Four Ways to Use Cell Phones in the Classroom
I’ll be the first to admit that I was once a skeptic about the use of cell phones for learning in the classroom. It wasn’t until I researched various methods and creative applications that I began accepting the idea. One of biggest quarrels I had with students using cell phones is the potential of their already-short attention spans becoming distracted by a device that is predominantly used in the “outside world.” But, I’ve come to the realization that students can theoretically become preoccupied by anything. Cell phones aren’t the only culprit of interruption! In fact, using innovative, mobile technology in lesson plans can actually preserve their minds from becoming uninterested and stale. It even has the potential of bringing a creative and stimulating aspect that many other tools cannot. So without further ado, here are four unique ways to use cell phones in the classroom:
Image from iStock
- Have students text you (the teacher) a sentence using a vocabulary word correctly. You may want to remind them that texting slang cannot be used, and proper grammar should be applied.
- Students can take a photo of something that applies to a lesson, i.e. vocabulary, math application or equation (like measuring cups), historical event, or current event. These photos can be shared on a blog, or bulletin board. Vocab Gal shares a fun way to do this with a lesson plan– Scavenger Hunt for Vocabulary.
- Require students to download a free app and use it for a week. Then, assign them to write a short paragraph discussing how the app helps or hinders study, and have them present it to the class.
- Have students record a personal log for a week using a voice or video recorder on their phone. You may want to give them a theme, such as one thing they learned that day. They can edit their recordings with added pictures and text, and then share them with the class.
The trend of using cell phones in the classroom for educational purposes has certainly caught fire. While controversy with its use is still evident, I truly believe that relating them in the correct way can enrich learning and improve engagement. Can you think of any additional ways to creatively use cell phones in the classroom?
Derek richards wrote on February 23, 2012 at 5:55 am:
QR codes QR code reader free app such as I-Nima , checkout my blog I tend to show how I use tech in my lessons pupils do use their mobiles in my lessons and I. Put it on the blog what they do also check my tweets @richards_james tend to be about technology developments etc .
wrightstuffmusic wrote on February 23, 2012 at 8:02 pm:
Love it. Thank you for this timely advice. I have been allowing my senior kids to use Evernote in my classroom for documenting evidence, collating materials and taking notes on my lessons. Even kids who would lose every piece of paper given to them make outstanding notes on their iPhones’ ‘notes’ app.
I had not considered the texting before (classes are small) but I will try this.
Thanks again for the ideas and I’ll be blogging about this soon.
sweetsharmila wrote on March 6, 2012 at 7:48 am:
Very genuine issue u have raised..but it is always difficult to manage it in the right time…….difficult to control them.
Bekah Lund wrote on April 7, 2012 at 4:45 am:
Awesome ideas, especially for Language Arts teachers! I didn’t even think about using cell phones for vocabulary practice. Whose phone do the kids text to, though? A school phone or your personal phone? This is what I’m wondering about now as I contemplate incorporating cell phones and texting into my classroom.
Paul Smith wrote on April 9, 2012 at 7:06 pm:
Typically, teachers will have students text to their personal phone. There are ways to go about it to keep phone numbers private. Free Technology for Teachers shares a tool to use in order to do this– http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/10/class-parrot-text-students-and-parents.html
Thank you for your comment!
Patrick Diemer wrote on April 26, 2012 at 12:08 pm:
This is the more of the same, use cell phones in meaningful ways. Why not have the kids practice vocabulary on sheets of paper? Kids will like it for a couple days then they will realize that is the same thing…