Technology & Learning - May 2008 - (Page 53)

rely on your network to learn and store knowledge for you. A sense of calm begins as you understand you can learn when you need to learn. Personally, I continue to struggle with balance in my life between being connected and being here in person. I force myself to put down the computer and pick up the guitar. I force myself to take Screen Free Week off and reflect (I write blog posts on paper…a very strange experience), and I almost enjoy going on vacation with no Internet access. PLNs are very powerful, but they are not all there is to life… and I’m just glad I have a wife who reminds me of that from time to time. Jeff Utecht is an international educator currently working in Shanghai, China. “I am AMAZED by the potential for information access and collaboration” WEB APPS Going Mobile Wesley Fryer I’ve only just started exploring available Web applications for my iPhone and am AMAZED by the potential for information access and collaboration. While it is true only a limited number of people have an iPhone (or other smartphone), it seems likely the number of cell phones with Internet access is growing—though the presence of cell phones in traditionally organized classrooms is regarded as a disruptive and unwanted element of the modern learning environment. I visited 8th grade students in an Oklahoma school district last week who are assessed a fine that increases by $10 each time they are caught at school with a cell phone. It seems likely the administrators creating and enforcing these policies in K–12 schools have not yet experienced the amazing, constructive potential of mobile Web applications. (It’s also likely these administrators define the role of teachers quite differently than Dr. Phil Schlechty does in his book Working on the Work: An Action Plan for Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents.) Here are a few of my favorite iPhone Web apps I’ve used: Podcaster: Subscribe and listen to or view podcasts directly on your iPhone without downloading them to iTunes. 43 Actions: I’m using 43 Actions to more effectively manage my to-do lists and get things done! Applications like this, which can be with us at all times on our mobile device, may be the most invaluable of all mobile applications because they can become an essential part of our workflow routines. Wikipedia: Bjarne Grimsmo Mogstad’s iPhone interface for Wikipedia is a streamlined, fast portal. I find myself referencing Wikipedia almost every day, and this application makes my mobile access to Wikipedia even faster. Wesley Fryer is the director of instructional support services at the College of Education at Texas Tech University. far beyond what existed when my generation was “young and stupid.” No matter how hard we try to warn digital natives of the potential negatives of giving the skeletons in their closets a global stage, I suspect that these incidents will continue to increase. The tools make it too easy, with decreasing time for the opportunity of sober reasoning between the click of a cell phone camera and its post to e-mail, MySpace, or YouTube. Bob Sprankle is a technology integrator, teaching grades K–4, at Wells Elementary in Wells, Maine. techlearning.com Technology & Learning May 2008 | 53 http://techlearning.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - May 2008

Technology & Learning - May 2008 Contents New@techlearning.com Editor’s Desk News and Trends E-Learning Gets Real Cover Story: Make Students Info Literate School CIO Product Guide Reviews Best of the Blogs What’s New LOY Profile Series

Technology & Learning - May 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.