Mobile Learning...

I enjoyed exploring the links shared in the mobile learning lab, especially “10 Ideas of Using Cell Phones in Education, K12” and “25 Practical Ideas for Using Mobile Phones in the Classroom”. I think that cell phone use in the classroom is potentially a concept that could save school districts tons of money in technology as most students have cell phones and their parents foot the bill! Incidentally, our district has an extremely rigid policy on cell phone use for both students and teachers. As a result, the zero tolerance policy restricts me from taking this poll. I spoke with an administrator to inquire about this assignment to see if it was ok to complete if students texted out of school. A resounding ‘no way’ is what I got. I despise feeling like I am doing something wrong when I try to implement technology. At any rate, I can appreciate and understand the concept of polleverywhere thanks to a day during the MAET summer cohort that we experienced it as students.
A way that I have been able to integrate mobile technology in my classrrom, that doesn’t break any rules, that I know of, is by uploading video clips from the Internet (that are blocked at school) to my Zune and connecting them to my classroom tv and showing them to students. It’s just an example of how more of my time is wasted and could be used differently, if I was allowed to make technology work for me and use it as a tool in my classroom.
In a perfect world, I could could use cell phones and polleverywhere on a daily basis in numerous ways. I could use it as a class starter: How many siblings do you have? Then use the information to discuss family size, birth order and how it has changed over time. I could also ask did you pack or buy lunch today? Then discuss that. Additionally, as the yearbook advisor, it would make polls for the yearbook way easier to compile. Unfortunately, until the technology policies are reviewed and revised, polling in such a way is unattainable. I can do Google Spreadsheets or survey monkey in its place.