Over 90% of schools have some type of rule about cell phone use by students during the school day. However, cell phones have the ability to help teachers teach more effectively if they are used correctly. I will be posting several things today that I learned while reading February's Educational Leadership. I encourage everyone to grab a copy and read it thoroughly. It is titled "Teaching Screenagers" and every article focuses on technology in our student's lives and ways that you can take advantage of their tech abilities in the classroom.
One of the articles about the use of cell phone's caught my attention. It is titled "Adventures with Cell Phones" and is written by Liz Kolb. Activities that were shared in the article, Poll Everywhere, using Google Voice for giving oral quizzes, Mobile Geotagging, creating digital storybooks using yodio as well as many others.
Poll Everywhere is having students use their cell phones to text a response anonymously to a question you post as they enter the room. The example that they cited was one in which a teacher asked students to give their opinion about the most important cause of the U.S. Civil War. Students text'd their responses to Poll Everywhere and the responses were quickly seen on the interactive whiteboard. Responses are anonymous and students can quickly look up and see what their peers are saying. The teacher continued using the web application having them text why they chose their answer. This is just one way that a cell phone can be used as an educational device. Poll Everywhere could also easily be used by a teacher who is conducting a training for adults or for staff meetings when a principal wants to quickly get the pulse of his staff.
Google Voice is one I definitely will look into further. You are able to set up a free local number for students to call with Google Voice that is associated with the teacher's phone number or voice mailbox. Students can leave recorded messages, assignments or test answers. One example that was cited was a Spanish teacher who sent a text message to her students letting them know that an oral exam was ready to take. The students called in the the Google Voice number and listened to her pre-recorded instructions and questions. They responded in Spanish with their answers. When the student hangs up, their quiz becomes an MP3 file in the teacher's private Google space. She can then call into Google Voice or log in online to hear the quizzes. The teacher can also text message from Google Voice to each student their individual evaluation. Because Google Voice archives voice mail and text message communications you will have a running record of the activities and progress. If the teacher chooses, they can also make the oral quiz into a podcast by uploading them to a podcasting service such as iTunes and requiring students to subscribe to the podcast.
Pretty cool right? Let me know if you use any of these and how it went.
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