Cell Phones in the Classroom

School District 5 of Lexington and Richland Counties in Irmo, South Carolina, a suburban town just outside the capital city, is the latest district to permit cell phones and cell phone use inside the schools. They are the latest school district to approve a measure that is not only making many teachers and parents wary, but one that begs the question, "Can cell phones be integrated successfully into the classroom or are they bound to remain marginalized?” While one could speculate about its future implementation, the real answer lies with the individual classroom teachers. It lies in their willingness to allow phones in their classroom, their creativity to integrate them into the curriculum, and their ability to direct learning while their students are using a device that could easily become a distraction rather than a tool.

While modern cell phones possess many abilities, most people typically think of texting, video games, and the ability to use facebook as the main functions, and they are immediately turned off from the idea of allowing them within the classroom, much less using them as an educational tool. However, when one considers the real power and strengths of cell phones, he may reconsider his position.

As cell phone ownership and use continues to grow around the world, the capabilities of cell phones continue to grow as well.  Check out this snippet from Walking Randomly.com (accessed June 20, 2011):

According to the current Top 10 Android Linpack results, a tweaked Motorola Droid [cell phone] is capable of scoring 52 Mflop/s which is over 15 times faster than the 1979 Cray 1 [supercomputer].  Put another way, if you transported that mobile phone back to 1987 … it would be on par with the processors in one of the fastest computers in the world of the time, the ETA 10-E, and [it] had to be cooled by liquid nitrogen.

Simply put, modern cell phones have incredible capabilities that cannot be ignored! Furthermore, many areas have adopted “one laptop per child” initiatives, but given the widespread use of cell phones and the fact that they rival many computers in abilities, cell phones may prove to be a readily viable option for allowing students access to the Internet and providing them an opportunity to connect with their classmates, peers, community, and the world in new ways!

So, how might I use cell phones in my classroom?
Rather than listing a myriad of resources, let’s consider several broad applications for education.

1. Class Discussions
The media has recently produced several stories of teachers using Twitter as a conversational tool in their classrooms. (Click here for CNN’s story or for Philly.com’s story). By posting a question on the board and by utilizing Twitter students can engage in a class conversation that gives a voice to every student and no one person is allowed to dominant the conversation, which encourages quieter students to participate. No one is being asked to stand in front of the class, but everyone is able to share his/her thoughts, opinions, and understandings with everyone else. CoverItLive.com also has mobile capabilities, which acts like Twitter, but can be embedded into a website for later review.

2. Class Polls
Want to know if your students understand what you’ve just taught them, in spite of the fact that no one is raising a hand? Try a cell phone-generated poll by using a site like PollEverywhere.com. Students can text in answers to a classroom poll and watch as the numbers change before their eyes! Poll Everywhere is free and easy to use and would allow you another way to engage your students.

3. Web Quest
Lately you may have seen those funny black-and-white codes the size of a postage stamp popping up on everything from movie posters to a carton of eggs. These are called QR codes and, by using a cell phone’s camera, these codes will direct a web browser to a specific site on the Internet. You can generate a QR code for any website by visiting a site like qrcode.kaywa.com. Then, print up the QR codes for different websites you’d like your students to visit. This is especially useful if websites have long and complicated URLs.

4. Microphones
Many sites (i.e. VoiceThread.com, Voki.com and Blabberize.com) accept phone calls from users to record a comment on the page or add their voice to an avatar.

Student Accountability and Fears of Integrating the Classroom

One of the greatest fears of bringing computers into the classroom is the question of "unleashing the student onto the Internet". Teachers and administrators have a fear, and probably rightly so, that students' attention and ability to remain on task are more likely to stray than stay if given the chance. Unfortunately, that means most teachers opt away from incorporating computers and the Internet, rather than trying to guide the students.

My personal opinion is that students are always going to choose the easiest paths, unless they are taught to do otherwise. Just like children need to be taught how to read or work through a math problem, they also need to be taught how to keep focus and how to work diligently because if a child is given the option to study or goof off, human nature says he will always choose to get off task. Therefore, we need to see a student's lack of focus as a teaching opportunity. (There are obvious exceptions to this, but I believe it's a pretty reliable statement.) Therefore, whenever using a Web 2.0 tool or an interactive website, there is always the inherent possibility that students will get off task and, as the teacher, we need to help them get back on task and resume their work.

As far as holding students accountable for assignments when using the Internet, a great way is to present them with a rubric for how the assignment will be graded and teach them to self-assess their work. A website like Rubistar is a great tool for quickly creating a rubric you can use for students' work and this will help students know what to expect when they submit their project.

A rubric is also a great way to help students stay on task. Often a student's attention will stray when he/she is unsure what needs to be done and is unwilling to ask for direction. A rubric helps a student know exactly what is expected and figure out what still needs to be done on his/her project.

Technology and the Curriculum Standards

Given the manner in which technology has moved into our lives and the way has set itself up to be indispensable in our daily routines, most of us are looking for ways to bring more technology into our classes. We are looking to engage our students and trying to replicate the connection kids have to their cell phones and iPods, all in the hopes that they will exhibit a similar interest in our classes and prove to be more industrious. This desire can often lead teachers to utilize technology to a greater degree, which garners the attention we so desire. Yet, when we do this, do we find that the technology ends up helping our students to learn the content material or is the technology overshadowing their understanding of the topic? In other words, when technology is introduced into a lesson are students still learning educational information or are they simply learning how to use a computer program?

Our goal as teachers shouldn't be to use technology for technology's sake, for the reason that we want to make sure our students are learning the subject material first. Now, we definitely want to use technology, but we want to be sure that we're using technology as a way to teach the content. We must remember that the content is the goal and the material is the end objective; technology is merely the means to an end, but never the end itself. Therefore, technology lessons need to be aligned to the curriculum standards.

When you're creating a lesson and looking to include technology, begin with the end in mind. Ask the question, "What do I want my students to learn as a result of this lesson?" The best way to answer this question is to decide upon the standard you are looking to address in your lesson. This is your final goal and this will help guide you as you begin to plan out your class. By starting the process with the curricular goal in mind, you’re on a better path than if you approach the process with a specific program in mind and trying to figure out how this program might fit into your class. If you begin with the program and try to add the goal later you’re in jeopardy of teaching the technology rather than teaching the curriculum. (That’s not to say it can’t be done, just that it’s more difficult.)

As you begin deciding which technology to use, ask yourself another question: Do I want the technology to act as the mode of instruction (i.e. are the students going to learn the information as a result of using the technology) or will the technology act as an assessment? In other words, which part of the instructional process will the technology serve: teaching the lesson or assessing the understanding?

A second question may be, “What about aligning my lesson to the technology standards? Aren’t those important?” Absolutely! However, the technology standards are not intended to be the goal of a lesson like curricular standards are, but they are designed to lie on top of the curricular standards and act as a conduit for learning. Technology (and the technology standards) is designed to accompany the lesson and to guide the learning, but it should never be the learning.

Glog, glog, glog, glog!!!

I've found the best way to generate enthusiasm about a project with my students: personalization. What I mean is that when I allow students to create something that reflects their unique character, they seem to have much more fun as they learn. Often they don't realize that they're learning if they're having a good time!

A great tool for garnering this kind of enthusiasm is Glogster, an online poster maker. If you've never used Glogster, imagine creating a standard poster with your class. Now imagine being able to add and edit pictures quickly, add links to different websites, putting videos on your poster and doing the whole thing without the scraps of paper littering the floor and glue all over the place! You'll be amazed how your students will exhibit a surprising desire to create and stay on task when they are simply allowed to customize colors, images, and text! Check out this example below:



How to bring this into the classroom
Glogster is such a versatile tool that it's difficult to narrow down how to use it. You can literally use it in every subject with almost every grade level (though I probably wouldn't go younger than 2nd grade).

Ideas:
2nd Grade: During an animals and habitat unit give each student a different animal and have them create a glog about that animal's unique characteristics and how each thrives in its given environment.
4th Grade: Have students illustrate the differences between patriots and loyalists during the time of the Revolutionary War.
5th Grade: Students do book reports on WWII books in order to compare/contrast reality and fiction.

What other ideas do you have?

Twitter in the Classroom

Twitter found itself in the news again recently. However, this time it doesn't involve the number of people following Ashton Kutcher or Shaq's latest rant, but how an inventive teacher is bringing the social network into his history class. (View the video or news piece here.)

In case you are unsure of what Twitter is, it is a social networking site (meaning that it is a way to communicate with other users of the network, whether that is the facebook network, Ning network, or Twitter network). What makes Twitter distinctive is that users submit messages of only 140 characters, called tweets. So, tweets work much like text messages, which means there is only a short amount of text to read, rather than a typical blog posting. You as a user will then "follow" other users, which allows you to what they are tweeting. Depending on who you follow will determine the kind of tweets you receive on Twitter. That means if you follow questionable people, you will receive questionable tweets...and you may thereby have a hard time finding the value in Twitter.

To use Twitter as an educator, you will want to locate other trustworthy teachers so you will benefit from their tweets. Many teachers have found the benefit of gleaning resources from the site, but it hasn't had the same reception within the classroom. In fact, most districts have blocked access to Twitter to staff and students alike fearing that the unrestricted freedom of social networking may be abused. The question of cyber-bullying is also a concern.

Let's return to our original topic, which is using Twitter in the classroom. The subject of CNN's story is Enrique Legaspi, a history teacher from LA. After realizing how integral cell phones are to his students he decided to utilize their capabilities rather than trying to fight a losing battle to curtail cell phone use in the classroom. (I applaud Mr. Legaspi for finding a way to bring in what already engages students in order to teach the curriculum!) Mr. Legaspi would then post a question to Twitter and allow his students to tweet their responses. The biggest benefit he has found is that shy students are more likely to join a conversation when they aren't required to stand in front of the class.

Mr. Legaspi has found this to be a great tool in the classroom, but not everyone is a fan of the idea (see here), believing Twitter stunts students' ability to communicate face-to-face.

What are your thoughts on bringing Twitter into the classroom? If you currently use Twitter, how do you use it?

If you're reticent about utilizing Twitter but you like the idea of an interactive class conversation, you might be interested in trying out Cover It Live as a viable option.

The Voice Heard 'Round the World

What a blessing the Internet provides in the ease of communicating. One great way to communicate through the Internet is to record your voice and post it to your website. This would be fantastic option for a student who would prefer to record his/her voice rather than standing in front of a class for a presentation. Teachers could post a recording to his/her website so students could re-listen to the instructions for the class assignment.

One of the easiest sites for recording your voice is Vocaroo.com. Simply plug in a microphone, hit "Record" and grab the embed code. That's it! There's no signing up for a website or anything! Try it out today! Below is an example of a simple Vocaroo recording.

Animation

A fantastic way to engage your students is to create cartoons or some kind of animation. There are numerous sites for such activities, such as Kerpoof, XtraNormal, and Be Funky, and each is an incredible way to allow your students the ability to express themselves creatively. One of my favorite sites is ToonDoo, which is an easy-to-use comic strip creator. In a matter of minutes students can create professional looking comics that can act as a class project or an assessment of their learning. The example below shows how students might create a comic about Revolutionary War taxes being levied on American colonists.

By rnovak | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

Me and You...Tube

YouTube is a fantastic resource for finding great educational videos. Unfortunately, in the context of educational use, YouTube can receive a bad rep because there is a large number of inappropriate videos on the site, which can get students in trouble if they're irresponsible. However, if properly monitored, YouTube can be a real boon to the classroom because, while there is a large number of videos that are not beneficial in the class, there is a larger number of great videos.

The Internet also allows students to quickly create videos that can be posted to YouTube and then be shared with not only with their classmates but with the world! Below is an example of how a student might use YouTube to produce a quality work that can then be shared with the world. This student showed her understanding of Native Americans by creating a video. That means she had to put together her understands in a way that could then be clearly communicated, then she had pull together visual resources that would help her teach the topic. In this case, she used Google Earth. Imagine how much more seriously a student will take an assignment if they know it could be seen by any person around the world!

How do you think you can use YouTube in your classroom?

Mapping the World

A great way to help students connect to the world is by showing them a map of an area that is being discussed in class. This is especially useful way to connect with visual learners, those who remember best when seeing something.

How might this possibly be used in the class? Many younger students begin the school year with an "About Me" unit where they write about places they have lived, facts about relatives, and details about their lives. What better way to share your life than with a map marking special places? My story might include the map embedded below, which shows Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I was born. Students can then post a series of placemarks to denote a series of special locations, mapping out their entire lives in a personal history lesson. Another option may be to show where students have been on vacation. Imagine the connections that would develop when two students see that their families travel to the same small mountain town!

Where can you go?


View Larger Map

Collaboration

Collaboration is one of the best ways to increase learning and create a sense of community. Many tools are readily available to facilitate collaboration, whether that is peer-to-peer or teacher-to-student or student-to-student collaboration. Any way it is done the goal is to learn together, sharing understanding and resources. A great resource to consider is a ning. This is general term referring to an online learning community where people of similar interests pool their combined resources and knowledge in order to help the group at large. Nings exist for art teachers, people with cats, or mountain bikers; they exist for every possible group you can imagine.

How might a ning be used within a classroom, in a traditional teacher-and-students setting? Suppose the teacher set up a ning to discuss topics they had been discussing in history class. Perhaps they can list or catalogue their understandings of over-arching themes and show how history repeats itself. Students are quick to grab onto a resource like a ning because they are accustomed to using sites like Facebook, Google+, and MySpace, where they join together with their friends and discuss a variety of subjects.

Nings can also be used to encourage professional growth. Participants can discuss current methods they are implementing and topics being discussed in the classroom. Everyone that participates in a ning benefits, whether they are actively participating or simply reaping the benefits of others' experience.

He, She and iGoogle

In a move to keep various pieces of information at our eager fingertips, iGoogle gives users an opportunity to pick and choose the information that most interests them and have it accessible when they enter their iGoogle account. Similar to accessing the basic Google search engine, iGoogle includes its famous search bar, but it also features an innumerable amount of widgets that display news headlines, weather in other parts of the world, events saved in your Google Calendar, or popular YouTube videos.

This application helps tailor the Internet to personal tastes, a descriptor of what is being called Web 3.0. As opposed to the well-known term "Web 2.0", which describes Internet sites that connect users to each other and allow people to collaborate on information (Wikipedia is a classic example of a Web 2.0 site), Web 3.0 focuses more on personalizing the Internet and presenting only information that interests the user.

As an educator, iGoogle keeps me in touch with relevant and current information. I am able to follow blogs, which present information that I can use in the classroom. News headlines help me predict the direction educational technology is moving and it helps me prepare for trainings I may need to offer or lessons I may need to learn myself. By pulling together all of this information you are able to stay current and up-to-date with the your profession, your personal interests, and your life!

Using Google Forms in the Classroom

Another fantastic addition to the bevy of Google applications available is Google Docs, the more familiar name for Google Documents. Docs allows multiple users to simultaneously collaborate on a single project, assignment, or document, which, if incorporated into the classroom, would allow students to work on a project with other members of a group without needing to be physically near their classmates. Students can work from the luxury of their homes, the comfort of a coffee shop, or their school library and also be working with their peers at the same time, even though those peers are currently elsewhere. Google Docs allows learning to happen outside of the classroom, but will still allow collaborative learning and group participation.


One feature within Google Docs is Forms. This allows users to create a document that other users could complete and submit their answer. So, how might this be used in the classroom? One way is to create assessments at the end of a unit. Students would access the form, which can be distributed via email or by embedding it into a website, answer the questions and submit their answers. Google Docs will then collect all submitted answers into an easy-to-read spreadsheet that has also graded the students answers! This means teachers do not have to spend time copying tests nor grading if they take advantage of Google Docs!


How else might Google Docs be utilized in the classroom?


Here is an example of a Form that has been embedded into my blog.