The use of cell phones in the classroom is certainly a new concept for me, and although I find it to be a great idea, it certainly takes a lot of imagination to determine how they might be useful. In the article Should Cell Phones Be Banned From Classrooms? the two sides are argue perspectives that seem to be to be somewhat in agreement with regard to the usefulness cell phone use, but in disagreement over whether or not the idea is realistic. That being said, I agree with points made by both authors.
Although I haven’t explored any uses myself, it appears that there are many ways that teachers could use cell phones in the classroom that would enhance the learning environment. Kolb suggests that they can be used as “audio recorders, digital video camcorders, still cameras, note-taking devices, calculation devices, scheduling and management tools, phone conferencing devices, Internet researching tools” and the list goes on (Allen, 2007/2008, p.9). This list sounds fantastic, but as Allen points out, “any phone that is worthy of being called an educational tool is not on the ‘buy one, get one free’ plan” (2007/2008, p.8). This is where we run into problems. Many students don’t own the types of phones that Kolb describes. For phones to be used in the ways listed above, every student would need to have the same features available to them, which is never a guarantee. Some might suggest that districts purchase cell phones for student use in schools, but this can be very expensive and I would have to agree with Allen’s assessment that “any monies spent on phones and plans would be much better served with any number of other technologies” such as laptops (2007/2008, p.9). However, I certainly agree with Kolb’s enthusiasm for finding ways that cell phones can be used to stimulate student interest. It could be realistic to take advantage of the simple cell phone features that you generally find on even the cheapest phones such as text messaging or audio recording, which all students likely have access to.
It may become more practical in the future to implement cell phone use in classrooms as fancier phones become more and more commonplace, but until then the questions we must ask ourselves when considering this issue are the following: Can the typical “bottom-of-the-line” cell phone really be very useful for learning in the classroom?; If not, how can we expect all students to carry cell phones with the features that would be useful for classroom use?; What if a few students in each classroom don’t even own cell phones at all?; Would it then be worth it to allocate school budget funds toward purchasing these advanced types of cell phones for classroom use or would those funds be better spent on other technological devices such as laptops?; Can we effectively manage the use of personal cell phones in class or is it counterproductive and distracting for students who would be inclined to use them for other non-educational purposes?
References
Allen, J., & Kolb, L. (2007/2008, December/January). Should Cell Phones Be Banned From Classrooms? Learning and Leading with Technology, 8-9.
Although I haven’t explored any uses myself, it appears that there are many ways that teachers could use cell phones in the classroom that would enhance the learning environment. Kolb suggests that they can be used as “audio recorders, digital video camcorders, still cameras, note-taking devices, calculation devices, scheduling and management tools, phone conferencing devices, Internet researching tools” and the list goes on (Allen, 2007/2008, p.9). This list sounds fantastic, but as Allen points out, “any phone that is worthy of being called an educational tool is not on the ‘buy one, get one free’ plan” (2007/2008, p.8). This is where we run into problems. Many students don’t own the types of phones that Kolb describes. For phones to be used in the ways listed above, every student would need to have the same features available to them, which is never a guarantee. Some might suggest that districts purchase cell phones for student use in schools, but this can be very expensive and I would have to agree with Allen’s assessment that “any monies spent on phones and plans would be much better served with any number of other technologies” such as laptops (2007/2008, p.9). However, I certainly agree with Kolb’s enthusiasm for finding ways that cell phones can be used to stimulate student interest. It could be realistic to take advantage of the simple cell phone features that you generally find on even the cheapest phones such as text messaging or audio recording, which all students likely have access to.
It may become more practical in the future to implement cell phone use in classrooms as fancier phones become more and more commonplace, but until then the questions we must ask ourselves when considering this issue are the following: Can the typical “bottom-of-the-line” cell phone really be very useful for learning in the classroom?; If not, how can we expect all students to carry cell phones with the features that would be useful for classroom use?; What if a few students in each classroom don’t even own cell phones at all?; Would it then be worth it to allocate school budget funds toward purchasing these advanced types of cell phones for classroom use or would those funds be better spent on other technological devices such as laptops?; Can we effectively manage the use of personal cell phones in class or is it counterproductive and distracting for students who would be inclined to use them for other non-educational purposes?
References
Allen, J., & Kolb, L. (2007/2008, December/January). Should Cell Phones Be Banned From Classrooms? Learning and Leading with Technology, 8-9.
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteWow. Well-written blog post. I agreed with you on a lot of points, especially that most students don't have spectacular cell phone plans or even cell phones at all! I was surprised neither author brought up the fact that not every child even OWNS a cell phone. I also agree funds could be used on a lot more useful technologies than cell phones at this point in time. In addition, time could be used a lot more productively than teaching cell phone use. At any rate, I also see why you say it's a good idea. I just can't picture it...
Alison