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Archive for category Mobile

Reminder: Mobile Learning Work Group Meets Tues 10/18

Oct 17

Posted by Bob Cole in Events, Mobile, work | Comments off

Bring your mobile device!  We’re meeting upstairs in Kade from 4-5pm, Tuesday, October 18.

Special Guests this month:

Mitch Winick, President of the Monterey College of Law and Elizabeth Xyr, Monterey College of Law Program Director for the iPad program will talk about the College’s all iPad program.  Learn more about the pilot program at the Monterey College of Law.

The Mobile Learning Work Group is an informal gathering of MIIS community members interested in exploring how mobile tech is changing the way that we work, teach, and learn through regular open sessions and idea sharing among MIIS faculty, staff, and students and our colleagues and peers in similar professional contexts. The Work Group plans to use the Digital Learning Commons as meeting space for an on-going conversation about mobile tools and document happenings through the DLC blog.

Mark your calendar! The group meets the third Tuesday of every month – next meeting is November 15, 2011.

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Notes from September 20th Mobile Learning Work Group

Sep 21

Posted by Bob Cole in Emerging Trends, Mobile, work | Comments off

Our third open meeting (third Tuesday of every month at 4pm) was another great conversation about how mobile technologies are influencing (or not) the way we work, teach, and learn.

Mark your calendar as our next meeting is Tuesday, October 18, at 4:00 pm.  For that meeting we have invited special guest Mitch Winnick, President and Dean of the Monterey College of Law, which recently went all iPad. Read up on their pilot program here.

In attendance this month were: Navindra Gunawardena (IPS/NPTS), Sarah Springer (DLC/CALL), Mike Garnett (ESL), Adrienne Stacy (ESL), Jennifer Grode (ESL), Gus Leonard (Special Guest from CSUMB), Christopher Hurtado (NPTS), Bob Cole (DLC), Patricia Szasz (ESL), Katie Dutcher (ESL).

Gus Leonard talks about AirSketch

We invited special guest, Gus Leonard the Language Lab Coordinator from CSUMB, to come and share with us his experience with mobile tools in language learning.  He had some interesting insights about the administration of multiple iPads and their respective “apps,” specifically mentioning issues involved in buying multiple copies of apps.  Apple does have a program to buy apps and give codes out, a system for managing licenses for apps for multiple iPads and this may be a solution for ESL at MIIS.  Gus suggested that we follow up with Apple’s regional sales representative, Dane Riley, to learn more.   Gus also suggested that administrators managing larger number of iPads (20 or more) be aware that there is special education pricing available for bulk purchase of app licenses. Not all developers are aware of this, so it’s always good to ask about discount pricing.

Gus mentioned that one of his favorite apps is AirSketch, a screen sharing app that allows the user to wirelessly project a document via IP address to another computer.  The app conveniently works with Dropbox to open files. It runs for $9.99.

When asked about the use of mobile tech for teaching at CSUMB, Gus mentioned that there are about twenty-five iPads in circulation for faculty to experiment with and for student to rent through CSUMB’s TechRent store.  Clickers and classroom texting have become popular in the sciences for on the fly surveys and polls.

He also noted that the Japanese program at CSUMB has been using a predecessor of the smartphone and tablet called the iPaq PDA.  These have been popular for learning characters, for dialogues (listening and recording). If funding can be secured the language labs will likely move to iPads, though they would hold off for the 3rd generation models which may be coming out later this year.

App Sharing in Context

The group can’t help but mix in references to apps that have really made a difference in daily work habits. Thanks to Katie we have also assembled a public spreadsheet listing apps that we have talked about.  You can review that spreadsheet and contribute to it as well.  In addition here’s a rough list of some of the ones that were mentioned:

Always popular are Apps that allow users to read and annotate PDF files including:

Our friends from the Intensive ESL program also reported experimenting with a number of different apps as part of their new student orientation activities.  These included:

  • iCard Sort as a interactive approach to breaking the ice
  • EverNote to collaborate with groups on docs…possibility of adding photos

And as conversations go this led to some ssharing of apps for brainstorming and collaborating in the cloud such as:

  • StickyBoard (a possible alternative to iCard Sort)
  • iThoughts for mind-mapping (recommended by Navindra $9.99)
  • Christopher uses MindMeister and it works on the web, too and for sharing, but others can’t edit

Lastly, there was some discussion of mobile access to websites.  Gus mentioned that CSUMB has a mobile friendly version of its website viewable at m.csumb.edu, and Middlebury recently announced its new mobile gateway available here portal.middlebury.edu.  MIIS will also has a mobile friendly version of its site  in the works!

And finally a few random notes…

  • iPad2 works better than iPad 1 with projections, but still some complications…some apps do not work
  • Patricia shared how iPads are changing music class.  She’s a member of a local choir that has also gone mobile, providing rehearsal agendas and schedules with an app called Music Stand (Free) which allows her to annotate her part and follow along with the music director electronically.  Pretty cool!
  • Mike took the prize for fun app to share with MadPad ($0.99) which allows you to record sound and video snippets to create an interactive beatbox remixer.  Check this demo video out and you’ll see why we thought this was a fun app:

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The iPads are coming! Mobile Learning Work Group Forming this Fall

Aug 2

Posted by Bob Cole in Mobile, work | Comments off

iPad Workgroup Meeting Notes 8/2/2011 10:00 – 11:00 am, Kade 2nd Floor

Present
Bob Cole, Digital Learning Commons
Katie Dutcher, Intensive English Programs
Ann Flower, MIIS Library
Patricia Szasz, Intensive English Programs

Mission statement
The Mobile Learning Work Group will explore how mobile tech is changing the way that we work, teach, and learn through regular open sessions and idea sharing among MIIS faculty, staff, and students and our colleagues and peers in similar professional contexts.  The Work Group plans to use the Digital Learning Commons as meeting space for an on-going conversation about mobile tools and document happenings through the DLC blog.
Why?

  • Fits with the Digital Learning Commons goals of promoting professional development, innovation, and collaboration
  • Need to document use of intensive English Program’s iPads – focus on language pedagogy and innovation
  • Interest in sharing how to use new tools, learn about best apps, and discuss emerging practices
  • Shared desire to explore differing uses of iPads and mobile devices: pedagogy, research, productivity

ESL (Patricia Szasz and Katie Dutcher)

  • Need to figure out strategic ways to use for language instruction and learning
  • Logistics of use- start off with a plan- how to manage?
  • Select pilot people, figure it out for fall ES session.
  • Mike do radio show next session? Possible iPad pilot project?
  • Productivity uses for program administration

Library (Ann Flower)

  • Getting 10 in use right away as replacements for laptops used for teaching purposes
  • Web access, instructional use, e-resources, search catalog
  • Not focused on apps., more on mobility and access to Library resources

Initial Goals/Plan

  • Monthly meetings third Tuesday of each month
  • Next meeting Tuesday, Aug 16, 4pm
  • Planning in the fall
  • Bring in speakers in the fall/ spring (Oct. Internet library conference)
  • End of semester possibly do something with DLC Open House (week of Nov 28)

Agenda for Next meeting (in 2 weeks)

  • Invite Tony from ESL and other MIIS iPad and mobile afficionados
  • Re-visit Key questions and goals
  • Review ESL iPad hardware and software management issues including:
  1. Generic app account linked with P-card?
  2. Pay 10 times for app licenses?
  3. Dropbox account- all use same or each own?, use Google docs for cloud based file storage?
  4. Ask other institutions how they manage, e.g. Monterey College of Law, listservs such as NITLE and NMC
  5. Re-syncing each session
  • Share a few favorite apps
  • Set next meeting’s agenda

Things to look ahead to

  • Moodle iLearn the campus course management system is expected to be available in mobile web format this Fall
  • MIIS and Middlebury websites are expected to be available in mobile format this Fall
  • Blogging community may be hosted at Middlebury by spring 2012
  • Campus Info Fair orientation week, Wednesday, August 19, 2011 from 12-1pm in Samson courtyard
  • Sarah Springer’s tech session in TESOL/TFL orientation
  • 2012 TESOL CALL Electronic village – 6 week pre-conference

Free Mobile Apps Mentioned

  • Genius Scan– iphone scanner that uses the phone camera to photograph documents and convert to PDF
  • GoTasks– syncs your task list on your iPad or iPhone to your Google to-do list
  • Dragon Dictation– Speech to text recorder has potential use for language pronunciation practice
  • Evernote – productivity tool for creating and storing notes and web clippings

Other resources mentioned

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