Title of Article:  Solving Algebra on Smartphones

Author(s): Michelle R. Davis

Summary:
This article reports preliminary results of the Project K-Nect study that provided modified smartphones (without voice or texting capability) to high school students to be used in math courses.

Sponsoring entity(s): Qualcomm

Date published: 2010

Location of the study: This article can be accessed through Education Week. There is a brief summary of preliminary results at Project K-Nect.

Setting(s) addressed:

• Classroom
• Outside of class learning

Targeted population(s):

• High school

Primary sources of evidence used in the study or report:

• Interviews with project director, selected students and teachers

Primary Technology Application(s) Addressed:

• Smartphones

Major education topic(s) addressed:

• Math

Major findings/conclusions:

• Students use the smartphones to instant message teachers and classmates for help with math problems.
• Students use the project blog in innovative ways, such as posting videos of how they solved math problems.
• Students access instructional videos on their smartphones.
• Students report that they spend more time on algebra homework (at least an hour a day) when communicating, collaborating and accessing resources on the smartphones.
• Teachers reported students in the program had at least a 10% achievement gain over students not in the program.

Practical implications of the findings:

• Teachers report that students’ confidence levels are higher, and their ability to understand and explain the math they are doing to others is better than students not using the smartphones.
• Teachers are able to monitor how long each student spends on a particular problem and monitor whether they are posting questions or helping other students via blogs or instant messaging.

Reviewer Comments:
The findings reported are based on interviews with people connected to the program.  Test scores, grades and other data are not available.