A Few Thoughts on Cell Phones in the Classroom

Tonight I listened to a great podcast on cell phones in learning with Liz Kolb and Jimbo Lamb and it got me thinking about a number of things:

1) I am realizing just how much technology is out there now. I mean I have a cell phone, but I did not get it until my junior year of high school and would never have thought of turning it on during the school day. I want to use them in my class but I am apprehensive of them. I have never set up anything in such a format, so it would be tough to go in front of students with something totally new to me. Jim had some great ideas for this that I want to put to use. One of them was to use a tool such as Poll Everywhere in a faculty meeting before using it before the students. I thought this was a great idea. Not only will it help me feel more comfortable in the classroom, it is a great way for me to potentially get feedback on my presentation. I feel that fellow teachers and administrators at a school should be a sounding board to not only present new ideas but also to get familiar with them before taking them into the classroom. Many times teachers will try a new technique in the classroom without having practiced it and the presentation will fall apart. By taking it to your peer faculty members first you can get feedback and also pass on great ideas.

2)There are some issues in using technology in the classroom, especially in the case of cell phones. For one, there could very well be students in the classroom that don't have their own cell phone. In most places I think the percentage of high school students with cell phones is close to 100 nowadays since parents want to be in communication with their students. However, there are parents out there who firmly believe that their child does not need a cell phone at least until they get a job and perhaps beyond that until they get into college. What might be more of an issue is that some students don't have unlimited texting or they don't have texting at all to use Poll Everywhere. I think one suggestion that was mentioned in these cases is to have the students share a cell phone with their classmate who has unlimited texting. I question this practice. For me, my cell phone is almost sacred. I rarely let anyone else use it other than my immediate family so I wonder how many students would actually be willing to let someone else use their phone. I realize that it might be okay for texting versus calling, especially if the lender has unlimited texting because it won't in that case cost them anything extra. I am very conscious of how much things cost, even cell phones, which is why I am hesitant to allow students to share their phones.

3) Finally, I think we need to help students learn how to live life. By this I mean that we as educators need to take the time to make sure our students understand how things work in life. For example, I think an educator who is going to use cell phones in their classroom should take the time to make sure their students know where their texting and cell phone use is coming from, what happens when they make a text, and how it is paid for. Mr. Lamb gave a great example of how he would do this. He suggested that the students should obtain a copy of their (or their parents) cellphone bill and bring it to class where he, the teacher, would explain parts of the bill and how texting is billed. I think that this is important to do because students use their phones and will use their phones so much that they sometimes forget that it costs money to use it. Most students don't ever see the bill for their cell phone usage (I know I didn't) so they think they can call and text however much they want without consequences. If you teach students how their is money related to their every use of the phone, they will learn to be more responsible in their phone use and in everyday life. As a final point, I think if educators can do this it will bring parents on board with the technological curriculum including cell phones. A parent likes nothing better than seeing his child become a responsible young adult and it is a huge bonus if part of that process takes place in the classroom.