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Natural Awakenings National

High-Tech Teachers: Students Use Smartphones to Study

Highlighting the potential for digital learning, a new survey by the Verizon Foundation has found that a third of middle school students are already using mobile apps on smartphones to do schoolwork and collaborate with peers on projects. Beyond accessing information via the Internet, students often turn to free apps to play games that help them master math concepts, virtually dissect an animal or analyze clouds and concepts of condensation and more.

The Verizon Foundation offers training to educators on integrating mobile technology into lesson plans by partnering with the nonprofit Technology Student Association and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Together, they are sponsoring the Innovative App Challenge, in which hundreds of middle and high school student teams are conceptualizing mobile apps that incorporate science/technology/engineering/mathematics (STEM) activities to solve a problem in their school or community. Ten teams won personal smartphones and $10,000 grants for their schools, plus assistance in creating their apps and bringing them to the public earlier this year. Verizon expects to launch a new edition of the program this fall.


Source: The Christian Science Monitor at CSMonitor.com

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