The Edutopia booklet, "Mobile Devices for Learning: What you Need to Know," covers the pros and cons of mobile devices in the classroom, describes different types of devices, explains how to get started, includes ideas with apps and tools, and tells how to get parents on board. It's basically the "How to" guide for mobile devices in the classroom.
Cell phones can help engage students in the learning process...but they can also prevent student engagement (with the classroom activity, anyway). There are apps like PollEverywhere and Socrative that allow students to respond to questions and immediately see if they are correct. They can also compare how their answers to the rest of the class. A lesson with a series of interesting questions to which students are racing to give answers with immediate feedback...engaging!
On the flip side: quietly reading a pdf from their phones on a topic that is not relative to students...I'd be willing to bet a lot of students can be caught on Instagram during this lesson.
--Versus--
Soooo....back to our original question: Do cell phones hurt or help in the classroom?
The answer is...
...YES!
And as the teacher, you are the keeper of the classroom culture. You determine whether cell phones hurt or help. The trick is to find great resources (like the Edutopia Booklet) and plan, plan, plan for success.
I completely agree that the teacher makes the climate! Having a good system of rules and procedures in place seems to make the difference between learning and chaos. I love the apps that were suggested in the article! I've tried many of them and I'd like to try more that were mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI also like how the article framed blended learning with, "“[it] involves more than merely incorporating new technology into current pedagogical strategies; it requires an instructional paradigm shift that promises to fundamentally change the way students learn.” Sometimes, I find myself trying to replace technology with a practice that, after I reflect, I realize is just not suited for a tech upgrade. I like the reminder that using technology is a paradigm shift and to effectively use blended learning, I have to flip some of my other policies and practices to make it work!
You are right that the teacher makes the climate, especially when talking about using phones in class. I learned my first year that you have to set rules, like if you catch someone off task on their phone then something has to happen. If you let one person off task, then another kid will be off task and another, and so on. Setting those rules saying that when we are on our phones, it is for educational purposes and anyone caught using it for other purposes will be disciplined. Setting those boundaries and rules up front is key.
DeleteTeaching with technology is a lot different than teaching normally and it definitely requires a skill. Usually when you teach from the book or a worksheet, what the student can learn is limited to what’s on those pages. However, when technology comes into play and you make learning interactive, then learning is enhanced in the classroom. Technology is being implemented into almost every school district in the country and truly is the way of the future. Which is making teachers all over the country having to adapt their teaching styles.
Oh man, I know the "domino effect" as I call it with discipline. You're right - when one is off task then it sets off a chain reaction!!
DeleteI like your thought about learning from a book or worksheet being limited. That's a great way to put it! I love seeing kids explore a topic because they want to - it just warms my teacher-heart.
Cell phones can absolutely enhance student learning in classrooms and this was never even a thought ten years ago in education! There are clearly some drawbacks that can happen with students using cell phones, however like the post says, if a teacher plans for success then success is bound to occur.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed all the apps that were linked in the article. Socrative was the one that stuck out to me because I had not seen it before and it seems to me that it is an app that would appeal to 8th graders. The idea behind friendly competition and collaborative learning between students are major focal points in 12-14 year olds educational lives.
The links that were in the article for educators to visit for more apps and web tools was extremely helpful as well! The teachers with apps website is full of hundreds of apps for various grade levels and is so easy to use. I have already bookmarked this website and will be revisiting it often throughout the summer.
I've used Socrative at the 9th grade level and my students loved it! I'm sure that 8th graders will enjoy it also. I also enjoyed reading about all the new apps. I can't wait to try some more next year.
DeleteHave you tried Padlet with your 8th graders? They might enjoy that as well.
I absolutely agree that cell phones can help in the classroom. Students love to use their technology, and use it for everything. Why should we not use it in the classroom?
ReplyDeleteI have seen Socrative before but have never really used it. I believe that I first learned about Socarative during a Mastery Connect professional development, but struggled to make Mastery Connect work in my classroom. Since I connected the two programs, I then failed to utilize Socrative. Maybe I should give it a second look.
Typically in the classroom I use cell phones, and other personal devices for web based applications (Xtramath, Reading Counts, Learnzillion and Youtube), and to develop web based reference skills (definitions, synonyms, antonyms, spellings...). There is an excitement seen in the children when you let them go to research or practice a concept on their personal device. What I like about it even more, is that with text books losing funding, students can look the same sites and concepts up at home to help with projects and homework.
I agree that textbooks are quickly disappearing from my school as well. I have found a completely different mix of students either thriving or drowning with their materials online/on screens. With my special needs population of students, I have found that the overwhelming majority of them struggle a lot with reading longer passages on a device. I've seen them start strong, but then start scrolling and scanning. Have you experienced this in your school? Also, do you struggle with keeping students on task when they're on their personal devices? It seems like as I said before, we start out strong and then slowly drift off to Snapchat-land. But then again, my students have much shorter attention spans than typical students, so maybe this has something to do with productivity.
DeleteIn my class, we often discuss self-control and devices. After these discussions, behavior seems to improve a lot. Does anyone else have strategies to fight the off-task behavior?
I am trying to get rid of the textbooks we use in class as well. They are not just bogging the students down with extra, non needed weight, but they are also about 30 years old. They still consider Pluto to be a planet and Cassini hasn't been sent to Saturn yet... The kids love doing everything online! Some of my kids use their devices to actually assist them with reading. For those who struggle with Dyslexia, they use their devices for audio books.
DeleteOne of the benefits to us with Chromebooks is that we can keep them on topic. Since their device requires the use of the school's Wifi, our tech people keep an eye on what they search. Any sketchy material, including many games and apps, are immediately flagged.
I hate outdated textbooks too!! It makes the kids mistrust books, from what I've seen. Nothing is faster than the internet for updated information - but on the flipside, directly teaching how to spot inaccurate/fake news is also important in this age.
DeleteCell phones can enhance learning in the classroom if the right activities are set in place for the students to be engaged. Cell phones are a slippery slope because if used right it can be a powerful tool in the classroom to play review games on, look up information quickly, and engage students during a lesson. However, if there is down time it makes it really easy for students to explore on their phone and be off task.
ReplyDeleteThe key is planning, the teacher can’t walk into class and just figure it out on the fly. Taking your planning time and looking for educational websites that will engage the kids throughout the lesson. Research projects have become way more interactive and beneficial now. The days of looking through the library for resources on your topic is over. The students have all the information at their fingertips; kids get excited when they can use technology for educational purposes. The students work out of the book a lot and I am sure it gets boring. Anytime you can bring technology into the classroom then it makes learning more fun and interactive. Kids have phones at a very early age and are often better than adults. Instead of having them turn pages in a book and fill out a worksheet. They have their phones, they can get on them and watch videos and look at pictures to make it more interactive/beneficial for them.
A review game I did with my kids all the time while I was teaching high school was Kahoot. They access Kahoot from their phones and it takes a boring review of the content into an interactive game. Much more beneficial than doing review problems out of the book for two class periods. Technology is a big tool that teachers have in the classroom today, which is why it is so crucial that we learn how to utilize it.
I totally agree with the slippery slope that cell phones create. I can not tell you how many times that I allowed students to do online activities on their personal phones such as Xtramath or Reading Counts, only to check on them and find them playing games or taking pictures. Those are examples of problems in an elementary school, I couldn't imagine what goes on in a high school.
DeleteI have been able to teach in both public and Catholic Schools, so I got to see both sides of this issue. While teaching in the public schools that allowed their students to use their cell phones, students stayed focused when they needed to for class. As soon as there was some free time, someone started playing FNAF or snap chatted one of their friends in another class.
ReplyDeleteAt my current school, phones aren't allowed to be carried around. Kids drop them off in a numbered bin in the office in the morning and then pick them up when they are released in the afternoon. They don't need the phones, because they have their Chromebooks with them all day. Rules that are typically applied to phone use in other schools are applied to their computer usage. They can't look up anything off topic without a teacher's permission. We know if they go off topic, because they instantly get flagged if they stray into foreign waters.
I liked the apps in the article. I am dissecting pigs next week with my 8th graders. They would have loved to dissect a frog on their computers first.
Rick,
DeleteI like your post because I have experienced what you have in the public schools these last three years. However, next year our school will not be allowing students to have their cell phones at all! I'm curious to see which side I'll actually like more. What is your preference?
I see both sides of the argument, but I feel as though it will just make things run much more smoothly if students aren't allowed to have cell phones at all. That way there's no gray area that students can flirt with.