tice and in the Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012). To investigate the viability and the po-


tential of this approach, we loaned iPod Touches to a group of 19 middle and high school students for two weeks, and met with them for an hour each day to lead them through a series of activities designed to engage them in integrating these forms of STEM disciplinary practice with aspects of personal digital activity in which most of the students already participated outside the classroom. During the first week, students famil-


iarized themselves with the devices and with the four categories of mobile practices outlined above. We then asked them to complete several tasks in which they were required to use those digital practices and tools to explore mathematical relationships. For example, after one session, the stu-


dents were given an assignment to use their iPods to record a short video of some ob- servable phenomenon varying linearly over time (capturing and collecting data). Work- ing in small groups the next day in class, they exchanged video across devices using a photo sharing app (communicating and collaborating), used a spreadsheet app to enter time-sequenced measurements (the position of an object or the volume of a liq- uid) as they replayed their video, plotted the resulting ordered pairs of values and created a linear model from the data in a graphing app (constructing and creating representa- tions), and examined the resulting displays to evaluate the appropriateness of the model to represent the phenomenon (consuming and critiquing media). In the second week, small groups iden-


tified a topic of interest, and then set about conducting empirical, mathematical in- vestigations in which they again deployed mobile tools and practices in each of the four categories in our framework. Groups collected data (surveying peers and digitally recording responses, seeking information online), shared interim results with group members, created tabular and graphical rep- resentations of data, and presented findings to the class. As they participated in these activities, students were engaged in developing pro-


November/December 2012 25


ficiency with several important aspects of STEM practice highlighted in the Common Core and NRC standards. For example, they examined correspondences between graphi- cal, tabular and symbolic representations (CCSMP No. 1), interpreted and evaluated mathematical models of real-world situa- tions (CCSMP No. 4, NRC No. 2), planned and selected appropriate technological tools (represented here by a suite of available iPod


The path we advocate here is to leverage students’ existing uses of mobile devices — what we call their informal digital practices — as entry points into STEM disciplinary practices.


apps) for various stages of an investigation (CCSMP No. 5, NRC No. 3), analyzed and interpreted data (NRC No. 4) and commu- nicated findings (NRC No. 8). We certainly saw some evidence of stu-


dents using their devices for non-mathemat- ical ends during class time, and some stu- dents were reflective about the temptation to wander off task into games or social media. As one student, Earl, told us, he needed to do a lot of “self-regulating.” Yet we also heard students describe the opposite pattern, where their mobile device turned idle mo- ments into opportunities for academic work. Even on campus, students noted that com- puters for student use were often not avail- able when needed. Earl also told us that it


was “a lot easier to have the [iPod] Touch … instead of [having to] wander over to a com- puter and hope that it’s open, and that not very many people have messed with it, and then just wait for the log in to go through. Just having the device right there and you’re just like, OK.”


Novel and exciting ways of doing math At the end of the pilot study, students


completed an anonymous survey and an in-person interview asking them to re- flect upon their experiences. Survey results showed that all students wanted to do simi- lar activities in the future and would recom- mend the activities to a friend, and 93 per- cent said they learned new ways to do math from the activities. Interviews highlighted that many stu-


dents found creating graphs on the mobile devices to be novel and exciting. Several students said the experience shifted their view of themselves as math students. For ex- ample, one said, “I used to think [math] was too hard, and like, I said, ‘I don’t like it.’ But what we just did, over the last two weeks, it’s like ‘Oh, OK, that’s cool. Maybe we should do that in class.’” Others said that their experience, espe-


cially with graphing data, made it easier to imagine themselves in a career that involved analyzing and graphing data.


Educators face a choice The mobile revolution is well under way


outside of school, both in the workplace and in people’s everyday lives. Educators face a choice. One path is to focus on the potential downsides of mobiles, such as the danger of taking students’ attention away from aca-


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40