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Students using their cellphones to learn

Do you let your students have their cellphones on in your class or do you ask them to turn them off ? 


Cellphones have not been well received in the educational arena because they are considered a distracting "toy" .  But cellphones are an essencial item in the screen agers' lives. Do you doubt about this statement? Look at the infography below: 



So, as educators, let's understand and explore with our students the possibilities cellphones offer to include them in our classes. 

You can start with very simple tasks such as taking photos with a purpose such as to illustrate a piece of writing. As you and your students get familiar with different softs, you can do more challenging projects: slide shows and short films!

When I attended Virtual Educa Buenos Aires, there was a workshop called "Short-films" using cellphones. I liked the idea very much because short films may help students to improve their narrative literacy, and understanding how stories work. Short films focus on a single idea - they usually run between 30 and 10 minutes. They are excellent beginning points for engaging students in discussions. 


Watch the 2010 winning short film to have an idea of how creative students may be :)



You will find plenty of tips and ideas about the topic in the following links:
http://blog.remind101.com/
http://mediateacher.squarespace.com/teaching-short-films/
How to make a cellphone fill in 5 easy steps
http://cinescopophilia.com/tips-for-making-films-on-your-mobile-cell-phone/

Comments

Good tips for students to improve their level of learning.
Geelong College said…
For online education to continue to grow, these concerns must be addressed
somehow, I do not like the idea of using of phones during classes, unless your lesson plan includes plays with mobile phones. It's simply disturbing...
Shaunie said…
It is just a matter of time before all classes use mobiles.
Some apps can be used in class or for practice after class.
A good example is SpeakingPal, which focuses on teaching speaking skills. A teacher could never provide the type of feedback on speaking that this app provides. www.speakingpal.com/products

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