Cellphones in the Classroom-
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The joy a 9-year-old gets from his first cellphone!
Last week we had a very informative speaker come in and talk to us about all of the educational uses for a cellphone. I was fascinated by her presentation and grateful for all of the resources she shared with us. I was also very moved by her story and found it extremely motivating.
I was unsure about incorporating cellphones into my classroom because I did not want students without a smart phone to be at a disadvantage. The guest speaker shared with us numerous things you could do with students with just a simple flip phone! I was blown away.
Audioblogger - I think this would be a great tool to use with students. As a science teacher I imagine taking students on a trip outside and having them audio record what they saw, what interested them, what they would like to know more about, etc. This would be useful for me to learn about what their interests are but it could also be an intriguing lesson launch for students. There are a lot of different avenues we could go down from here...
As a mom I agreed with the speaker when she presented evidence about - the younger students are introduced to texting the better their ability to read words. My son could read by the age of three and he spent a lot of time on my cellphone. When we would be out to long dinners he would text his aunts and uncles to pass the time. He began by asking me how to spell certain words around the age of two and I would help and tell him what they had said back. As time went on he got better and better at not only texting but reading the responses. So far this year he has gotten a 100% on every single one of his spelling tests and he is one of the top readers in his class, although math and social studies are his favorite subjects. The guest speaker got quite a bit of negative feedback when she presented this evidence but I agree with what she presented. My son is in 3rd grade and just got his first phone for his birthday. He loves the games on it but also uses the kindle app to read books :)
The only question I had that I did not get to ask was - how do you find out what phone, if any, students have without embarrassing those without. The only thing I could think of was an anonymous survey. Any other ideas or things you guys have seen?
I thought this was a really great post based on personal experience Jeni! I enjoyed reading how you were able to see how your son picked up on reading by using your cellphone. Although I don't know a lot of science to back it up, I might agree with you that kids who have grown up with texting might be better readers in some regards. Even being exposed to text on paper when younger is helpful for kids when learning to read. But as an English teacher I'm still seeing a lot of errant misspellings in papers that should be corrected by students before turning them in. Perhaps this has nothing to do with texting, but more with relying on Microsoft Word spell checker to make sure every word is spelled correctly regardless if it's actually the right word to use in that context. I'm hoping to think about this idea as my placement continues this year. (P.S., I love that he uses the Kindle app to read books!)
ReplyDeleteI agree that a survey might be the easiest way to find out what kinds of phones students are using, or maybe reaching out to parents might be worthwhile. But like you said, if many of the cell phone programs can be used even on the simplest of cell phones, then perhaps it doesn't matter what kinds of cell phones the students are using? Maybe kids could share their cell phones in class if a student doesn't have theirs for things like in-class polling? This is definitely something we still need to think about!
Hey Jeni!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this relation of your personal experience with your son's cell phone use. I feel like it's too often that we hear about the negative aspects of children's technology use -- lower attention spans, the relative dangers of the internet, distraction from "real life" -- without ever hearing about the many positive brain-building aspects of internet technology. For myself, I know for a fact that I wouldn't be the same student I am today without having had access to the internet and instant messaging, the latter of which really caused me to improve my written communicative skills. It wasn't a cell phone, no -- but I think that texting is the logical progression of a sequence in which written communication is becoming more convenient, instant, and ubiquitous than it ever has been in the past. Overall, I think your post especially emphasizes that technology use is really whatever we make of it. No, I don't think it's healthy for a toddler to play Candy Crush for five hours a day -- but to look at a kid the same age who is learning fundamental skills of reading and writing so that he can communicate with loved ones ... well, shoot. I think it's a wonderful thing.
Matt
Hey Jeni! Your post makes me think of how teachers need to acknowledge, adjust, and accommodate for a new generation of youth who have technology at their fingertips, which is very different from how many of us grew up. That means we need to think more carefully about how tech use may be giving them certain advantages as learners, such as texting. Texting may be helping students read, write, and spell because they are constantly communicating with others through phones and even social media networks. The story about your son and his desire to read and spell words for the sake of communicating through text is a great example of how some students are benefitting from increased technology use at a young age. Technology can give young people access to communicate in all different forms. But I can also see how not all students will react like your son did. Some students may end up getting too comfortable with "text speech" that they won't make the transition into "formal" speech without guidance and explicit instruction about when to use each type of speech/writing. I'm interested to know how you (or his teachers) have helped him understand the difference between "text speech" and formal speech - as in, when it is appropriate to use different types of writing and forms of communication. Or is that something he picked up on his own and he didn't need any explicit guidance/instruction?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I LOVE the pictures. Your son looks absolutely thrilled!
Hey Anna-
DeleteThanks for taking the time to read my blog! I agree that we need to find ways to incorporate cell phones and technology into our classes instead of constantly battling with students.
I am not sure what you mean by text speech. Do you mean abbreviations like ttyl instead of talk to you later? I think maybe the reason my son did not have these issues is because I don't use text speech. I think I am too old! :) Most of my siblings also text using full words and phrases. So most of the people he was texting with did not use text speech. I am not sure if he would have been confused in school and used abbreviations or text speech had he seen me use them and then himself used them when texting?
Jeni