Cell Phone Use in the Classroom

When the issue of cell phone use in the classroom comes up, there are often conflicted views on whether or not it should be allowed. There are many valid points that can be brought up for each argument. Today I am going to share a few brief points that I think show cell phone use could be implemented into the classroom.

First, I feel that if you establish a classroom environment well enough you're students will know what they are and are not allowed to do, and the rest is up to trusting your students to abide by those guidelines. Of course, you will may have situations in which students violate that trust, but I feel that overall they will abide by it.

Secondly, there are so may ways cell phone use could be applied to the classroom. You could involve Twitter, with students tweeting about current class topics and also by communicating easily with the teacher outside of class time. You can open up polls online where students can text their answers to certain issues. Along the same lines, you could create online quizzes in which students text their answers to. Furthermore, most cell phones also have simple calculators on them. Why should students need to go out and purchase a calculator, when they are currently paying for one monthly already? While there are arguments against cell phone use in the classroom, I feel that these are some arguments that support using a cellphone within the walls of a classroom.

Overall, I feel that cell phone use could be appropriately implemented into some classrooms. This matter was discussed further under number 3 in the Google Document "Web2.0 in the Classroom from the Students' Point of View." of students from SE Polk High School near Des Moines, IA. I encourage you to check out their thoughts on the issue as well.


Picture used with permission from Tommy Huynh on flickr.com. Attribution given to http://www.flickr.com/photos/tommyhuynh/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Yes, it Really is that Simple!

So we've all heard about it...but what exactly is it? Is it really free? And how do I use it?

The questions above are all ones that I have heard within the last six months. Whether it be from family, peers, or other acquaintances, I feel like Skype is a craze that is taking the world by storm, with good reason. Skype is a free program that can be downloaded online. It can be used to talk to any person in the world, as long as they also have downloaded the program. Furthermore, if you have a webcam or other video enabling device and a microphone, you can talk and see your counterpart(s).

How does this relate to education? Well.. Imagine that you can carry on a conversation with anyone in the world, at any given time. 10 years ago this thought would have been far-fetched, but today it is a reality. Now, think about being able to have your class carry on a conversation with another class halfway across the world. There are endless possibilities now with Skype (and other programs) that allow for these such things to happen.

Let's take it a step further. Here in Iowa we are known for our unpredictable weather, which often ruins winter plans, yes? Well, let's say that you were scheduled to have a guest speaker come and talk to your class, but the poor weather conditions prohibited their traveling. Well, thanks to Skype, you can still have this presentation! All you would need is for your speaker and your class to be on Skype at the same time, and then simply make a video call to your speaker. No need to make plans for another lesson during this time; with Skype you are able to carry on your plans by having the guest speaker present through the video call.

This is just one example of how video conferencing can be incorporated into classroom instruction. There are endless possibilities, and I challenge you to discover them.


Image used with permission from malthe on flickr.com.

The One Laptop per Child Effort

For this second blog I was looking through some of the recommended sites for this project and when I came across the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) website I just thought about how big of an impact my laptop has had on me. Then I thought about what would happen if every single child in the world would have the same opportunity as I did while growing up.

The thought of each child having the opportunity to have their own computer is simply mind blowing to me, but Nicholas Negroponte is trying to do just that. Negroponte's mission is not that of just trying to give a laptop to every child, as I just assumed when first visiting the site. I now see, and completely understand, that it is so much more than that. This non-profit project is all about giving each child the opportunity to a better education. Giving them a laptop is just a portal for them to do this. Having a laptop with Internet connection allows you to access the infinite information that is on the Web, not to mention the many other great features that the XO laptop includes, which can be found on the OLPC website. Overall, I think that giving a laptop to children in countries that only spend an average of $20 on each child's education would be huge!

While there is still a long ways to go before this becomes a true reality, it is such a great program and I hope that is has the opportunity to grow even more. To keep up to date on some current things going on with the OLPC project, simply click here and follow the link to read the OLPC blog.


Image used with permission from flickr. Attribution given to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pieter-bidia/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0