WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION The George Lucas Educational Foundation
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Mary Ann (not verified)
Posted on 5/31/2006 4:21pm

Cell phones can be great if

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Cell phones can be great if used properly. As mentioned in the original posting, cell phones are useful for contacting students and teachers. However, cell phones can also be used for cheating, as mentioned in other postings. There are appropriate and inappropriate uses for all forms of technology. Obviously, we don't allow students to talk and pass notes during tests. Therefore, we should not allow cell phone use during tests. I would not do activities that require the use of a cell phone. Some students do not have cell phones, as some cannot afford them. I can afford to give students pencils and paper if they cannot afford them, but I cannot afford to give my poor students cell phones.
ron smith (not verified)
Posted on 5/31/2006 3:47am

Mary H.-- My students have

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Mary H.-- My students have already told me how to contact them--they have cell phones! They text each other, and me. They call, they make photos, they record each other. This question has already been answered. The new question is, how do I leverage what they already want to do into what I want them to do?
ron smith (not verified)
Posted on 5/31/2006 3:43am

Sue K.- Text messages cost

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Sue K.- Text messages cost two cents to receive and eight cents to send. Surely there cannot be a financial reason to avoid doing it.
Susan (not verified)
Posted on 5/31/2006 12:18am

I do not think that the use

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I do not think that the use of cell phones in school is a good idea. Not everyone has a cell phone that is capable of doing all the things mentioned. If there is a true emergency where a student must be notified, then the school office would be called to get ahold of the student. If students are responsible enough to have a cell phone, then they should be responsible enough to get to school on time. Plus every cell phone that I've seen has an alarm on it. I do think that cell phones are important for students who stay after school and need a ride home so that they can call someone to pick them up if they need to. Cell phones are also important for people who drive, in case of emergencies; however, as far as in class, I think that cell phones would cause more problems than benefits.
Chuck Fellows (not verified)
Posted on 5/30/2006 7:49pm

"You better start swimmin'

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"You better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone!" Bob is correct. "For the times they are a changin'." First, the cheating fixation. In a competitive environment cheating is required; in a collaborative environment it becomes cooperation, a highly desirable behavior. The future requires collaboration for survival - and nature practices it 24/7. Why can't we? Competition is destructive - just ask those shuttle astronauts who paid the ultimate price for budget competitions. You will have to wait a while. The price of an 'O' ring........... Therefore, create a collaborative classroom environment and focus on learning, not policing. Collaborate with students on the effective and ethical use of cell phones ( and anything else electronic) and stop trying to be the expert source on how to and how not to. The kids know, will teach and police one another - if you let them. They ARE smarter than we are! If you find collaborative behavior threatening try this: Wear a large permanent magnet on a rope around your neck (or place it somewhere highly visible in the room). Announce to the class that cells phones are welcome, as long as they are turned off. Turn it on during class and the permanent magnet will be attracted to your phone - causing permanent damage. Please make sure none of your students have a pacemaker! And incorporate the features of the cell phone into your curriculum - turn the object of your frustration in to multiple teachable moments. (Like the student in Pakistan who wanted to share knowledge.) You can erase pencil - those electronic bits just never seem to go away...... Can't we just "Love one another" instead of trying to punish everyone. Enough lyrics- already!
Jessica (not verified)
Posted on 5/30/2006 1:44am

I agree that fighting

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I agree that fighting students to not bring their cell phones to class is a losing battle. Therefore, teacher's must use them in a constructive way. There really are many good uses for them. As was mentioned in the article, the cell phone may be used as a computation device, a camera, a text-messaging device, a portable storage device, a music player, a word processor, and probably more. There are many ways that the phone could be incorporated into projects. However, some students as always will abuse the priviledge, but that should not stop a teacher from holding the rest of the students back. Set rules and stick to them, have consequences for inappropriate behavior and most students will appreciate the freedom. Now, I'm not sure if I like the idea of calling students to help them get to school. I think there comes a point when students have to be responsible for themselves, but I also think its important for students to have someone help hold them accountable and show them that someone cares about them and their future. So my mind is not made up on that topic. Overall, I believe that cell phones should be incorporated into the classroom. They are a great piece of technology that should be used.
Maloree (not verified)
Posted on 5/29/2006 9:11pm

I feel that the use of cell

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I feel that the use of cell phones at school is inappropiate and unnecessary during school hours. However, I like the idea of using them for class use only. Texting students to wake them up letting them know you care they are not there or texting an assingment is very clever. But you do have to be careful not to allow texting during class time. I think the teacher should take up all cell phone before class making sure all phones are in a bucket or a basket and then after class pass them out. There can be good use of cell phones at school you just have to make sure it is for the right reason.
Alan Berthelot (not verified)
Posted on 5/29/2006 1:16am

I am going to have to side

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I am going to have to side with the group who accept the technology that our world is using, BUT insist that rules must be followed. Just because it is there doesn't mean you have to use it. I agree that you must use multiple sensory inputs to really learn material and not just memorize it. Writing with pencil and paper is a great form of using other senses. Too often I have picked up papers to read and they are filled with all of the abbreviated script of IM, iPods and the like. The kids aren't being challenged to WRITE! We are becoming lazy and our kids are going to be the ones to suffer for it. I don't see a need for cell phones in the class. Liked mentioned before, if there is an emergency, the office has more than enough resources to receive and call out. If there is a need for pictures, the class or library has digital cameras. I have a CD player in my class to provide more than enough music during our lessons. I find it rude to have people taking calls during meetings, church, movies, and public gatherings all the while talking loud enough for the people two blocks away to hear them. I don't wan to be a part of their conversation, nor do I want them in mine. I still find it funny to see people walking and talking to what looks like no one, having an animated conversation, only to notice that they have a hands free cell. When I was growning up, we put people who seemed to be talking to themselves in a padded safe place.
Sue K. (not verified)
Posted on 5/28/2006 6:52am

As a non-traditional

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As a non-traditional education student, as well as a parent of two "early twenties" children, my thoughts on cell phones in the classroom can be drawn in two different directions. As a parent, I see students/kids everywhere with something always in their ears, either ipod earbobs, bluetooths or the actual phone, itself. I wonder where our society has come that we must be "entertained" every minute. Whatever happened with quiet coming into the mind to process our thoughts, ideas and feelings? Are we afraid of what we might think in the quiet? I realize a cell phone has become an everyday necessity but what about common courtesy with its use? During any type of activity where there is a group of individuals, I believe it's quite rude to have a phone go off especially with a downloaded ringtone rather than a "normal" ring. Is it that difficult to turn the phone to vibrate? The aspiring teacher in me sees the use of the cell phone as a technology tool but along with any item used for instruction, there have got to be guidelines. With the proper guidelines established at the beginning of the school year, cell phone usage as a piece of technology equipment could be very useful. My only negative thought with regard to how the teacher used the text-messaging feature was that of feasibility. To text-message, one either has to purchase so many messages a month or pay for each message as it is received or sent. In either case, as a teacher I would be "costing" my students (or their parents) money. As a parent, I would not be too happy with that.
ron smith (not verified)
Posted on 5/26/2006 11:40pm

Jordan, I come from an art

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Jordan, I come from an art background. That has shown me that 1) there is no limit to which people will not go to guard some special secret, talent, or skilled from being widely known, and 2) artists work in world of multiple inputs. Every studio I have ever visited, perhaps thousands, had music playing while people worked. I play music, loud, in my class as we work. We listen to a lot of movie scores, but we also listen to salsa, reggae, rock, folk, and third world music. Sometimes I think that students wear their iPods in self defense! I have been playing Greek music or salsa music in class, when it seemed like we should jump up and dance around the room. One time I said "Extra credit for anyone who will dance with me!" All of this creates an atmosphere where kids know they are safe, and that I WANT them to succeed. I will use any means, fair or unfair, to get my kids to succeed! The result, administrators, other teachers, and substitutes are amazed to see students come to my class, sit down, and start working, without direction. I don't have to do anything because these kids, MY kids, know this is a place for their success. I leave my ego at the door. As for parental reactions, they bought the electronics for their children, so they obviously know that the kids have them. On conference night I show parents the environment that their children are learning in. They seem to love it.
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