Living in the 4th Screen

Exploring the use of mobile technology in education and life

Ohio School Improves Test Scores with Mobile Phones!

Some 600 students in the St. Marys City Schools in Ohio were given a mobile phone, courtesy of Verizon Wireless, reports the Just Another Mobile Phone Blog. Kyle Menchhofer, the technology coordinator for the district knew there were not enough computers in the district for students to have any measurable time on them. He felt they had to prepare their students for a world where computer fluency will be a necessity.  According to the blog post Menchhofer also said the following:

“What we wanted to do was to level the playing field for these kids,” said Menchhofer, “To give them the most positive education experience possible, we knew we had to get creative and look for support from the community.” 

“Our vision is for students to experience learning anytime, anywhere,” said Menchhofer.

Using the Verizon phones with broadband connectivity and GoKnow! Mobile Learning Software, they piloted a program in the district. The district has seen improvements in test results. A participating third-grade class increased its overall math score by an average of 3.36% in just 18 weeks. A comparative group without the cell phones only increased their averages by 1.65%.

As I posted in my last post I think mobile handheld computers is the direction schools should move in. As cheap as netbooks have become they are still more expensive than using mobile phones or iPod Touches.

Google's disruptive approach to buying a mobile phone

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Google recently announced the launch of their new smartphone, which they dubbed a "superphone". The phone is called the Nexus One. The phone is pictured above. The phone itself does not seem to be "wowing" the experts who have held one and run it through the ropes so to speak. The disrupting influence of the phone is not in how it functions, but in how it is being sold. They can be purchased directly from Google online. In their own words via their blog:
Android was developed with one simple idea: Open up mobile devices to enable greater innovation that will benefit users everywhere.

Well, today we're pleased to announce a new way for consumers to purchase a mobile phone through a Google hosted web store. The goal of this new consumer channel is to provide an efficient way to connect Google's online users with selected Android devices. We also want to make the overall user experience simple: a simple purchasing process, simple service plans from operators, simple and worry-free delivery and start-up.

Google created Android, the free open source mobile operating system, a little over a year ago. According to them there are 20 devices with 59 operators in 48 countries and 19 languages. Google believes Android allows devices to be built faster and at a lower cost. It sounds like Google is trying to get a mobile device into every ones hand. 
Ultimately I believe Google and Android will accomplish their goals in driving down mobile phone costs and making them available to more and more people. People in many countries all over the world will never access the Internet via a laptop or desktop computer, but they will using a mobile phone. 
Until the monopoly wireless carriers have over mobile handsets is broken, there will not be significant change in the way carrier plans are structured. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint will need to be forced to make significant changes in their wireless plans. I think Google's first attempt will at least will put a crack in the foundation that the wireless monopoly rests on. Time will tell.

Upstate NY School Pilots Cell Phones in an Elementary Classroom

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About 23 fifth graders and three teachers in at Lake Avenue Elementary School are piloting the use of cellular phones as part of the instructional day. The school in located in Saratoga Springs, NY. According to an article in The Saratogian, the students were given the "computers" just this week. The phones were donated by Verizon Wireless. The ability to make phone calls or send text messages has been disabled on each of the phones.

One of the teachers, Kristin Passaretti said:

"Students are keeping journals about their experience using the gadgets and will complete end-of-the-year surveys. The feedback will be used to reevaluate the program in June so the district can decide whether to expand it."

Students are using a program called Sketchy to draw pictures or diagrams after a recent science lesson. Later on the devices will upload the diagrams so that Passaretti can view them and assess the students understanding of the concepts. 

I like the fact they they disabled the calling and texting feature of the phones. I think this will enable the district to make a better decision if the "handheld computers" are compelling enough to roll out to the rest of the school.

The picture is from the District website.