Schools across the nation claim that they prepare students to succeed in the 21st century, but few districts permit or endorse smartphone use as an effective learning tool.
In Teaching Generation Text, coauthors Lisa Nielsen and Willyn Webb don’t shy away from confronting naysayers and skeptics, who, despite all evidence to the contrary, link smartphones to poor grades and disconnectedness.
Nielson runs The Innovative Educator, an award-winning education blog. She travels around the world, addressing audiences on the future of education. Webb, a licensed professional counselor, boasts over 20 years of teaching and administrative experience.
“Today’s phones can alert students to study; serve as a smart vehicle to take notes; provide instant, on-demand answers and research; and even provide a great way to record and capture student oral reports or responses to polls and quizzes,” they write.
I recently reviewed Evernote and Socratic, the later of which I learned about from readingTeaching Generation Text. I must also thank Webb and Nielson for introducing me toiPadio, which allows users to create podcasts by dialing a number.
On Friday, I had a chance to speak with Webb as she drove her daughter to a Justin Beiber concert in Denver. In addition to being an awesome author, she’s also a really cool mom.
Her excited personality practically bursts through the receiver. Within seconds of the start of the call, she makes obvious how much she cares about students. We share a genuine frustration that the vast majority of America’s schools still don’t permit cell phone use, even though over 70% of teens own or use a mobile device.
Webb remains composed, but I still sense a genuine agitation in her voice. She questions, rightfully so, what kind of world educators think they are preparing students for; she sees school as having a duty to help mold “smart digital contributors.”
“I feel like there’s this group of people who think either you’re a techy or you’re not. You either use technology or you don’t,” Webb says. “They have made this choice. But that’s not the situation anymore. I’m not what you may call a techy. But I’m in the real world, in touch with my students—and this is the result.”
I agree with everything Webb says, but I still try to play devil’s advocate. We talk about a large contingent of parents, teachers and educators vehemently opposed to using Twitter, Facebook and other social networks as a teaching tool.
Twitter is a great tool for schools to share interesting and relevant information with the student body, staff, parents, and family. There is no software to download, and even with just one teacher cell phone per class, contributions can be made and modeled anywhere, anytime. Twitter has become such a popular tool because it asks one question, “What’s happening?” Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web.
I couldn’t agree more. During our discussion, I’m pleased that Webb references a publicized California State University case study that finds texting improves student writing. I’m not surprised that my strongest journalists Tweet, as this application forces users to be succinct.
We also discuss privacy concerns, and whether teachers should in fact contact students using mobile devices. This seems to be a big concern for many, especially those who believe that communicating with kids through any means other than a call home or via school e-mail violates the student-teacher relationship.
Webb says she understands people’s concerns, as do I, and we both think that it’s extremely important to develop and enforce clear policy.
Once more, Webb introduces me to another free application, Celly, that makes public online any and all communications. Celly also obviates the need for students and teachers to exchange numbers, thereby protecting the privacy of both parties.
In May, Olivia B. Waxmen of Time.com covered the application.
Each school or class can create a group for themselves called a “cell” that users may access straight from their phone, email, or the Internet. They text to personal screen names, and to prevent cyber-bullying or inappropriate conduct, they cannot see each other’s numbers. The cell’s moderator must approve texts before they can be seen publicly.
Teachers should be judicious about using smartphones in the classroom—but the option should remain available. I agree with Webb, who says that the most effective use of smartphones happens outside of school, when teachers and students use mobile devices to collaborate, respond to questions, provide responses, and take “their learning into their real world, into their personal lives.”
Whether you support educational smartphone use or need some convincing, it’s impossible to offer Teaching Generation Text too much praise. Purchase your copy today by clicking here.