York City. The students can explore the streets on their iPads, find images of the performance areas and take note of acoustical aspects of the halls.

                                               The Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet Image Sorce


All this would not have been possible without the advent of mobile devices. To not incorporate these devices into the classroom is a great disservice to the students and even the teachers as this opens up a whole new avenue in enriched interactive technology which allows the next best thing to actually taking an excursion to these locations which would be far more costly than the iPads for a class of 10 to 15 year 11 and 12 students.

                                            The Samsung Galaxy S6 Image Source


Mobile devices SWOT analyze

Strengths · Easy to interact with · A plethora of apps · Access to the internet · The teacher can update content instantly for the students and the students have the update there and then · The student can study at anytime of the day · Reduction of physical textbooks	Weaknesses · If the device is dropped and the screen or innards are damaged costly to fix · Connection to the web · Battery life · Online social distractions in class or personal study
Opportunities · Photos, video captions · Online learning, always up to date · Printscreens · Quick correspondence between students and students and teachers · Use of technology within the classroom	Threats · The device can be exposed to viruses · Online predators · Student online bullying · Online distractions