cellular learning

I must apologize for my absence from these pages.  I have no excuse as my ink never runs dry nor do my fingers lack the ability to move.

If I have anything to observe about my classroom over the past few months is how much I want to share what I am doing with all of my classes, not just one pilot program.  I have seen so many teachable moments that the phone could be used for over the past few months.  When a student asks what a word means, why not have her take out her phone and do a little research to see not only the definition of the word but also what context of the word applies to the lesson.  I enjoy watching my students scramble for their phones to answer this type of question.

I have observed the richness of discussion using polling sites like wiffiti.com and polleverywhere.com.  Student are able to raise great points that even I have not thought about and show a different perspective on the topic because of this.  I have seen increased engagement with these polls as well.

The greatest growth I have seen comes from the combination of the mobile device with the wiki.  Giving students the ability to share out work and show their own growth has been a wonderful experience.  Also, enabling discussion of what they have learned is also very interesting.  I have decided that in the final quarter of the year, students will complete a major project for the wiki, turning it into a portfolio of growth in the course.

I have seen so many possibilities with the wiki over the year and will be sharing some ideas with everyone soon.

I promise to continue this blog with a bit more frequency than I have in the past.

So for now, I say, “see ya!”

Well, next Tuesday marks the beginning of classes for me. My precalculus class has 18 students, at this time.  I believe this is an ideal size for a pilot of this nature.  I have been putting a lot of thought into what activities the class will perform the first day.  Of course I need to go over the typical administrivia, seating, books, contact info, etc.  However, I do believe that guidelines as to the use of the phones in class should be established that morning.  I do have a few guidelines that I will be insisting upon:

1. 1.  No cell phone use during written tests and quizzes unless I indicate other wise.
2. 2.  No personal use of cell phones in class.  The only time they should be in use is when assignments are given for their use.

These are the only two major guidelines that must be followed.  However, I do plan a five to ten minute activity where the students help develop the guidelines themselves.  I believe they can take better ownership of them.  This should allow for teachable moments in the future on appropriate cell phone use.

As I reflect on the past week, I do believe I am moving in a positive direction for learning.  This work is challenging my own teaching style by taking me out of my comfort zone and allowing students more control of the learning environment.  My students will be demonstrating many 21st century literacy skills in this class, from the use of cell phones to using blogs and wikis for learning.  Several of my colleagues believe I am a bit crazy for doing this kind of work in a math classroom, when my previous methods have always served me well.  But I find still waters stagnate.  If I am not teaching in a dynamic manner, always seeking and growing myself, how can I expect my students to do the same.

I am planning to use cell phones as learning tools in my classroom starting this fall.  I am going to use this blog as an online diary of my experiences, eureka moments, and general thoughts of the process.  Currently my work is in the research phase.  I do have a few ideas that I will be sharing in the future.  I have begun a dialogue with administrators about using cell phones in the classroom.  My district has a blanket ban on the use of cell phones in school at the current time.  However, they are willing to listen to my proposal next month and will decide about allowing me to piliot the program in a class.

When I ask about why such a blanket ban exists, I get several reasons for its implementation: sexting, bullying, cheating, etc.  However, I believe we need to be teaching our children the appropriate use of digital tools in this world.  Educators need to step up and realize the potential for learning held in the palm of our students hands.

Also, I believe a large barrier to the use of cell phones other than the concerns previously listed have to do with the very name of the device — cell phone.  I believe we need to begin to rename them as hand held computers.  In the world of Star Trek, they would be a comunicator and a tri-corder all rolled into one device.  What our student carry in their pockets and purses are no longer just a communication tool.  They are computers that fit in the palm of your hand.  This idea is part of what I plan to use to help convince administrators to allow the use of these hand held computers in my classes.

I will continue to update this blog as the days move on.