NEA Today

“We need to stop pushing against the technology and start embracing it,” says Amber
Schaefer, an elementary school teacher in Minnesota. “The more we push back, the
more we separate ourselves from students. It is time to incorporate and collaborate
instead of ban and punish.”

“It would be nice if they weren't part of the school picture," adds New York teacher
Barbara McConnell, "but they are, so let's use them to our advantage.”

Vilson, who uses all kinds of devices in his own classroom, doesn't believe that
phones provide “much more of a distraction than kids already have. It depends on
how [educators] approach the whole process.”

Kolb points to some schools in Michigan that adopted new  straightforward rules and
guidelines for educators that were designed to meet the needs of students while
addressing educators’ concerns. Posted on classroom doors, for example, are signs
indicating whether the students can use their devices. A green stoplight means they
can use them; red means no.

“This allows students to know the expectations, and it also gives teachers autonomy
over whether they’re going to use the cell phones,” Kolb explains. “It gives them a
little bit of freedom. It’s a very simple policy, but it’s also very effective.”

Kolb explains. “Part of it is because it’s hard to fight the tidal wave and there’s so
many students with cell phones. The second part is that they’re really seeing them as a
learning tool, not just a toy for entertainment, and they’re seeing that they can be cost
effective for the schools instead of having to purchase technology for students.”

Boston globe
At Melrose High School, for example, science students use a physics app to
collect acceleration data and measure sound intensity, and English students
discuss literature on their smartphones. In Burlington, high school Spanish
students practice language skills on their iPads by recording their speech and
playing it back.

Many parents support phones in schools so they can coordinate pickups and
after-school activities with their children. They also want to be able to reach
them in case of emergency.

Blatt says: “There is a lot of substantial evidence to show the kind of learning
that is possible for kids using these devices — when properly supported and
managed by teachers who make the best use of them — can be powerful
learning.”

Many in the pro-technology camp say that students are not distracted if their
teachers are engaging, a statement that exasperates soon-to-be former teacher
Miriam Morgenstern.

USE FOR PHONE IN CLASS

o Check facts: both students and teachers can now find facts with in seconds
and can be useful when explaining and debating topics
o Take photos:phones can be used to display work and presentations and if there was a
fight and students were allowed to use their phones someone would have recorded it and
then there would be evidence
o Make videos: videos can be used to record experiments and later include them in
projects or if your doing like a mini play in class instead you could record in outside
maybe for the scene and then display it in class
o Dictionary: check a meaning of a word they don’t understand so they don’t disrupt the
class to ask
o Translator: if their learning about some foreign language in history or English and they
don’t know what something means they could search it up to help the teacher and
themselves
o Calendar: instead of having a giant planner in your backpack why not use the calendar
to put when things are do and it will send out reminders and kids will see them since they
are on their phones all the time anyway.
o Write down ideas: most kids know how to text fast anyways and so instead of having to
write down what the teacher or video is saying you could type it out into a word doc
o Listen to music: music helps a lot of kids study and just focus on their work and having
that music in class during a test may help kids remember things and relax
o Stopwatch/timer: during maybe a debate if something if you need a timer no need to
open up the laptop or have to estimate the time on the clock just open up your phone and
you have a quick timer for just about anything
o Voice recorder: students can record teachers voice (with permission) so they don’t have
to be quickly writing down notes or having the teacher repeat what they said they can just
go back to the recording and just write down the time of which the recording was at if
they need certain information
o Document Scanner: students can now just scan their work with their phones instead of
maybe doing it on a paper then having to type it all out again on the computer they just
scan the document then turn it in
o Calculator: help with math maybe in a different subject or if your math teacher lets you
use it in class to help you, you can.
o Publish a class blog: if students are missing that day and the teacher doesn’t really give
much explanation or doesn’t notice the kid, their classmates can go onto the blog and
help the student know whats due or what they did in class or even whats for homework
that night if one student forgot
o Make presentations: instead of having to carry a USB or send a huge document over
email. Instead just use your phone and you can project it onto the smart board or tv
o Remote control: Like the one before this you can use your phone to control a
presentation or a slide show your showing to the class.
o Communication: student rarely listen to the PA system and they might forget something
a better way is to send a text message to the students and tell them instead, plus they can
go back to it if they forgot since it’s a text
o Control attendance: instead of teachers having to do attendance the students can do
them their selves.