Cell Phones, Browsing the Web, & eMail: Distractions for Teachers?

It’s difficult to fight the urge to check email, text messages, social networks, and/or app info on our cell phones, computers, and other digital devices. Although, schools often have rules against teachers making and answering personal calls while they are teaching, we all know it happens. Browsing the Web and checking personal or school email and messages are distractions we need to avoid while teaching. Some of us are so obsessed with checking our email and smart phones that this “need” interrupts lessons and takes time away from working with students. Administrators who suffer from these digital obsessions are often distracted from the running of their schools.

Peter DeWitt in his Education Week article, “Do You Check Your School E-Mail Too Much”, reminds us that if we read and respond to parent email when we receive it at home, on vacation, late at night or early in the morning, parents “will get the idea” that we are available all the time, “any day... any night”. Of course, sometimes it’s necessary to look and respond, but most of the time it’s better to resist.

 

Monster.com lists making too many personal calls and excessive Web browsing as two of the top ten ways to get fired from a teaching job.

Fun Gumdrop Cases for Mobile Devices

Rugged protection in gumdrop colors -- Gumdrop’s Drop Tech Series cases provides virtually indestructible protection for mobile devices such as iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and other devices and tablets. The cases feature dual material construction and reinforced rubber corners for shock absorption. Replaceable screen covers are included, as is access to ports and controls. There’s even a Designer Series, which includes Gumdrops in blue with pink, orange with blue, purple with pink, and yellow with blue. Of course, the cases also come in basic black. Then, there’s Army Green, red, etc . . . . The cases have been put to use in schools, by fire departments—even on fire engines, by medic units, and with children with disabilities. Volume discounts are available for schools. 

According to our six-year-old quality testers:

Zoe: “I have a pink and blue one, which is really pretty. My mom says if I drop it, it won’t break, but I’m not supposed to drop it.”

Lebby: “Mine is black. I use my iPad all the time because I make movies and read books with Raz-Kids. The Gumdrop is really safe for my iPad, and that is very important.”

Lighthouse Coalition

The Coalition of Lighthouse Schools is a group of educators, school administrators, and IT professionals who are working together to implement one-to-one digital learning in their schools. Coalition members, mostly from charter and independent schools, are integrating Apple mobile devices into their school curricula and are eager to collaborate with others who are also integrating 1-1 programs in their schools.  The networked educators work with Apple Computer representatives in order to better prepare their students for the future. The group is hosting its iSummit, July 24-25, in Atlanta.

How Does 5683 Sound to Your Students?

Scholar scribe, Matt Kaplan, writes about animals, insects, and technology. The opening keynote speaker at FETC on January 29, 2012, Kaplan says, “predictive texting alters our perception of numbers.” As we text, our brain acquires information, and the more we text, the more links grow in our brains.  When “dialing a number, we may not be aware that the number triggers our mind to the letters as well. That’s why there are feel good numbers that we can dial up on our cell phones.” When we dial 5683, we may not be aware that this spells “LOVE”, but it makes us feel good. 

Kaplan says that companies use this subtle form of advertising when their telephone number spells the company name or a positive adjective that those calling will relate to the number.  In a German study, when volunteers dialed two numbers, one which spelled something positive and one, something negative, participants said they liked the “positive” one better, even though they didn’t know why. This happened only when they “dialed” the numbers, not when they simply read the numbers.  As we move more and more into tech use in our schools, we should be aware, according to Lawrence Shapiro, University of Wisconsin, that “technology influences psychology.”

Coming Soon Perhaps: Bendable Devices

Teachers and parents worry over dropped smart phones and digital devices, but that won’t be a problem when bendable, unbreakable digital devices come on the market. Samsung is working on “mass production of displays using plastic rather than glass”, and Sony has been working on it as well.  There are prototypes, but the companies have not solved the problems involved in mass production. Unbreakable digital devices, when available and affordable, will certainly be welcomed in schools.

Can BYOD work?

BYOD: Sometimes it seems overwhelming, doesn’t it? How can teachers possibly handle a classroom filled with different types of digital devices? In some ways it’s not much different from working with a classroom filled with students using similar devices. It’s what you want student to do with their devices that’s important, not what they are using. For success with BYOD, however, you need to consider:

• What types of devices are acceptable, since not all devices may be able to access or use the software or apps needed for your course.
• Whether you want to allow smart phones.
• If your network is ready to handle all the devices swarming into your school.
• How students with their own devices get access to software. (Who pays for it and what are the legalities?)
• What happens when a personal device won’t work? Should your IT people work on it? Does your school have devices for students to use when their devices don’t work?
• Does your school have devices for students who do not have their own or forget to bring them to school?
• How do you manage use of different devices in your classroom?

Fifty Tech Tools for Teachers

Edudemic says that smart phones make a difference in learning, since when using them. students spend more time studying, use app flashcards and quizzes to help them, and are more likely to track their progress in learning. In order to be able to use smart phones, iPads, and other digital devices for learning, students look to apps and are will to pay up to $7.80 for a learning app. Edudemic lists apps that are valuable tools for learning (some for teachers, some for students, and some for both) and divides them into the following four categories: Social Learning, Learning, Lesson Planning and Tools, and Useful Tools. Some of the recommended apps are: Khan Academy, StudySync, Educreations, ePals, Ning, Pinterest, Skype, QR Codes, Google Docs, Evernote, Twitter, Google Education, Popplet, and AudioBoo. Go to Edudemic for the complete list and links to the apps.

Study Blue Best for Mobile Studying

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) selected Study Blue, a free mobile study service, as the Best Website for Teaching and Learning. With Study Blue, students use a Digital Backpack, which helps them store, study, share, compare, and master coursework. The program features “digital flashcards with images and audio, cloud storage for notes, personalized practice quizzes, crowd-sourced study guides and more.”  According to one librarian, “Study Blue has brought an interactive and fun way to study to our young people.” So, if you are looking for help with student study skills, why not recommend Study Blue to students 13 and up? It fits their lifestyles, because they can access it from their computers, iPods, iPhones, and Androids. Coming soon is an iPad app.

Using SmartPhones in the Classroom?

Harry Grover Tuttle, who teaches at Onondaga Community College, in the Tech & Learning Advisor Blog suggests “5 Ways to Expand Smartphone Learning".  Some of his ideas are: don’t use drill and kill, don’t stick with text, don’t make everything an individual activity, don’t use Smartphones just to find information, and don’t use Smartphones just to learn something. Instead, when learning foreign language vocabulary, “use a QR code to show a restaurant in Lima, Peru”, and then have students study the menu and talk with each other about the restaurant. Use videos and photos along with text when having students work with Smartphones and let them work together as they learn.  Have them use the information they find to create, compare, and contrast. — And why not put their Smartphones to use to keep track of their grades and progress with Google Doc spreadsheet or a Google Doc checklist?

Social Media in Schools

eSchool News Online Editor Meris Stansbury, in her article "Ten Ways Schools Are Using Social Media Effectively”, asked readers how they were using social media in education or how they would like to use it if they could. With teachers, parents, and administrators worried about possible bullying and privacy issues related to the use of social media in schools, it’s good to learn how some educators are making social media work for them and their students. Answers varied from educator use to learning about tech tools to cross cultural communication to bringing real-world applications into subjects such as mathematics. Schools have found that using social media is a good way to contact and interact with parents, to announce events, and even to help students review course content.  So how do educators using social media in schools avoid misuse? One suggested using private social networks made possible through sites like schoology.com, and another recommended the paid version of Gaggle.net. Although the article doesn’t mention this, it is likely that educators using social media with students set specific guidelines to be followed and monitor student online interaction as best they can.