Ministry of Education - Guyana In collaboration with the OAS and ProFuturo FOUNDATION

2020. CARICOM. INNOVATION ROUTE: BASIC LEVEL

MODULE 2 – MOBILE LEARNING (m-LEARNING) Training Manual for Teachers of Riverine and Hinterland Region

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ELIMINATING LITERACY, MODERNIZING EDUCATION, STRENGTHENING TOLERANCE

Message form the Minister of Education

Dear Teachers

Across the world, the COVID 19 pandemic (Corona Virus) continues to cause undesirable disruption to the global education systems. Guyana, as you know, was not spared. As such, we implore you to keep engaging our nation’s learners and we applaud those of you who have tried and continue to try. We heard your concerns when you told us you were uncertain about how to teach using different means, that you lacked confidence, and that you felt you were not equipped. This is our first response in partnership with the OAS and ProFuturo Foundation. This training will give you the much-needed knowledge and expose you to the tools you need to deliver education differently by being innovative and by using easily available technology.

We are aware that the cost of data is of great concern to you and we have remedied that by partnering with GTT and Digicel to zero rate the ProFuturo platform domain. This means that when anyone accesses the training platform, data will not be consumed. If teachers have neither devices nor connectivity, we will arrange a suitable location and

if teachers, as those in the hinterland and riverine areas, cannot access either, even with our help, we have arranged for part of the program to be done through these printed modules because we know that it is only a matter of time before you are able to access connectivity and devices. We will never leave you behind.

I encourage you to take this training offer with vigour so that you can be better prepared to do what you love: influence by teaching the next generations.

CONTENTS Unit 1. Introduction

1.1 Presentation

1.2 Starting point

1.3 Objectives

1.4 Contents outline

Unit 2. Use of ICTs

2.1 Presentation

2.2 Internet?

Unit 3. What is m-learning?

3.1 Presentation

3.2 Concept

3.3 Evolution

3.4 Associated technology

3.5 Basic characteristics

3.6 Potentials

3.7 Pedagogical proposals

3.8 Key aspects

Unit 4. Cellular phones in school

4.1 Presentation

4.2 Prohibit it or use it?

4.3 The role of the teacher

4.4 Benefits

4.5 Are they used?

Unit 5. Educational possibilities

5.1 Presentation

5.2 Educational possibilities

5.3 Linguistic communication

5.4 Mathematical competence

5.5 Interaction with the physical world

5.6 Processing of information

5.7 Social competence

5.8 Cultural and artistic competence

5.9 Learning to learn

5.10 Autonomy and personal initiative

Unit 6. Activities

6.1 Presentation

6.2 Thinking skills

6.3 Remembering

6.4 Understanding

Unit 7. Farewell 7.1 Presentation

7.2 Summary

7.3 Practical activity

7.4 Final word

KEY TERMS Please familiarize with the following terms and meaning.

1. Asynchronous learning: A learning program that does not require

the student and the instructor to participate

at the same time. Typically, on-line

tutorials at the user's own rhythm.

2. Blog: Also known as digital log, logbook,

cyberlog, cyberjournal, or Weblog. It is a

periodically updated web page that

chronologically collects texts or articles,

and multimedia contents from one or

several authors; the most recent of these

contents appears first, and the author

always has the freedom to publish what

he/she believes is pertinent.

3. Blended learning: A training program that combines several

types of communication media. In general,

combined learning refers to on-site

training with self-managed electronic

learning.

4. Collaborative learning: Learning through the sharing or

exchanging of opinions, objects, and

contents between a group of people.

5. Content Learning Management System (LCMS): A web-based management program that

facilitates the creation, storage, and

delivery of single learning objects, as well

as the management of the students, lists,

and assessments.

6. Course casting: Course casting allows students, and the

general public, to download and listen to

audio and video recordings of class

lectures on their computers, iPods, and

other MP3 players.

7. Courseware: Software specifically designed to be used

in the classroom, or any other educational

environment, that contains educational

material, educational software, or

audiovisual materials.

8. Geolocalization: Geolocalization is used to identify the

geographical location of an object,

normally a cell phone or other device,

connected to the Internet. Even though the

location is not a basic element of electronic

learning at this time, it is a great

opportunity to be exploited because it

makes it possible to place the content into

a specific context; for example, it can

deliver contents according to the

geographical situation of the students and

make the learning process more efficient.

9. Just in Time learning: Popular term used to describe the benefit

of mobile learning accessibility. This is a

form of learning that is “instantaneous in

support work or update courses when

needed”. Comfortable, flexible, and

pertinent, learning at the exact time is

necessary.

10. Learning Management System: A program that manages the training

process. It typically includes a

functionality for course catalogues, the

publication of courses, registry of

students, tracks student progress, and

assessments.

11. Mobile application: More commonly known as an application

or App, this is a type of software to be

executed on a mobile device such as a

smartphone or tablet. They can be

downloaded from web pages and executed

on mobile devices. The most popular

smartphone platforms that support mobile

learning applications are Android,

Symbina, Java ME, Windows Mobile.

12. MMS: A messaging standard that makes it

possible for cellular phones to send and

receive multimedia contents incorporating

sound, video, photographs, and any other

content available in the future. Multimedia

messaging also allows us to send these

contents to email accounts, expanding the

possibilities of mobile communication,

making it possible to publish our digital

photographs, or interact in weblogs,

without the need for a computer. The limit

of each multimedia message is usually 100

or 300 KB, depending on each cellular

phone, although this limit is defined by the

operator or the characteristics of the

terminal, and not by the protocol.

13. Mobile web: The mobile web is a channel for the

delivery of web content that offers and

formats contents to users with knowledge

of the mobile web. The mobile context is

characterized by the nature of the needs of

the user's personal information (for

example, updating his/her blog, accessing

travel information, receiving news

updates), cellular phone restrictions (in

other words, the size of the screen,

keyboard access), and special capabilities

(in other words, location and type of

connection such as 3G or WLAN).

14. Podcast: A podcast is a series of multimedia digital

files (audio or video) that is sporadically

published and frequently downloaded

through web syndication.

15. QR code: Quick response code is a module useful for

storing information in a dot matrix or a

two-dimensional bar code. It was created

by the Japanese firm of Denso Wave, a

subsidiary of Toyota, in 1994. It is

characterized by the three squares found at

the corners and that make it possible to

detect the position of the code reader. The

"QR" acronym refers to Quick Response

since the creators (Joaco Retes and Euge

Damm) wish for the code to make its

contents readable at high velocity. QR

codes are very common in Japan and are,

in fact, the most popular two-dimensional

code in that country.

16. Smartphone: Portable device that integrates the

capabilities of a cellular phone with the

most common characteristics of a portable

computer or PDA. They allow users to

store information, send emails, and install

programs with the simultaneous

possibility of using a cellular phone on a

device.

17. SMS:

Short messaging service that allows

messages of up to 160 characters to be sent

between cellular phones of any network.

18. WAP: Acronym for Wireless Application

Protocol, standardized protocol through

which terminal equipment can have the

technical capability to communicate with

servers connected to the Internet in which

electronic information can be found in the

specific format for WAP.

19. WML: Acronym for Wireless Markup Language,

specifically developed for wireless

applications to make the optimum use of

the limited cellular phone screen

capabilities, possible. XML based, used

for creating custom WAP content.

20. XML: Acronym for Extensible Markup

Language. Language developed by the W3

Consortium in order to allow the

description of information contained in the

WWW through common standards and

formats, and in such a way that both the

Internet users and the specific programs

(agents) can search, compare, and share

information on the network.

Use of the Internet The use of the Internet has greatly increased in Latin America. Users increased 12% between 2012 and 2013, placing Latin America in first place in terms of network user growth. Even though current access to the Internet from mobile devices with educational purposes is still limited, a progressive increase of mobile learning in the next few years can be inferred from the analyzed data, fundamentally because of the increase in the use of mobile technologies at a global level.

ICTs in education One of the trends with the incorporation of ICTs in education is the one focused by the evolution of the technology. For example, at first Computer Assisted Education (CAE) appeared, followed by Multimedia Educational Resources, Tele-education, web-based teaching, flexible learning, which includes electronic learning (e-learning), and within this last one, mobile learning (m-learning).

M-learning advantages M-learning has several advantages such as: It is adaptable: it allows access to learning to people who, because of certain circumstances, cannot access it otherwise. It is flexible: the student is who decides when and how to face his/her studies. It is ubiquitous: students and teachers can use the technological environment from anywhere. It is select: a-la-carte learning. It is shared: it makes collaborative learning possible.

TEACHER Teachers are called to be more than mere transmitters of knowledge, a mediator in the teaching-learning process, and this is why centres must be more flexible in order to foster the autonomous work of the students, supporting and encouraging productive and creative actions.

BOOKS Textbooks end up being warehouses of content, words, dates, data, etc., that prevent the construction of real frameworks of meaning that contextualize what is learned so that it can gain meaning, and the students can appreciate learning as something of great value and usefulness in their lives. In other words, the only thing they do is accumulate contents in the way one collects words.

TECHNOLOGICAL FACILITIES Everybody is used to seeing computer labs in schools. This sets aside the possibility of using a readily accessible, and extremely well-known, object to everybody as is the cellular phone. We therefore start from two important premises: Facility to have this educational tool and the knowledge of how to use it. The skill students have to use it.

Teachers record absences daily through computer notes in technological devices.

The students’ activities in the centre can be monitored and controlled through text messages. All mothers and fathers that have authorized the service can receive messages on their cellular phones, communicating absences, delays, the results of assessments, indicating the number of positive and/or negative grades that the student has obtained, etc.

Its use in the classroom fosters, boosts, and favours the development of the basic competencies. Education and training no longer focus solely on the acquisition of knowledge, but are also focused on the development of skills and abilities.

The leading single-volume English dictionary, the Oxford Dictionary of English is the foremost authority on current English usage. Featuring autocomplete search to help you find words quickly, favorites, history list and to see words in context with example sentences. Ideal for anyone who needs a comprehensive and authoritative dictionary of current English; for professionals, students, academics, and for use at work or at home.

Translates with both voice and text, and makes it possible to maintain conversations in different languages that the application translates in audio or text form, to the desired language.

A SHOW OF AFFECTION Subject: creation of texts, use of the verse. Resources: cellular phone with the possibility of recording voices. Activity the students express their feelings through poetry. They will create a poem with at least four verses dedicated to the person they love the most. They document their progress and practice their intonation using their cellular phones. The rhythm, rhyme, and intention of the voice while the poem is read will be assessed in the class activity.

SCIENTIFIC CALCULATORS Combined with a tactile interface capable of showing any type of button and a graphic screen, they have major educational possibilities.

Makes it possible to search for any kind of reference related to a historical subject, or details related to a specific subject. Access to scientific magazines, such as the case of “Nature” through the iPhone, makes the cellular phone an invaluable source of information and references.

For maps, satellite views, the search for services in a specific area, public transport network, calculation of distances between specific points, among others.

Small documentaries or recordings of scientific experiments during laboratory practices can be made by the students about the subjects developed in class with the video and photographic cameras of cellular phones.

AUGMENTED REALITY Objective: relationship between volume and the spatial proportion. Resource: tablet, portable computer, or cellular phone with camera connected to the PC. Activity: consult the educreations web site in the “Material” section.

Allows the exchange of digital material between students and teachers; for example, when dividing exercises individually in class or for sharing documents, photographs, videos, music, or audio files between students, and between the students and teachers.

During the treatment and processing of information that this competency refers to, cellular phones have an image and video editor with major usage possibilities for these devices.

MY FIRST PODCAST Objective: podcast as a personal recognition tool and its application for improving knowledge of the English language. Resource: cellular phone with the possibility of recording voices. Activity: consult the Audio Boo web in the “Material” section.

Through a cellular phone’s video and photographic camera we can: Illustrate cultural expressions so that they can later be published in a blog or web page, serving as links between school work and the social environment of the institution. Interview classmates about a significant subject, interview teachers and other people related to the social context of the educational centre, and create a school magazine or newspaper inside a blog or wiki.

Applications for: Collecting and storing works of art from the most important museums in the world. Drawing and painting with tools such as colour selector, the eyedropper tool, paint jar, paintbrushes, paintbrushes and draft properties, and the possibility of redoing or undoing any action and working on layers. Creating different colour palettes. High potential possibilities have been developed with touch screens, such as on-screen drawing.

m-podcast Objective: the conservation of the native tongue of the Guayuu ethnic group and its maternal language, Wuayuunaiki. Resource: cellular phone camera and voice recorder. Activity: Etniacast, an m-podcast project for the cultural and artistic memory.

Applications for: Mixing subjects and recording the final result, connecting to the Internet to download new sounds, transfer sounds to the network, access warehouses of special sounds and sound effects, play virtual drums with different styles… Guessing songs with samples just a few seconds long, players that allow multiple personalizations, virtual guitars, among others.

CELLULAR PHONE VIDEO The cellular phone's video can be used for: Generating tutorials with the camera which can later be developed through infographics. Developing self-assessment practical collaborative learning experiences. Recording part of class so that it can later be shared in a virtual learning scenario.

MESSAGING APPLICATIONS Messaging applications with mobile devices are gaining greater relevance every day. We can already find messaging applications with the same services as SMSs or MMSs that make it possible to send texts, images, sound, and video, but without charge. These types of applications can be integrated into the classroom for communication between the students, and between the students and teachers in specific cases such as small tutorials for different doubts, the reminder of tasks and significant dates, the delivery of test results, among others. But it’s important that they are regulated by the participants.

E-READERS OR E-BOOKS Instruments with a specific use for the support of reading and for reading digital contents, respectively. Reading on these electronic devices is much easier than in mobile devices because the technology they use is optimized for this purpose. It is therefore a perfect medium for the storing of texts, reading books, theoretical books, teacher notes, and consultation books.

TABLETS Have the same services as portable computers but in a smaller size. Their possibilities in terms of storage and processing capacities are even greater than that of cellular phones, but they don’t have a video camera. Furthermore, the use of cellular phones is much more extended and, therefore, it’s easier to have this tool at any time.

THINKING SKILLS The education of the Industrial Age focused on Lower Order Thinking Skills. In Bloom’s taxonomy they are related to aspects such as remembering and understanding. XXI century pedagogy and teaching are focused on pulling students from Lower Order Thinking Skills to Higher Order Thinking Skills.

Remembering The following are the digital mobile additions to this category and their explanations: >>Remembering (Bullet pointing): similar to listing but in mobile and/or digital format. >>Highlighting: the highlighter is a key tool in productivity program suites such as Office MS, Google docs, Office.org, the last two in open code. We reinforce remembering and memorization by motivating students to choose and highlight fundamental words and sentences. >> Marking or favourites: in this process the students mark web sites, Apps, SMS messages, USSD contents, resources, and files to use them in the future. They can also organize them later on. >>Social networks: where people develop networks of friends and associates; where bonds between different people are forged and created. 60% of all worldwide Twitter and Facebook accesses are currently made from mobile telephones. As a social marker, a social network can become a key element of network collaboration and work.

Remembering >> Collective construction of repositories of favourites (Social bookmarking): an on-line version of marking or of local favourites, but more advanced since it can take advantage of other markers and labels. While higher order thought skills such as collaboration and sharing can, and make, use of these skills, this is the simplest way of using it; for example, selecting the option download of contents from favourite Apps, thus avoiding the consumption of unnecessary mobile data. In its most advanced forms, Social Bookmarking indicates comprehension. >>Searching: search engines are currently fundamental elements in research performed by students. A simple explanation of these is that the students type a key word or phrase in the window of the search engine, established for introducing terms. This skill does not refine the search beyond the key word or term used. >> Key Verbs - Remembering: Recognize, list, describe, identify, recover, name, locate, find, use vignettes (bullet pointing), highlight, mark (bookmarking), participate in social networks (social bookmarking), download favourite Apps and sites (favouriting/local bookmarking), search, perform searches in search engines (googling)

Mobile and/or digital activities for remembering: >>Recite/Narrate/ Recount: word processors (Word Processing mobile, Pages, Word), Mental map (Mind mapping, memorization cards, flashcards), email, blogs, discussion forums. >>Memorization cards (Flashcards): Moodle, Hot Potatoes, Learning objects with Scorm standard. >>Social networks: Facebook, Myspaces, bebo, Twitter, diigo, Digg.com. >>Basic searchers: search engines (google, excite, ask, yahoo, metracrawler etc.), library catalogue, Clearinghouses.

Understanding The following are the mobile and/or digital additions to this category and their justifications: >>Advanced Search: this is an advance with respect to the previous category. The students must have a deeper understanding in order to create, modify, and refine searches that adapt to their needs. >>Blog format journalism (Blog Journalling): this is the simplest use of a blog, where the student “talks”, “writes”, or “types” a personal diary or journal about a specific task. This shows a basic understanding of the activity that is being reported. The blog contributes to the development of higher order thought when it's used for discussion and collaboration. Tools such as the mobile telephone’s microphone, and specialized applications in m-blog, make this task much easier. >>Categorizing and labelling: digital mobile classification, organize and classify Apps, web sites, and materials using folders, Delicious, Evernote, Flipboard, Books and other similar tools to go beyond simply marking. This can be done by organizing, structuring, and assigning on-line data, key words, etc. The students need to understand the contents of the pages in order to label them. >>Commenting and writing down: there are many tools that allow the user to comment and write notes in documents, photographs, and web pages, PDF files, entries in social marks (social bookmark entries), and other documents. The user develops understanding by simply making comments on the pages. This is similar to writing deliverable notes, but is potentially more powerful since they can be linked and indexed. >>Subscribing: subscribing to the RSS service of a site uses bookmarking in its different forms, and takes simple reading to a higher level. The act of subscribing in and of itself doesn't demonstrate or develop comprehension, but the process of once again reading and reviewing what has been written or published in entries (subscribe feeds), frequently leads to greater comprehension. >>Key Verbs – Understanding: interpret, summarize, infer, paraphrase, classify, compare, explain, exemplify, perform advanced searches, perform Boolean searches, make journalism in blog format (blog journalism), “Tweeting” (using Twitter), categorizer, label, comment, write down, subscribe.

Mobile and/or digital activities for subscribing >>Collecting: word processor (IOS: Bamboo paper, Penultimate, Notability) (Android: Documents to go, Google Drive, Google Drive, mental map, publish on the Web, diaries in blogs, and simple, collaborative construction, mobile pages of documents, Wiki. >>Explaining: word processor, conceptual maps, publish on the Web, simple Self-publications (Desktop Publishing - DTP), Wiki. >> Show and tell: word processor, on-line or local presentations, graphs, audio tools (Audacity sound recorder and podcasting tools), video tools, mental map. >>Listing: word processor, conceptual maps. >>Labelling: word processor, conceptual maps, graphs, on-line tools (Ajaxdraw). >>Sketching: word processor, mental map. >> Performing advanced searches. >> Feeding a Blog diary: Bloglines, Blogger, WordPress, etc. >>Daily publication: Blogging, Myspaces, Bebo, Facebook, Bloglines, Blogger, Ning, Twitter. >> Categorizing and labelling: Delicious. >> Labelling, registering comments: Noticeboards, discussion forums, chain discussions, PDF file readers, Blogs, Firefox, Zotero. >>Suscribing: RSS aggregators (readers), for example. Bloglines, Google Reader, etc., Firefox extensions.