I came across the video below from ABC News regarding a teacher who is using texting in classroom. She is obviously using texting as a part of her lesson as a backchanneling method. I am not surprised at this teacher’s decision to welcome texting. I applaud loudly and clearly her efforts to try to use the technology to bring about classroom innovation and student engagement. We need more teachers exploring the edges of innovation. I support open and experimental uses of all technologies in the classroom. This video captures student reactions very well. Teachers who are willing to experiment with new technologies keep their students slightly off-balance, so that they do not always know what to expect in teaching. Administrators must be willing to support teachers as they stretch their experimentation with technology.
This teacher as the right approach. Use the channel as a way to connect with students. In Portland we utilized social networking tools and texting to improve attendance an make AYP for the first time EVER.
ReplyDeleteTexting is NOT about the phone. It is about a parent sponsored (most times parents pay for the phones, but more importantly the schools DO NOT) communication channel that connects students to the entity sending texts. Make the school or classroom the text sender and the channel becomes effective.
Kudos to this teacher for thinking DIFFERENTLY. Learn more about how texting was used in a middle school to decrease chronic attendance violations. www.edsome.com
Karl