I’ve long been a fan of voting systems (eg. Turning Point, Quizdom) because of their capacity to add interactivity into formative assessment. The trouble is, though, that such systems cost – generally, around £2000 for 16 handsets. Many of us have hoped that voting in this way might become possible using mobile phones (not actually free, but a lot cheaper!), and now it seems that this is a reality.
For a start, there is the option of using a text wall (eg. xlearn: http://www.xlearn.co.uk/sms.htm) in which sms text responses are displayed on a web-site, and visible to all participants with screen & projector. There is a cost to this, but quite low for a standard service. At this level of service, text entry is possible, so words, numbers, ‘yes/no’ etc can be viewed, though there is no analysis of responses and hence no graphs etc (this can be done, but at greater cost).

Another option that I have just discovered (via the e-Assessment Association newsletter) is to use Twitter. Power-Point Twitter tools, developed by Timo Elliott, allow Tweets to be input into power-point slides. If Tweets with a unique ‘voting string’ are made in response to a question, eg. multiple choice, the tool can feed data into charts/graphs (Tweets can be made from a mobile device as well as a PC). The tool can be downloaded from the SAP Web 2.0 web-site at http://tinyurl.com/yecmh86 : it’s basically a power-point presentation from which you can copy and paste slides (they have to be in ‘presentation’ or ‘slide-show’ mode to be fully functional). In addition to the ‘Twitter voting’ slide, there is a ‘Twitter feedback’ slide that displays Tweets in speech balloons, and a ‘Twitter Ticker bar’ that can be embedded into a Power-Point master slide to give real-time ticker-tape updates. I have tested all of these, and they work (hurray!), though there is sometimes a bit of delay as Twitter updates. These options are not quite as slick as using an up-to-date voting system, but they’re not bad, and definitely worth trying.

For many teachers and educational institutions, mobiles phones are things to be banned, and there’s no doubt that their use can be discourteous or even disruptive, and there may also be concerns about their safety. However, mobiles can be great educational tools, and as devices evolve  they provide an increasing range of teaching and learning possibilities.

What can they do now? Helen’s January posting on Go Mobile! gives a lot of information, and so does the section on mobiles in the Horizon 2009 report. Here are a few examples: pictures and video recordings to show the results of experiments & fieldtrips in science; custom calculators for maths, engineering;  audio recordings in music, languages; custom content packages for ‘on the spot’ reference eg. medicine, construction; custom content packages for language learning; GPS software for Geography activities; use of bluetooth/online services for video-streaming and accessing information remotely (eg. GeoHistorian project at Kent State University); use of texting for institutional communication.

The application that I’m waiting for is ‘voting’ as in ‘voting systems’ or ‘audience response systems’. This is already happening, for example, ‘VotApedia’  in Australia, and using iPhones in the US. I think this type of application will help tip the balance in favour of using mobiles in classroom situations – mobiles will be a curse unless they’re kept busy educationally (bit like students, really!)