SMART-2

Cell Phones

Some Surprising Stats:

Approximately 79% of all teens have a cell phone; the surprising stat: this is an increase of 36% since 2005.

46% of children ages 9-11 have cell phones.

20% of children ages 6-8 have cell phones.

Pros and cons for cell phone use in the classroom:

Pros

Calculators, useful for research, educational gaming, calendars (events, due dates, appointments, etc.), teaching digital etiquette, cameras (to promote concepts), tactful podcasts, polls/quizzes through text or Internet,

Cons

Cheating, harassment, rumors, disruptive, distraction, cyber-bullying, cameras (posting or sharing mean or ill pictures), rude podcasts

Best idea for cell phone use:

I would say the podcast idea was my favorite. I had never thought about using a cell phone, or landline phone, to make podcasts for the teachers to listen to answers to questions, new ideas or thoughts, memorable items (like on a field trip), or interviews. Also, I had not considered making a podcast of class or school news. These are all great ideas for using cell phones or landlines to make podcasts or voice recordings in the classroom! I also really like the idea of texting in answers to surveys or quiz questions and that sort of thing, but we have discussed that previously in classes that I have taken so it was not such a new idea.