Academic Use of Cell Phone Technology at

Montclair State UniversityEdward Chapel, Ph.D., Vice President Office of Information Technology

Patricia Kahn, Ph.D., DirectorTraining, Technology and Integration, Office of Information Technology

Leslie Wilson, Ph.D. FacultyHistory, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Educause Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference 08

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MSU Campus Connect ProgramA simple observation

– Every student has a cell phone… its what they use for everything!

A simple idea– Lets get rid of land lines in

residence halls.

Became a much bigger project– Inventing the Virtual Campus

Experience

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The ChallengeIf every student had a mobile phone that we can manage, how do we use them to enrich their living and learning experience at MSU students?

• Upgrade traditional landline services

• Engage Students through improved communications & community reinforcement

• Improve academic use of latest technologies

• Enhance public safety• Leverage mobility and

location based services for efficiency

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The Challenge for Educators

Newly designed courses promoting student learning through active engagement

Higher education needs to employ strategies of using emerging educational technologies to facilitate the learning process by providing a

learning environment that matches the student’s new style of learning (Dede, 2005)

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Mobile Technology Can Help• An instructional technology that support the 21st

century learner but does not require a high level of technical proficiency

– Enhance the learning process by making learning more interactive and enjoyable

– Affords curriculum customization to match learners' developmental needs as well as personal interests

– Promotes a constructivist approach to teaching and learning

– Bridge the gap on how students live and learn realizing that they will spend their adult lives in a technology-driven multitasked fast-paced world

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Cell Phone Pilot - Stage IExpand Original Purpose

• Activity– Podcasts of instructor’s course lectures– Bb Announcements and Grades– Entourage group messaging feature

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Access videos Access Groups

Home Page

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Outcomes – Stage I

• Out of the 60 students who participated in the pilot, 44 students were surveyed– 22 responses collected from English Writing– 22 responses collected from Contemporary

Business

Results….

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Do you like using cell phones in class?

0

10

20

30

40

50

English 23 41 36

Business 59 17 24

Agree Neutral Disagree

Analysis

• English: In class writing activities (journals, portfolios, etc.)

• Business: Redundancy of class lectures

• Subject matter did not lend itself to using cell phones

• No direct experience from learners

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Did cell phones help me learn in class?

0

10

20

30

40

50

English 19 31 50

Business 46 17 37

Agree Neutral Disagree

Analysis

• English: In class writing activities (journals, portfolios, etc.)

• Business: Redundancy of class lectures

• Subject matter did not lend itself to using cell phones

• No direct experience from learners

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Did you believe cell phones could help you in education?

0

10

20

30

40

50

English 68 22 10

Business 73 9 18

Agree Neutral Disagree

• 21st century learner looked for technology in the learning process

As long as it served a purpose!

Analysis

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Qualitative - English WritingLiked Cell Phones

• Able to obtain reminders from the instructor without having to logon to Blackboard.

• Enjoyed listening to the lectures while on the train or driving to and from school

Disliked Cell Phones• No need to access

lecture podcast from cell phone– required assignments

were in-class written exercises

– material for assignments was obtained from in-class lectures

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Qualitative - Contemporary Business

Liked Cell Phones• Viewing the podcasts were

helpful; reinforced material in class for tests

• Enjoyed listening to the lectures while on the train or driving to and from school

• Rewrote lecture notes while reviewing the lesson for a test

Disliked Cell Phones• Same material covered

in class; therefore, no motivation to view lectures on the phone

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•21st century learner looks for technology in the

learning process as long as it serves a purpose.

•The subject matter and discipline needs to lend

itself to using the technology.

•Students will not be motivated to use the

technology if pedagogy doesn’t support its use.

•Given the appropriate venue and material, cell

phones could help the education process

General Conclusions – Stage I

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Cell Phone Pilot - Stage II Expand Original Purpose of Academic Use

• Changed the focus based on feedback from Stage I. Activities…– Interactive and engaging– Did not repeat classroom experience– Required feedback from peers– Supplemented course lectures– Promoted classroom discussion

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Academic Activities• Blackboard Announcements and Grades• Polling (cell phones as clickers):

– Assess student understanding of material– Receive anonymous feedback on provocative content

• Blogging Fieldwork Exercises– Text messaging to blogs– Pictures from phones to blogs

• Improved Communication– Entourage feature facilitating group collaboration

• Video Podcasts– Viewed outside of class – supplement to class discussion

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Polling

• The instructor can ask a question in class that the students can answer anonymously and within minutes

• The answer can be displayed to the class via a computer projector or smart board

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Question # 1Why did you come to college?

Offered choices:1. To get an education2. To lead to a job or career3. Family obligations4. Other

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What motivated you to apply to college?

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Question # 2What are you going to do with

your free time?

Offered choices:1. Hang out with friends2. Study3. Get involved in campus affairs4. Work5. Party

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What will you do with your free time?

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Question # 3How many hours a week do you

expect to study?

Offered choices:

1. Five hours

2. Ten hours

3. Twenty hours

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How many hours do you plan to study each week?

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Conclusions

• Students like using the technology

• Class becomes more fluid and student oriented

• Students use the technology outside of class

• Learning is initiated through the students not through the instructor

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Free-time Activities Scavenger Hunt

Blogging: German

“As a vocabulary building exercise in the chapter on

how we spend our free time, I gave the students a list

of about 25 verbs.  In teams of 4-5 students, they had

15 minutes to walk around campus and find people

engaging in activities from the list.  Using their cell

phones……

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Free-time Activities Scavenger Hunt“I put together a list of trivia questions (in German) about

famous Germans, such as "What did Goethe write?" or "Who

is Joseph Ratzinger?" Each question was set up as a poll with

multiple choice answers accessed from the cell phone....

Polling: German

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Blogging: LinguisticsLinguistic Assignment: Gender Differences in Speech

“Linguistic research has shown that males and females

use formal and informal speech under different

circumstances and at different rates. Using your cell

phone post your observations on your blog”

• Count how many turns the females take.

• Count how many turns the males take….

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Urban History• Students learning about urban history are

studying fires as a historical event. Students are required to visit a local fire house and interview a fireman/firewoman and post the highlights of the discussion on their blog page by using their phones.

Blogs Fieldwork Activities (cont.)

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Challenges – Stage II

• Double sign on

• Phone Activation

• Group Invites

• Comfort level with the phone

• Did not want to give up their own personal phone

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Results Stage II

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n = 45; Total surveyed 200

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n = 45; Total surveyed 200

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n = 45; Total surveyed 200

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n = 45; Total surveyed 200

17 14

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n = 45; Total surveyed 200

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18

36

n = 45; Total surveyed 200

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21

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n = 45; Total surveyed 200

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24

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n = 45; Total surveyed 200

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20

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SummaryThe jury is still out whether using cell phones

enhances the learning experience

In Stage II, students…

• Rather be in a class that did not use cell phones

• Faced many challenges, which influenced their experience

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SummaryBut, In Stage II, students also…

• Felt the activities were relevant

• Liked the cell phone as a teaching tool

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Conclusions/Recommendations• Important to meet with an instructional designer

well advance of implementation to develop

appropriate teaching strategies

• Provide activities that are interactive and engaging

and serve a purpose

• Support, support, support – don’t assume comfort

level of 21st Century Learner