Accentuate the Positive: Using Wireless Internet in the Classroom to Enhance Student Engagement

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Accentuate the Positive Using Wireless Internet
in the Classroom to Enhance Student Engagement

• Carol A. Miles, Ph.D.
• Carleton University
• Ottawa, Canada

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The Wireless Classroom

• Perhaps the single greatest impact on the
  university classroom in history

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Impact on Professors

• Students are no longer a captive audience
• Many forces, both passive and active competing
  for their attention
• Students are able to communicate with each other
  in class invisibly (i.e. you cant see them
  passing these kinds of notes)
• Students can (and do) use Internet resources to
  check the veracity of what you say in class

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From the Toronto (Canada) Globe and Mail, October
16, 2007

• Distractions, of course, are nothing new to
  students. There have always been sarcastic notes
  to pass, important doodles to draw, hangovers to
  recover from, and classmates to ogle, but the
  competition for student attention has never been
  as fierce as it is today. This state of
  over-stimulation fed by constant connectivity
  leads to a phenomenon dubbed "continuous partial
  attention" by Linda Stone, a lecturer and former
  Microsoft executive. Her thesis is that the need
  that digital workers and students feel to monitor
  everything at once is driven by a constant fear
  that they might miss something important. The
  result is a high level of stress, accompanied by
  an inability to devote full attention to what is
  happening in front of them.

KEN HUNT Globe and Mail Update October 16, 2007
at 1200 AM EDT
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But..

• Greatly enhanced ability to engage students
  during class activities through connection with
  limitless resources

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In other words

• A disadvantage is that the world gets to come
  freely into the classroom, but

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The classroom also gets to go easily out into the
world more easily than ever before
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Impact on Students

• Ability to carry on numerous tasks simultaneously
  while in class (this is both benefit and
  detriment)
• Culturally and socially difficult for them to
  avoid the immediacy of online communication
• Difficult to avoid the distraction of other
  students open laptops
• They believe they are easily able to handle the
  multi-tasking inherent in being online in class
  (but can they really?)

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For our consideration

• Are students only distracted because they are not
  engaged in the lecture due to teaching
  methodology?

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Many Universities are priding themselves on the
innovation of the totally wireless campus

• Becoming the standard worldwide
• As municipalities become totally wireless, it
  will be difficult to avoid classroom access
• PDAs (Blackberries, iPhones) already provide easy
  wireless access

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Many professors are not embracing this technology
with enthusiasm

• Many call for a way to turn off internet access
  in individual classrooms
• As broader areas are covered with wireless
  internet access, this becomes a technical
  impossibility
• A common practice is the banning of laptops in
  the classroom

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This introduces a brand new and predominant issue
the management of todays classroom
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Suggested Classroom Management Techniques (One
size does NOT fit all!!)

• Instructors have the prerogative to allow or
  disallow laptops in the classroom. Due to the
  nature of a specific class, laptops during class
  time may not be the most appropriate tool to use.
• Instruct students to email you at the end of the
  class period attaching their notes typed in
  class.

http//it.nmu.edu/Faculty/laptopuse.htm
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Classroom Management Techniques

• Ask students to close their laptops to observe.
• Speak behind them to observe their screens.
• If inappropriate screen content (e.g. sexually
  explicit, etc.) quietly ask the student to not
  display that screen in your class BECAUSE you are
  concerned it will be distracting to others.

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Classroom Management Techniques

• Encourage peer discipline, e.g. tell the person
  sitting next to you if it bothers you. In classes
  where there are teams of students, this works
  moderately well because they are more comfortable
  with each other. Tell a student if you believe
  they have crossed a line and it will affect their
  participation grade. After that, it is their
  choice.

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Classroom Management Techniques

• Have the students follow along with the
  PowerPoint slide in Design mode (not Run mode).
  Show them how to take notes in the bottom of the
  screen so they can be occupied both mentally and
  physically during lectures. Incorporate blank or
  incomplete slides which they must finish after
  the lecture. These are spaced about every 4-5
  slides. If they are effectively using their
  laptops for note-taking there is less time to
  play games or go online. Doing so means they have
  missed points in lecture.

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Classroom Management Techniques
- - Regard the unhealthy laptop usage as an
indicator on how well a lecture is being
received. If students heads are bobbing due to
sleepiness and laptops are being opened for
surfing or gaming, make note to alter that
lecture. - Ban laptops from the classroom if
misuse persists.

• Give interactive exercises in class that require
  Internet search, compilation of facts, group
  assessment of information, or other active
  outcome. Again, the task requires their attention
  so they are less apt to diverge to online misuse.
  
• If there is evidence of misuse, discuss
  one-on-one with that student, rather than
  imposing some restrictive, impossible-to-effective
  ly-enforce rule on all students.

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Actively Discuss Laptop Use in Course Outline

• Computers are to be utilized for coursework and
  activities related to coursework. Do not use
  computers for entertainment during class
  meetings.
• Do not display material on screen which may be
  distracting or offensive to your neighbor.
• Use headphones for activities that require
  sound.

http//it.nmu.edu/Faculty/laptopuse.htm
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Actively Discuss Laptop Use in Course Outline

• Negative participation (surfing, gaming,
  chatting, emailing) in class will reduce your
  participation grade by at least 1/2 letter grade
  - you are a distraction to others sitting nearby
  and to me.
• You are expected to be punctual, alert, and
  prepared for the class. You will be considerate
  of the instructor and other students, which
  includes not keyboarding or checking e-mail while
  information is being presented. Please turn off
  instant messaging during class time and refrain
  from playing games on your computer.

http//it.nmu.edu/Faculty/laptopuse.htm
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Actively Discuss Laptop Use in Course Outline

• Appropriate Classroom Laptop Use...Although
  having a laptop in class opens up new learning
  possibilities for students, sometimes students
  utilize it in ways that are inappropriate. Please
  refrain from instant messaging, e-mailing,
  surfing the Internet, playing games, writing
  papers, doing homework, etc. during class time.
  Acceptable uses include taking notes, following
  along with the instructor on PowerPoint, with
  demonstrations, and other whole class activities,
  as well as working on assigned in-class
  activities, projects, and discussions that
  require laptop use. It is easy for your laptop to
  become a distraction to you and to those around
  you. Inappropriate uses will be noted and may
  affect your final grade.

http//it.nmu.edu/Faculty/laptopuse.htm
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Harnessing the Power of Wireless in the Classroom

• The good part of all of this

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Sound Pedagogical Theory

• Cooperative Learning (Johnson Johnson,1994)
• Constructivism (Bruner, 1983, 1986 Vygotsky,
  1978)
• Learning Styles (Gardner, 1983)
• Problem Based Learning (Collins, et. al., 1989)
• Higher-Level Thinking Skills (Resnick, 1989)
• Connect to Real World Knowledge (Lampert, 1986)
• Applying Knowledge (Carroll, 1990)

From Strategies for Effective Laptop Use in
Higher Education, Dr. Robin Kay Dr. Liesel
Knaack, University of Ontario Institute of
Technology Presented at EDUCAUSE 2004, Denver
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Classroom activities that take advantage of
wireless access.

• Debates
• Case Studies
• WebQuests
• Online Surveys
• Online Research
• Specialized Software
• Digital Video Production

• Polling students
• Brainstorming
• Using Java Applets
• Viewing Streaming Video
• Collecting Fast Feedback
• Creating Quick Web Pages
• Locating Web Articles
• Submitting to pedias

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Debates
Divide students into learning teams (3-4 students) Introduce topics of discussion Assign teams topics (for and against) Teams post ideas in online discussion board Winners get bonus marks
Examples Should North American share one currency as Europe has done? Should we have standardized tests in Education ? Is communism ever a viable method of government?

• Adapted From Strategies for Effective Laptop
  Use in Higher Education, Dr. Robin Kay Dr.
  Liesel Knaack, University of Ontario Institute of
  Technology Presented at EDUCAUSE 2004, Denver.

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Case Studies
Present case study (text and/or video) Have students work in teams of 3 to 5 to come up with a solution Post solutions and questions in a discussion board Respond to another groups solutions
Examples Difficult social work case scenarios Challenging business organizational problems Engineering design problems

• Adapted From Strategies for Effective Laptop
  Use in Higher Education, Dr. Robin Kay Dr.
  Liesel Knaack, University of Ontario Institute of
  Technology Presented at EDUCAUSE 2004, Denver.

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WebQuest
Well organized web-based research activity Work in groups of 3-4 Provide key starting resources Clearly defined role for each group member Bring together work in final project
Examples Math on Trial Comparing teaching philosophies See http//webquest.org/

• From Strategies for Effective Laptop Use in
  Higher Education, Dr. Robin Kay Dr. Liesel
  Knaack, University of Ontario Institute of
  Technology Presented at EDUCAUSE 2004, Denver.

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Course-Specific Research
Students can be asked to search for information on specific topic Can use universitys own library resources and electronic databases as well as web resources Key is to make sure that students evaluate quality of resources used (i.e. understand limitations of resources such as Wikipedia)
Examples Survey research in any discipline Collecting examples of good lesson plans, business plans, financial reports, lab report formats Any topics related to course material can be the basis of good activities

• Adapted From Strategies for Effective Laptop
  Use in Higher Education, Dr. Robin Kay Dr.
  Liesel Knaack, University of Ontario Institute of
  Technology Presented at EDUCAUSE 2004, Denver.

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Online Surveys and Inventories
Find survey on topic being discussed Create your own survey Good introductory activity that gets personal involvement
Examples Learning Style Survey Basic knowledge of vectors at the beginning of a math course Political views

• From Strategies for Effective Laptop Use in
  Higher Education, Dr. Robin Kay Dr. Liesel
  Knaack, University of Ontario Institute of
  Technology Presented at EDUCAUSE 2004, Denver.

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Java Applets
Find related, interactive applets ahead of time Have students interact to solve problems Can be used for practice, exploration, and/or demonstration
Examples Math Virtual Manipulatives (for math) www.engapplets.vt.edu (for engineering) www.falstad.com/mathphysics.html (for math, physics and engineering www.colorado.edu/mcclella/java/zcalc.html (for statistics)
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Videos
Short video clips on specific topics Can be used for demonstration purposes Ideal for linking to real world knowledge
Examples Annenberg Video Collection (for Education) Illustrating physical properties and machines YouTube is a great resource but do your homework ahead of time

• From Strategies for Effective Laptop Use in
  Higher Education, Dr. Robin Kay Dr. Liesel
  Knaack, University of Ontario Institute of
  Technology Presented at EDUCAUSE 2004, Denver.

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Collecting Fast Feedback
Use a free online survey tool at www.getfast.ca 2-3 questions to get student feedback on class, pace, assignments, confusions, questions Give students 5 minutes at the end of each class
Examples www.getfast.ca Were the learning objectives appropriately addressed? Was grading fair and appropriate? Is the course pace OK? Can also be used for quizzes and no-or-low-point-value tests in class to test understanding of content
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Web Articles
Find current article, table of statistics, website on topic Nice introduction focuses class Relates knowledge to real world
Examples Announcement by government departments Article in paper or journal Discipline-related statistics or very current facts

• From Strategies for Effective Laptop Use in
  Higher Education, Dr. Robin Kay Dr. Liesel
  Knaack, University of Ontario Institute of
  Technology Presented at EDUCAUSE 2004, Denver.

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Polling Students
Use a survey tool such as www.getfast.ca to poll students whether they understand a concept Can look at results immediately Gets students to focus Allows teacher to back track
Examples Did you understand how to do problem A? What questions do you have? What dont you understand?
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Eliminates the need for remote response (clicker)
systems
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Software Access
Many thousands of software titles and help resources are available online Teach and use software in context of lesson Student access software immediately, use within lesson often for free
Examples Subject Specific (e.g., Science) Career Specific (e.g., marks programs) Creative (e.g., web page, photo editing) Utilities Productivity (e.g., Camtasia,)
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Advantage when using specialized software

• Students can often each download a free trial
  version for use in class that day, eliminating
  the need to purchase expensive licenses

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Submitting to pedias
Have students research small areas that could be sent in to the Wikipedia or other pedias Instruct them how to submit this information Tremendously rewarding for those whose submissions are accepted
Examples Examples of Symptoms of Psychological Disorders Biographical Details of Historical Figures Details of Local Legal Cases Statistics Regarding Sports Figures
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Descriptions of Discipline-Specific Activities

• http//www.uwstout.edu/tlc/laptops.htm
• http//it.bridgew.edu/FacStaff/notebook/bestpracti
  ces/index.cfm
• http//www.math.clemson.edu/bmoss/laptop_pedagogy
  /
• www.math.clemson.edu/bmoss/laptop_pedagogy/Laptop
  sHumanitiesEngSci
• http//www.edutopia.org/tech-integration
• http//amps-tools.mit.edu / tomprofblog/archives/2
  006/05/727_enhancing_l.htmlmore
• http//www.leasttern.com/workshops/EnglishLaptop.h
  tml
• http//ltc.udayton.edu/faculty/eclassroom/index.ht
  m

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In conclusion..With proper classroom
management techniques, wireless offers tremendous
opportunities to transform the university
classroom into a space that offers unlimited
opportunities for student engagement
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Contact InformationCarol A. Miles,
Ph.D.Director, Learning Technologies and
Teaching SupportAdjunct Professor,
PsychologyEducational Development
CentreCarleton University1125 Colonel By
DriveOttawa, Ontario CanadaK1S 5B6Telephone
1-613-520-4027email carol_miles_at_carleton.caweb
site www.carleton.ca/edc