Mobile Tech in Classrooms Boost English Learners

From http://newamericamedia.org/2011/06/mobile-devices-in-classroom-give-english-learners-a-leg-up.php

Mobile Tech in Classrooms Boost English Learners
Photo Essay, Jacob Simas and Vivian Po
June 27, 2011

On a rainy Wednesday morning at Tyrrell Elementary in Hayward, sixth-grade teacher Francisco Nieto was giving his students—all English language learners —an in-class assignment: To fill in the blanks of sentences with new words they learned from reading Lois Lowry’s book, “The Giver.”

“Intricate,” said Nieto. “What does it mean?”

“Very complicated but detailed!” screamed one student from the other end of the classroom, iPod in hand, after looking up the word quickly online.

It all began last fall, when Nieto began incorporating his personal iPad into lectures as a learning tool, taking advantage of the wireless Internet service available on campus to call up information instantly, with the tap of his finger. Shortly thereafter, when a student asked Nieto if he could bring his iPod to class, Nieto agreed, and neither teacher nor student has looked back since.

Now, more and more of Nieto’s students are bringing their mobile devices to class. Many choose to turn in their homework via email, and the class even designed a blog together. Nearly half the students use mobile devices during in-class lessons, and those without their own, team up to work in pairs with those who do.

Read the full article at http://newamericamedia.org/2011/06/mobile-devices-in-classroom-give-english-learners-a-leg-up.php