I came across this blog post about integrating cell phones in the classroom. Most administrators and school boards have bans that prevent students from having their phones on during school hours. However, there is a growing trend among techno-savvy districts allowing students access to their phones outside of the classroom. What about giving them strict guidelines so they can demonstrate responsible use of their phones inside the classroom?I believe as technology continues to change, as educators, we must change as well. We should be looking for ways to harness the power of these portable devices to increase student learning. Imagine giving your students a project where they must use their camera phone to take five photos of a problem plaguing their community?
You can have students upload these photos directly to flickr and create a slideshow. This slideshow could be imported to Google Docs and your students could create an online presentation for the local City Council. How's that for harnessing the power of the cell phone? Oh, and did I mention that Google Docs Mobile can be accessed on any cell phone with a basic web browser?
