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It’s ‘Game On’ for mobile. Is your school ready?

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012 Dale

This summer we saw live coverage of the Olympics delivered to mobile devices like never before. While the process wasn’t perfect for everyone, we can expect things to be even better for mobile viewers when the winter games start up in Russia.

It’s safe to say that the world of sports has become mobile friendly. ESPN now considers the phone their ‘first screen’ when they design web content. All the professional sports have gone mobile too.

It’s not just sports. People are beginning to expect everything that is online to be available when they’re browsing on a mobile device. President Obama agrees. In a statement back in May, the president ordered U.S. government agencies to create a mobile plan for the delivery of their services that will be implemented in one year.

In his memo, President Obama states:

Americans deserve a government that works for them anytime, anywhere, and on any device.

This is a challenge for our schools too. Recently I was talking to one of the other dads at our neighborhood elementary school. While our kids played in the distance, he said, “I’m always on the road for work. If I can’t read something on this (pointing to his phone) I’m probably never going to see it.” My friend isn’t alone. As more and more parents, teachers, and students are accessing the web via mobile devices, they will expect to find our school services available in a format that is mobile friendly.

Take a look at your classroom web pages, online progress reports, and other web based services. Do they work on a mobile phone? If not, it’s time to look for a replacement tool that does.

When using QR codes, make sure your punch line is worth it

January 9, 2012January 24, 2012 Dale 1 Comment

QR codes have been turning up everywhere from the billboard at the bus stop to the back of the ketchup bottle at your favorite restaurant. These blocky little squares are beefed up barcodes that anyone with a smartphone can scan.

Watch this video to learn how they work
Use this site to create your own

We’re starting to see them pop up in classrooms too. We now have QR code scavenger hunts, periodic tables, and worksheets.

QR codes are great for passing long URLs to your students’ devices. I think they work best when you want to conceal information for a period of time while the students try to solve a problem you have given them. For example, let students scan the QR code for a hint on a difficult problem or create a guess and check bulletin board to review a recent lesson.

However, are they always worth the time? QR codes are not as quick as they’re name (quick response) makes them sound. They are not worth the time for short messages that your students could probably type in faster than scanning. They are especially slow if your students do not already have the app required to read the codes installed on their device. You risk losing your lesson tinkering with technology for technology sake.

McKee Floyd, director of brand development for Sweetgreen, said it best when he spoke with NPR:

The issue I have with QR codes is that marketing is a little bit like telling a joke, and the longer the joke, the better the punch line has to be — and [using] QR code is a really long joke

I think the same is true in the classroom. If you’re going to use QR codes with students, make sure your punch line is worth it.

Are you texting enough in school?

September 27, 2011January 29, 2012 Dale 2 Comments

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in the spring:

Young adults are the most avid texters by a wide margin. Cell owners between the ages of 18 and 24 exchange an average of 109.5 messages on a normal day—that works out to more than 3,200 texts per month—and the typical or median cell owner in this age group sends or receives 50 messages per day (or 1500 messages per month).

Here’s how the rest of the nation breaks down.