Creating a plan with students to use cell phones for learning

Visit this link to see how these students
are using cell phones as learning tools.

Cross posted at the Teaching Generation Text. The blog dedicated to using mobile devices for learning.

Want to integrate cell phones into learning? You can involve your students with this planning lesson where students will focus on cell phones as learning tools. With an overview of the educational uses of cell phones (the Gr8 8, below), students will determine how they will choose to use their cell phones for educational purposes.  Contracts for tools will be developed by students and the result will be a plan for educational uses of cell phones.

Lesson Title: Plans for Phones or Plnz 4 fonz
Tools Used:  Poll Everywhere
Lesson Description:

• Start with a class discussion about tools, and their purpose, for learning.
• Multiple choice poll:  Ask students to text into a poll everywhere free text poll examples of tools and their uses: pencil-communicating/taking notes, calculator-do math, dictionary-learn meanings of words, notes, books, websites, teacher instruction.
• Free text poll: Ask students to share the tools available on their phone. This captures all of the available, educational, free cell phone tools that are in students’ pockets.
• Teacher shares the "Gr8 8 Top Educational Uses of Cell Phones" to get students thinking about some ways that cell phones can be used for learning.
• Teacher asks how are you already using your phone for learning? What are you already doing that works?
• Multiple choice poll: Which of the "Great 8" would you like most to use for learning.  Note: The teacher may want to share these poll results with parents, administrators, and other teachers.
• Students personalize this, by creating plans explaining how they will use cell phone tools for learning.  

Here is a sample plan template:

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