"From Toy to Tool" by Liz Kolb
This article, From Toy To Tool, outlines how you can bring cell phones into the classroom in a useful role by using audioblogging. The author gives some great ideas for projects and detailed instructions on how to post an audioblog to your blog. I followed the instructions and everything went really well, except the audioblog hasn't been posted. I'll give it one more try later. I'm not sure why it's not on this site, but it is on gabcast.com on channel number 7897.
Should we be allowing cell phones in the classroom? The reality is that cell phones already are in the classroom. I wonder if we wouldn't be more successful in monitoring the use of cell phones if we recognize that they are an integral part of students' lives and teach them ways to use their cell phones in some innovative ways. Sometimes giving a child a privilege encourages them to act more responsibly.
The other question would be, how you handle that some students have cell phones while others do not. I like the options the author gives about educating the students as to the way cell phone plans work and it would also be a good opportunity to point out that parents may have reasons, other than simply financial ones, for not feeling it is appropriate for a child to have a cell phone.
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