augmented reality edushifts mobilelearning cell phones qrcodesI’ve had this growing interest lately in QR codes and their application to education.  I’m quickly coming to the realization at how useful QR codes can be in education and how these little graphical icons can make mobile learning a little easier for teachers to incorporate with students.  Here is a list of some websites that I’ve accessed recently on the topic. MORE >>

Museums have started to take advantage of the growing number of people with cell phones, by providing self-paced tours on cell phones. Museum patrons can dial a number and instantly get an audio tour (some even have image and video options for cell phones that can handle those types of media). few resources online that provide this service (for a fee) include Museum411 , Guide by Cell , and Spatial Adventures (free 30 day trial). These tours could be enhanced by developing a tour that includes images and/or large text on the mobile phone. MORE >>

CTIA-The Wireless Association® in conjunction with Harris Interactive has released some new research on cell phone use by teenagers (Release: September 12th, 2008). There were 100 questions about cell phones, perceptions, and attitudes. Below I have highlighted some interesting findings 57% agree or somewhat agree that the cell phone has improved their quality of life. 18% agree or somewhat agree that the cell phone has positively influenced their education. 28% of teens are browsing the web on their cell phones. MORE >>

Most of the scavenger hunt type applications online only use smartphones, so it is fantastic to come across one that is more accessible (since over 60% of cell phone users still have basic phones). Thank you to Jeffrey Branzburg for pointing me towards a resource called SCVNGR. In SCVNGR you can participate in or create your own mobile scavenger hunts. The great aspect of this application is that you can use it with basic text messaging (no GPS or smartphone required) OR you can use it with an iPhone! It is very easy to create your own SMS scavenger hunts. MORE >>

Of course, teacher may be very uncomfortable sharing their phone number with students and this is a very legitimate concern.  More about this service can be found in my blog post Polling by Cell Phone – Can We Completely By-Pass Clickers? Therefore, everyday tools such as cell phones and text messaging can be utilized to gain that precious feedback required to ensure that students are learning.  Disclaimer #1 : The ideas suggested here use the text messaging features of a cell phone.  Another tool is text messaging. What do you think? MORE >>