If you read the HORIZON REPORT 2012 it says of how all the latest trends and emerging technologies will have an affect on how we educate now and in the future.
The areas of emerging technology to watch :
Time to adoption: One Year or Less- Mobile Apps
- Tablet Computing
- Game-based Learning
- Learning Analytics
- Gesture-based Computing
- Internet of Things
If you look at the BMET'S course it teaches all the fundamental categories of the engineering trades.On area that was highlighted by the student survey was the machining content and how it consisted of a lot of steps to do each project.This compounded if the student didn't take notes or was absent.What we have been trying to do is film each machining segment and then edit them and then hopefully the student can access all the steps on an I pad touch and browse through to see which step they need extra help on.This is an area where we have enlisted help, has i wrote in a previous article that filming and editing are not my forte but if we do this right then this app could be used here and outside the polytechnic.
If you look at this milling machine in operation you can see that if the student did not take any notes or missed a few classes then to try and machine a complex job would be difficult, that is why if each step was recorded then it would make it more user friendly and of course more safe.
Another area we have been discussing is the area of social media, all our students use Face book and they are all savvy with using their phones so it would make sense to combine them when our Automech students went on their work experience.
They could take a photo as evidence of what they have been doing and then add it to the app with some text along side.
Taking the photo.
Evidence of the work done in a garage.
This is a useful app what the guys will be able to use as their evidence.
Cheers,
It certainly looks like you are keeping abreast of the technology trends Nick. The ipad app is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteIt can restrict access to just the classroom as the chances of all students having an ipad are slim. If the strategy is to increase access to resources that students can review over and over while they learn techniques then you need to also think about technologies that are more accessible to everyone, anywhere and anytime. For example, the cellphone.
Have you also thought about taking 'quick and dirty' videos, or better still getting students to do this in pairs using cellphones or digital cameras or ipads, as one student practises the technique. These short vids could be put on a media sharing site like Youtube (you could set up a private channel for the class that all can access if being public is an issue. That way students can subscribe to the channel on their cellphone, and download the vids to view anywhere. They could also be encouraged to give eah other constructive feedback on technique.
You could also do this with still images and students could send the pics directly to Flickr.com to a class account with a generic login. They can add the pics to sets with accompanying descriptions. By having several options and by getting the students involved in creating resources - even while collecting evidence of their own aptitude, you are saving the teachers time as they don't have to create everything. Do these suggestions appeal?
Even so, some 100% correct and more professional resources produced for use on the ipad will still be very valuable for access in the classroom.