Ideas for Cell Phone Use

[Jeanette Westfall]

I have spent this last week putting limits on cell phones used by students in the hallway during instructional time. I feel like a hypocrite when, as my phone rings when I am in classrooms, I know I have to answer if it's the office. I think we are coming to the point where we MUST use student phones instructionally AND we must establish a code of conduct for cell phone usage that I can publish for us and our community.

Sean signed me up on an administrator blog (interestingly called, "Dangerously Irrelevant") that has kept my interest for over a week now. One of the contributors found a good resource from a teacher (and PhD student) who is doing her own research and invention of the use of cell phones for instruction. Here is the link for using cell phones in the classroom that I think you should all check out. What really grabbed me was when asked for examples of use, the author stated, "But to sum it up, I like to call cell phones the Swiss army knife of digital learning tools for the 21st Century student." How can we afford not to look at this tool?

I know for a fact that we have put Twitter to good use! If you are not using BENTONCARDINALS Twitter -- then get on it! I also have become a user of Chacha which is an interesting fact finder (mentioned in the blog). You'll get a kick out of it -- and it's quite useful.

We probably need to establish our CODE OF CONDUCT at one of our next cohort meetings.

[Andrea Snapp]

J - I agree that a code of conduct could be very useful. My question about cell-phones is hos do we know when a student is abusing privileges and just texting a friend vs. a kid who is using his/her phone browser to explore content?
I think phones could be a great tool.
I think back to the days when I was the same age as my daughters'. No cell phones, period. I had to be really careful about planning my day so that it would coincide with my mom's. However, now I actually ExpeCt my kids to check in every two hours or so. I also know that at some point they will check their phones, which is why I occasionally text them during the day to double check on schedules, pick-ups, etc.
With cell phones being sUch an important role in life as we know it, how can we ignore it?
And yet...we must face this technology with "kid gloves". Teach and eXpecT the kids to use it properly...

[Tori Grable]

What I've found with my students is if the cell phone's being used above the table, it's probably a legitimate use. If it's on their lap or in their pocket and they're trying to do something with it, they know they shouldn't be doing it at that time. Can a kid put the cell phone in plain sight and be simply texting a friend about meeting out front to run to McD's for lunch? Sure. But if we're diligent about checking for legitimate use, they'll catch on -- as we will -- and abuse of the gadgets will be limited. My students and I have spent in the first few days talking about the various reasons they might actually need to access their phone during a class; their input as we establish a code of conduct could be quite valuable and help assure we don't overlook something.

[Jeanette Westfall]

Funny thing is that I realize how hooked I am to my cell in meetings (teacher learning time) and I can still text, listen, and learn. Can kids?

[Jennifer Schultz]

Hmmm, I rarely use my cell phone and never even glance at it during the school day. From my observations, the difference with students is that their texting becomes their priority over their learning. They become focused on the conversation on the phone and not on the content in the classroom. Ever read some of the texts they are sending to each other during class time? It's often about stirring up trouble, or even sending each other sexual comments. And if they get a really interesting text, they are passing the phone around the room for their friends to read. If they are texting during a quiz, how do I know they aren't sending each other answers. I recently gave a quiz in my Theatre Arts I class where I am constantly asking students to put away phones. Nearly half of the class failed the quiz. The majority of those who did poorly on it, were the same kids I'm often telling to get off the phone. Our German foreign exchange student with no background knowledge in theatre, limited English (she didn't understand the difference between seeing a play and playing a Volleyball game at first), and who never uses a phone in class, got a 100% on the quiz.
Although I do think phones can be used in a legitimate way in the classroom, I think the majority of the time they are causing distractions.

[Jennifer Schultz]

We also have to remember that we are preparing students for the workforce. In a recent conversation with my husband, a restaurant manager, he complained about how cell phones had become a distraction at work. He said that cell phone use is one of the top reasons for writing up employees and even firing them. Ever been to a restaurant and wonder why your food is taking so long or why your receiving poor service? There is a good chance that your server or cook is too busy texting or talking on their phone to do their job. As he says, "I'm not paying people to text their friends." Many of his employees believe they "have a right to use my phone whenever I want." Think how scary this attitude might be in different jobs--the emergency room physician, the construction worker, the police officer.
I see no hypocrisy at all in telling students to get off their phones during instructional time and you answering your phone when the office calls. One is about personal use, and the other is job related.

[Sean Nash]

I agree that a code of conduct is needed.

However, I also have been on contact with a manager of one of the newer restaurants in the "North Village" who is keen in the idea of the "millennials" in the workforce. He sees no way to remain competitive in today's world without slightly adjusting to the ways of the world. He said that if they fired everyone who didn't answer a phone call to come in to work... they wouldn't have enough employees to open each night.

Instead, he has taken a very open-minded and aggressive stance toward moving their day to day management toward something that feels more like 2008. Though the corporate office wants nothing to do with it, he has taken to utilizing Twitter to contact employees on a wide range of issues. Once an employee takes a stance as needing to be "always connected"- they then can hardly fight the suggestion that the same connectivity should be applied to the management of their workforce.

I think it is a brilliant idea, and he says it seems to be working quite well. he says that the gains he has made in building relationships have negated many of the former ill-feelings concerning workplace performance.

[Jeff Carter]

On a related note, sort of, I had a student today who works at Applebee's, that accessed his work schedule online. He is able to not only see when he works but if there are any shifts available that he can pick up. In less than two minutes, he was able to pick up two more shifts and solve a problem that could take a manager more than an hour or so by making phone calls. I was stunned by how efficiently it was done. My point is that any business that rejects new technology, rejects progress and growth. I agree that in our present world in the classroom, cell phones do more harm than good. The issue of management is a big problem. I have a problem with opening the flood gates of cell phone use without specifically outlining the purposes of it. A "code of conduct" is a paramount, but it needs support from the whole staff, and needs integration within all disciplines. A few teachers may be able to manage cell phone activity, but is the benefit of those few classes worth the negative effects it has upon the rest of the school?

[Jennifer Schultz]

My point is this...cell phones are a great tool if they are being used to enhance the job or learning. Notifying employees on Twitter--fabulous! Employees not serving the customers because they are too busy texting or making personal phone calls--really bad for business! The same goes for the classroom. Students using their phones to help them complete a project--wonderful! Students not taking notes or engaging in a project because they're using their cell phone--big problem! We need to teach them the difference.

[Sean Nash]

Check out this post by Terri Johnson, Truman's Instructional Coach.