The Use of Cell Phones
in the Classroom
Terri Harkey
teresa_harkey@lovejoyisd.net
Puster Elementary LMS
(469) 742-8277 w
(972) 658-2698 c
Learning @ Lovejoy
August 2, 2010
How are students
communicating today?
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.
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)
Potential Benefits of Using Cell
Phones in Learning According to
PARENTS!
43%
41%
38%
37%
35%
32%
31%
27%
Increases student engagement
Prepares students for world of work
Extends school day learning
Provides access to online textbooks
Improves teacher-parent-student communications
Students can review class materials
Personalizes instruction
Provides way to help struggling students
63% of parents say they would buy their child a cell phone if
they knew it would be used for educational purposes
Student's Suggest Ways to Use Cell Phone
for Learning:
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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
Polling students via cell phone
http://www.polleverywhere.com/
provides a free polling service for 30
and under audience size – results are
updated live in your web browser or
PowerPoint – could be used for quick
assessments like CPS units, voting on
class elections or collecting data
Twitter
Facebook
Texting Abbreviations
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/tex
tmessageabbreviations.asp
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Google 466453 - Text message your
search question and Google will answer
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Weather: enter w plus zip code
Enter a fact based question and receive your answer
(example Abe Lincoln’s birthday)
Definitions: enter d plus the word
Driving directions: your address “to” destination address
Product prices: enter price followed by product name
Translations: t followed by word followed by language
Time: enter “time” followed by city (compare times around
the world)
Calculator: text math questions or conversions (example
80F in C, half cup in a pint
Photo Ideas
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Scavenger Hunt
Oral History Project
Kindergarten Scavenger Hunt (alphabet book)
Geometry Digital Story Book
Local Landmarks Story Book
Vacation Postcards
Field Trips
Photo Story
YODIO
http://www.yodio.com/
Free service to create an audio postcard or
narrated photo album
Grab some photos – call to record the story
and share with friends by email or on the
Web
Create a Yodiocard, Yodiocast or Yodiotour
Yodio = your audio
Text a Novel
Students can individually or collaboratively write
a novel using text. http://www.textnovel.com/
Textnovel.com allows you to write your own
book. The text message gets sent to the web site
where your story is logged. The composition can
be set to either public or private. It provides an
anytime, anywhere writing forum for the
students.
Mapping Directions
Take one class outside with a phone
and leave one class inside with a
phone. Outside class calls or texts
inside with their location. Inside class
has to use North/South/East/West
directions to guide the outside class
back to their room. Once inside switch
places and try again.
Geocaching
Many cell phones now have GPS units
available.
http://www.geocaching.com/
Geocaching.com provides searches for a
high-tech treasure hunting game. Just
put in your zip code, push “go” and
explore geocaching near you.
CHACHA
Text 242242 or call 1-800-2ChaCha
Leave a voice mail or text a question
and you will receive a text answer
Nutrition on the Go
Text 34381
Send a text with the name of the
restaurant and the item and you receive
a message that includes nutritional
information such as calories,
carbohydrates, and fat content.
Diet.com offers this service – currently
unavailable
K7.net – Unified Messaging
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http://www.k7.net/
The world's leading web-based unified
messaging system that channels your free
voicemail and fax messages directly to your
e-mail. K7 Unified Messaging provides you
with a free phone number. This number
enables you to have your voicemail messages
and faxes delivered directly to your computer.
You also have the option to view and listen to
your messages right here on the K7 Web site.
Classroom Games
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Divide into teams – Post question – first
to text correct answer wins
Phone a friend – students can text or
phone a friend to get help with an
answer
Daily Vocabulary Text
Text your exit from class
Cool Apps
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3D Brain
Evernote
Napkin Genius Lite
BrainPOP Featured Movie
ICDL (International Children’s Digital Library)
Portable Math
Math Snacks Video
Pearl Diver
Dragon Dictation
Geocaching
NASA
Nike+iPod
AppBox Lite
Twitter
Skype
iformula
Cell Phones in the Classroom
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21st Century Learners
Cell phones are everywhere and kids
know how to use them. Let’s leverage
the technology and find ways to make
our teaching and learning more
effective, efficient and exciting!
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http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com/