Well, if you were captivated by this title, I’m sure you’re expecting to hear about how bad cell phones are in schools, and how they are banned in various areas, and should be outlawed. However, I love cell phones – and more importantly, so do today’s youth. Why we spend so much time and energy into banning them during school is not hard to see. They are distracting and disrupting to class and work. However, what about not during school?
I came up with an excellent idea that I think I will implement in some future classrooms. It will be the “Electronic Challenge!” Every ______ (day? week? biweek?) I will propose a question. I haven’t thought all of this completely through yet, but technology has the innate ability to get students excited about education. I also consider myself a charismatic leader, so this will help. I will send the question out via text message or email (student’s choice). The first correct response that I receive back will win a prize of some sort. All other correct responses will win their name in a draw or something (perhaps even bonus marks for this? But that brings about the question of equity, particularly in a poor school where half the students may not have cell phone/internet).
I would lean towards doing this in the older grades where intrinsic motivation is often higher (especially in electives), and competition is rampant. I just honestly see this as a great way to get to the students at their level. They often think that they know so much more about technology than we (teachers) do, and we don’t understand their culture, or we don’t see them text messaging at the front of the class (”I swear, I was just using my calculator!”).
I’d love some input on this. Obvious down-side I see already: privacy. Is it okay to have students’ cell phone numbers? If you are text messaging them, will they have my number? I can get around this, as you can also email text messages to cell phones from any email address. Obvious up-side: if students are competing, searching for information outside of school time, and they DYING to get to class the next day to find out who won, and what the answer is, how can that be bad?
7 responses so far ↓
1
kelsey
// Mar 20, 2007 at 3:20 pm
I am really interested in what you have said about this so far. I can see students really getting into this challenge whether or not that subject is a strong suit of theirs. I think it is a great idea and if you found yourself in school where all students had access to cell phones or internet, that some great possibilities would lie there and there were be a variety of avenues through which you could further student learning. Great concept in terms of helping to motivate students!
2
Susan
// Mar 21, 2007 at 2:17 pm
I can see the value of using any and all new forms of technology out there, while at the same time I can also see the dangers. While I agree it would be good to somehow use cellphones or emails for competitions, you’re also skirting a fine line with appropriateness. Much like the photoshop message that you posted (see March Archives) you are opening yourself to a whole kettle of fish that you may not want. Once you have distributed your number and email address to students you open yourself to the possibility that one of them will find a devious way to use it against you. And it really only takes one to end a career.
3
Susan
// Mar 21, 2007 at 2:18 pm
I would also like to add that as long as emails are not allowed in the school, that it may be difficult to implement anyway. So here’s an idea for a future posting: Allowing students to use their email, msn, etc. while in school. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
4
mrbenesh
// Mar 21, 2007 at 8:39 pm
This was designed for students to do on their own time, after school, where motivation is really lacking, even more than while in school. I do not think that email and MSN use in school is acceptable, unless they can demonstrate to you that they are using it for educational purpose. I was teaching a lesson on Photoshop, and a student knew she had a really great picture in her email, and while school policy said I could not, I allowed the student to check her email. If you can show that it increases education (in this case, increasing intrinsic motivation) then I doubt you will catch any flack for it.
5
Amanda
// Mar 22, 2007 at 1:07 am
When I was in second year in Québec City, we had a weekly e-mail from a prof that contained two sentences and we had to find the linguistic errors in it. It wasn’t mandatory, it didn’t even fall into the class she taught (it was an EPS-like class, but all the students are French majors). It was really fun.
6
mrbenesh
// Mar 22, 2007 at 10:44 am
That is exactly what I am going for. Finding a cool new way to make education fun. I would likely relate it to current/past/future class material in SOME way, hoping to spark interest in whatever Business class I am teaching.
7
Labatte
// Mar 27, 2007 at 10:03 am
I already allow school based email, in other words they can send me email to a classroom account, not mine personally. Things such as a good site for the material being covered, etc. Also I suspect any student who wants to access email at school will. I get them to ask for permission and give a reason why they should be allowed to email.
I think we have to pick our battles and I would sooner them be allowed and ask permission than to have them sneak around and then create a situation that we have to deal with when we “catch” them.
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