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We often overlook our librarians who come up with great resources for teaching and learning.

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There are over 100,000 apps labeled "education" in digital app stores, and yet, more than 70 percent of them have little or no empirical research on how effective they are for growth in learning, according to a report called "Getting a read on the app stores" from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.

The overwhelming number of digital tools and the lack of research makes it difficult for teachers to know which tools are the "just right" choices for improving learning in their classrooms.

The one area of clarity in edtech research is that the learning objectives should guide the tool selection, rather than allowing the shininess of the tool to take control of the lesson. Researchers have also shared these four practical characteristics of effective learning with technology that teachers can look for when selecting a tool:
Social use of the tool: Co-use or co-engagement
Learning is socially constructed. This is important to remember when working in a 1:1 school where students are sometimes isolated with their own devices. Look for tools that allow students to co-engage with others through the tool. For example, my daughter's teacher recently had students synchronously share their fiction stories in Google Docs with parents and other collaborators. This allowed the children to get immediate feedback on their writing. Here are some other tools to use for co-engagement:

Collabrify. This tool allows synchronous collaboration on mindmaps, documents and other files for data collection and analysis.

SoundTrap. This free website lets students work synchronously with others to create music.

Drawtime. This site allows younger children to share drawings - instead of just talking - during a video call.
Higher-level thinking: Avoiding drill and practice
While the majority of educational apps and websites have a drill-and-practice element to them, research shows that students learn better when technology helps elicit their higher-level cognitive skills, such as reflective thinking, analysis, creativity, inquiry and focusing on the process of learning. Look for tools like these that allow students to learn through inquiry rather than rote memorization of facts and figures:

Write About. This website helps students focus on the process of writing through a collaborative learning environment.

DocentEDU. This app allows teachers and writing experts to weigh in on student work in real time.

Lure of the Labyrinth. Students can think through ideas like a mathematician by connecting the game content directly to mathematical concepts.
Value-added: Scaffolds, differentiation, supports
Technology can help teachers differentiate learning based on students' learning levels or needs. Choose tools like these that meet students where they are:

Tween Tribune. Students can read the same content but at different Lexile reading levels. This is something that would be much more difficult to accomplish without technology tools.

Formative. Teachers can set up "just right" leveled activities in any content area for students and provide real-time feedback while monitoring learning. This also allows opportunities for scaffolded feedback.

Authentic context: Connect students' everyday lives to content learning

Knowledge construction happens best when situated in authentic contexts and doing authentic tasks. Look for tools that allow students to bridge their everyday lives with school learning to help them better make meaning out of the content. Some examples:

Discovery Education. Take your students beyond the classroom walls and into some of the world's most iconic locations for rich and immersive learning experiences.

Skype in the Classroom. Visit experts in the field all around the world.

Thrively. Connect students with virtual mentorships.

Goosechase. Create mobile scavenger hunts that allow students to document their learning 24/7 inside and outside of school. Teachers can scaffold the hunts on field trips to keep students focused on making connections between academic learning and real life.

Liz Kolb is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan. She has written several books, including Cell Phones in the Classroom and Unleash the Learning Power of Your Child's Cell Phone. Kolb has been a featured and keynote speaker at conferences throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is the creator of the Triple E Framework for effective teaching with digital technologies, and she blogs at cellphonesinlearning.com.
Get more tips on how to identify effective edtech tools appropriately apply them to instruction in Liz Kolb's new book Learning First, Technology Second: The Educator's Guide to Designing Authentic Lessons.

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4 tips for choosing the right edtech tools for learning

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There are over 100,000 apps labeled "education" in digital app stores, and yet, more than 70 percent of them have little or no empirical research on how effective they are for growth in learning, according to a report called "Getting a read on the app stores" from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.

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Your Hosts

Matt Miller, from DitchThatTextbook.com, is a teacher, blogger and presenter from West Central Indiana. He has infused technology and innovative teaching methods in his classes for more than 10 years. He is the author of the book Ditch That Textbook: Free Your Teaching and Revolutionize Your Classroom and writes at the Ditch That Textbook blog about using technology and creative ideas in teaching. He is a Google Certified Innovator, Bammy! Top to Watch in 2016, and winner of the WTHI-TV Golden Apple Award. Onalytica named him one of the top 10 influencers in educational technology and e-learning worldwide.
Follow @jmattmiller
Kasey Bell is an award-winning digital learning consultant, national speaker, and blogger with a passion for technology and learning. Kasey offers engaging professional learning experiences for all levels of educators, specializing in training, presentations, keynote speaking engagements, and consulting. As a skillful facilitator, Google Certified Innovator, Google Certified Trainer, and Amazon Education Thought Leader, Kasey has led a variety of digital learning workshops, including presentations at ISTE, FETC, TCEA, Google Summits, and iPadpalooza. Kasey is the author of The Teacher's Guide to Google Classroom, and co-host of The Google Teacher Tribe Podcast. Kasey received a Digital Innovation in Learning Award given by EdSurge and Digital Promise, in the "Sharing is Caring," category, and she was recognized as one of 20 TrustED educational thought leaders, as well as the #3 EdTech and E-Learning Influencer on Twitter.

Kasey's website and blog, ShakeUpLearning.com, provides teachers and educators with digital learning resources, tech tips and tricks, classroom technology integration ideas, as well as in-depth e-courses and e-books. Here you will find great resources for Google apps, including guides and cheat sheets, mobile learning and apps, iPad tips, and social media tips for educators. Shake Up Learning, was recognized as a Must Read EdTech Blog, and an Edublog Awards Finalist. As a blogger, Kasey uses her blog to create and share original technology integration ideas, resources, ebooks, online courses, cheat sheets, and more!
Follow @ShakeUpLearning
Behind the Scenes

Christopher J. Nesi, the host of the House of #EdTech Podcast, PodcastPD and founder of the Education Podcast Network, produces GTT and maintains the website which includes each episode's show notes and resources. He is certified in social studies (K-12) and supervision in the state of New Jersey and has inspired students and teachers at the middle, high school, and collegiate levels. Technology and its role in education are his professional passion.
Follow @mrnesi

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About GTT - Google Teacher Tribe Podcast

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Your Hosts Matt Miller, from DitchThatTextbook.com, is a teacher, blogger and presenter from West Central Indiana. He has infused technology and innovative teaching methods in his classes for more than 10 years. He is the author of the book Ditch That Textbook: Free Your Teaching and Revolutionize Your Classroom and writes at the Ditch That Textbook blog about using technology and creative ideas in teaching.

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Even though it is NOT a device per se, so much of what we do these days are on Google Drive and interchangeable between devices, I thought it good to share some resources.

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Inspiring every kind of mind.

Everyone has their own way of learning and expressing creativity. Apple technology and resources empower every kind of educator - and every kind of student - to learn, create, and define their own success. Let's move the world forward.

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Everyone has their own way of learning and expressing creativity. Apple technology and resources empower every kind of educator - and every kind of student - to learn, create, and define their own success. Let's move the world forward.

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https://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/4-Benefits-of-having-mobile-technology-in-the-classroom

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https://elearningindustry.com/5-uses-mobile-technology-in-the-classroom

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Apple - Apple in Education - Create with iBooks Author

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See Multi-touch learning materials that teachers and students are making with iBooks Author.

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I continue to be interested in ibooks on ipads and how they can be used at portfolios. I think there is opportunity here for students to create and share their work with larger audiences.

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Apple - Education - iBooks Author Gallery

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Add Multi-Touch magic to books with interactive photo galleries that bring images to life, 3D objects you can't help interacting with, animations that burst off the page, and more.

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Apple - Education - iBooks Textbooks for iPad

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Introducing an entirely new kind of textbook that's dynamic, current, engrossing, and truly interactive. A textbook created with iBooks Author and brought to life by iPad.

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Bonita

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Mobile phones will be used to enrich, expand, and explore in this classroom. Utilizing mobile phones is a privilege thatcomes with expectations, rules, and con...

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Smartphones and Medical Education (society)- Bonita

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Smartphones and Medical Education (society)- Bonita

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Smartphones Revolutionize Education - Bonita

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Smartphones Revolutionize Education - Bonita

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If you are under the impression that eLearning is the most revolutionary form of instruction after the traditional university education, you are wrong this time! The latest buzzword in the field of education is mobile learning, which shows all signs of being the norm for education and training in the near future. Though an extension of eLearning, there are many things that are different and unique about mobile learning when compared to the former.

The most defining element of this unique method of instruction is the platform itself, mobile phones or smartphones. Smartphones have already taken over our daily lives and dictate us to stare at 5 inch screens day and night. They have changed the way we communicate, socialize, work, access entertainment and in this case, how we learn. So how big is mobile learning and how big is it going to be? It is going to revolutionize the education system as we know it? And if yes, how? Read on to know all about it.
1. It is the gateway to the internet
Online courses are nowadays more popular than university degrees and realizing the importance of online education, even universities like MIT, Stanford and Harvard offer online programs. Compared to laptops and other electronic gadgets, people find smartphones to be easier and flexible to access the internet. Hence, it is only natural that they will prefer mobile learning over eLearning for online courses.
2. Rich multimedia
it is a proven fact that people tend to be more attentive and responsive to study materials that are rich with multimedia features. That is, they prefer videos, audio lessons, info graphics, games and other media rich, immersive content over huge, boring textbooks. A Smartphone is a package full of multimedia features and hence, it will be the most ideal platform to deliver these new methods of instruction.
3. Asynchronous learning
One of the defining characteristic of mobile learning is that it is mostly asynchronous. That is, the instructional material is accessed at flexible timings and though you belong to a class or a batch, you don't have to take the classes together. In a world where people are split with different time zones, work schedules and sleep cycles, and still united by similar views and mind set, mLearning is the perfect medium to bring all learners under one roof.
4. Breaking barriers
Irrespective of age, gender, race and region, almost every person who can walk and talk owns a smartphone today. And the internet is so vast and full of information that learning has become an endless process. When online courses and instruction materials are served on a barrier breaking device as such, education becomes more accessible than ever and we evolve as a more connected species.
5. Addictive
Mobile phones are addictive, there is no denying in that. The average media consumption of a normal person has increased since the advent of internet and phones make the addiction more severe. However, the same addictiveness of phones can be used as a plus point in making learning more addictive and engaging.
6. Individual Attention
Mobile learning programs are very different from the formal education courses, owing to the learning aids it employs to deliver instruction. Be it virtual classrooms or asynchronous online courses, each learner is given the utmost attention and training. This ensures a deeper reach in education, knowledge and values.
7. Easier Migration
Though eLearning came way earlier than mobile learning, owing to the cross platform abilities of smartphones, it is easier to migrate any eLearning course onto a smartphone. Same applies to traditional courses which can be restructured and redesigned to be served on this addictive and engaging multimedia platform, smartphone.
8. Higher Engagement
Lastly, the recent facts and figures have demonstrated that mobile learning courses receive better engagement and have better completion rates when compared to eLearning courses. Learners are observed to be learning better, complete assignments, compete with other learners to stay ahead and improve their reasoning abilities with immersive instruction material. This stands as a testament to the wide spread popularity and acceptance of mLearning ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-learning) in the education system.

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Eight Reasons That Mobile Learning Will Revolutionize Education > Cafe eLearning

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Smartphones have revolutionized our lives like no other electronic device and with mobile learning, they are bringing a major revolution in the so called traditional form of education system. Read on to know eight reasons why mobile phones and mLearning is the next big thing in education.

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Connected Learning is Mobile Learning - Bonita

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Connected Learning is Mobile Learning - Bonita

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Here are some trends to consider.

While global PC shipments continue to decline and adoptions of tablet devices continue to sputter, smartphones remain on track to become the primary channel for Internet activity. In the last 20 years, the global population penetration of mobile phones has increased from less than 1% to 73%. Today, more than 2.2 billion users worldwide have smartphones.

In addition, smartphone subscriptions are also transforming our online activity and experiences in the U.S.

For many Americans, the online experience has become substantially different. Today nearly two-thirds of Americans own a smartphone, and 19% of Americans rely to some degree on a smartphone for accessing online services and information, and for staying connected to the world around them - either because they lack broadband at home, or because they have few options for online access other than their cell phone.

Indeed, 7% of Americans own a smartphone but have neither traditional broadband service at home, nor easily available alternatives for going online other than their cell phone.

Not surprisingly, the continued rise of smartphones coincides with a decline in the global PC and tablet markets. Global PC shipments fell 9.5 percent in the second quarter of 2015 and are projected to decline 4.4 percent for the entire year. Meanwhile, global tablet shipments fell 7 percent compared to the same period last year.

And when it comes to consumer behavior, smartphones . We're reading shorter snippets of content on smaller screens in quicker time spurts. This new way of reading is creating a more personalized - albeit fragmented - reading experience.

It's challenging content providers to imagine content differently.

Increased smartphone usage is changing the way companies do business. In some industries, such as newspaper publishing, the change is downright transformational. A great example is The New York Times and its quest to be a successful newspaper in the digital age. In a recent interview, Mark Thompson, the CEO of The New York Times Company, talked about the need to effectively present mobile content so as to recoup lost print revenues. Specifically, he noted that "the percentage of revenue can tend toward the percentage of time spent," as advertisers want to spend their money where the readers are - on their smartphones. As a result, "The Times is working to boost mobile advertising, including with native-advertising video."

And, of course, in education we're witnessing an impact from smartphones - primarily in the areas of mobile content access and mobile apps. These minor inroads, however, will pale in comparison to the mobile revolution that will likely terraform the educational technology landscape over the next 5-10 years.

Specifically, here are four areas where smartphones and other personal mobile devices will revolutionize the way we deliver content and learning:

1. New content models - Smaller screens may not be as convenient as their larger counterparts, but smaller devices are. Smaller devices support computing anytime and anyplace. This means that readers - teenagers, young adults, and mature adults - will increasingly search for, read, and interact with content on smaller screens. The inevitable transition to small, mobile screens as a primary access point for learning content is forcing us to re-think how we design and distribute content in general. Instead of trying to translate textbooks and other analog content types into smaller and smaller screens, we will devise new content models that are mobile-first - created specifically for mobile search, access, and distribution.

2. Distributed and de-centralized networks - The transition to mobile devices as the primary access point for learning will reinforce and expand network and connected learning models in education. They'll move us naturally from course-centric to learner-centric frameworks that are more open and more flexible. They will also prompt a shift away from all-inclusive platforms toward application-and-content hubs that support open learning networks.

3. Student creation - One of the biggest cultural impacts related to increased smartphone usage has been the explosion of user-generated media - photos, audio, and video. As mobile devices become primary in education, we'll see similar changes in the creation of learner-generated content - quantities and styles - and in content consumption. These changes will force us to find new ways to curate, aggregate, and redistribute content intelligently within our learning networks.

4. Community interaction - Finally, as smartphones become our primary learning consoles, we'll see dramatic evolutions in our class communities and in our channels for interaction. There will be a de-emphasis on formal cohort activity and an increased emphasis on informal learning communities that will tie learners to external networks. There will also be a shift toward learner-centric and learner-initiated communication patterns that will promote greater personalization of learning.

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Learning Management Software Solutions | LMS for Associations | NextThought | NextThought

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Here are some trends to consider. While global PC shipments continue to decline and adoptions of tablet devices continue to sputter, smartphones remain on track to become the primary channel for Internet activity. In the last 20 years, the global population penetration of mobile phones has increased from less than 1% to 73% .

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2017 Smartphones Will Have Machine Learning Capabilities - Bonita

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2017 Smartphones Will Have Machine Learning Capabilities - Bonita

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With recent large-scale cyberattacks signaling a growing front in destructive threats and business impact, a new midyear report from iDefense, part of Accenture Security, reveals how threat actors are continuing to evolve their ability to avoid detection. Based on in-depth analysis, the report anticipates a growth in the number of threat actors who are rapidly expanding their capabilities due to factors such as the proliferation of affordable, customizable and accessible tools and exploits. Read more →

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2017 predictions: Smartphones will have machine-learning capabilities - Analytics Magazine

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With recent large-scale cyberattacks signaling a growing front in destructive threats and business impact, a new midyear report from iDefense, part of Accenture Security, reveals how threat actors are continuing to evolve their ability to avoid detection.

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Tech Integration & Personalized Learning (BYOD/BYOT) - Bonita

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Tech Integration & Personalized Learning (BYOD/BYOT) - Bonita

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Personalized Learning has been a much-discussed topic in education for the last few years. The term is everywhere. And it's very persuasive. It hopes to address learner variability and to make education more accessible for different learners. But, there's nothing new about personalized learning, either as an aspiration or a practice. It's an approach that's as old as the hills.

Over the last couple of years, it has become well recognized by US educators that Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is the perfect pedagogical approach that supports the idea of Personalized Learning.
"Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn." (www.cast.org)
You can determine each learner's needs by using the principles of UDL to understand their strengths, challenges, aptitudes, interests, talents, and aspirations. UDL has often been connected to special educational needs, but it is a framework that applies to ALL learners who have variability in their learning. UDL helps teachers understand all the learners in their classroom. Every student brings something different and has different strengths.

As UDL tells us, when we are designing for student variability it is important to provide them with a few ways to demonstrate their knowledge and keep the lesson or content interesting for everyone. New technologies have revolutionized how students learn and allow for that multiple means of expression. Portable, personal laptops like Chromebooks or Surface Pros with stylus & touch interfaces, great computing power, and cloud connectivity make it possible to tailor learning to personal interests and needs, even allowing for 1:1 initiatives where each student has their own device to support their learning.

In the past few years, students can now turn in homeworks that include photos, video, audio, animations, interactive graphics, smart maps, and presentations.

Having and using technology in teaching and learning isn't enough though. Making the most of the technology requires a methodical and principled approach, one that turns the aspirations of personalized learning into an effective practice of personalized learning. Universal Design for Learning makes that practice possible.

Providing the tools, diverse activities and scaffolded content to meet each learner's unique needs can feel daunting. It's important to start small with one new practice or strategy and then build on that.

There are a number of tools that teachers can explore that can help to address learner variability, here are just a couple of examples:

Collaborate - some days we work better together. Get students to work together on Google Slides or Microsoft Powerpoint. Maybe one on content, and one on design if that is where their strengths lie.

Sketchnoting - where students can adopt visual note-taking to support information recall and build understanding. The new stylus and touch devices are great for this.

Some students are shy - use the comments stream inside Google Docs or Word to converse with the student privately.

Audio recording - Kids can practice and demonstrate oral reading fluency by attaching an audio recording to a turned-in homework.

Text-to-Speech - where students may feel more comfortable hearing passages of text read aloud

Personalizing instruction and the use of technology in the classroom does not mean there is less of a place for teacher-led instruction. It also doesn't mean that teachers need to spend endless time after school each day creating an individualized lesson for each and every student in the class. It's all about meeting students in the spaces where they are and helping them grow by providing diverse ways for them to engage in learning, process content, and show their understanding.

Every child's different, with their own star qualities, strengths, challenges and learning styles. Their needs are vast, and there are a multitude of ways teachers can meet those needs effectively in class as well as for independent study and learning at home.

Then join Martin McKay CTO and founder of Texthelp along with special guest Kathleen McClaskey, founder of Make Learning Personal; co-founder of Personalize Learning, LLC; co-author of Want to learn more? Make Learning Personal and How to Personalize Learning, for an hour-long session on How to Personalize Learning and Maximize Achievement for All Students Wednesday, October 11th @ 11am EDT (4pm BST).
About Martin McKay
Martin founded Texthelp in 1996 to help people with communication difficulties. What started as a company focused on people with profound Speech and Dexterity Disabilities has become a world-leading Education Technology company providing easy to use, and useful software tools that help everyone read, write and communicate with clarity in education, at work and in life.

Over that time he has built, led and directed a team of engineers to deliver technology that is used by millions of people every day around the world. He regards himself as incredibly fortunate to work in a sector that has such a positive impact on society using technologies that are so fun and compelling with work with.

Most importantly of all, Martin and Texthelp believe that everyone's entitled to the best possible learning and language support on their own personal journey - from literacy to life.

Martin is currently serving in an advisory capacity on the Universal Design for Learning council in the US.

Texthelp is a valued partner of EdTechTeam and has been for many years. Texthelp helps everyone read, write and communicate with clarity in class, at work, and in life. Find out more at www.texthelp.com.

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Personalized Learning: Tailoring Lessons for every Learning Style - EdTechTeam

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Martin McKay, CTO, Texthelp Personalized Learning has been a much-discussed topic in education for the last few years. The term is everywhere. And it's very persuasive. It hopes to address learner variability and to make education more accessible for different learners. But, there's nothing new about personalized learning, either as an aspiration or a practice.

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Google for Education: Content without boundaries

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Chromebooks and tablets come with support, management, and built-in access to G Suite and educational content

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Copyright: Kathy Schrock. All rights reserved.
Republishing of these lists of links without express and written permission from this site's author is not allowed.
Links to this page  may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kathy Schrock and Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything with appropriate and specific direction (via the URL) to the original compilation of information on this page.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by emailing the creator.

Page created: 11/23/2012
Last updated: 01/13/2022
Kathy Schrock (kathy@kathyschrock.net)
URL of this page:
https://schrockguide.net/chromebooks.html

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This page will provide links to online information about the use of Google Chromebooks in the PreK-12 classroom. There have been many successful pilots of these devices and 1:1 adoptions, and this...

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Using cell phones successfully in the schools.

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Using cell phones successfully in the schools.

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Lisa                            Cell Phones in the Classroom 

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Lisa                            Cell Phones in the Classroom 

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Does your staff need Educational Technology training? The K-12 Teachers Alliance can help you plan your in-service professional development at no additional cost.

Regardless of your school's cell phone policy, the reality in most schools is that students have phones in their pockets, purses, or hoodies. Why not get these tools out in plain sight and use them for good and not evil?

Here are some easy to use strategies to use cell phones in the classrooms.

Why Use Cell Phones as Learning Tools

Cell phones are different from a computer lab filled with computers or a cart of netbooks because the cell phone is personal technology. Most students have invested a great deal of time learning about the features of the cell phone, how to navigate and the limitations of the phone. The other reason to really rethink the cell phone debate is because learning on the cell phone can extend beyond the walls of the school or the confines of a class period.

Some people may want to ban cell phones from classrooms, but I disagree. We didn't ban pens in our schools because students can pass notes during class. The pencils have also survived even though you could poke someone in the eye. And the amount of paper that is generated in most schools is almost criminal. This is a new time in education and with dwindling budgets , so we need to rethink possibilities, stretching every dollar. These mini computers are walking through the doors each day, let's put them to work.

Before you consider trying any of these ideas, make sure you understand the policies that are in place and your have checked with your administrator.

Cell Phone Learning Strategies

Recording Lectures: The "Flipped" Classroom
Many teachers are structuring their lessons in what is being coined "Flipped Classroom". These teachers are recording their "lectures" using video or audio and students are listening to that outside of class as the homework and in class they are completing the practice and the teacher serves as a guide, re-teaching as needed. On most cell phones with a data plan students can watch a video of a previous lesson of an appropriate clip on .

Use Cell Phones as Your Student Response System
Using www.polleverywhere.com and your students' cell phones, you can track instant answers from all your students. It's free for classrooms of 30 people or less.

Gina Hartman an eMINTS Instructional Specialist at Francis Howell School District in Missouri shared a fantastic new Web 2.0 site named http://wiffiti.com . The teacher creates a wiffiti screen and students can text in their opinions.

One teacher used this to summarize Act 1, Scene 1 from Romeo and Juliet. They texted in the short summary and it showed up on the screen. In another classroom the students had think about the time period that Andrew Johnson was in office and text something into the wiffiti screen that would have been something he would have tweeted back then. I love this example, talk about engaging students.

Delivering Materials
As more curriculum materials are delivered digitally creative teachers are delivering materials directly to students on their personal cell phones. One such platform is School Town . This learning platform makes it possible for teachers and students to collaborate in discussion areas and chat with each other making blended learning a real possibility.

Awesome Teacher Apps

: One of my most beloved apps is dropbox. Dropbox allows all my computers and my phone to interact together. So the photo I take on my cell phone can be put in my Dropbox app and now it is available on all my devices, love it!

: Next in line of cool apps for the classroom is Evernote. This handy app lets you type a text note, or clip a web page. If your phone has a camera you can snap a photo, and now you can also grab a screenshot. Like dropbox it doesn't matter what device you are on, they all sync together.

Solving Common Problems Using Cell Phones in Class

Students without Cell Phones / Smart Phones
Other issues arise because not every student has a cell phone. The easiest way to work around this is to have students working in groups, collaborating and solving problems together. Now we only need one cell phone to report out the group work. If we get creative, any problem can be solved.

Wireless Access
Wireless access might be another problem. Smart phone users will usually try and find a wireless network instead of going through the provider signal. With all these added devices your network may be burdened. Also cell phone reception is an issue in many schools. If this is the case, you may want to focus more of the group work or homework-related cell phone strategies.

Keeping Cell Phone Use Appropriate
Thinking about using cell phone in the classroom we need to make sure we involve our students in the conversation. Let them teach us about how to reduce the fear of theft or inappropriate use. Every student should be reminded every day about appropriate technology use, and what to do if the rules are broken. We need to help students understand the ramifications of things like cyberbullying , sexting and posting things to social networking sites.

Where do you stand on the cell phone in class debate? Share your thoughts or your creative ways to use cell phones in school in the comments section!

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How to Use Cell Phones as Learning Tools

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Does your staff need Educational Technology training? The K-12 Teachers Alliance can help you plan your in-service professional development at no additional cost. Regardless of your school's cell phone policy, the reality in most schools is that students have phones in their pockets, purses, or hoodies.