Omar+final+reflection

In a story called Fish is Fish a fish met a frog, the fish asked the frog to describe the land. The frog agreed but the fish could not grasp what the land really like. The fish kept imagining fish-like creatures and a sea-like world.

When Mobile Learning class begun it was not difficult to see the parallels between the fish and myself. As I was reading the weekly materials and completing the weekly assignments it was obvious that I was thinking of mobile learning through my experiences of traditional learning. Consciously or unconsciously, I was imaging a mobile learning that was restricted with the classroom walls, classroom time frame, and within traditional, teacher-centered pedagogy.

I remember the moment when I found the first hole in the wall. It was in the third week when I was reading the weekly material about e-books. I watched a video about World Reader initiative and I found that they use e-readers and mobile phones to deliver reading material to African countries in their native languages. Until today, they have distributed more than 700 thousand e-books. I could not but wondering: how much it will cost (time and money) if we decided to send 700 thousand tangible books to African countries? World Reader initiative demonstrates how it is possible to achieve a new level of abundance in the world through the right use of technology. A paradigm shift has occurred to me. Mobile learning, as I gradually start to understand, is not about using new tools in the classroom, it is a new mode for teaching and learning.

Back to our little story, I believe if the fish was able to learn about the world of the land she will at the same time learn new things about being a fish because when learning occurred we learn three things: first, we learn the new content, second, we learn about learning itself (how to make it happened), and last, we learn about ourselves.

** What did you learn about yourself (as a person) as a result of participating in this class (good and bad)? **

I learned that working under pressure is not my strength point. When I had to do the Google apps assignment I did not do good because I started late and the assignment was more difficult than the rest of the weekly assignments. On the other hand, I am so proud of my podcast assignment; I guess because I was relaxed because I had two weeks to work on it.


 * What did you learn about being a teacher from creating your products? **

I learned that as a teacher my main task is to create emotional experiences that burn the new knowledge, skills, and perspectives into my student's mind. Merely imposing the facts is useless, if not harmful. Watching the videos on this class (especially the squirrels videos in the first week) was mesmerizing. I was glad to try to make my own video in the sixth week assignment. My main goal from the video was to create an emotional experience that make the massage last.


 * What you are most proud of as a result of doing your products? **

Although this is hard to admit, but I think I was not creative with my lesson plans before this class. In this class we had to write many lesson plans. I decided in this class to be creative with every lesson plan I write, no matter what. I am very proud with the lesson plans that I came up with. They are not ideal, they can be better, but I obviously see how much I improved in writing my lesson plans in this class.


 * What you would do differently next time you use technology? **

One of the great lessons of mobile learning class is that learning can, and should, be contextual using mobile devices. For instance, instead of teaching students about art, they can go to museums and take their smartphones with them and use it to take pictures of the artifacts, write reflection, share notes, and also use augmented reality apps that can interact with the museum in real-time and give them information. Confining teaching within the classroom walls make the education out of context. What I would do next time I use technology is to try to make me lesson plans match the right context using the right technology.
 * What you are most concerned about with using technology and how you will overcome obstacles with technology? **

I am most concerned with students’ access to the required technologies. To overcome this obstacle I will use Bring Your Own Device policy. Student will be allowed to use their own devices in the class so the number of the students who do not have the required devices will be much less and managing the problem will become easier. ** What you are most concerned (and intrigued) about with teaching and how you will overcome obstacles? **  I believe that the most important things that we learned in schools, and in life in general, are unstructured. We do not have words for it but it is there. For instance, I cannot teach a student the definition of riding a bike and expect her to ride a bike successfully. I always like to give the example of the parents and children. Think of the best things you have learned from you parents; did they teach it to you? Or did you observe it and learn it through your interactions with them?

I am always concerned about how to deliver this unstructured knowledge to my students. How can I give them something that in its nature is wordless? My assumption is that I cannot teach that but I can create the conditions for it to happened. The way to do that is to create a community of learning. A community is not a crowd. Community is a group of people that have something in common and relate to each other. In that community they will interact with each other, observe each other, and imitate each other. Eventually they will learn those important things that are wordless.


 * What you are most excited or intrigued about with regards to using technology? **

Technology is a fantastic tool to create community of learners. Forums, instant massaging, social networks, wikis, and many others are ideal tools for this purpose. Synchronous and asynchronous tools provide platforms that suite different personalities. Introverts will have the chance to participate in the discussion, second language learners will have chance to formulate their words, busy students will have the flexible time to participate, and all students will have enough time to ponder and reflect.


 * Which century will you teach in--the twentieth or twenty-first and what indicators will be present that most epitomize your classroom? **

I will teach in the twenty-first century. To teach in this century, to my assumption, is to reflect the globalization of our age in the class. Indicator for that includes; discussions of international issues, understanding other cultures’ ideas and views, appreciation of the technologies that make globalization possible, etc.


 * What difference will you make? **

I want to teach my students to be compassionate. That is it. Nothing else. I believe in Rousseau’s quote, “What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” As I see it, compassion is the granddaddy of all virtues. In a world of individual and narrowed success, I want my students to seek collective and true achievements; achievements that make an impact on other’s lives.