2. What defines a
Smartphone?
No official definition
But widely known for:
Advanced computing ability and connectivity
Portable media players
Camera functions
High-resolution touch screens
Web browsers that can access and properly
display standard web pages
Wi-Fi capabilities and mobile broadband access
Access to software applications with a multitude
of uses
4. So Why Smartphones?
They are already here
Student motivation
Student understanding
They combine the functions of many
different technologies into one
Extend the learning process outside of
the classroom
5. They’re Here!
Depending on the grade level, many
students already have access to
Smartphones.
According to MobiThinking.com there are over
5.3 billion mobile subscribers (77 percent of the
world’s population)
Although the majority of these are “feature
phones” and not “Smartphones”
According to NPD.com, in the USA, sales of
Smartphones overtook feature phones in 2011,
(54% -46%)
Granted, most student users would be in the
higher grades
6. They’re Here!
Benefits for Education
Although not all students have access to
Smartphones, many will, and as numbers
project, the amount of students with access
will continue to increase.
As a result, it is a cheaper technology to
implement
○ Not every student must be provided with one
by the school
7. Student Understanding and
Motivation
Most students today have grown up as
part of the “digital generation”
They have been exposed to advanced
computing technology since birth.
Anya Kamenetz writes about a pair of twin
girls who have been using an iPhone since
they were 6 months old, and are starting to
read at 18 months thanks to an app called
“First Words”
Students’ understanding of technology is
largely inherent
8. Student Understanding and
Motivation
Kamenetz explains that children
nowadays ”don't have that barrier that
technology is hard or that they can't figure
it out.” (Kamenetz, 2010)
Due to the interactivity of mobile devices,
even students without mobile access often
have an understanding of how to use the
technology by learning from peers or
parents.
Bonus: Students love to use their phones.
9. Student Understanding and
Motivation
Benefits for Education
Many students already know how to use the
technology
○ Less instruction time wasted
Students can teach each other how to use it
○ Independent learning
Students like using their phones
○ Utilize as a positive learning tool, instead of a
distraction
10. Multiple Functions
Smartphones can combine the functions
of:
Cameras
Video Cameras
Telephones
Calculators
PCs/Laptops
GPS’
Audio recorders
Many, many more
11. Multiple Functions
Benefits to Education
Instead of buying Flip cameras, video
cameras, laptops, calculators and various
other technologies, Schools can consolidate
these technologies into one:
○ Smartphones
In a world of increasing cutbacks for
education, it is smart to conserve money
where we can
12. Learning Outside the
Classroom
Smartphones allow students to take
their school work anywhere with
them and complete it at any time.
Students have busy lives!
○ With sports, dance, clubs, lessons and a
multitude of other responsibilities,
students’ lives are hectic.
Smartphones give students the ability to
do school work on the way to the rink,
or in the waiting room at the dentist.
13. Learning Outside the
Classroom
With cloud computing
technology, students can store their
work online in the “cloud”
They can text, skype, call, or email
eachother
This allows increased collaboration, and
eases pressure of meeting outside of class
for group projects.
14. Learning Outside the
Classroom
Benefits for Education
Work can be done anywhere at anytime
○ Lifts restraints of limited class time
○ Instruction can be given in podcast or video form
to be accessed anywhere.
Creates accountability for absent students as well as
those who attend regularly.
Students can work together with more ease
○ Better collaboration and social behaviour
Parents can monitor students grades and
homework
Students can track school events, deadlines and
other important dates
15. Challenges
Funding
Having already spent so much money on
computing technology, school’s will be wary about
abandoning it for Smartphones
The digital divide in each class and school is
different, and funding has to be allocated
accordingly
Teacher Education
Teachers need to be taught how to use
Smartphone technology to teach effectively
Supervision
Student access to inappropriate material is
difficult to filter.
16. Conclusion
Although they face many difficulties in
their implementation, Smartphones
could potentially be the next great piece
of technology to inspire real learning in
our classrooms!
17. Audio for Presentation
I will pause speaking to allow the viewer
know that we have moved on to the next
slide.
18. Bibliography
Fearrington, C. (2011, October 8). Smartphones in Education
[Web log message]. Retrieved
from http://chrisfearrington.com/blog/2011/10/08/smartphones-
in-education/
Kamenetz, A. (2010, April 1). A Is for App: How
Smartphones, Handheld Computers Sparked an Educational
Revolution. Retrieved from
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/144/a-is-for-app.html
MobiThinking. (2011) Global mobile statistics 2011: all quality
mobile marketing research, mobile Web stats, subscribers, ad
revenue, usage, trends… http://mobithinking.com/mobile-
marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats
The NPD Group, Inc. (2011) Verizon's iPhone Sales Help Make
Apple the Third-Largest Mobile Phone Brand in the U.S.
Retrieved
from https://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_110428.html
Smartphone. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October
17, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone
