eInstruction MOBI

Matt Beresford, Deputy Head and Year 2 teacher, and Tom Morgan, Year 5 teacher, are both taking their first steps in getting to know and use the eInstruction MOBI. Both teachers have taught for many years using interactive whiteboards, but both were keen to try the eInstruction MOBI and explore how the MOBI can enhance the teaching and learning experience within their classrooms.

MOBI at Stramongate School

Tom took a little time to get used to using the MOBI. Tom first started using the MOBI with his class at the end of the Autumn term. “As it is a handheld device it took some getting used to, as you write in the pad while focusing on the board at the front of the room. The children also found this challenging at first but they soon became more confident with its use. Once this initial period of discovery was over the class began to notice similarities between the MOBI and other software they have used and so once the basic skills were mastered they could quickly progress through the other utilities.”

“The children were all very excited about using the MOBI. While the initial interest was merely excitement at a new piece of ‘kit’, as the children explored its features they could begin to see the potential learning implications and were eager to test out their ideas in front of the class. Here the MOBI works very well as it can be passed around by the children in a collaboration of ideas. In Numeracy it is often used during the mental starter. While some children work on their own wipeboards others can add their ideas to the board at the front. This lead to children being inspired by others ideas and building upon them as a whole group. This peer lead learning is great for the children as it makes the work more personal a meaningful. Similarly in Literacy children can edit a piece of text in real time with other children saying whether they agree or disagree with their changes and inclusions. The MOBI can then be passed to a different group so they can make any amendments. In these sessions the children have always been engaged and eager to join in the discussions and without the need to go to the whiteboard at the front of the class they are all more forthcoming with their ideas. This feature of the MOBI, allowing children to guide their own learning and ‘play teacher’ could have some very positive impacts on learning.”

“As I, and my Year 5 class, have become more adept at using the MOBI we are beginning to appreciate the potential it has. It is able to target children who are reluctant to come to the front of the class and give them a chance to interact. It can support the lower ability children as you can constantly refer back to and annotate any whiteboard screens for the lesson. It can also stretch and extend the most able as they can challenge each other and learn together in creative collaboration. As yet I don’t feel I have fully explored the MOBI potential, simply because it has so many possible applications. As with any piece of technology the MOBI will only be as good as the person operating it. However as this will often be the children themselves, the MOBI has proved itself to be endlessly creative, exciting and valuable.”

MOBI at Stramongate

Matt saw the MOBI in use in Tom’s classroom, saw how much the children enjoyed and were engaged using the MOBI and asked for one for his classroom.

Matt found that the children in his class Year 2 class were naturally keen to start using the MOBI. Like Tom, Matt started off slowly, getting used to the MOBI and exploring the tools available.

“After having been an ‘early pioneer’ into Interactive Whiteboards my approach to learning using the new MOBI has been similar in that I have been trying to learn on the job and discovering the many applications during my class teaching. An initial period of free play allowed me and the children chance to discover using the device in mouse only mode and then begin to use the basic applications such as pen tools, eraser and highlighting tools. It really is a case of the ‘sky’s the limit’ and the MOBI just requires time to learn and become familiar with the software, which is very similar to other interactive software products and so quite quick to assimilate.

MOBI at Stramongate School

The children were highly motivated by the MOBI and were all very keen to have a go. They learn new ICT skills so quickly and they are now pestering me to use the MOBI more and more! Again, allowing the children time to explore the MOBI’s pen tools has allowed them to make the necessary adjustments to their hand/eye coordination and to realize that they need to look at the screen rather than the MOBI to write, underline etc.”

“Although I am still getting used to the endless possibilities of the MOBI a number of clear and powerful benefits are emerging. A teacher can teach from any position in the class. This variety of positions means that the teacher can teach next to any children with more challenging behaviour and keep a closer control of this. It also means that you can observe the children from a different position allowing you to see more clearly the teaching experience they see from their perspective. This variety of teaching positions seems to keep the children on their toes. As the children become familiar and therefore quicker at using the MOBI, lessons can become more interactive as the MOBI can be passed around the class or group and the children can immediately demonstrate their understanding by annotating their thoughts onto the IWB (interactive whiteboard). Recently I was working with a higher ability group of children within a mixed ability class setting. I was able to work with this group sitting at the back of the classroom and still use the MOBI to teach the group. The group was all watching the IWB (interactive whiteboard)  as I explained. Crucially I could still manage the rest of the class from this position yet still teach effectively without having to keep getting up to demonstrate at the board and disturb the rest of the children. MOBI software can immediately use ‘screen capture’ mode. This is very powerful as it seamlessly enables the teacher to capture a web page, annotate the web page with say the features of an explanation text and then revert back to other pages within the same URL. In my opening sentence I said that the possibilities are endless. Practice, reflection and a creative approach to use will lead to the MOBI becoming a must have gadget for any teacher.”