The first question I asked Stephen was "How have you used cell phones in your classroom?"
Stephen:
When I first started teaching in 2007, I made it my mission to try to use cell phones in a meaningful way. I thought of cell phones as having the potential for both a means of expression (ie. contributing to the class in a meaningful way) and a means of reception (ie. reminders of due dates and assignments). Back then, the options were more limited so I had to get creative. I started by using a service called “lettermelater” wherein I could get student cell phone numbers and carriers so that I could email a text to their phones. I could schedule them weeks or months in advance. I then switched to Remind101 a few years later, but, with that service, I couldn’t isolate students in order to send them individual texts.
I also started using “Polleverywhere” sometime around 2008-2009. I had used it for students to text questions to a TV permanently set up in the corner of my class. I also used it for students to text thesis statements to the SMARTboard and then we could analyze and break them down with relative anonymity. That last use is the only one that is still a part of my practice.
The second question was "What is your school policy regarding cell phones?"
Stephen:
Our school doesn’t have any definite school-wide cell phone policy. It is left up to the individual teacher to make the decision about how much or how little to use them.
Next I asked Stephen "Have there been any challenges in using mobile technology in the classroom? He also answered the questions "What have you learned from your experience and is there anything you would change or have already changed" in the response below.
Stephen:
I have almost entirely stopped using cell phones in my class. The challenges have never been in terms of policy: I have never had restrictions placed on me by my school. In reality, the opposite was the case: the students themselves were hesitant, at best, to use the technology that they perceive as only personal in any sort of meaningful way.
The expressive uses became mostly a mockery and an exercise in inappropriate comments through their relative anonymity. No matter how much instruction and scaffolding I provided, the comments were still inappropriate, rife with errors, and dismissive of the educational exercise.
The receptive uses became a crutch. Any due date that I gave the class would be written on the board, on the assignment sheet, and then texted to them a few days before the assignment was due. If the text didn’t arrive, the students would blame the absence for their inability to complete the work on time. Even if it did arrive, the students would complain about the arrival date because it was either too early or too late for them to get the work done. Since my goal is to help students to become independent learners, I realized that I was contributing to a debilitating dependence.
As a result, I have abandoned the gimmicks, and I simply give students my cell phone number on the first day of class. It has been the only functional use that I have found for cell phones. If they are late or if they missed class, they text me. If they have a question about an assignment, they text me. If they haven’t come to class for a couple of days, I text them. It is authentic, and, so far, I have had no students abuse the privilege. I have actually had more issues with students knowing where I live (and showing up at my house) than I have with students knowing my phone number.
In all, I think that the most valuable use of cell phones (and, honestly, of technology in general) is the optics. If students see me, the teacher, as being current, up-to-date, or even trying to engage in something that they care about, it helps me to build meaningful relationships with them, and they are more likely to give weight or importance to my class. Beyond that use, everything that I have tried has had, in my opinion, many more drawbacks compared to the benefits.
The only use that I have now for my cell phone is for my own personal or professional use (ie. ZipGrade and Plickers), and I don’t involve their phones at all.
I would like to thank Stephen in participating in this interview on use of cell phones in the classroom. I really like and agree with his statement about staying current and using technology to help build meaningful relationships with students.
