This was the second time I carried out an activity with mobile devices, this time in my own classroom.
In order to finish the second unit on Plants, I decided to create a scavenger hunt using QR codes. Throughout this hunt, my students had to look for QR codes all over the class and, when scanning them, they would find a question about the unit (for example: True or false: the plants that have flowers are ANGIOSPERMS -look for question number 2 next to the plants by the window-) that they would have to answer on a sheet of paper. The group that could answer the ten questions correctly in the shortest time would win a secret prize. I separated my class of 17 students into 5 groups. One of the members of each group had to bring their iPods and download a QR reader to scan the codes.
I created the codes using QR Code Generator (http://goqr.me/). I printed them and stuck three copies of each code all over the classroom.
As regards notification to parents, Cecilia Nardini drafted a note asking the parents to authorize the students to bring their iPods to school. The students were somewhat confused by the note, since for them it was completely natural to bring their iPods or cellphones to school without their parents authorizing them to do so. They said that they always kept them in their backpacks and used them when they left the school premises.
The reason why I chose iPods is that my students would not need Internet connection to carry out the activity. I also did not want them to bring their mobile phones. I took into account the fact that they would probably get distracted by the content of their personal phones or turn to unethical actions.
I originally asked five students to bring their iPods four days before the experience, but out of those five, only three brought the authorization back, so I had to ask other two students to bring their devices if they were authorized to do so. I explained to them that they were the first group with whom this type of BYOD activity would be tried, and I emphasized that this performance relied greatly on their responsibility to bring the devices, and if they could not prove to do so, there would be no more chances to try this at school. The students who had forgotten the authorizations understood the possible consequences of their actions and apologized to the rest of the class.
I had already practiced with my own iPod so I knew that there would be no problems regarding the development of the activity itself but, as I have already mentioned, my main concern was the behavior of my students when "tempted" with their personal devices in a new environment surrounded by their friends. I was fortunate to have a proactive and respectful group who did not misbehave at any moment. After giving them clear instructions on the activity, they set to work/play and they really enjoyed themselves in this small competition, since they were able to move around, laugh and help each other.
After this experience, I have thought of many ideas on how to implement this dynamic not only in my classroom, but in the rest of the school.
This fun activity showed that my students were autonomous users of ICT and they could learn and play while communicating and collaborating with each other.