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Using Student Cell Phones in the Classroom
OR: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
The TEACHER OF THE YEAR from my school district is a wonderfully enthusiastic teacher full of great ideas! I had the chance to visit with Jeni DeFeo in her classroom to see how she has incorporated student cellphones into her curriculum--so EXCITING that I had to share it with you!
"I noticed my kids all had their cell phones in class, which can be an obvious problem. I'm always looking for ways to turn a problem into a solution. How can they use cell phones with me in a positive manner and then later maybe follow my rules about when NOT to use them?"
Jeni was originally planning to use clickers for polling in her middle school social studies classroom. However clickers are very expensive to get a good system, so she started looking online for polling alternatives. Using cell phones for polling kept coming up.
This whole concept started with conferences polling large audiences. Now teachers have begun using this technology in their classrooms.
Jeni asked her principal last year if she could pilot a cell phone polling program. The principal was at first very leery. "What? You want to have your kids bring their cell phones to class?" Jeni convinced her she could teach them to use cell phones responsibly. So she gave her reluctant permission.
The website Jeni uses is: <www.polleverywhere.com>. It cost her $49.00 of her own money last year. This year, she was able to pay for it with part of her "Teacher of the Year" monetary award.
Jeni started with a letter for the parents including what the rules would be(such as face down on desk, set on vibrate, etc.) Then she began using poll questions throughout her social studies lessons. An example: When doing the time line of Roman emperors, students were asked to rate their favorite emperor.
Some of the tricks she's developed for using cell phone polling include:
**Using a "kiosk" with an iPad and another one with a classroom computer for students without cell phones. (She found about 75% of her students had cell phones last year.)
**Have them put their initials in their answer so she knew who was answering.
**When she was gone once, she actually polled them how the sub was doing!
This year, Jeni plans to use poll questions as bell ringers. An example, "Which one of the following is both a Count
ry and a Continent?" During current events discussions, she plans to poll, "Do you agree or disagree?" She has found that polling sparks many lively classroom discussions.
Bottom line, Jeni has figured out how to turn a problem into a solution. Using cell phones in her classroom has given Jeni DeFeo many opportunities to talk about cell phones with her students. (What is the proper use of a cell phone, etc.) Her principal is now excited about it and shows her off to visitors. Her reluctant learners are more willing to participate in class because using technology in the classroom is cool. Jeni is excited to be using cell phone polling in her classroom again this school year.
NEXT MONTH: How Jeni uses Twitter in her classroom!
Click here for a password-protected download of a PPT of photos of Jeni's classroom using cell phone technology and a generalized parent letter.
THE PASSWORD IS: cellphonesrock
Click here to visit the Poll Everywhere website.
Click here for Poll Everywhere's FAQ.
Click here for Poll Everywhere's "How It Works."
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Teaching students to make 
