Journal #4

"From Toy to Tool" by Liz Kolb

In this article, Kolb gives an example of a time in her life when she thought that cell phones should be banned from classrooms and schools. She then realized that cell phones were devices that students used to interact with the world around them. Kolb decided that “as educators we can help students to use their everyday ‘toy’ as a ‘tool’ for constructing knowledge”. Through cell phones, students can develop multimedia projects, create blogs, and audioblog. Audioblogging allows students to conduct interviews and post those interviews to a blog through their cell phones. Cool features could then be used to edit each interview. These interviews can be subject matter specific. Cool, right? Well, there are, however, some concerns with audioblogging. Worries include privacy, copyright, cost, and control issues. Kolb points out that the benefits of audioblogging outweigh the concerns, and that integrating technologies that students use in their social lives will help them discover that they can also use these same devices for meaningful learning.

Questions...
1. Would I be able to use Audioblogging in my physical education class?
I think that it would be a neat idea for kids to conduct an interview with their cell phones, regarding health or athletics, and then be able to post it onto their blog for the rest of the class to see and learn from.

2. Besides cell phones, what’s an example of another “Toy” that could be used as a “Tool” in my classroom?
I think that “podcasts” could be used to send out announcements and assignments to my students. Students with ipods can hook them up to their computer and schedule audio downloads when updates are available.