Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Harnessing the Power of Cell Phones in Class Lesson Plans

While many educators have never considered harnessing the power of cell phones in education, and some are downright hostile when the suggestion is brought up, there are many terrific ways cells can be used to enrich learning while empowering students to use these devices to capture knowledge in engaging ways. Educators are embracing the use of cell phones around the world, and these educators know it's not if we should be using cell phones in school, but when. These teachers are both in schools where they must think outside the ban and incorporate cells outside the school day as well as in schools and districts that empower educators to make the right decision for their classrooms. Some of these teachers are even in schools where they have partnered with phone service providers to give their students phones.

In an effort to collect ideas around how cell phones are being used to enrich instruction, I am calling upon innovative educators to contribute lesson ideasby submitting them to to http://tinyurl.com/cellphonelesson . Whether you are already doing this type of work with your students, or you are just starting to consider the possibilities, your ideas are valuable. Submitted ideas may be selected for publication in a variety of arenas (providing full credit to the author) and enabling teachers everywhere to start collecting smart lessons that incorporate using cell phones.

Below are some lessons that educators can start using now and which can serve as a guide for a lesson you may want to submit.

Literacy
Bring Poetry to Life with A Cell Phone and A Voki

Social Studies
Using Google SMS to Enrich Social Studies Instruction

Learners of Languages Other Than English
Google Voice as a Powerful "Get to Know You" and Speaking Fluency Tool

Science
Energy Transfer Lab with iPhone Clock
Science Current Event Analysis
Science Lesson: Celebrating Science Fair Projects with Twitter

I am also looking for testimonials. If you have tried any of these lessons or your own, tell us how it went at http://tinyurl.com/cellphonetestimonial .

2 comments:

  1. Hi
    I read your comment its very true now a days students can use their cell phones during school to cause problems amongst students and bully others. School-related violence and cases of bullying are on the rise, and officials already have their hands full dealing with problematic students and keeping order in their institutions; allowing students to use devices such as cell phones during school hours will make such problems easier to perpetrate and harder to control.
    Students can use cell phones during school to carry out illicit activities such as placing or taking orders for drug deals, provoking students to fight each other, take and place bets on sporting events or other forms of gambling, or planning events such as bomb threats and other security breaches.for more details please visit at:-Cash4Phones.com.Thanks for shareing with us.

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  2. Exactly, the downside outweighs the possible advantages. Teachers have a difficult enough job, why add more headaches? Pushing this are gadget freaks and toy collectors turned teachers who want to transform kids into mirror images of themselves.

    I'm not in favor of "the geeks shall inherit the earth."

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