Synthesis project about mobile learning
- 1. Akwoung Saechao ITEC 299 How2LrnwURiPod Synthesis Project about Mobile Learning
- 2. My personal learning preferences • When I first took the learning preference survey, I was a bit surprised. My scores were: active = 1, sensory = 3, visual = 3, sequential = 9. According to this, I am pretty well balanced on all the dimension scales except for one; I thought my scores would be higher for active, sensory and visual since I consider these my strong points. By the end of this class, I feel like my learning preferences haven’t changed much; although I still think that I prefer visual learning much more than verbal. At the end of this class, overall I think I agree with the results of my first survey on my learning preferences, even though I was a bit surprised; with the exception of the visual since I think that one should be higher. Knowing about learning preferences help because you can use those to help you succeed in class. Akwoung Saechao
- 3. Learning pathway I chose at the beginning of the class • At the very beginning of this class, the learning pathway that I chose was Learning Guide. I chose this pathway because it looks into many types of technologies and you can collaborate with people. I also wanted to improve on my learning with the use of technologies such as Ipads, smartphones, digital books, internet and also social network sites since technologies are pretty much in use every day by mostly everyone. I was able to use mobile technologies, especially my Ipad and smartphone, to learn with others in the class especially since I didn’t know it could so much besides apps and talking; therefore I was successful in getting a broader knowledge. I liked this pathway very much so I didn’t bother to change. Akwoung Saechao
- 4. Activities I completed that contributed or did not contribute to my learning pathway • The activities that helped me the most in learning were the mini-lectures and the level 2 activities. For instance, I didn’t know that there were so many different designs that tablets came in, such as slate and convertible; this gave me a broader understanding of just the design alone so I can choose better next time which design is most convenient for my life and learning; so reading the mini-lecture about ipads and tablets was informative. The level two activities about the cell cycle and the hip surgery really was really fun in that it involved visuals and sequential learning; I learned from those activity that I can use mobile technology to learn actively instead of just reading something. The forum posting was probably the most helpful activity in learning with each other. Akwoung Saechao
- 5. 3 mobile technologies explored for learning • I like the quest about Ipad and tablets. I learned that there was an application that I can use to make flashcards that I used to memorize over 200 chemical structures that I needed to know for my organic chemistry class. This technology accommodates my learning preference very well, especially visual. This technology helps me visually because it had a lot of learning applications with pictures, such as the flashcards. I can also watch video lectures on it which makes me focus better because I tend to get bored quickly from reading text and seeing a video of a chemical or cellular process helps me see the molecular steps better. • Another quest that I really liked was the quest about games and MMOG, because I like video games myself, but also because I never viewed games as an educational thing and I never thought that games could also have very beneficial things to it. I thought this technology accommodates my learning preference very well, especially the one pertaining to sequential. For example, when I did the level 2 activity about the cell cycle and the different phases the website broke down each phase with cartoon graphics and explained it very well and concisely in a sequence. The cell cycle has many steps, so the website helped me place in my mind which step of the cell cycle comes first and which one comes after so that I do not get mixed up with all the specific details. • Another quest that proved to be very helpful to me and that I also really enjoyed was the quest about multimedia. I never knew there were so many different platforms of multimedia prior to taking this class. I felt that this form of technology accommodates my learning preference fantastically, especially the one about active learning. For instance, I loved the level 2 activity about the hip surgery because not only does it include other learning preferences that I like, such as visual and sequential, but it’s very active, you get to choose what happens and see the results right away. I get to learn about surgery while also getting involved actively by choosing what I can do next; I’m not sitting there getting bored by reading a bunch of text. Akwoung Saechao
- 6. Synthesizing my experience investigating my use of different mobile technologies for learning • The mobile technology that interested me most was the Ipad tablet. This is because I am always using my tablet every day, basically for everything from entertainment to learning, and it is also convenient since I can take it with me anywhere. The technology that surprised me the most as a learning tool is definitely the game/mmog, because I never thought games could be educational and fun at the same time yet also engaging and not boring. I think microblogs, such as Twitter, does not seem to work as a learning tool because all you can pretty much do is post up links or short facts, which is almost like Delicious. The technology I like to explore more is podcasts, since I am very good at photoshop and would like to teach others, I think making tutorials with podcast will really help the people I teach. • As I hinted many times during this paper, out of all the mobile technologies that we have learned about in this class the one that worked best for my learning preference is the Ipad tablet. Why? First off, it is portable and convenient, you can take it anywhere; it’s not like a heavy textbook. There are endless applications you can use for many different things for learning. For instance, I can use an app to make flashcards and learn my chemical structures without having to carry a bunch of tree wasting flashcards. There are textbooks I can read on there and highlight without carry a heavy text. I can also view lectures and podcasts and do quizzes on it without having to run to a computer lab. Portability and applications is why it is the best learning technology for me. Akwoung Saechao
- 7. How I will use what I learned in this class after this semester • There are a couple of strategies that I learned in this class that I will definitely use in the future outside of school. As I stated earlier, if I ever become a teacher at a school or anything I can use podcasts and powerpoint to make my lectures. I can also use those interactive websites as homework assignment that is not boring. I can use microblogs and social bookmarking websites to possible find jobs or learn about them. I can also use social networking sites to connect with people that I work with and I can also contact them if I ever need recommendation letters or help getting a particular position. • The mobile technology that I will continue to use for learning, which shouldn’t sound surprising, is Ipad tablet, just because it can do so many things with endless amount of applications. Perhaps in the future there will be many applications for tablets where job companies can interview you such as video interviews or training tutorials on the ipad. The technologies I will continue to use for non-learning are ipad, mp3 players, multimedia, podcast, games, mmog, and social bookmarking. The mobile technology that I will avoid using after this class which I avoided using before taking this class is microblogs such as Twitter. I just don’t think there’s anything useful about it; it’s basically what the Facebook status bar is for; so I will continue to lay my hands off it unless I have to use it. Akwoung Saechao