Very interesting article. I can see how text messaging like that can help students be more accountable for the assignments and feel like they are engaged. How do you keep in touch with the students who don't have a cell phone?

Samantha,

That some kids don't have a cell phone is a problem, albeit a shrinking one. Usually, I know who doesn't have a phone and who their friends are. I alert their friends to make sure that the phone-less get the word. The kids always talk to each other, so this has never failed.

I have read your article (and the subsequent responses) about the use of cell phones in class (and your first post on this subject - A pencil is a word processor). I want to congratulate you on your forward and progressive thinking in this matter. I am currently a student in a teacher ed program. I am always looking to find new and creative ways to integrate technology into the curriculum I am developing. I do have a few questions/concerns about the use of cell phones though, and nothing about cheating on tests.
My first concern that I was thinking about while reading the pencil one, was addressed somewhat in this article. The idea that texting would take place while students are in other classes or even other social settings that deem cell phones inappropraite (ie movies, church, funerls, etc).
Another concern is that by texting them reminders about assignments being due, aren't we making students less accountable for their personal actions regarding dead lines. I just feel like the students should be responsible for knowing when an assignment is due from the syllabus or in class mentions.
My next question is about the general implementation of this idea. Your coordinator was receptive to the idea, and the fact that you mentioned an academy leads me to believe it is a private institution. In my experiances from public schools, cell phones are on the "attempting to be banned" list. Has anyone else here been able to persuade their public school principals that this is a good idea?

Again thank you for the excellent idea.

Does the school not get mad that the students have cell phones on in class? I know the school that I attended would not allow us to take our phones to class, and if we do they will take our phone away. How does your school feel with students having cell phones? Is this even an issue?

I don't feel that texting assignment "reminders" will make students less accountable. I am a mortgage consultant and my computer "reminds" me about the meetings and appointments I have scheduled. I think one misconception of high school students is that they don't have any other responsibilities outside of school, let alone the six different classes they have. Many students play sports, have jobs, take care of an elderly grandparent, watch their younger siblings or any number of other activities during the week. Most adult professionals have some sort of reminder system to keep them on track, why not students? Teachers should be looking for ways to help their students succeed and pass along little tips on how to stay more organized. Most students leave school with very little practical knowledge. If it took a teacher thirty seconds to send a text message to all his students reminding them of assignments due and upcoming tests, the excuse "I forgot" becomes non-exisitent making students more responsible and accountable. Then the excuse becomes "I just didn't care," which at least is honest.

While you idea is very unique, I feel that there are several disadvantages to this use of technology. Text messages cost money to receive and to send. Most students do not pay their own cell phone bills so this would create a useless cost for the parents. Students may also not want to give out their personal cell phone number to their teachers. I know that I only give out my cell phone number to close friends and relatives and I would be annoyed by several text messages/voicemails from my teacher.

Personally I think that this is rediculous. There are numerous things wrong with this. One, have you ever been to an inner-city school? Not every child has a cell phone!! What happens to those students? Are they just left out? The next thing that I saw was the disruption to other teachers classrooms. I personally feel that cell phones going off in class is very disrespectful. The last thing I would like to mention is the preparedness of the teacher. If you can't remember to tell students what you want to in class, then you need to prepare more!

Jen,
that is a fair point, and I have had students say that they either had to pay for texting or it wasn't offered on their plan, so I don't text them. You are right, most of the kids' phones are paid for by their parents, so that might a concern. However, I was just at the Verizon store (just now) and I asked what texting without a plan costs: two cents to receive and eight cents to send. So, if I send each kid 100 text messages in a month, it might add $2 to their bill. If they answer me 25 times, it would add another $2. Most of the kids have unlimited or some huge number of texts allowable in a month.

No student is compelled to give me their number, but since I freely give my cell number, my home number (most of my kids have spoken to my wife), it seems to me that they trust me with theirs.

Chris,
There has been quite a hub-bub over phones in school. I can tell you that I teach in a VERY public school, Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, and that the policy of the school and the district (LAUSD, 727,000 students) has been rather fluid. They have decided that students may carry phones, but may not use them in class. In general, I don't want to be texting anyone in class, either, but I have texted (is that a word?) them and vice versa when there was something important. I have had teachers ask me what I am doing, and when I explain, they seem very receptive.

As for acountability, I think Anthony (above) addressed that nicely.

Remember at the beginning of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where one of the gang members challenges Butch to a knife fight, but Butch says they have to discuss the rules first? Harvey's response is, "RULES! In a knife fight?" Well, as I have said elsewhere, I will use any means, fair or unfair, to get my kids to succeed. If I have to hold their hand once in a while, I'll do it! A friend of mine said it best. "We should arm each child with every cognitive weapon they are able to carry and wield."

I find this idea to be very benificial to the students who take part in this. Despite the fact that not all students are equiped with a cell phone, the number is decreasing continously. It gives the students no reason not to be fully prepared for class, and also gives the teacher satisfaction of knowing that his/her students are receiving the up to date information reguarding the class. Although this is something I can see more of in the future, I personally feel that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Like I stated earlier, not all students are equipped with cell phones. As a student myself, who attended high school since the text messaging era, I can personally say that it is quite distracting. Students are going to be constantly messing with their phone and losing attention in class. Also, students can be messaging friends, but say that they are communicating with a teacher, and pay absouletly no attention to the class. Another key factor is when the bill does come in. I know that most students, expecially younger ones, are more than likely not paying for their cell phone bill and text messaging is not a cheap addition to the bill. The cost is going to be most likely a great chunk of pocket change for the parent and this, in return, is going to cause major issues.