Cell Phones in the Classroom

Cell phones in the classroom… I'm all for it!

I believe that cell phones have a place in the classroom, as long as they are monitored and students are taught how to use them appropriately.

I don't think it's okay to just say, "Hey, 13 year olds. Take out your cell phones. I know that you'll all act responsibly with them while you diligently work on the extremely engaging work that I've assigned you." Honestly, I don't see why teachers expect students to be responsible with their cell phones at all, especially since teachers aren't really the best role models. I've seen more misuse of cell phones during teacher in services than anywhere else (except maybe the movie theater). If we expect our students to use their resources responsibly, I believe that we have to teach them the skill of using their resources responsibly and model that skill.

And if you don't think cell phones are useful, I'd like to share with you a little nugget of wisdom: the SMARTPhones that these 12 year olds carry around in their pockets everyday contain the internet, which is the greatest resource on Earth. And the worst part of this realization is that these kids don't even know how to utilize this ultra-helpful tool. Last week, I asked my students what Hoover meant because it was mentioned in the novel we were reading. They looked it up in their dictionaries, couldn't find the definition, and when I asked them what another way to find that information was, they looked at me like I had spoken gibberish to them. I have a weird habit of sinking slowly to the floor when they can't give me an answer to a simple question, so I was kneeling with one forearm resting against the ground by the time one of my ELL students yelled, "I could use the iPad!" Now, if they had use of their cell phones during this little meltdown of mine, we could have moved on very quickly and had a much deeper discussion.

But hey, that's just what I think.