Saturday, May 7, 2016

Personal Learning Network

The Mobile Phone Camera in Educational Settings




Goal Statement
With my online personal learning network, I am seeking to educate myself about the evolution of the mobile phone camera and its current use in educational settings. The quality of mobile phone cameras has only continued to progress, and I want to try and possibly relate its progression to past/present/future educational usage.

Resource Networks

Websites and Apps:
Edutopia

DigitalTrends.com

Tech Crunch

YouTube

Juxtaposer


People:
Colin Young, Chicago-based app developer

Moneythink, financial literacy education group

Team Polymathic, software consulting firm


Books and Articles:

Software/Services: 

  • Smartphones! (iPhone most specifically) 
  • Developer Dinner (a free service where developers meet over dinner at Polymathic)



Summary of Outcomes:
      My online resources helped familiarize me with the history of mobile camera phones. According to the fantastic “timeline” on http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/camera-phone-history/, the first mobile phone with a built-in camera was made by Samsung and released in South Korea in 2000… Only sixteen years ago. This camera was essentially an entirely separate attachment on a mobile phone. I found it interesting that it was not until November 2002 that the United States integrated digital cameras into a $400 Sprint phone, called the Sanyo SCP-5300; it then took less than a year for camera phones to rival DVD player sales. My history lesson continued with the 2014 journal article “Photo Filter Apps: Understanding Analogue Nostalgia in the New Media Ecology” by Elena Caoduro, in which it was mentioned that by “July 2013, however, sales of digital cameras in the United States of America started to fall both in terms of revenue and in unit shipments, as more consumers turn to smartphones with high-resolution cameras to take snapshots and share them instantly through social media.”
      This concept of social media and its inherent relationship with the mobile camera phone was enhanced by my findings in The Camera Phone Book, which introduced me to the concept of “Moblogs.” Much like photo blogs, a moblog is a weblog whose content purely originates from mobile phones and other portable wireless devices. While its popularity peaked around 2007, the tool continues on with websites such as www.moblog.net. An article published around this same year by Thomas Cochrane, entitled “Mobile Blogging: A Guide for Educators,” stated that, “A mobile (m-learning) pedagogical model will focus upon enhancing communication, collaboration, and will be student-centred.” I believe the possibilities for “m-learning” has only continued to advance in the almost decade that has followed.
      One such outcome of connected learning using mobile and camera-enabled technology includes “Moneythink Mobile.” One of the company’s most useful developments has been this social media app, which is a kind of “gamified Instagram” that offers students incentives to practice money management skills; they earn points and social affirmation in the form of “likes” and comments on pictures uploaded to the app of items they either saved money on or are saving for. Opportunities for instantaneous teachable moments like this would not have been possible without camera-enabled, wireless smartphones.

My PLN Future:
      When I began the process of creating my PLN, I was inspired by my personal inclination for the art of visual storytelling. My educational background is in theater and art history, two fields that require an understanding of synthesizing and sharing information in interesting yet informative ways. Additionally, my personal history as the daughter of a professional photographer, whose work has transitioned from film to digital, further heightens this interest in visual storytelling. I asked questions starting out that included, “What are we losing in this transition of technology, and what are we gaining?” and “How has the photography industry changed as well, in sales and in technological advances to compete with portable phone cameras?”
      This first question of loss and gain was not answered entirely through my research, but is aiding in my thesis exploration on the link between photography and nostalgia. I believe my working on my PLN will help me transition into next year’s thesis fieldwork, specifically thinking of having students engage in a kind of “moblog” that is specific to our classroom. This mobile camera-specific blog site is interesting to me because it’s kind of “pure,” like a photo album, rather than how images are used on social media sites to specifically gain “likes,” comments, and followers. However, I will have to think of how technology will work in the CPS classroom setting, as I understand they do not have a “BYOD” policy where students can use their own smartphones and devices in school. Furthermore, Elena Caoduro’s article, “Photo Filter Apps: Understanding Analogue Nostalgia in the New Media Ecology,” has been highly influential in my thoughts regarding smartphone camera aesthetics, and has led me to question how to bring nostalgic analogue photographic practices into photography classes for high school students. Do we need “filters” on digital cameras, as Caoduro mentions apps like Instagram are based on, or can the images speak for themselves through content and framing alone?
      As a future teacher, I will work to find ways to utilize smartphone and digital gadget cameras into curriculum because this technology is essential— so, let’s use it, not ignore it! Beyond the obvious social media sites that allow for and encourage the uploading of pictures taken on a user’s smartphone, I’m intrigued by apps such as Volley, which scan a document and “highlight” key information. If we turn what an app deems “important” on its head, how would that look in an art classroom? I also really enjoy photography apps, such as “Juxtaposer,” which allows for the layering and experimentation of altering digital photographs directly on a smartphone. It brings a bit of the handcrafted appeal back to photo editing because one’s finger is used to make all edits on the phone’s touchscreen.
      Ultimately, I see the benefit of personal learning networks being a kind of touchstone for projects and self-development. It’s nice to see my resources mapped out in one location, and I look forward to growing this PLN in the months (and even years) to follow!

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