Text Your Students with E-mail
I always get my students' e-mails and will occasionally send them a message. It is frustrating that half of them never check. In fact even after they e-mail me, they don't look for a reply. But here is a way to use cell phones, but not in the classroom. You could set up a database with their cell phone numbers and then add the code below depending on their cell phone and then they will receive a text. Certainly this way the kids will get the message. (Obviously this is one you'd want to check with the parents first to make sure they don't mind)

Sprint:

[10DigitNumber]@messaging.sprintpcs.com

T-Mobile:

[10DigitNumber]@tmomail.net

Verizon:

[10DigitNumber]@vtext.com

AT&T:

[10DigitNumber]@mobile.mycingular.com

Just replace [10DigitNumber] with the ten digit phone number you are trying to reach (area+ local number).

Cell Phones Uses - Podcasting
Go here to see a presentation on ways to use cell phones in class. The video takes you through each step and could easily be followed by you or your students. It is quite lengthy so I have put the highlights. But if you want to use the cellphone this is really an excellent how to video. All of the examples could be done at home if your school won't allow cell phones. Here is what is covered in the video

1. Record video or audio. You can use www.gabcast.com; www.gcast.com; www.hipcost.com; www.evoca.com (all of which are free). These sites also allow students to use landlines to make the podcasts. Gabcast will allow you make a podcast of up to one hour for each entry. It will also give you html which can then be put in your blog. Uses would include
a. getting authors to read their works
b. having students explain concepts that you are teaching
c. read poems
d. put clips from famous speeches and have kids explain them
e. radio broadcasts
f. audio interviews
g. sound clips from trips
h. ESOL students working on their language skills and integrating it with subject matter.

2. A second use of free phone conferencing is www.freeconference.com which actually allows you to have a conference call of up to 200 people! The advantage of using a cell phone is that you will not be charged long distance charges. Another is www.talkshoe.com

3. You can have free online voice mail which are at privatephone.com and jangl.com. These will give you your own phone number and for those who don't want to give out your own number, this is perfect and better yet you can get the messages via your cell phone or online.

4. Audio e-mail are found at jott.com and mindjot.com. These allow you to speak your message and it will be transcribed into a text message and even be set as an audio.com

5. Taking Movies: go.blogger.com Using bubbleshare.com you can use your phone to make pictures and then bubbleshare.com will allow you to make a slideshow. You can have all the students in one class send pictures to the same site or have invidual sites for each student. You can edit the pictures, record audio which would allow you to make a digital storybook. You can then e-mail the slideshow, add it to a blog or even to download it. Imagine going on a field trip and having an instant slideshow created by the kids.

6. If you want kids to make movies, you can use the free site of eyespot.com. They allow you to take movie clips with a phone and immediately upload it to the sites where you can edit the fim online and then publish it to a blog page.

7. This video also goes through audacity.com

8. Sending free textmessages. textforfree allows you to send free text messages.

9. To create surveys you can go to mobiode.com

10.

Watch Know Video Library
Here is a collection of short videos which can be used to study ancient world history. Topics include Egypt, Greece, Rome, Incans, Mayans, pre-historic, Ottomans and more. If you are like me, you are picking your way through all the videos I have put on this site and choosing some to use in class. If you have a student webpage, you can easily then have absent students view them on their time. Above is on of the videos, this one on Plato.

Empirical Support for Cell Phone Usage in the Classroom
I have put some of my ideas for cell phone usage on a list serve and have gotten some flak saying 1)our rules prohibit 2)the kids will abuse it if we have it. I really believe as with passing paper notes when I was a young teacher, that good teachers will 1) find a way to get kids not to look at cell phones (interactive teaching and interesting material) and over time will find good uses. At any rate International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) has a report out that looks at technological use in the classroom. Since I have a Ph.D., I am all about support (and for that matter questioning what you read), but this report cites empirical research that states the obvious. 1) we have always known that the best way to teach is to be interactive and to use tools that kids enjoy 2) that tool today is technology. As the study states (money pages are 6-8) , 10-17 year olds spend an average of 3:45 a day on cell phones and that 87% of 12-17 year olds are online EVERY DAY. Right now, unlike online activities, ideas for cell phones in the class are certainly limited, but that will change over time (see my next post for another idea for cell phones). So I am only advocating limited use and certainly NEVER to text friends.

Just in case you need more convincing, here is Sec of Education Arne Duncan advocating the use of cell phones.

Text Your Students with E-mail
I always get my students' e-mails and will occasionally send them a message. It is frustrating that half of them never check. In fact even after they e-mail me, they don't look for a reply. But here is a way to use cell phones, but not in the classroom. You could set up a database with their cell phone numbers and then add the code below depending on their cell phone and then they will receive a text. Certainly this way the kids will get the message. (Obviously this is one you'd want to check with the parents first to make sure they don't mind)

Sprint:

[10DigitNumber]@messaging.sprintpcs.com

T-Mobile:

[10DigitNumber]@tmomail.net

Verizon:

[10DigitNumber]@vtext.com

AT&T:

[10DigitNumber]@mobile.mycingular.com

Just replace [10DigitNumber] with the ten digit phone number you are trying to reach (area+ local number).

Guns, Germs and Steel

Based on my summer assignments link (see links on the right of this post) for AP students, "Guns, Germs and Steel" is one of the books most often used. Well, go here and your students can read it for free (I believe even on their phones - how's that for a creative use of phones for school work?) or you can embed it as I have done it above on a webpage if you have one.

AP Study Guides Online
Well I may never have to ask my students to buy another AP study guide online as here most of them are in their entirety. If you have a webpage for your students, you could even embed one or all of them as I have done. It just keeps getting better and better.