Using Mobile Devices in the Classroom
Tips and Ideas
Before First Class
Designing the Learning Environment
Blackboard Course Set-Up
Ensure that your Blackboard course is set up according to Algonquin
College’s minimum expectations (AA 42)
Minimum Expectations for the Use of Blackboard (link)
Plan Your Communications
Determine how you communicate with students and encourage
students to communicate with each other via Blackboard and other
tools.
Ideas and “How-to’s”

Reminders, Updates, and Important Messages Using
Announcements

Visual Class Schedule with Due Dates

Course FAQ's Using a Wiki or Discussion Board

Virtual Office Hours
First Week
Course Orientation
Ensure students complete Technology Quick Start
Getting students technically set up with their laptop and network
access as soon as possible is key for ensuring they don’t fall behind.
Ideas and “How-to’s”

Technology Quick Start for New Students (link)

Helping Students Get Off to a Strong Start (pdf)
Set expectations for laptop use with students
Managing student expectations in terms of when and how
laptops/devices will be used will set the stage for a productive class
environment.
Ideas and “How-to’s”

Draft: Louisa Lambregts, March 13, 2012
Contract with Students (link to come)
Review ground rules (e.g. social media only during 5 minute
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Using Mobile Devices in the Classroom
Tips and Ideas
social media break; laptop lids down during lecturettes etc.,)
Can have students brainstorm their own class expectations
and consequences for contravention:
(e.g. from light-hearted to formal response to repeated
contravention)

Orientation Assignment About “Mobile Etiquette”
(link to come)
Highlight how understanding “the right time and place” for
various online activity is important for the workplace as well
as the classroom. Videos or case studies where students
identify appropriate and inappropriate etiquette.

Laptop Infraction Tickets (link to come)
(e.g. School of Business and Photography issue tickets if
laptops used inappropriately in class)

Participation Marks
Allocate participation marks that include marks for
preparedness in class and appropriate use of laptops in class
– as agreed to and communicate via the Classroom Contract.
Assess students’ comfort-level with technology
Understanding when and how a student uses technology can inform
decisions concerning how to organize learning activities.
This is especially helpful in Level I when you may have a range of
comfort levels with computers. It is good to identify the “super
users” (who may be helpful as technical assistants in the classroom)
and “relative newbies” who, for example, may be mature individuals
more accustomed to working with their hands than with computers.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Blackboard Survey (link to come with sample questions.)
Ask questions to gauge: what devices students have, how they use
them etc.)
(Add to first week)
Consider how students will do note taking
Consider when and how you would like students to take notes with
their laptops.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Draft: Louisa Lambregts, March 13, 2012
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Using Mobile Devices in the Classroom
Tips and Ideas
Practice Note-taking Activity (link to come)
Have students practice techniques for taking notes during
lecturettes and presentations.
(e.g. http://voices.yahoo.com/tips-taking-notes-laptop-311863.html
http://www.neverthebook.com/264/5-tips-for-taking-notes-onyour-laptop.html …)
Interactive Notetaking (link to come)
Using tools such as Evernote and MS OneNote (which sync and are
accessible across various devices), students could take on individual
and group assignments where their notes are assessed. Also models
collaborative research and writing in the workplace.
Conduct Ice Breakers using laptop/device, digital cameras etc.
Allow you and your students to get to know each other better with
simple digital biography projects or SMS activities. With a laptop, it
is easy to take and upload pictures
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Interactive Poll (link to come)
Create a discussion question that students can respond to on laptop
and/or phone using Poll Everywhere.
Sticky Note Programs
Use free web tool , such as Wallwisher for activities such as:
1) Topics are posted on virtual “sticky note” and students can add
their comments
2) Students can each post a sticky which includes 3 facts about
themselves – one of which is false. As a class or in small groups,
individuals can guess “the false fact”.
Personal Bio
Within Blackboard’s discussion board, blog or wiki, student can
create post/entry that answers questions about themselves.
To help you learn their names, have them take a picture of
themselves with the camera on their laptop, and upload that into
discussion board Bio post.
In turn, they can read entry of another student and respond to
someone with a similar interest.
Draft: Louisa Lambregts, March 13, 2012
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Using Mobile Devices in the Classroom
Tips and Ideas
During the Course
Classroom Management
Revisit class expectations for using laptop/devices
Reinforcement of expectations may need to happen for them to be
adopted consistently.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Myth of Multi-tasking Activity
(e.g. like this sample activity: The Monkey Business Illusion:
http://youtu.be/IGQmdoK_ZfY. Goal is to show that we’re really not
capable of multi-tasking – rather, we “switch tasks”. In doing so, we
spread our attention across tasks, thus leading to errors and missed
information.)
Provide a social media break
Allow students to check into Facebook or other social media
accounts. This helps to reinforce that there is a time and place for
personal technology use in the workplace.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Social Media Break (link to come)
Use online timer on screen at front of the class and set for 3-5
minutes.
Tracking Attendance
What Did You Learn? Wiki, Blog, or Discussion Board (link to come)
A wiki or Discussion Board could be preset to come on 10 minutes
before class begins. Final log in would be 10 minutes after the
beginning of class. It would allow for students to see posts from
other students of what they learned/put into practice and also be a
bit of a review. It would also be a measurement of attendance.
A Gradebook column can be created for the wiki or discussion
board. After class, you can record student attendance for that class
as a running total. For example, students who are there can be
given a mark. Perfect attendance will be a mark of 15. Individuals
who were legitimately absent (e.g. notified you appropriately) can
still be given a mark. The column can be excluded from the overall
Gradebook calculations. Or, it can be factored in depending on the
evaluation scheme for the course.
Draft: Louisa Lambregts, March 13, 2012
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Using Mobile Devices in the Classroom
Tips and Ideas
Managing Technical Issues
Prepare for the unexpected
Just like in a regular face to face class, technical glitches can happen.
Prepare alternate delivery or back-up plans for things such as: poor
wireless connectivity, Blackboard outage, students forgetting their
power cord etc.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Bring files on USB?
Encourage students to help each other troubleshoot
Take the onus for troubleshooting technical issues off of yourself and
have technically capable students provide assistance. This allows you
to stay focused on the class activity.
Ideas and “How-to’s”

Course FAQ's Using a Wiki or Discussion Board
(link to come)
Students answer each others questions.

Identify Student Assistants (via Technical Survey) who can
help other students if they have laptop troubles.
Creating a Productive Class Flow
Support the use of common file management practices . A lot of
class time can be wasted with students looking for files. Adopting a
common folder structure for the course can help.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
File Management Tutorial (link to come)
Create a File Management how-to video or tip sheet for students.
They can review this on their own and, for homework, duplicate the
structure on their own laptops.
Engagement/Active Learning Activities
Polling
Tools such as PollEverywhere and Interactive Classroom allow you
to post a question, have students respond in class, and see the
aggregate results immediately.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Draft: Louisa Lambregts, March 13, 2012
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Using Mobile Devices in the Classroom
Tips and Ideas
Interactive Poll (link to come)
Create a discussion question that students can respond to on laptop
and/or phone using Poll Everywhere.
Have students find information and definitions on the web
themselves
Rather than provide direct links to web resources within Blackboard ,
direct students to search for the site themselves. This is a good
opportunity to reinforce effective web research skills.
Can provide worksheet templates to support these activities too.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Web Searches (link to come)
Ask students to look for particular resources. In small groups, they
can compare results, select (according to criteria) what they
consider to be the best result and describe how they arrived at their
decision. Can also compare web searches with different search
engines.
Laptop “Think-Pair-Share”
Pose a discussion question to pairs (or groups). Have them discuss
the question. The designated recorder can write the key notes
within either a document on their laptop or as a post within
Blackboard’s discussion board and present to the whole class.
Jigsaw Group Projects
Each member of a group is asked to complete some discrete part of
an assignment; when every member has completed his assigned
task, the pieces can be joined together to form a finished project.
This activity can be managed using Blackboard’s wiki tool.
Brainstorming
Students, within partners or small groups, can brainstorm solutions
to problems, sketch our outlines for projects etc. on their laptops.
Using a desktop sharing application such as Join.me, they can
project their brainstorming on –screen and present their work.
Collaborative Problem Solving or Sequence Identification
As a teacher, start out a problem or a sequence and share with
students via a desktop sharing program like Join.me. Allow students
take turns being the “presenter” where individually, they can
indicate the next step.
What is the muddiest or clearest point? Allow students to provide
Draft: Louisa Lambregts, March 13, 2012
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Using Mobile Devices in the Classroom
Tips and Ideas
feedback about the lesson they just had within as a journal or
discussion board entry within Blackboard.
Encourage students to help each other with homework and
learning support
Create a learning community that encourages students to support
each other. This may help to reduce email questions, fosters
problem-solving and instill self-directed learning. Various tools and
techniques can support this kind of activity.
Ideas and “How-to’s”

Course Homework Support Wiki or Discussion Board
(link to come)

Encourage Students to Meet Out of Class Virtually or in
Mobile Learning Areas (link to come)
Virtual meeting spaces, via BB Collaborate, could be
created within Blackboard and available for students to
use. Or, they can use Skype or other tools they prefer.

Organize Tutorial Sessions (link to come)
Organize virtual tutorial session and, over time, have older
students or tutors run these sessions.
Social learning and class participation
Collaborative information sharing can be facilitated via a wiki. One
or two students could be tasked per task with finding a current
events article on the web or a helpful resource and
sharing it on a class wiki with brief annotation.
Ideas and “How-to’s”

Class Resource Wiki
Assignment could be for students to add annotated entries
to a course wiki.

Glossary
Assignment could be for students to add annotated entries
to a course wiki.
Extended Class Discussions
Revisit or continue either in-class or asynchronous discussion A
discussion started in a forum on Blackboard can be reviewed in class.
Or, vice versa.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Draft: Louisa Lambregts, March 13, 2012
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Using Mobile Devices in the Classroom
Tips and Ideas

Continue the Discussion (link to come)
Design assignments that allow students to continue in class
discussion in class or online discussions in class.
Independent Projects and Assignments
Independent/self-paced work
Students can work on project work or skills-based tutorials in class
and get immediate help, customized help from you or their peers.
Create or Find Links to How-To Video Tutorials (link to come)
Students can review short how-to videos and learning objects in
class. Then, attempt to work on an assignment. If they get stuck,
instructor can assist them.
Class Treated as Lab Time {Flipped Class] (link to come)
Students work on group or individual assignments or projects and
get assistance or direction from instructor.
Group Projects and Assignments
Collaborative web tools can facilitate group work and projects
Tools such as Google Docs, Windows Live, and One Note allow
students to work on the same documents more easily. They can also
use other cloud-based programs to share files.
Project Management Techniques Via Collaborative Tools
(link to
come)
Students are shown and encouraged to use collaborative tools to
support the project or assignment process at various stages.
Ideas please!!!
Group and class brainstorming
Students can flowchart or create visuals of their ideas on a common
whiteboard that is shared between a small group or an entire class.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Group or Class Brainstorming (link to come)
Leading or Capturing Main Points of Discussions (link to come)
Summary Notes via Concept Mapping (link to come)
Have students take 5 minutes to summarize the key points of an
article, discussion or lecturette using PowerPoint or a concept
mapping tool. Student could share their work using Use program
Draft: Louisa Lambregts, March 13, 2012
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Using Mobile Devices in the Classroom
Tips and Ideas
such as join.me. (see below).
In-class facilitation
Have a tablet/iPad? Walk around the classroom
Tablets can make you mobile while you are demonstrating
something on the main projector or with individual or groups of
students.
Ideas and “How-to’s”
Quick Polls (link to come)
Students can indicate yes or know in a chart you created.
Take picture of student work and project for class to see (link to
come)
Desktop Sharing
Students watch what you demonstrate on their own laptop.
It can be difficult for students to see what you are demonstrating on
screen due to poor lighting, small resolution, and being far from the
front of class. Desktop sharing can allow students to better see what
you are trying to demonstrate by projecting that directly on their
own laptop screen.
Desktop Sharing (link to come)
Use program such as join.me to show your students something on
your computer.
Students demo their work from their laptop
Student work can be projected on the classroom’s main screen
through tools like join.me.
Desktop Sharing (link to come)
Students can program such as join.me to share with class something
on their computer.
Other Considerations/Ideas
Lesson Plan Template
Help teachers plan in-class activities with laptops
Headsets
Part of expectations – may want to ensure students have headset with them.
Draft: Louisa Lambregts, March 13, 2012
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