Monkey scribbles …

Gilbert (2009) states that “Teachers should relax about pupil’ mobile phones – they can boost standards and liven up the lesson if used imaginatively”.  He believes that “As teachers we have a duty to show children that these pieces of technology are not taboo items … and that they can have a very real role in the classroom”. He has found that other teachers, like him, are up in arms about students using mobile phones in classrooms. 

Nottingham University conducted a survey recently to consider ways in which mobile phones can really help boost standards. They found that if mobile phones were used wisely and imaginatively then the benefits for worthwhile learning of individuals was enhanced. Examples of the use of mobile phones by students included setting deadlines on digital diaries, using bluetooth to send work to one another, researching issues on the web, and taking videos of the teacher explaining key concepts during a class. An exciting enhancement in mobile phones and one that has a central use to learning is the advent of “e-books”. The use of this tool on a mobile phone allows for not needing to carry around numerous, heavy textbooks or forgetting to bring items required to classes.

As Gilbert (2009) identifies, “… mobile phones are here to stay and are increasingly becoming a vital part of our modern world”. Further, he states that “It’s time for the teaching profession to enter the 21st century and embrace mobile phones as tools for learning, not agents of destruction”.

Reflection

What experience(s) do you have with mobile phones in the classroom?

What strategies would you employ to actively use mobile phones when teaching in your subject area(s)?

Same Suburb Different Park (2009) identify in their post ‘Mobile phones put to good use‘ that some of the other uses of a mobile phone are related to constructive, educational uses within learning. They refer to the 2008 Horizon Report which outlines a variety of uses including the suggestion of podcasted information for museum tours. Whilst technology is constantly changing and the mobile phone is caught up with a paradigm of not always being a phone, schools and educators are faced with interesting challenges. Consideration needs to be given to the effective and responsible usage of mobile phones, as tools, in the teaching and learning process. Same Suburb Different Park (2009) state that “the iPhone and similar next-generation phones have arrived in Australia but are still basically in a stage of infancy”. Some educators today are also in a stage of infancy at realising the changes that have occurred with technology and how these changes might impact on their classroom and the learning by students and themselves.

Reflection

How should mobile technology including phones be used in classrooms?

What constraints are there that need to be considered if mobile phones are used in the delivery of a lesson?

Image Source

Original Chart:  Nokia Mobile Phones; There Is One For Everyone!

Made available under Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution

Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Available at: http://www.mypage.com/smallbiznet/weblog/category/Mobile%20Edition

Shaw (2005) recognises that cellular telephones have been widely available for over 15 years. She identifies in her article ‘Students and Cell Phones: Controversy in the Classroom‘ that schools and legislators have not yet reached a clear decision on their appropriate use in school environments. In her discussions, Shaw considers the pros and cons of student cell phone usage; limiting student use of cell phones; short-term solutions; and, the future of cell phones on the classroom. She states that “Keeping up with technological advances is not easy, particularly when benefits and drawbacks may not be clear, but it is necessary”.

It is interesting to read an article about this topic published 4 years ago and the thought pattern that was around then. We are now experiencing the future and there are considerations that are needing to be made regularly about the use of cell phones in classrooms and by students. Shaw states that “Well-thought-out cell phone policies enable schools to continue to reflect the society they serve”.

As educators, what do we need to consider about cell phone use in our classrooms and/or schools by students?

Image source: http://elearningstuff.wordpress.com/2008/03/