Using Mobile Devices in Field Science

Students today need advanced tools and competencies to succeed in the global economy. Technology can provide students with critical learning experiences but is often affordable only to affluent students. All students, regardless of socioeconomic status, deserve to use technology to create and innovate, communicate and collaborate, and gain the 21st-century skills they need to be successful inside and outside the classroom. Integrating technology into instruction also helps science teachers incorporate the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013) into the curriculum. Students can use technology to develop and use models; plan and carry out investigations; analyze and interpret data; and obtain, evaluate, and communicate information. Mobile devices, in particular, can supply many of the scientific tools needed for investigations in the life and Earth sciences through a wide array of available applications, or "apps," for such things as weather, geographic positioning, and identification. This article describes the authors' attempts to use technology to provide more authentic and engaging data-collection methods for students. The context is a herpetology research experience (HRE) sponsored by the National Science Foundation that provides diverse high school students with many "first-time" experiences--in this case, not only with reptiles and amphibians, or herps, but also with technology use as a scientific practice.