cellphones in learning

In Liz Kolb’s podcast on the use of cellphones in learning, she and her colleague Jeff interview two student teachers about their use of cellphones for school projects. I was particularly interested in student teacher Rena Franco’s response to the question of why using cellphones was effective. She gave several reasons, but the one she repeated more than once was that she wanted to get away from teacher-centered direct instruction, which she knew wasn’t working, and have students think actively outside themselves and take a perspective. She thought that using a technology that was so important to them outside school was powerful, and so was using it for a purpose so different from what they’re used to. Rena felt that as a result her students focused more on content. (I’m not sure that was so true of the other student teacher, who was a fan of using cellphones but said she had erred by selling cellphone use as quick and cool instead of different, and had gotten many unrehearsed and blabby answers.)

Both Rena and the other student teacher Liz interviewed teach at the high school level, and at that level I would be inclined to permit recording using cellphones. At the fourth and fifth grade level, which is where I work, I would be more concerned about questions of equity. Most of my students don’t have cellphones, and there are other options for recording, including the school-issued laptops.

Because of those concerns, my main takeaway was less about the ability to use cellphones in learning—though that’s an intriguing prospect that is likely to make its way down to fourth and fifth grade during this decade—and more about the need to engage students through a variety of means, including audio. This podcast provided more anecdotal evidence of the importance of the multiple means of engagement that are one of the focal points of UDL.