Cell phones are currently banned in many schools. However, some teachers are starting to incorporate cell phone use into the curriculum. The following video is lengthy, but it has some great information on the debate between banning cell phones and using them for learning:
Cell phone applications:
Poll Everywhere (www.polleverywhere.com)
-Teachers pose questions, students respond by texting in their answers.
-Free for audiences under 30.
Cinch (www.cinchcast.com)
-Students can call a number and record audio to respond to questions or assignments.
-Students can create podcasts that are instantly uploaded to the web.
I tried it! It took me less than 5 minutes to create an account and post my first "cinch." Here it is...
Other uses:
-Teachers send assignments, class updates or other messages via text message or voicemail.
-Record interviews on Cinch.com
-Use camera phones to capture images from lessons or field trips. The images can be used for online newsletters or creative writing (Brooks-Young, 2010).
References:
Brooks-Young, S. (2010). Teaching with the tools kids really use: Learning with web and mobile technologies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
OnOttButton (2009). Cell phones in the classroom: Learning tools for the 21st Century. Retreived from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXt_de2-HBE
This brings up some really good points and possibilities. It does seem to me like school policies in many cases put unnecessary limits on the creativity of teachers to take advantage of technologies students are most familiar.
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