Using the Cell Phone as a Learning Tool in Schools

By Elise Degrass, Guest Writer

Unwanted ringtones are an increasingly common occurrence in classrooms, from the elementary to the University level. Rather than viewing cell phones as a distraction to the learning environment, however, a growing number of educators are harnessing the power of smart phones to improve both in-classroom and home learning experiences.

With advanced new features in smart phones, cell phones are becoming an extension of traditional computers; their portability provides advantages in decentralized learning environments. While teachers have to be mindful that these privileges are not abused for distractive, social purposes, a number of smart phone features provide a means to enhance the learning curriculum.

One of the most useful features of cell phones is their ability to provide instantaneous feedback to teachers in large classrooms. Rather than trying to be impartial by calling upon students in turn, teachers can poll the entire class with services such as Notify You. For example, if a teacher wants to inquire whether students enjoyed reading a particular novel, he or she can poll that entire class at once; this can improve both the frequency and reliability of feedback, as many students would otherwise be reticent to give feedback that is seen by their peers. Additionally, teachers could provide instant, short pop-quizzes on covered material to keep students on their toes, and can get feedback on future scheduling ideas without taking up valuable classroom time.

One of the greatest areas of potential for technology in the classroom is by providing rich, multimedia sources that can enhance visual presentation of learning material. Rather than displaying videos or images for passive viewing by a classroom, teachers can point students to a given website where they can interact with the material in more meaningful ways. For example, a learning module about World War 2 might have the students do a small research project by reviewing the resources on a site such as Wikipedia – linking web-based learning to classroom assignments will ensure that students remain on task and constantly improving their research skills, as well as their specific knowledge on a given topic. Chances are that most students won't use their knowledge about the Asian-Pacific War Theater during their careers, but they will, most certainly, benefit from the research techniques they master; the ability to improve learning outside of the classroom is among the most prominent benefits of using cell phones in the classroom.

Just as cell phones can bring history to life, they can also connect students to on-going news stories. Services such as Rocketron provide real-time news feeds in a variety of areas, which can help teachers link curriculum to developing events. For science teachers, connecting curriculum to everyday life can be a challenge; allowing students to hear technology headlines and challenging them to connect the latest updates to chemistry, mathematics and biology can truly help bring the classroom to life. Cell phones can open learning environments to rich sources of real-time knowledge that can bridge the gap between the classroom and the larger outside world.

Elise Degrass is freelance writer, who is currently writing about cell phones. She can be reached via email as elisedegrass@gmail.com