Curriki

BYOD in the Classroom

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janetpic_preferredBy Janet Pinto, Chief Academic Officer, Curriki

Most elementary and secondary students are using mobile devices in their studies, either in the classroom or at home, according to a study by Pearson. The study polled more than 2,300 American students in grades 4 through 12 (aged 8 to 18) and found that almost one-third of students already own a tablet and 43 percent own a smartphone.

Pearson Student Mobile Study Device Survey 2013 Grades 4-12 Infographic 

In fact, the survey found that seven in ten students would like to use mobile devices more often in their classrooms. The rise of mobile devices in the classroom will be greatly aided by the ConnectED initiative’s planned E-Rate Reform in the U.S. which will help connect more students and provide faster access to Internet in schools, paving the way for digital learning resources.

Geometry Course Designed for Mobile Devices

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This week, Curriki announced the Curriki Geometry website  where usability and page design for its innovative Project Based Learning (PBL) geometry curriculum is optimized for mobile devices.

Available for free, students and teachers now have access to a geometry curriculum that is designed to meet the needs of students born in a global, interactive, digitally-connected world.

Curriki Geometry is a set of six Common Core Aligned projects delivered in a mobile-optimized web environment with access points for students and teachers.

Geometry_mobile

Teachers are provided with pacing guides, formative assessments, rubrics, guidance on managing a PBL project, tools to help teachers guide students as they learn to collaborate with each other, and reflection tools for both students and teachers.

Please share this new resource with friends and colleagues and let us know what you think!

Smartphones in the Classroom

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By Kim Jones, CEO, Curriki

Is there a role, or more properly stated, what is the role for smartphones and tablets such as the iPad in the classroom? A recent report on National Public Radio in the U.S. looked into the increasing usage of mobile devices in support of learning in classroom settings.

You can access the related blog, and the audio and transcript of the report, at n.pr/Py5ryu. The report notes that:

Allowing mobile technology in class has an ‘inevitable march of progress’ feel to it, like when calculators were first allowed. And in classrooms around the country, this change is already occurring.

As the photo suggests, change is is already occurring around the world, in this case Korea. The government in Thailand has purchased almost a million tablets for elementary school students.

Here’s a list of 10 North American K-12 schools allowing smartphones in the classroom. For example, one district in North Carolina allows students to use mobile devices in their algebra and other math courses, for calculation, for accessing math instruction videos on the web (think Khan academy and other instructional videos found on Curriki) and for other course-related purposes. Students there are reporting greater confidence in their math skills and more than half are considering careers in math-related fields. In another district in North Carolina, high school students with smartphone access scored 25% better in their end-of-year algebra exam than students not using smartphones in class.

Curriki supports the appropriate use of these devices in order to enhance learning, including by students in the classroom, and of course our substantial library of open educational resources is available for access by smartphones and tablet computers. This includes Curriki’s recently introduced open source Algebra 1 course.

We would be interested to hear your feedback and experiences regarding the successes and challenges you are seeing with student use of smartphones and tablets in your classrooms.

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