Journal 4

From Toy to Tool
By Liz Kolb.

Liz Kolb’s first impression of the use of cell phones in the is that they should be banned. After realizing that cell phones are an integral part of her students’ everyday existence, she has since started to rethink this idea. In her article she goes on to tell how students can use their cell phones as a learning "tool" instead of simply as a "toy." She suggests ways that students can be taught to use their cell phone to their benefit and how to use them as a resource in their education. For example, they can use their cell phones to create blogs, collect and store data, and develop multimedia projects. The author also outlines some of her concerns when it comes to audioblogging. These include privacy, copyright, control and cost issues, but despite these concerns, the potential benefits of using audioblogging are numerous.

Questions:

How can we protect our students’ privacy while they are creating audioblogs?

One solution is to use a password-protected blog site such as blogzy.com or have the students post blogs that focus on interviews or research information and not on student journals.

How can teachers control the way in which the students are using the phones within the classroom?

The teacher can give the students boundaries. For example, they can only bring their cell phones when they are being used for an assignment or the teacher could set up a social contract with his/her students. Most importantly the teacher should collaborate with the parents and administrators and let them know how the cell phones are going to used within the classroom.