One of my AP students is also my yearbook editor and there are times we need to communicate, so we have each other’s cell phone numbers. Today, he and three of his classmates missed our class for a genetics conference, so I had set them up with the assignment: read Donne’s A Valediction Forbidding Mourning and complete the questions. Of course his group missed my classic demonstration of Donne’s famous metaphysical conceit with my big, wooden compass, the retro kind used on chalkboards (remember those)?
But he called. He and his group were on the bus coming back to school from the conference and they had some questions. What does “sublunary” mean? How about laity? I had forgotten to suggest they take along a dictionary. You can’t send everything along on a field trip. So I defined the words for him, and as his partners wrote things down, he relayed other questions, and I realized, wow, we’re using technology to extend our teaching realm.
This is why I love technology. If teaching is helping students learn, then why are there any rules at all about how to do that? Why can’t students phone in their questions?
I’ll admit that a text message at 9:30 p.m. asking “can I have an extension on my essay” isn’t exactly what I have in mind when I suggest we should consider extending our teaching realm, it’s not that far off, not really.
When we need our teachers we need them, whether it be during our class time or not. I know that it is unlikely that all 125 of my students will need me at once (can you imagine???), so I just like to be there, by phone, by text, by whatever means technology allows us to break down our communication barriers.
9 responses so far ↓
1
Carla
// Mar 3, 2009 at 6:02 am
A friend, a college professor, embraced the same approach, but with college students it backfired. She received messages at all hours, and students became frustrated and impatient when she didn’t respond immediately. She finally had to set some limits, like “No messages before 8:00 AM or after 6 PM.” One would think that would go without saying, but it didn’t. As we all move into this new way of thinking, we may need to emphasize the value of courtesy.
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Dawn Reply:
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Hi Carla,
You would think it would go without saying, but I’ve learned to take nothing for granted, especially polite conventions. I seriously think that manners or social appropriateness is not a message taught in a lot of homes. I see crazy behavior at school. I’m sure you do, too. For example, does it make you crazy to have a student just get up, while you’re talking to the class, walk right in front of you to go throw away a piece of paper or something equally less urgent? When we teach Internet etiquette, we are teaching online manners. I do think there are hours when it’s okay to call. Not before 8 a.m. is standard isn’t it? But even telemarketers need to learn the evening hours. I also think Sundays used to be off limits, right?
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2
Bill
// Mar 3, 2009 at 8:08 am
I often hear about teachers who use cell phones as a way of communicating with their students and it gives me hope that we will be able to move past assuming that students will only use these tools for nefarious reasons. Then I hear things like the entire state of Pennsylvania trying to pass legislation to outlaw cell phones in schools and I wonder how long it will take for phones to be seen as tools rather than disruptions.
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Dawn Reply:
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Hi Bill,
Glad you’re still checking in on me. : ) Pennsylvania might as well try to ban the hair on kids heads. EVERYONE has a phone! The day will come, though, when educators re-think the typical educational tool kit. I think it will be forced on us.
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3
Pam Pleviak
// Mar 4, 2009 at 11:58 am
We’re experimenting with VoiceThread and discovered that users can call in a comment with it. That could have some interesting applications too.
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4
blogwalker
// Mar 8, 2009 at 10:40 am
Dawn,
In the rare event that you might not be accessible when your students call;-), they might enjoy http://chacha.com. If you haven’t seen this tool yet, you simply phone in to ChaCha, ask your question, and wait for a text message answer. ChaCha has real people behind the service. It’s a great tool for the times teachers or students don’t have access to the web. Phone # = 1-800-2chacha. Text = 242242.
And I’ll leave you with a phone message my son, who was heading off to the first day of his Fall 2008 classes, left on my cell: “So much depends on getting a good teacher.”
Gail
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5
Dawn
// Mar 8, 2009 at 4:23 pm
so much depends
upon
getting a good
teacher
ready with cell
phone
for grateful
students.
: )
Thanks for the ChaCha link. Gail, you’re always on top of the new technologies.
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6
Jessica Brogley
// May 18, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I love the example Dawn. I only wish there were more examples like this. Unfortunately, most of my students aren’t using them appropriately. Maybe we can turn the corner soon.
My husband is a softball coach and because he isn’t in the same building as his players, relies on texting as a means of communication. He is thankful for it.
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7
Anna
// Jul 7, 2009 at 8:48 am
Having spent a week trying to reach my yearbook editor by normal means (home phone and her cell phone), I realize how behind I am in using cell phones. Only recently have my husband and I consented to adding texting to our service. Until now I would only use my cell phone in dire emergencies. Simply using my students’ chosen form of communication might increase my ability to reach them if only to finish the yearbook!
I cringe at the idea of students having cell phones available in during school; however, after reading Dawn’s initial blog I may have to change my way of thinking. These words caught my atention: “If teaching is helping students learn, then why are there any rules at all about how to do that?” As a teacher, I am willing to do whatever it takes to help a student. Why not extend the use of the cell phone?
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