Katherine found the mobile technology that interested her the most for learning was using her iPhone. She enjoyed having learning resources always available to use whenever she had free time. The apps she used, like flashcards and quizzes, made learning feel more active and enjoyable compared to just reading. Microblogs also surprised her as a potential learning tool. Going forward, she plans to continue tapping into her strengths as a visual and active learner by using iPhone apps in future classes.

1. Mobile Learning
Synthesis
Katherine Waggoner

2. Learning Preference:
 The scores on my learning quiz at the beginning of the semester were: Reflective- 7, Sensing-9,
Visual-9, and Sequential-3. Throughout the course of the semester I have definitely seen that the
quiz was very accurate in putting me as a visual learner over a verbal learner. I did see however
that I think I am more of an active learner rather than a sensing learner as the quiz categorized me
as. I also believe that I am both a sensing and a sequential learner, which the quiz also categorized
me as. Over all, throughout this class my thinking about learning preferences has changed quite a
bit. Going into this class and taking this quiz I believed that learning preferences would be follow
you from class to class and not change depending on other factors. After using different forms of
technology for many different types of classes I have come to realize that my personal preferences
change depending on the class itself. Sometimes I would feel as though I would be more
productive in a class if I was tapping into my active learning rather than reflective whereas other
times I felt it would be more useful to spend some more time thinking about an assignment and
get it done on my own rather than participating in group work and doing something active with it.
I now truly believe that it all depends on the class, the type of assignments, the teacher, etc. All of
these factors can play a role into the type of learning style that will be best for you in a class.
Knowing about learning preferences makes a huge difference for me in my personal learning
success because now I know what to look for when starting a class and how the factors such as
type of assignments and lectures will impact the type of learning that will work best for me. For
example, if I start a class that is solely based on powerpoint lectures I now know that I can use my
active learning skills to find other ways to understand the material outside of the class, possibly by
getting a study group together.
 Katherine Waggoner

3. Learning Pathway:
 I chose to follow the learning warrior pathway throughout the course of the
semester. I believe that I was definitely able to gain a deeper knowledge of
mobile/social/multimedia technology by following this pathway. The reason
I chose this pathway was because I wanted to take what I was learning in this
class and apply it to my other Spring 2012 classes. I actually tried out different
ways of learning for each of my other classes and it was really neat to see how
different ways of learning helped me to improve my scores in each of my
different classes. For example, I would try using my iPod for learning in my
Biology class and Facebook in my media class. Throughout the course of the
semester I did not change my learning pathway because I felt that the one
that I chose was the best fit for me. I also really wanted to use what I was
learning to help me personally in my classes. I was not really as concerned
with learning about learning in a group as my other classes are all just me
earning an individual grade. This ended up being a good decision and I
believe that I learned a ton about my learning preferences on a personal level.
 Katherine Waggoner

4. Learning Activites:
 The activities that helped me to get a broader understanding of
how to use mobile/social/multimedia technology to learn were
the activities that involved the use of my iPhone. I had just
gotten my iPhone 4 and was very interested in learning about
how I could use it to help improve my learning. The mini lecture
on the iPods/mp3 players really helped me to learn more about
using it for learning as did completing the level 3 activity. I chose
to use my iPhone to learn in my Nutrition class by downloading
an app that had flashcards on it to study with. This ended up
being incredibly useful and I am now using it for any class that I
can find flashcards for!
 Katherine Waggoner

5. Exploration of Technologies for
Learning: Ipod/MP3
 For the Ipods/MP3 players quest I would say I learned the most about my learning than any of
the other quests. I believe this was because I am constantly on my iPhone so learning about ways
to use it productively for learning was extremely useful for me. After exploring all of the apps that
were shown the level 2 activity, I decided to do some exploring of my own and search the app
store for other apps that might be useful to me in my learning. I ended up finding many different
types of apps that I thought would be useful for learning, such as the flashcard app that I found
for my Nutrition class. This type of app really tapped into my preference for active learning
because I felt as though I was actually doing something with my learning rather than just reading
the textbook. In the same way I felt that I was being an active learner when I would use quiz apps
that I found in the app store. Taking practice quizzes before an exam always help me to prepare
and feel more confident about my learning. I have also started looking into podcasts for learning,
something that I never knew about prior to this class. I am not too sure if podcasts will be my
most effective form of learning being that I am more of a visual rather than verbal learner but I
have still looked into them just to have back up forms of understanding topics that I might not
have understood during a lecture. Sometimes hearing it from another perspective can be helpful
for my learning. Over all this learning helped me to use my active and visual learning preferences
by giving me something active to do to help retain the information better as well as giving me
more opportunities to study by always having the information such as the flashcards and practice
quizzes right at my fingertips.
 Katherine Waggoner

6. Exploration of technologies for
Learning: Ipads/Tablets
 While I do not have an Ipad of my own to use, my dad does have one. I tried
using his to try out some other ways of learning throughout the course of the
semester. For my level 3 activity I chose to download some apps to help me
learn in my Biology class. These apps included some virtual learning tools to
help me better understand complicated topics such as the digestive system. I
found that the iPad was very similar to my Iphone, just larger. I personally do
not really see the use for one since I already have my phone, however I can
see where others might like the fact that it is larger than the phone. Once
again, using these apps such as flashcard apps and quiz apps on the iPad
helped to tap into my visual and active learning preferences. I also believe
they helped me to use my sequential learning preference because it helped me
to understand complicated concepts in more linear, straightforward steps,
which is easier for me to follow and understand. Overall, I think the ipad can
be a helpful learning tool however I don’t believe that it is super necessary to
spend the money for one in order to improve learning.
 Katherine Waggoner

7. Exploration of Technologies for
Learning: Microblogs
 Learning about microblogs for learning was very new for me. I actually do
not have a twitter so I learned quite a bit about it and how to use it for
learning in this quest. Using twitter for learning seems to be very straight and
to the point which tapped into my preference for sequential learning. I also
believe that the use of microblogs would be useful for someone who was
more of an Intuitive learner because Intuitive learners do not like a lot of
memorization and twitter is short and to the point in explaining a topic. I
personally do not find much of a use for microblogs for learning. I do think it
is helpful for finding some information and finding what others are saying
about it but I don’t really see it as being a good tool for active learning for
me. In my opinion, microblogs are more about social interaction and I prefer
to keep it that way rather than using it for learning.
 Katherine Waggoner

8. Synthesis:
 The mobile technology the interested me the most for learning was the use of my iPhone. There
were so many things that I had no idea an iPhone could do! All of the activities really helped me
to gain an overall better understanding of my phone and how to use it for learning. What I liked
most about learning on my iPhone was that it was always with me wherever I went. I was able to
use it for studying and learning when I was commuting to class on BART, when I had free time in
class, when I was on break at work, etc. This really motivated me to use the different forms of
learning on my phone because they were always so readily available and easy to use. I never found
myself having to force myself to study because using apps such as the flashcards and quiz apps
made learning more enjoyable for me. It actually did not feel like studying as sitting reading a
textbook does. It felt much more active and enjoyable for me. The mobile technology that
surprised me the most would have to be the microblogs. I have never heard of using microblogs
for learning prior to this class. I had no idea that Twitter could be used for more than just
tweeting about your day or following your favorite celebrity! I sure was wrong about that one.
Microblogging can be extremely useful for locating information for learning and finding out what
others are saying about it. While this may not be my most useful form of learning, I’m sure it can
be very useful for other types of learners. I believe that any of these forms of learning can be good
learning tools, it all depends on your learning preferences. For me personally, the iPhone/mp3
learning works best because I am more of an active/visual learner. Verbal learners may prefer to
use podcasts for learning whereas intuitive learners may prefer microblogs for learning. It all
depends on preference!
 Katherine Waggoner

9. Synthesis Cont.
 The mobile technology that worked best for me was the iPod/MP3 player.
This helped me as an active learner and as a visual learner. I prefer to see
what I am learning in different forms and my iPhone allows me to do this. I
was able to use different apps such as flashcards, quizzes, charts, and images
to see what I was learning about in different forms. I much prefer this over
just reading the textbook or powerpoint slides from my class. As an active
learner, using the quizzes and flashcards helped me to better understand the
material by being able to practice it anywhere at anytime. I felt as though I
was able to interact with others to improve my learning as well because other
students were uploading these flashcards and quizzes so I was able to get
other perspectives on what we were learning about which I believe greatly
helped me to improve my learning overall.
 Katherine Waggoner

10. What I’ll Do Next…
 Learning strategies that I will continue using after this class will be really
tapping into my preference for visual and active learning. Those were the two
forms of learning that I felt stood out to me the most throughout the course
of the semester and when I tried to use forms of learning that reflected them
I really excelled in my classes.It’s interesting to me that at the start of the
semester I actually believed that I was more of a reflective learner however
after learning about using iphones/ipads/microblogs/etc I have realized that
I am definitely more of an active learner. In regards to learning at a job, I
think microblogging will come in handy for me rather than the iphone. For
learning at work I will definitely be using my active learning skills because my
job is extremely active at Trader Joes and it is crucial to be active in order to
understand new things that I need to learn there.
 Katherine Waggoner

11. What I’ll do Next Cont.
 After this class I am definitely going to continue using my iPhone for learning. The
best thing for me about discovering these flashcard and quiz apps is that there are tons
of different flashcards and quizzes for other subjects and classes. They had all kinds
for science classes, math classes, etc. I am definitely going to be in many more science
classes so these apps will definitely still be useful to me in future classes! I currently
work at Trader Joes so it is useful for me to use microblogs such as Twitter to see
what others are saying about Trader Joes and better understand what people are happy
with there or what they would like changed. Most likely I am going to avoid using an
Ipad for learning simply because I do not really see the need for one. I will also
probably avoid using microblogs for learning because I would prefer to keep that as a
means for social interaction rather than a usage for learning. Overall I am so glad that I
learned so many useful ways to use my iphone/ipod to help my learning. I’m excited
to have a new way to study anywhere at anytime and find ways to better understand
what I am learning about in all different types of classes. There seems to be endless
possibilities for what you can download on the iphone in regards to learning and I will
definitely continue looking into what else is out there!
 Katherine Waggoner