From Toy to Tool: Cell Phones in Learning

Teenagers and young adults no longer talk they text!

2010-08-08T22:24:00.003-04:00

An interesting phenomena has occurred over the last decade. According to a new article from the Washington Post, with the rise of text messaging among teenagers and young adults has come a demise of talking on the phone. The preference of texting over talking is not limited to teenagers, may adults in their 20's and 30's also prefer to text message. According to Nielsen, the national average monthly voice minutes have gone from 1,200 to 900 from 2008 to 2010. And amongst teenagers and young adults (18 to 24) the monthly average went from 600 messages a month in 2008 two years ago to more than 1,400 in 2010. The cost of text messaging has also declined over the past few years, according to Nielsen, the average customer in the US now pays about 1 penny per text message, thus making it a very accessible form of communication.

I think this information is relevant to K-12 education and teachers. Knowing that the preferred form of communication is quickly changing from a phone call to text message informs educators that schools should be taking full advantage of that form of communication. While some schools are stating to use Text Message Alert systems (I like the free system of http://txtblaster.com), and a few educators are now doing some integrating of text messaging into their core curricula (such as this English teacher who has his students texting poetry ), many are still shying away from this new literacy (even dismissing it as a negative form of communication). Knowing that text messaging is fast becoming the #1 form of communication reminds me that it will also be an important literacy for the 21st century job force.

Teenager Ethan Davids describes how essential his phone is to him

2010-07-24T21:55:00.002-04:00

I recently read an article written by a 17 year old high school student. The article focused on why the teenager believes cell phones are essential tools for learning. Below are a few excerpts from the article

"As a student who has experienced some very rowdy and distracting classes, I know that mobile phones can cause huge distractions for not only students, but teachers as well. I am also aware that mobile phones can be a danger to the school environment; however I believe they can still have their benefits in the classroom."

"An argument I have never understood is that youngsters have become too reliant on their mobiles. Nowadays mobile phones can be as useful to people as a pencil and paper, and I have never come across an argument that adults have become too reliant on those!"

The author, Ethan, makes an excellent point at the end of the article, and a point that many teachers who have allowed cell phone use in learning seem to echo, which is that once cell phones are allowed to be out in the open in schools, rather than banned, then teachers can control who, what, where and how the cell phones are used. Here is his quote,

"Eventually I hope mobile phones will be looked upon in a much more reasonable way and take a more important role in education. After all, there’s only so much fun you can have with editing teachers’ faces!"

Speak Up 2009: The biggest Obstacle to Using Technology in Ed...Not Being Able to Use Student's Own Mobile Devices!

2010-07-01T14:51:00.000-04:00

Very interesting research has just been published by the Tomorrow Group (Speak Up 2009) about mobile phones and education. Here are a few highlights:

PARENTS SAY YES!

63% of parents say they would buy their child a cell phone if they knew it would be used for educational purposes

ONLY 18% of parents dismiss mobile devices as not having a positive impact on learning.

Potential Benefits of Using Cell Phones in Learning According to PARENTS!

43% Increases student engagement
41% Prepares students for world of work
38% Extends school day learning
37% Provides access to online textbooks
35% Improves teacher-parent-student communications
32% Students can review class materials
31% Personalizes instruction
27% Provides way to help struggling students

Student's HAVE Cell phone ACCESS:

98% of high school students have a cell phone (31% with mobile Internet)
83% of middle school students have a cell phone (25% with mobile Internet)
43% of 3rd through 5th graders have a cell phone (15% with mobile Internet)
28% of K-2nd graders have a cell phone (12% with mobile Internet)

Student's Suggest Ways to Use Cell Phone for Learning:

Look up information on Internet
Record or take notes
Work on projects with classmates
Access digital textbooks
Take videos of class presentations or experiments
Play educational games
Communicate with classmates
Receive reminders and alerts
Organize schoolwork
Communicate with teacher
Learn about school activities
Access social networks
Create and share documents/media
Upload assignments and work to portals
Coordinate calendars
Share/edit bookmarks

Teacher's Fears of Integration
76% Students will be distracted
62% Not all students have the mobile devices
33% Concerned that students will cheat using the devices
24% Do not know how to effectively use the devices within instruction
23% Need curriculum to support the use of mobile devices

Yet ONLY 13% of teachers dismiss mobile devices as not having a positive impact on learning.

Send Group Text, Email, And Audio Phone Messages to Students or Parents With One Click for Free!

2010-06-02T21:27:00.004-04:00

I recently came across the site SendGM, which is set up to send mass group messages (and receive replies) to cell phones (both text and audio) as well as email accounts at the same time! It is an incredibly easy site to use. Teachers can sign up for a free account, add their contact's preferences (e.g. text, phone call, or email), and then schedule a mass message to be sent at a particular time, and select if they want the recipients to reply or respond to the message. All responses are collected in the teacher's SendGM account!

This is an excellent resource for administrators to send out mass messages to parents or community members using their preferred tool (call, email, text). This is also a perfect resource for teacher's to send out mass messages to parents and/or students. Some examples would include homework reminders, short homework quizzes, polling questions, or other class-related announcements. Under the free plan one account can have up to 25 contacts. If teachers or administrators need to have more contacts they can pay a $79 a year for 100 contacts or 149 a year for 250 contacts (there are more plans as well). This is by far one of the best messaging services I have come across. I really like that it sends messages to the recipients preferred form of communication (and you don't have to send 3 separate messages).

Does banning cell phones in school cause more problems than integrating them?

2010-05-21T09:42:00.003-04:00

"Thomas" a student who read my blog, posted this comment:

"The whole having to hide the cell phone is really why so many students are not able to pay attention. If we were allowed our cell phones as we work, we would pay a lot more attention, since we don't have to keep glancing down at the cell phone we are currently hiding under a table. I am able to avoid the whole messaging thing during school, but if they allowed it i have the feeling my grades would go higher, and my learning would improve"

What are your thoughts? Do you think that by not allowing cell phones in the classroom it causes more issues with distraction than by allowing them?

Current Trends in the Business World With Text Message

2010-05-11T23:21:00.002-04:00

In order for schools to prepare student to be productive citizens and works in the 21st century, it is important to understand the current technology trends in the business world. According to the United Business Wire the following are some popular ways that businesses are using text messaging.

1) Promotional Campaigns

Many companies are using text messaging aim at providing an immediate and interactive experience with a brand via a consumer's mobile phone. Some examples include; contests, voting, surveys, customer satisfaction research, or in-store campaign.

Examples:

Mobile Advertising

http://www.mojiva.com/

Mobile Gift Giving

http://www.giiv.com/

http://www.kangogift.com/

2) Scheduling appointments

Text messaging is becoming the standard way of confirming appointments, scheduling and sending out appointment reminders.

Example:

http://www.timecenter.com/

3) Promoting Properties

Real Estate agents use text messaging as a convenient way to communicate with prospective buyers by sending them information about a new property on the market. Often through a "keyword" campaign where the keyword is posted by properties for sale and in advertisements.

Example:

http://www.forsalebytxt.com/

Companies NEED workers to create and manage these mobile campaigns and markets! Schools need to prepare students to work in this business world.

Spanish teacher in WI shares how she uses cell phones in high school

2010-04-26T21:49:00.003-04:00

One of my PLN friends on twitter @kmtitler was on the local news in Wisconsin as a Golden Apple award winner. She was sharing how she uses cell phones to engage her Spanish students in language learning.

Latest PEW Study on Cell Phones and Teens

2010-04-24T22:04:00.003-04:00

The most recent PEW study on Teens and Cell Phones conducted by Amanda Lenhart has uncovered some interesting (although not surprising) data. Below are a few of the highlights (quoted from the document itself):

Cell phones help bridge the digital divide: Teens from low-income households, particularly African-Americans, are much more likely than other teens to go online using a cell phone.
Most schools treat the phone as a disruptive force that must be managed and often excluded from the school and the classroom.
For parents, teens' attachment to their phones is an area of conflict and regulation.
Girls more fully embrace most aspects of cell phone-based communication.
One in three teens sends more than 100 text messages a day, or 3000 texts a month.
One in three (34%) texting teens ages 16-17 say they have texted while driving. That translates into 26% of all American teens ages 16-17.
4% of teens say they have sent a sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude image of themselves to someone via text message.
15% of teens say they have received a sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude image of someone they know by text.

Receive text messages without giving out your number!

2010-04-12T20:53:00.003-04:00

A new web application called TxtMeBox allows anyone to set up an account so they can receive text messages without having to give out their phone number. When you sign up, you recive a link that you can post on your website (blog, wiki...etc) so that students or parents can click on the link and send you a text. Fortunately you also get a link to cancel all text messages, so that you can stop them if you get bombarded!

Here is my link.
http://www.txtmebox.com/5gxiolrt08

Cell Phones in Learning Radio Show April 7th: Science Teacher Victor Fitzjarrald's Cell Phone in Classroom Research

2010-04-11T17:09:00.006-04:00

http://www.cellulared.com (victor's site)

New Research on Student's and Cell Phone Use

2010-03-23T20:48:00.006-04:00

The annual Speak Up Report (Download Speak Up Press Release 2009) has emerged with some interesting data sourrounding mobile devices. The results are excellent news for teachers and schools considering mobile devices in learning! Below are a few of the findings from the report.

Among high school students
85 percent report having an iPod
70 percent have a laptop or netbook
30 percent have smart phones

For the first time since 2003, when asked to identify the major obstacle to prevent use of technology in school, students in grades 6–12 said “I cannot use my own cell phone, smart phone or Mp3 player in school.” Previously, the top response was “school filters and firewalls.”

11% of teachers and 16% of parents dismiss mobile devices as having no positive impact on learning. (This means that overwhelmingly parents and teachers agree that mobile devices can have a beneficial impact on learning!!!)

67% of teachers think students will be distracted and more than half are concerned that not all students will have access

In The Three Screen Report just released by Nielsen, it was found that...

"Active mobile video users grew by 57% from 2008 to 2009, from 11.2 million to 17.6 million. Much of this increase can be linked to the strong growth of smartphones in the marketplace."

The age bracket watching the most videos on mobile devices is 12-17!

Tweet Call! For Students Without Internet at Home

2010-03-16T23:00:00.005-04:00

If you have a class twitter account or your students have accounts to use for learning, you know that some students do not have access to the account at home. While some students can use text messages, it is cumbersome to participate in Twitter with a basic phone and SMS text (not too mention costly if you don't have unlimited texting). However, with the free resource Tweet Call, your students can dial in (1-877-TweetCall), speak their tweet and it instantly shows up on Twitter as a speech to text translation! This is a wonderful application for iReporting on the go with Twitter, posting brainstorming ideas, homework reflections, summarizing, as well as current events.

MACUL Picture/Film on the Fly Contest!

2010-03-10T22:35:00.004-05:00

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE "TECHNOLOGY DON'T"
http://tiny.cc/kolbpic (to see full results)
http://tiny.cc/Picfly

WINNER is #13 Picture (No, No texting and Driving)

To participate! Before 10:00pm send a picture of "technology dont's" to tall63haw@photos.flickr.com

Winner will receive a copy of Liz's Book! Voting begins after 10:00pm on this site.

Students Can Participate in The National Voting Process and Text or Email their Reps with Visible Vote!

2010-03-04T22:49:00.005-05:00

I recently came across a free mobile application called Visible Vote. From the website you can download it to your cell phone (NOTE: it does not work with all phones yet). Visible Vote gives live updates on votes happening in Congress, and tells how your local representatives are voting on different bills. In addition, it allows you to vote and "have your say". Finally, you can text or email your local representative via your cell phone with Visible Vote (they do all the work for you!). It is a fun and easy way for social studies students to get involved in the democratic process inside and outside of the classroom!

Watch the movie on how visible works!

Cell Phone Ownership by Age, Gender, Income, and Region in U.S.

2010-03-01T21:38:00.003-05:00

Retrieved from Marist

Cell Phones in Learning Radio: An Interview with World Language Teacher Peyton Jobe on Using Google Voice

2010-03-01T21:36:00.002-05:00

Cell Phones in Learning Radio Show February 10th: Ariana Leonard-Florida Teacher Using Cell Phones in ESL & Spanish

2010-02-14T21:38:00.001-05:00

Teen and Tween Texting in the U.S.

2010-02-11T20:03:00.003-05:00

According to a recent study conducted by The Nielsen Company of over 40,000 cell phone bills, the average teenager (13-17) is sending 10 text messages an hour, and the average pre-teen (0-12) is sending 4 text messages per hour. Both are well above the national average.

New Study: Texting Helps Children Learn to Spell.

2010-01-24T16:49:00.003-05:00

I know there are lots of questions and concerns around whether text messaging is hurting literacy learning (especially spelling and grammar). In a brand new study in the U.K., it was found that text messaging actually helped children develop "phonological awareness" which is needed to learn how to correct spellings. Thus helping children learn how to spell. By texting often, it allows children to practice spelling on a daily basis. The kids who text more often (especially those who use textism or abbreviations such as "plz" or "4ever"), showed higher scores on spelling exams.

The study was authored by Coventry University psychology Profs. Beverly Plester and Clare Wood. The following sums up the two major findings:
1) "The proportions of textisms that kids used in their sentence translations was positively linked to verbal reasoning; the more textspeak kids used, the higher their test scores"
2) "The younger the age at which the kids had received mobile phones, the better their ability to read words and identify patterns of sound in speech."

Cell Phones in Learning Radio Show January 13th: California Educator Judy Pederson

2010-01-19T14:53:00.000-05:00

Text Help to Haiti

2010-01-15T23:28:00.002-05:00

Text Help Organizations:
Donate $5 to Wyclef Jean's Haiti Relief Fund
Text "yele" to 501501

Donate $10 to Bill Clinton's Relief Fund
Text "Haiti" to 20222

Donate to $10 International Medical Corps
Text "Haiti" to 85944

Donate $10 to Red Cross
Text "Haiti" to 90999

SCVNGR: Cell Phone Scavenger Hunt Builder!

2010-01-04T20:45:00.015-05:00

Thank you to Jeffrey Branzburg for pointing me towards a resource called SCVNGR. In SCVNGR you can participate in or create your own mobile scavenger hunts. The great aspect of this application is that you can use it with basic text messaging (no GPS or smartphone required) OR you can use it with an iPhone! Most of the scavenger hunt type applications online only use smartphones, so it is fantastic to come across one that is more accessible (since over 60% of cell phone users still have basic phones). It is very easy to create your own SMS scavenger hunts. SCVNGR using a WYSIWYG template system to set it up. Once you set it up, students can start the game themselves OR the teacher can start the game for all the students by sending a mass text message. The hunt can be anywhere! Museums, around the city, in the school, non-fiction, fiction...etc. The hunt can also be timed or not. In addition, the hunt clues can be mixed differently for each student or group of students so that they do not arrive in the same place at the same time! In addition, when you finish creating your scavenger hunt you get a handy down-loadable handout for the students with easy instruction on how to participate in your unique game (see the one I made below)! Wow! That is a great time-savor for me. No need to make a how-to tutorial! In addition, you can include pictures in the hunt and grade the pictures via the SCVNGR website! The only negative of this resource is that there is a small cost to create your own hunt (they use credits for each game). However, they do have special fees for universities (so my guess is that a school could negotiate a very small fee). There is no cost for students to play (of course they should know their text messaging plans).

Classroom Integration Ideas
Downtime Play
When students finish a test or quiz, there is usually some downtime for some of them. They could participate in or create their own mobile scavenger hunt (for example in an English class students could answer clues about the upcoming novel or in a science class they could try to answer clues about the upcoming science unit while in their seats waiting for the other students to finish).

Spring Break (or other school breaks)
Doing mobile scavenger hunts around the city (or at local museums) might be a nice way to keep students connected to the classroom learning goals while they are on break.

Student Create Their Own
Students could research local history or science phenomenon and then create a scavenger hunt for their classmates.

Using Cell Phones & Google Voice in Foreign Language

2009-12-29T23:13:00.004-05:00

My co-instructor Jeff Stanzler sent me this Educause article about a Spanish teacher who started using Google Voice with his students for oral language activities. While I have been talking about the potential benefits of Google Voice and foreign language, this is the first time I have really seen it put into practice. Here are a few Key Takeaways from the article:

To pursue a paradigm shift in education with limited finances, schools should consider taking advantage of ubiquitous cell phone technology for pedagogical purposes that square with best practices within appropriate disciplines.
New Internet SMS and messaging services are proving especially useful to language teachers, turning the focus away from the particulars of language and writing and toward whole language oral output and pronunciation, even at the beginner level.
Cell phones give faculty access to students both in and out of the classroom, providing greater power to instruct, persuade, cajole, encourage, motivate, and engage.
Students who record their voices in computer language labs or using cell phones become more engaged and invested in those potentially public recordings.

The Author (Peyton Jobe) describes how he uses Google Voice with both upper and lower level Spanish students:

"Cell phones offer an accountability tool for teachers inside the classroom. As an example, for lower level classes I can instruct my students to form small groups and, within a given time frame, call my Google Voice number and record a narration of an illustration or picture sequence. In the higher level classes, I can ask groups to come up with a succinct recorded comparison/contrast analysis of two different perspectives (textual and/or auditory) on a given subject. Either way, embracing whole language oral output turns the focus from the particulars of language and writing to whole language and pronunciation. It also allows for efficient instructor identification of common problem points."

Does Your 9 Year Old Have a Cell Phone?

2009-12-12T13:28:00.003-05:00

The average 13 to 17 year old sends 2000 text messages a month!
The average age to first own a cell phone is between 9 & 10
The average age to borrow a cell phone is 8

Reference Here

Cell Phones in Learning Radio Show Dec. 2nd: Education Technology Developer Rick Weinberg

2009-12-09T14:57:00.001-05:00