When schools decide they want to embrace the use of student devices for learning, it doesn't "start" with inviting devices into the classroom. It starts with inviting the use of devices into homework.
While parents understand why cell phones are important to stay in touch with their children and keep them safe, they may not understand their usefulness for learning. This is no surprise. Students haven’t been given the opportunity or guidance by teachers in doing so.
Rather than simply telling parents about the research and benefits of using cell phones for learning, show them!Before using cell phones in your classroom with students, begin giving students the option to use cell phones to complete their homework. This gives the teacher the opportunity to allow students to use cell phones for learning without classroom management concerns. It gives students (and their parents) experience in using cell phones for learning. Yet another benefit is that using cell phones to support learning at home enables educational leaders see firsthand how these tools can support student learning.
To follow are some Ideas for enabling students to use cell phones for learning at home.
I want more »