Left to Their Own Devices

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I am extremely lucky to work in a technology-rich school, and I have five colleagues I was able to interview for this project. Four are intermediate teachers, and one is a second grade teacher.

Because we are an elementary school, cell phones are not as “ubiquitous” as they are at the secondary level, and their use is mostly by choice, with some on-line options thrown-in so that all students included in the “cell-phone activity” have an opportunity to participate either through their phones or through a social media program such as Edmodo.

All of the interviewees are subject to the same school policy which states that technology is to be used for legitimate academic purposes and student activities are to be reasonably monitored to ensure student safety within the activity. We are EXPECTED to use technology to engage students and enrich their learning experiences.

Parent support within our school community is extremely strong, and feedback from them is almost always positive. A few noted that their child felt “left out” because they did not have a cell phone, and the family did not wish for their child to have one at a very young age. In response to that input from parents, the Edmodo options were put in place. 

The first teacher I interviewed was Kelly R., second grade teacher. She uses technology EXTENSIVELY with her second graders, piloting a 1:1 iPad classroom last year. She has used “Poll Everywhere” as a way to involve her students in current events...particularly those that cover a controversial topic kids can relate to. An example she provided was a recent story about a small Oregon logging town. The kids got into cooperative groups and discussed a “to cut or not to cut” type of question, then expressed their opinion via cell phone. Then, they studied logging (at second grade level) and its economic importance and environmental impacts. They re-voted. Several students had changed their minds, and gave short explanations of the critical thinking they did to arrive at their new opinion.

Fourth grade teacher, Amy B., used the same program, “Poll Everywhere” as a behavioral award for her kids. Once the class met a particular behavioral goal, they celebrated with  “electronics day” and the kids brought in cell phones and iPods. To put the phones to good use, Amy introduced them to the “Poll” technology by setting-up easy and fun familiarization-type questions. “Poll” was a key part of her informal assessment program until she acquired a classroom set of Dymo Mimio “clickers,” a kind of classroom response system. This year, her class will be participating in the “Journey North” which includes an iPhone app with which students from all over North America record and track the movements of dozens of migratory animals. Amy says the key to being successful with Poll Everywhere is: “Let the kids play with it using simple questions like ‘which animal do you like best...penguins, lions, or tigers?’ Try a few of those. They love them and they catch on really easily. After they’ve got the procedure, THEN go for the content stuff.”

Another fourth grade teacher, Carolynn B., is a science maniac. Our school is situated along a scrub oak open-space and she likes to take her students out for regular nature walks. The students are encouraged to bring cell phones or iPads along on the hikes to record interesting nature tidbits, using the photos to spark writing ideas once they are back in the classroom. “Having a camera with them makes the kids look closer at nature. They don’t just walk by it like it’s no big deal,” Carolynn explained. 

Alysha K., another third grade teacher, sometimes uses cell phones as a kind of “literature blog.” Her kids usually use Edmodo to blog back-and-forth about a piece of literature they are jointly reading, but she has allowed students who have cell phones to text each other on a couple of occasions. Not many of her third graders have phones, and she has only done this a couple of times.

Sixth grade teacher, Mandy H., states that she uses cell phones in the same ways listed by proponents of cell phone use in schools in the articles we read. Her students use them to download and use apps, do research...basically, the same types of things they could use computers and iPads for...they are a great force multiplier. As I look back over these interviews, I think it is predictable that the older the kids, the more likely they are to have cell phones in school, and the more adept they are at using them for authentic socio-academic purpose. 


As I interviewed my colleagues, I confirmed some things I already knew...primarily that, statistics aside, our students don’t carry that many cell phones to school...and they aren’t (like my own 8^th grade son) particularly attached or “identified” with them. They enjoy using them...they are a great motivational tool. All of the teachers I interviewed use technology much more than I do, and I thought perhaps their responses to the interview would be longer and more involved. We have so many laptops, desktops, and iPads at our disposal, I think our focus has been on those. We are looking for ways to fully utilize THOSE resources, and do not need to find ways to make cell phones “fill in technology gaps.” Good problem to have. We also live in a very traditionally-minded community. I imagine parents are circumspect about sending a relatively expensive piece of equipment into school in the backpack of a kiddo who is highly likely to forget it or lose it. In addition, because we have youngsters, we do have an out-of-sight-and-off policy for cell phones...with the exception for legitimate academic use.