Blog Post 2: Using handheld devices for educational purposes

The article I read was Using Handheld Wireless Technologies in School Advantageous or Disadvantageous by Morgan, Hani. I really enjoyed this article it spoke about how using handheld devices within the classroom can be a good and bad thing. Let us begin by examining what a handheld device is and what it can do for a student. A handheld device is defined as a small computing device that one can hold in their hand. A student can use a handheld device such as smartphone, I-pad, kindle, or nook to search the internet for valuable information, view informative videos, chat with tutor or teachers, answer questions within the classroom, read books, and create multi media presentations for class. This article covered several important aspects of using technology in the classroom. First it speaks about the advantageous of technology and student engagement. As we all know teenagers are very interested in new and innovative technology weather its a smartphone, or a tablet students love to use them even for educational purposes. There were several studies done on this subject that had very favorable results. The study that stuck out the most was conducted on a group of 32 eighth graders. In this group of students they were aloud to use their phone to help them learn several difficult concepts in math. It was noted that the students were able to learn these concepts using their phone. They were able to study anywhere outdoors, indoors, in the car, etc. The students were able to use their phones to manipulate concepts and use the math they were learning in real world situations as a result it was concluded that even though phones can be a distraction if used properly they can also help students with the learning process Baya'a and Daher (2009). The next thing that this article speaks about is some of the disadvantageous of technology in the classroom. As previously stated while technology can be a great teaching tool it can also hinder the learning process because it can at times be a distraction to the student and may not mesh well with their learning style. While it seemed that technology work well in a math class the results were not as favorable with ESL students. While it seemed that they were excited about using the technology to learn new vocabulary it did not help with the improvement of test scores Patten and Craig (2007) It seems that technology has many perks and just as many disadvantages. I personally enjoy using technology in the classroom. I feel that it makes the learning more fun and engaging not only for the students but also for myself. The take away from this article for me is technology used in the right context can be very powerful to the learning process. References Morgan, Hani.(2010, Winter). Using Handheld Wireless Technologies in School: Advantageous and Disadvantageous. Retrieved from https://libproxy.library.unt.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/845517114?accountid=7113